Chapter 396: The Protagonist and His Fanatical Patroness is Here

Staring at the approaching horde, Ruvian hardly believed what he was seeing.

The Voidspawns had been marching relentlessly across the wasteland a moment ago, but now, the entire horde had come to a complete... halt?

Why would they do that?

Ruvian narrowed his eyes.

He saw the Black Knight had raised one of its armored hands above its head. So he assumed it was because of his doing.

But...

’What exactly is he planning?’

All around him, the surviving soldiers were growing apprehended as well.

Even Lord Evrard and Commander Fajarn, who had been preparing themselves for the Black Knight’s arrival, seemed unsure what to make of this unexpected development.

"Why have they stopped?" Captain Zarrick muttered, his eyes fixed on the distant enemy.

Neither of the men beside him answered.

In the distance, the Black Knight lowered its hand before making another deliberate gesture.

At the gesture, several Voidspawns began moving out from the densely packed horde, pushing their way through the surrounding monsters until they reached the foremost ranks.

Unlike the lesser Voidspawns during the first wave, these creatures possessed grotesquely swollen torsos, their misshapen bodies visibly pulsating with dark mana.

One after another, the creatures tilted their heads upward and opened their hideously deformed maws.

’Huh?’

Ruvian frowned.

At first, he had assumed the Black Knight was merely rearranging its forces in preparation for another charge.

But the way these particular monsters were positioning themselves suggested something else entirely.

As the Black Knight continued issuing its silent commands, more of those grotesque creatures emerged from the horde, forming several additional rows behind the first group.

Before long, hundreds of them had taken up positions across the plains, all facing toward the fortress.

’Wait a minute... don’t tell me—!’

Ruvian’s expression changed.

Those monsters weren’t preparing to charge at all.

’Damn it! They’re going to bombard us!’

Immediately, Ruvian turned toward the defensive formation, where Lord Evrard and Commander Fajarn were still observing the enemy’s movements.

Neither of them seemed to have realized the danger yet.

Which was understandable, considering their limited familiarity with dark mana, but that only made it more urgent for him to warn them.

Ruvian channeled mana into his voice and shouted at the top of his lungs.

"LORD EVRARD! COMMANDER FAJARN!"

His voice thundered across the battlefield, drawing the attention of both commanders.

"THEY’RE PREPARING A COORDINATED LONG-RANGE ATTACK! GET EVERYONE BEHIND THE DEFENSES AND RAISE THE BARRIERS! NOW!"

Right after his warning, an ominous violet glow began spreading across the enemy’s formation.

The dark mana accumulating within the Voidspawns’ gaping maws was growing denser!

Fortunately, Lord Evrard had already considered the possibility of such an attack.

"ACTIVATE THE DEFENSIVE ARRAY!"

At the array’s control points, the soldiers responsible for maintaining the defensive formation began activating the barrier.

Before the translucent dome could fully materialize, the Voidspawns unleashed their first volley.

Hundreds of concentrated dark mana projectiles erupted from their gaping maws, streaking across the night sky toward Frostgrave.

Despite the sudden bombardment, the soldiers managed to complete its activation just moments before the first projectiles reached the fortress.

BOOOOOOM!

A tremendous explosion shook the battlefield as the barrage slammed into the translucent dome.

For a moment, the entire fortress was illuminated by violent flashes of violet light.

The barrier held.

But only barely.

Because the array had been activated in such haste, the soldiers hadn’t been able to restore it to full capacity.

Several sections remained considerably weaker than the others, and under the relentless bombardment, those weaknesses quickly began to show.

CRACK!

Fractures spread across the barrier.

Several dark mana projectiles broke through the fractures. Fortunately, Calyra was already prepared to intervene.

[Magic Barrier]

Swiftly swinging her staff, Calyra conjured a protective shield above the soldiers, intercepting several of the incoming projectiles before they could reach the ground.

The other Frostgrave magus quickly followed her example, casting their own [Magic Barrier] spells to reinforce the weakened defenses.

Thanks to their combined efforts, the remaining projectiles were successfully intercepted before they could inflict any serious damage.

For the time being, at least, they had managed to survive the bombardment. But the enemy had no intention of allowing them to recover.

While the long-ranged Voidspawns began gathering dark mana for another volley, the rest of the horde resumed its advance.

And this time, they were moving with a purpose — more coordinated!

Something that had been almost entirely absent during the first wave.

