"Throw the smoke bombs!"
"Throw the smoke bombs!"
The war machines consisted of a wide-mouthed pipe raised from the ground on a tripod and a massive chamber behind it where the ammo was loaded. When the order came, the soldiers manning the contraptions threw the purple balls inside and fired.
"Fire the element balls!"
"Fire the element balls!"
Every command came with a roar, and the sound echoed across the giant square. The soldiers poured balls of every color into the wide chambers, and elemental attacks started spewing from the wide mouths. The area where the Holy Blood and Holy Bone Sects were located turned into a hellscape.
Visibility, which had decreased due to the thick smoke, dropped to almost zero because of the element lights bursting one after another. During the attack that lasted a hundred breaths, no one understood what was happening; it was just a massive visual feast.
"The weapons of the Empire of Machines are truly praiseworthy!"
"They cornered the enemy without even lifting a finger!"
While voices rose from the section where the Four Sects were, the Sheikhs had long faces. Watching the people who were guests show off on their own lands was leaving an unpleasant taste in their mouths.
As visibility cleared, attention turned to the enemies trapped in the former battlefield; their condition after the intense attack was a matter of curiosity. A milk-white wall greeted them; despite all the attacks, there wasn't a single blemish on it.
"Hueso, you've wandered underground for all those years, jumping from grave to grave, but I see you haven't lost your touch!"
"What were you expecting? That they'd get past my defense with three metal pipes and a couple of flares? It's my turn, let's see how they deal with my attack!"
While thousands of people were on high alert listening to the voices coming from behind the milk-white wall, the Four Representatives lunged forward, clasped their hands together, and shouted at the top of their lungs.
"Four Gem Shield, Active!"
Before the foursome's words ended, energy shields bearing the same color as the armors on them appeared in front of them, blending together to form a dam protecting them and their soldiers.
No one could figure out what they were doing, but a few breaths later, finger-length bone fragments slammed into the shield. They and their soldiers were prepared, but what about the others? The Mercenaries were here with a force of a thousand people in total; the remaining nine thousand disciples were brought by the Four Sects and the Hell Palace.
They were the unlucky ones. They were the ones who didn't know the Holy Bone Sect Leader would attack by detonating the bone-turned energy he used to block the attacks of the war machines. Close to a thousand disciples lost their lives in a single strike; the area of effect of the attack, which expanded as it advanced, was massive.
"Because I went into the grave, they said Hueso is dead, now let them say the king has returned!"
The chalk-skinned man's smile was a sight to behold; every single one of his remaining intact teeth could easily be seen. Even though the Mercenaries, who constantly fought with the Holy Bone, saved themselves, their allies had taken heavy damage.
"Atractivo, leave these mama's boys to me and my sect. We have a score to settle with them!"
Hueso was fired up; contrary to his appearance resembling a walking corpse, his words and energy were spreading terror.
"Have it your way old man, I wouldn't dream of breaking your heart!"
"Eyshan, I'm starting to get bored, will you get your ass up and come here, or should I come and put you over my knee?"
Taking the last sip, the handsome Sheikh threw the glass at the enemy and extended his right hand forward. When a sword coming from the void appeared in his hand, the Four Sheikhs lined up right across from him, in front of Eyshan.
"That's more like it, stop playing games and come. The time for the Holy Blood Sect to hold you accountable has begun!"
Atractivo swung the ordinary-looking sword at the enemy; along with the Four Sheikhs, the Four Representatives were on pins and needles, they hadn't lowered the shield they set up.
"You are not in my weight class. Call the bastards who want to attack my sect!"
The Holy Blood Sect Sheikh drew his weapon; a massive amount of blood energy spread across the area and came down on the enemy in giant waves.
After Hueso, Atractivo was also making his first attack; you didn't need to be a psychic to understand the Sheikhs were in a whole other league. This time the Four Sect Sheikhs were prepared; spreading their energies, they wanted to protect their disciples, but there was something they didn't know.
Atractivo swung his sword once more and cut the space in front of them; the blood energy was filling the cut formed. When the blood energy that disappeared right in front of the shields made of fire, ice, earth, and psychic energy reappeared dozens of steps away from them, there was nothing they could do.
The casualties were huge; half of the crowd of people brought to crush the Holy Blood Sect was perishing. Atractivo's target was the Four Sects; even so, the Mercenaries could now barely contain the energies.
"Let's call the Generals!"
"We can't handle this monster!"
"Send the signal!"
"Hurry up, the barrier won't hold!"
Secrecy took a back seat; everyone could hear what the representatives sweating in their shining armors were saying. While they were in this state, the real owners of the cause were under the captivity of anger; they couldn't help but retaliate against the two attacks.
"Ice River!"
"Fire Bees!"
"Stone Eagles!"
"Psychic Strike!"
Heaven and earth filled with energy; giant chunks of ice moving en masse, fire-breathing bees larger than human size, stone-form eagles swooping down from the sky, and a massive thrusting force increasing the speed of them all. The target of all these attacks was the two men who had just taken the lives of their disciples, and the warriors next to them.
"Bone Cage!"
The Holy Bone Sect Sheikh was the first to meet the attack; he swung his arms forward, and the bones shooting out from his palms surrounded the team. In a matter of seconds, marks of every color appeared on the milk-white bone; the intensity was at the highest level.
"Atractivo, the Bone Cage is going to break!"
"Blood Dome!"
Two breaths after the handsome Sheikh brought out the blood-red barrier, the attacks broke through the Bone Cage and reached him. The attack wasn't a one-off; the Four Sheikhs were continuing to channel their energies.
"Press the attack, when we get past this too, we'll finish the job!"
"Focus the attacks on a single point!"
The Holy Fire, Ice, Eye, and Earth front was trying to pierce the Blood Dome like poking it with a needle, and truth be told, this tactic was working.
"Hold on a little longer Atractivo, as soon as I gather my strength, I'll set up the Bone Cage again!"
Hueso was absorbing the bones scattered across the battlefield, but no matter how fast he was, it was obvious he wouldn't make it in time.
"No need!"
Jashua stepped forward, coming to the edge of the Blood Dome in three large strides, and placed his hand on it. At that moment the shield began to vibrate; the vibrations were so intense that it was impossible not to hear the sound.
"Holy Bone Sect Sheikh conserve your strength, the Blood Dome will not be pierced!"
As the shadow of the scythe extending over his head fell on his face, Jashua was confident, and his gaze helped the others relax too.
"Our energies are dissipating!"
"What is happening, what kind of technique is this?"
"Dracul!"
"Who is Dracul?"
The Four Sheikhs were bewildered as they watched their energies dissipate the moment they touched the Blood Dome; they couldn't even hear what was coming out of their mouths.
"The founder and First Sheikh of the Holy Blood Sect, the man who looked down on everyone in the Hell Realm!"
The answer to the question came from the Representative in Golden Armor; he knew the history of the place they fought day and night very well.
"If it's his technique, we're finished!"
"Calm down, even if the technique is his, the one applying it is a young boy. Do you think he can produce the same effect?"
Jashua's move changed the balance on the battlefield once again. One side was establishing superiority over the other in both defense and attack.
"My Queen, hasn't the time come?"
Fuego abandoned the attack and ran to Eyshan's side.
"Not yet, we can't call them that easily!"
The Queen of Hell, gripping the majestic armrests of her throne tightly, stood up and walked towards the front lines for the first time.