Chapter 1048 Clearing the Darkness and Turning the Tides

...

A few moments ago outside the Night Lord's Crypt...

The tides of battle quickly turned in favor of the skounae as the allied forces became engulfed in darkness.

The darkness conjured by the Antumbra of Darkness, Night Lord Xenthula devoured all sources of light that dwelled inside the dome's vicinity.

Every time someone attempted to use light magic or talismans that released light, a mysterious force immediately moved to suppress it and smothered it in darkness.

The emergence of this unique darkness empowered the skounae while simultaneously placing an unbelievable amount of pressure on the allied forces.

At the moment, the center forces under the direct command of General Solomon were still holding on. This was mostly due to their timely reaction when the darkness first emerged.

Upon seeing that darkness, Solomon immediately gave the signal for all of the allied forces to tighten their formations.

Since the center forces were mostly made up of those who initially served under Solomon, they moved with haste as they disengaged from their fights and followed the General's orders.

Unfortunately, the left and right wings were unable to move with the same level of speed and efficiency. As a result, the left wing being led by the aggressive Rosentarus Ten Beast Guardian Argousa found themselves on the back foot.

As for the allied forces' right wing under the Herald of the Surging Tides Lena Oras, while their situation was not as stable as the center forces led by General Solomon, they remained much better off than the right wing.

Unlike Argousa who preferred to confront everything head-on, Lena retained a more cautious nature and often switched between offensive and defensive tactics based on the overall state of the battlefield.

Nevertheless, the situation on the battlefield for the allied forces was quickly beginning to unravel before their eyes. If things continued on their current path, it would only be a matter of time before they were completely overwhelmed by the skounae forces.

"The powerful mana that emerged in the sky and this darkness that devours all light... Without a doubt, it must be the doing of the Antumbra of Darkness. The High General will have his hands full suppressing the Night Lord and it's not time for that person to make her move yet. We'll have to rely on ourselves to vanquish this cursed darkness. If we allow it to persist, it will only be a matter of time until our forces fall to shambles." Solomon pondered silently.

A small purple orb appeared in Solomon's hand before he crushed it in his palm. The next moment, a humanoid silhouette formed in front of the General, accompanied by a playful and charming giggle with an alluring tone.

"How I've missed you, Solomon~" A sweet and enchanting voice sounded as the General found a pair of arms wrapped around his neck in a loving fashion.

Solomon seemed unbothered by the abrupt contact. That's because he had already grown accustomed to the way this individual behaved every time he called them forth.

"Celebrexa, I need you to extinguish this darkness," Solomon stated in a straightforward manner.

"Right to business as always, I see. How cold, Solomon~" Celebrexa pouted as she lightly puffed her cheeks to display her devilish frustration.

"The circumstances are rather dire. The price?" Solomon inquired as he brushed aside Celebrexa's mischievous nature.

"Hmmm~ This darkness is abnormal. For your request, I'll need seven." Celebrexa said as she licked her lips with a playful grin.

"Take it," Solomon replied without hesitation.

"Then, excuse me~," Celebrexa said as she stabbed her hand through Solomon's chest.

A stream of white energy rushed out of Solomon and flowed into Celebrexa as a look of euphoria formed on her face.

A few seconds later, the flow of energy was cut off as Celebrexa released a light sigh of satisfaction.

"Thank you for the delicious meal~," Celebrexa said as she casually snapped her fingers.

Soooooou!

An immense wave of unknown energy was sent out in every direction before slamming into the dome of darkness.

Craaaack! Shatter!

In a flash, the dome of darkness was obliterated as light returned to the battlefield.

"Gaaaah!" Many of the skounae who were abruptly exposed to the light after being completely submerged in darkness cried out in distress.

The sudden collapse of the dome of darkness was akin to an intense flash of light that momentarily blinded the skounae.

Seeing this, the allied forces wasted no time taking advantage of the skounaes state of confusion and releasing their pent-up anger.