’Damn it...’

He gritted his teeth.

The Black Knight was proving to be far more troublesome than he had anticipated.

With the frontline Voidspawns keeping their soldiers occupied, there would be little opportunity for anyone to deal with the ranged attackers. And if the bombardment continued, the defensive array would eventually reach its limit.

Worse still, the barrier hadn’t even recovered from the first volley.

’If this continues... Frostgrave might fall before the second wave even ends.’

Ruvian desperately searched for some way to disrupt the enemy’s formation, but no matter how he looked at it, the situation was becoming increasingly unfavorable.

’Seriously, how the hell are we supposed to—’

Just as Ruvian was struggling to come up with a solution, something unusual caught his attention.

Far above the distant horde, several streaks of golden light had appeared against the darkened sky.

’Huh?’

He instinctively looked up.

The lights were little more than faint golden streaks, then they rapidly grew brighter as they descended, illuminating the surrounding clouds with their brilliant radiance.

Within seconds, they had become so bright that even the soldiers below began noticing them.

"Hey, what’s that?"

"Something’s coming from the sky!"

Several soldiers pointed upward.

Ruvian stared at the descending lights, his confusion growing as he realized just how quickly they were approaching the battlefield.

They looked almost like shooting stars that were heading straight toward the long-ranged Voidspawns.

Except they were.

BOOOOOOM! BOOOOOOM!

A series of thunderous explosions erupted across the enemy’s rear formation.

The impacts obliterated an entire cluster of Voidspawns, leaving behind an enormous crater where they had been standing only moments earlier.

One after another, the golden projectiles rained down upon the horde, tearing through the ranks of long-ranged Voidspawns and sending violent shockwaves rippling across the plains.

The monsters had no time to react.

Those caught directly beneath the descending lights were annihilated almost instantly, while many of the others were either torn apart by the explosions or hurled helplessly through the air.

By the time the bombardment finally ceased, a substantial portion of the enemy’s long-ranged forces had been wiped out.

For several seconds, nobody seemed capable of comprehending what had just happened.

"What the hell was that?!"

"Where did those attacks come from!?"

"Did someone just... wipe them all out?"

The soldiers could only stare at the devastation. The sudden destruction of so many Voidspawns was almost too good to be true.

Even Lord Evrard and his commanders appeared stunned.

However, as Ruvian was focused on the incoming Voidspawns, another brilliant golden light appeared above the battlefield.

Only this time, it wasn’t a shower of projectiles.

It was a single, colossal arc of golden radiance.

And before anyone could make sense of what they were seeing, it came crashing down upon the advancing horde.

BOOOOOOOOOOM!

The ground shook violently.

A tremendous fissure tore across the wasteland as the golden arc cleaved through the advancing Voidspawns.

The monsters nearest to the impact didn’t even have the chance to scream before their bodies were completely obliterated.

In a single stroke, nearly half of the advancing frontline had been annihilated.

The impact sent an enormous cloud of dust and debris surging into the air, quickly spreading across the ravaged plains until the entire frontline disappeared beneath a thick, swirling haze.

Yet, despite the thick cloud of dust obscuring the battlefield, everyone could still make out something within it.

There were two lights.

Two extraordinarily brilliant golden lights, shining from somewhere near the center of the devastation.

And as the cloud slowly began to disperse, the faint outlines of two figures could be seen standing within.

Ruvian stared at them for a moment.

Then, as though finally understanding what had just happened, he let out a rather awkward chuckle.

Noticing his peculiar reaction, Calyra turned toward him with a questioning gaze.

However, rather than explaining himself, Ruvian shook his head and said:

"Haaa... seriously. Why does every damn protagonist have to make such a dramatic entrance?"

Calyra looked at him, evidently not understanding what he meant.

But Ruvian didn’t bother elaborating.

His attention had already returned to the battlefield, where the thick cloud of dust was finally beginning to settle.

And there, standing amidst the enormous trench left behind by that devastating attack, were the two figures responsible for turning the entire situation around.

One of them was a young man, his figure still surrounded by a faint golden radiance.

Ruvian recognized him immediately.

It was none other than Zian Herga.

He had finally arrived.

And standing beside him, looking just as imposing, was none other than...

His Fanatical Patroness, Lovia Von Saintinac.

[You have received +5,000 Plot Points!]

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[Chapter 396: The Protagonist and His Fanatical Patroness is Here]

Plot Points = 238,200