The gray fog of the Umbral Plane was rapidly thickening as the dimension fought to separate from the mortal world.
Lucifer halted the Grand Army a mile away from the exit portal. The thirteen million mortal soldiers stood in perfect formation on the invisible spatial highway.
A mile ahead, the Coalition survivors blocked the swirling purple rift.
It was a desperate, heavily fortified barricade made of shattered wagons, petrified Umbral wood, and interlocking steel tower shields.
Approximately fifty thousand elite Royal Guards and noble knights manned the wall.
They had aimed dozens of heavy siege ballistas directly down the highway, the massive bolts glowing with unstable evocation magic.
"They are dug in deep, Commander," High Ranger Celeste reported over the comms rune. She sat on her dire wolf at the front of the Vanguard, her scarred face tight.
