Doomsday Pillars

"All right, looks like it's time to get serious," Alex said while looking at the incoming enemies. He then stood up, and with Arief beside him, he approached the formation of 300 troops.

The retreating hundred orcs joined the Uruk-hai army this time. Even though they had really similar, almost the same body forms, these Uruk troops were in a different class.

Fully geared with war armors, their gear was unlike those of other orcs' at all. Instead of the curved scimitars, they used short, broad-bladed swords. This army of Uruks had swordsmen, crossbowmen, and berserkers. The berserkers were even larger and more vicious Uruks. These Uruks made the creepy orcs look like peasants next to these elite fighters.

Alex saw that the number of Uruks in front of him was not much different from his elite troops. "Looks like all the Uruks on this floor have gathered here.... This battle will be more troublesome than the other 30th floors."

Colonel Arief, who was standing next to him, nodded in agreement. He had the same thoughts.

Alex and his fighters had been fighting the Uruks from the 21st floor. However, in general, it was only in groups of 20 to 30. Even in the battles in the previous two pillars, at most, they only had to fight 100 Uruks. There hadn't been a time where they had to go against 300 Uruks at once like this. Three hundred elite fighters of the Star Army and three hundred troops of Uruks. Alex was eager to know how difficult this fight would be.

GRAAA!!!

Unlike the orcs, these Uruks made a formation. The Uruk swordsmen were positioned at the front, one Uruk berserker in every ten Uruks, and the Uruk crossbowmen at the rear.

One of the Uruks stood before the line. This Uruk had quite a different appearance compared to the other Uruks. This hairless Uruk with reddish skin seemed to be their leader. A war chief. The leader of this army of 300 bloodthirsty warriors.

Dum! Dum! Dum! Dum! Dum! 

The war drums and battle cries began to resound.

Seeing the Uruks that were screaming hysterically in front of them, Alex complained in slight annoyance, "Orcs and Uruks, why do they all like to scream so much..."

Immediately after, Alex gave the Star Army an order, "Prepare the Magi battle formation!"

The battle formation, which was previously divided into 6 parts, was immediately changed into 5 parts with the change in their positions. The vanguard was still the shield and spearmen. The second line was the troops of archers, while the rear line was their support. The other two groups didn't form a long line, but it was more akin to a triangle in the position of the right and left wings.

In less than 30 seconds, the formation was instantly formed, and all 300 troops looked very serious.

Dum! Dum! Dum! Dum! Dum!

GRAAAHHH!!!

In contrast to the orc troops that directly attacked them without delay, these Uruk troops walked in unison step by step. They were truly able to intimidate the opponent in front of them.

When they were less than 200 meters apart, the Uruk army came to a halt. Soon after, the Uruk crossbowmen stepped into the front line. More than a hundred arrows were aimed at the Star Army. Each and every one of the arrows from this army was deadly, and this time, more than a hundred arrows were shot simultaneously.

Alex immediately commanded, "Ice."

Promptly, the dozens of fighters in the front line raised their hands.

"Ice Wall."

A moment later, a 3-meter tall ice wall suddenly rose and shielded the entire line of troops. Because of this, the arrows from the Uruk crossbowmen immediately struck the ice wall, stuck on it. It didn't take long for the ice wall to shatter into pieces, falling to the ground along with the arrows.

GRAAH!!!

The Uruk-hai troops looked infuriated and irritated. They soon launched another rain of arrows. And once again, a tall wall of ice blocked the arrow attack.

This time, Alex would not remain silent without retaliating. Alex gave a signal, "Fire! Metal!" This time, he gave two words of command.

In response to Alex's command, the 50 archer troops in the rear line took their arrows and drew their bows. However, they didn't immediately release them. Before they released their arrows, every one of them used two skills:

"Fire Infusion." "Metal hardening."

A part of the arrows at the bow immediately had flames on it and another part of them became very shiny. With that, 50 arrows were released at once, aimed directly at the troops on the opposite side.

The attack of those arrows reinforced by the spirit power of fire and metal broke the Uruks' formation. The thick armor of those Uruks could not be penetrated by Tier 1 artifact arrows. However, Tier 1 arrows that were reinforced with spirit powers were able to injure them.

In that one attack, dozens of Uruks were pierced in their vital areas by the arrows, instantly killing them while injuring dozens of others.

Again, these archers didn't immediately fire the second and third shots at once. They applied the same spirit skills on their arrows. Due to this, slowly, the Uruk crossbowmen stepped back and took cover behind the shields.

The red-skinned Uruk, who was standing at the very front, shouted angrily.

GROARRRR!!!

Instantly, the vanguard troops who wielded swords and the berserkers ran forward and charged at them. It only took less than 5 seconds for these Uruks to reach the vanguard of the Star Army's troops.

Still standing at the front, Sergei was excited yet again, but this time, he stepped back and entered the line of shields. If he previously believed that he would be able to withstand the attacks of the orcs, he didn't dare play against the attacks of these Uruks, who were twice as strong as those orcs.

Alex immediately gave his next signal, "Plant."

More than twenty fighters simultaneously raised their hands and muttered, "Vine Spikes."

And immediately after, a line of sharp branches and pikes appeared, blocking and restraining the movements of these Uruks. Some of these Uruks were stabbed to the point of falling in pain, while some others managed to break through the branch. Even so, they still had the fate of being hit by the spears from the fighters in the front line. Only a dozen Uruk berserkers weren't bothered and returned to attacking them.

Alex continued, "Earth." With that, Sergei and more than twenty troops used [Stone Skin] at once and they charged first. Following them, dozens of fighters wielding shields and spears attacked the Uruks, whose movements were restrained by the branches.

Seeing this, the red-skinned Uruk immediately shouted, and together with the remaining Uruk crossbowmen, they changed their weapons and joined in on the fight.

GRRAAAA!!!

Splat! Splat!

Finally, all the Uruks were gathered together in the middle of the battle. It was time for the final troops to act. The troops on the left and right wings were itching to join the battle.

"Lightning! Wind!" "Forward!!"

A dozen fighters on the left and a dozen on the right wielded sharp machetes and swords. 

"Wind Walk!" "Energize!" Those skills allowed them to quickly break through their initial speed. However, they did not attack directly. Instead, they circled the Uruks and attacked them from behind.

Although they were only a dozen, the high mobility and surprise attacks from behind caused these Uruks to fall into a state of confusion, making them unable to exert their strength to the maximum.

A fierce battle occurred between the two sides. It's apparent that the humans is on the winning side, but still, a few fighters would get injured, these fighters would immediately withdraw, assisted by the last group who was ready at the rear line. Eight fighters could be seen helping those who were injured to the best of their abilities.

"Soothing Mist." 

This was an advanced skill of the water spirit fighters. This skill was able to provide a feeling of refreshment and accelerate healing regeneration. Although its effects were not instantaneous, and it really took a lot of energy from its users, this skill could change the outcome of a war.

This Magi battle formation was a formation that Alex had prepared to briefly multiply these troops' fighting ability. Each troop was given a position and weapon according to the elements they had. Not only that, but they were also required to maximize a certain determined skill. Not to mention, it was also added up with their strength, which was at the peak of the Earth Realm, their compactness, as well as their battle experience. Those with spirit abilities could complement those who didn't.

The red-skinned Uruk in the middle then shouted a battle cry, and its prowess increased greatly. The fighters who were close to the red-skinned Uruk immediately retreated cautiously.

Alex immediately tapped the shoulder of the man next to him. "Arief, it's your turn now."

The man draws his giant sword, and ready to unleash its strength.