The Innkeeper

"Gerard, pass my orders. During this next wave, all able soldiers will go out to attack and finish off the wave as quickly as possible. After that, everyone will retreat. The wave after that will be fought from the fort's walls."

"Any particular reason?" Gerard asked, though he immediately dispatched several messengers to convey the message.

"One complete day on this planet is around 30 hours, give or take. We have been fighting for 29 hours already, and I have a feeling that the wave that comes at one full day will be unordinary. We cannot afford to act half heartedly. Besides, the offensive formation that the elves are setting up should almost be complete as well. It's weak, but some support is still better than no support."

By now they only had around 2900 soldiers who could go out and battle, despite the fact that in most fights the Midnight battalion took the brunt of each wave. The battalion itself was still surviving, and had not suffered any real injuries, though spirit energy exhaustion and physical fatigue were becoming an issue.

To combat the situation, Luthor had the elves also start working on a spirit energy gathering formation. Unfortunately, that would take some time to build. They were slowly approaching a state where even if they were uninjured, they wouldn't be able to fight.

Of course for now that was still far away, but considering the fact that nothing had changed for nearly 30 hours, it was a very real possibility they had to consider. Luthor was merely waiting for 1000 to return and give his report before he made any decision. After all, making a decision without having the relevant information could end them up in a worse position. After all, no matter how bad their current state was, at least they had walls and some formations to protect them.

He watched silently as the effects of his orders took place, and more troops marched out from the fort and rushed towards the fight in the distance. The situation on each side was, more or less, the same. If one side suffered a little more than the others then they would immediately compensate by sending in a few, highly effective combatants.

One good example was Z. Although without the ability to manipulate space or his speakers he was severely weakened, compared to the rest he was still an absolute powerhouse. With the caliber of enemies they were facing now he did not need to strike an enemy twice, for his first one would be enough to kill.

There were a few other notable characters within the battalion who could perform this task as well.

With many contingency plans prepared, Luthor watched as the battle unfolded. It was brutally bloody, and drained the soldiers more than usual, but they were able to finish the fight within 10 minutes before they quickly retreated back to the fort.

Luthor watches evenly, his expression unchanging. He did not care if his orders caused everyone to feel a little more fatigued. Who in the camp was more tired than Pamela, who had been healing everyone nonstop? If she could deal with it, so could they.

"There's no time to rest. Everyone, assume your positions on the fort walls. If we face a regular wave then we can test the durability and lethality of our walls and formations. If not then we have to use all of our strength from the very beginning to avoid the situation becoming progressively worse."

By now, no one questioned Luthor. His prestige had reached an all time high, not just because of his excellent leadership, but also because of his individual strength. The man was a walking volcano, and one that could hold a grudge at that. No one dared to get on his bad side.

Soldiers shuffled into their positions, trying to take every moment of rest they could. Normally such a hopeless situation would have drained them mentally, but no one had had the time to think for even a second. They were too preoccupied with staying alive to think, so they also hadn't had the time to wallow in despair.

Even now, as the minutes ticked by, each and every one of them used their various techniques to replenish their strength and energy. Depression and despair were luxuries they did not have time for.

Everyone was focused on their own tasks, so no one noticed when a few thin scratches appeared on the wall in front of Luthor, immediately attracting his attention. Luthor held out his hand and he felt a small weight deposited in his palm. It took a few seconds before a small crystal became visible.

This was a crystal used to record valuable information, and was often used to transmit techniques. The fact that 1000 used it now either meant that he had only just procured it in his latest outing, or that he had collected too much information and it was inconvenient to convey it through simple writing.

"Good job," Luthor murmured softly before channeling his own energy within. Immediately a stream of information flowed into his mind, startling even the steadfast battalion leader!

Anger flashed in his eyes when he finally absorbed all the information. This was not just an attack on them, but an attack on the Midnight Inn!

He immediately pulled out the Innkeepers business card, but before he could use it a spatial wave crashed into the formation around the fort. Then, there was another, and finally a third. Although the formation survived the waves, barely so, the space outside the fort did not. A massive horizontal tear spread in front of the wave, revealing a black void behind it.

Cracks formed in the air around the entire fort as the space around the entire planet became vulnerable, threatening to break due to the newly developed tear.

Z, who was standing on the fort, suddenly looked up, not at the tear but at a specific crack. He could feel something… a connection of sorts.

But the luxury of observing did not last long as a single, massive creature seemed to slither out of the Void. Its strength was far beyond and of the previous Void Dwellers, and most definitely beyond what the space here could withstand.

This was no longer a draining tactic. If the creature was not killed immediately, the Void would envelop them all, and then the survival of even the Battalion was at risk!