From the time the dome of darkness materialized to when it fell, the allied forces lost roughly fifteen percent of their troops as they were practically left to the mercy of the skounae. Additionally, numerous Divisions and Squadrons were in tatters as they had to group up with others in order to compensate for their losses.

But, the allied forces did not shriek back in the face of their losses. Instead, they pushed forward with unbelievable momentum and swiftly regained the ground they conceded to the skounae.

"Charge! Avenge our fallen comrades! For every life they've taken, we will claim ten—no a hundred!" Argousa roared as he pushed the left wing forward while smashing through the skounae in his path.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

With every step Argousa took, the earth beneath his feet shattered.

"HAAAAAAA!" Argousa unleashed a terrifying battle cry as the earth fragmented by his steps started to break off and form an earth-like armor on his body.

Suddenly, in every place that Argousa passed by, the skounae were drawn in by an irresistible force as their bodies slammed into the earth-like armor that encompassed the Rosentarus Ten Beast Guardian.

It went on this way until a huge sphere of hundreds of skounae was caught within the inescapable force that surrounded Argousa.

Argousa jumped tens of meters into the sky as the earth-like armor broke off his body before slamming itself together underneath him.

Argousa clenched his fist tightly as the muscles on his right arm bulged and expanded severalfold.

"Striking Heavy Judgment!" Argousa roared as he punched the earth-like armor and sent it tumbling down to the earth.

As he did so, the hundreds of skounaes drawn to the armor followed along its path to the earth!

...BOOOOOOOM!

A large explosion erupted on the left wing of the battlefield as the earth-like armor collided with the ground and released an explosive wave of destruction that left behind a sizable crater.

"LEAVE NO ONE ALIVE!" Argousa howled as he plunged from the sky.

Meanwhile, on the right side of the battlefield, Lena also chose to shift to an offensive focus.

"Sacred Colossus Tidal Wave!" Lena chanted as she pointed two fingers towards the sky.

OOOOOO-AAAAAAAA!

The cry of a blue whale echoed throughout the right side of the battlefield as a colossal sea beast made purely of the water element cast a giant shadow.

The colossal sea beast spanned approximately one hundred meters and bore a close resemblance to a blue whale. However, the creature had three horns growing from its head and two extra sets of flippers attached to its sides.

SPLASH!

The colossal beast formed from the water element crashed into the crowd of skounae located on the right wing. However, the skounae who were fortunate enough not to perish from the initial impact had no moment to rest.

Upon crashing to the earth, the colossal sea beast's body dispersed and transformed into a huge tidal wave.

The tidal wave viciously swept away a large portion of the skounae forces on the right wing and threw them into a state of disorder.

In the blink of an eye, the left wing and right wing were able to regain their footing and even push forward deeper toward the Night Lord's Crypt.

As for the center forces under Solomon's command, they also made sure to take full advantage of the skounaes moment of weakness.

With Commander Aurie and Commander Ezra leading their own Units on the side, the center allied forces quickly overtook the skounae and finally managed to reach the entrance to the Night Lord's Crypt.

However, just as they were about to charge forth into the Night Lord's Crypt, something bizarre happened.

Shrieeeeeeeeek!

A terrifying sound that paralyzed the center forces spread throughout the battlefield and halted their advance into the Night Lord's Crypt. But, it was not just the center forces who dealt with this abrupt noise that stopped their movement.

The left wing and right wing were also caught off guard by its sudden emergence.

At the same time, in front of the entrance to the Night Lord's Crypt, a mysterious figure shrouded in darkness rose from the shadows.

The mysterious figure was completely formless and gave off a sinister energy that immediately drew the attention of Solomon, Aurie, and Ezra.

"General, that aura..." Aurie said with a troubled expression as she furrowed her brows.

"Yes, it would seem that the worst we've feared has come to pass," Solomon stated with a cold gaze.