Dealing with the two ascended had managed to break the will of our enemy. Within minutes, the Drakkan assault lost coherence, with the infantry legion, riddled by shrapnel and constant bombardment, losing their unity to retreat.
Chants of victory rose from our forces as our mechanized infantry chased them, preventing them from gathering together.
Until I sent several mana attacks in their path, forcing them to stop. "Pull back to your positions, and be ready for another attack," I shouted.
Chasing them to keep finish them off was tempting, but too risky. The troop carriers had been game changers, but without the constant artillery support, they lacked the advantage against the legion.
Who knows if they had more forces with them.
"Maybe we should have mopped them?" Rosie asked.
"Tempting, but I don't want to stretch our forces. Not with the dungeon still being attacked. We can't afford to overextend ourselves."
"True," she admitted as I opened a gate. "Are you going back to the dungeon?" she asked.
"No, you're going," I countered. "I need to stay here to keep an eye on things, and in case of a change, having you in the dungeon is the best option."
"Fine, but send Jessica down. I'll need her abilities as well."
I nodded, and she disappeared. I moved forward, ignoring the carnage around me as I moved toward the defensive bulwark, the enemy lines desperately retreating in the distance.
The horn blasts rose repeatedly, asking our forces to regroup. I didn't need Wisdom to see the disappointment in our soldiers, desiring to follow the enemy and finish them once and for all.
"Sir," Harold greeted me halfway. "Orders?"
"I need a full report on our situation. Our casualties, supply situation, everything."
"It'll be done, sir," Harold said before he called several of his officers and gave orders. But, when he returned, he had a sad expression on his face. "Our losses are surprisingly light, sir. Merely around two hundred," he said. I would have gotten angry at his words, but I could feel the pain of his loss.
I didn't blame him. Even one loss in this pointless battle was too many. Let alone two hundred.
Even more, from an intellectual perspective, he was completely right. We faced an army that outclassed us in many ways. Keeping the losses in low three-digits had been incredible, especially with the pincer attack from the dungeon.
"Bring Jessica to me as well," I said before Harold left to organize things. I returned to the walls, using the spyglass to observe the area. Around me, soldiers cheered, celebrating our victory, our losses were temporarily forgotten.
What followed was an extended drudgery, filled with talks, speeches, a celebration, and a funeral. I stayed with them, delivering several speeches, aware that I needed to be seen. The only exception was when I escorted Jessica to the dungeon, which also allowed me to examine it, which, except for the existence of several new entrances on the fifth floor, worked perfectly.
"… And, this will be just another victory in our long path to freedom!" I shouted, finishing another speech as dusk arrived. Another cheer broke out along our ramparts, though many of them were too exhausted to celebrate raucously. A few defenders slumped against the walls, while smiths were working hard to check and modify damaged equipment.
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The loss of resources, while lacking the emotional impact, was just as critical. Our reserves of special ammunition had been depleted completely, and even ordinary shells had been low enough to be critical. The current steam armored carriers had several problems due to overuse and battle damage. The forts, including the cannons and the walls, survived intact, but without ammo, things wouldn't have been as smooth.
Once I managed to extract myself from the situation, I found Harold. He exhaled, lowering his own tension-filled stance. "That's two times we've repelled them. Let's hope they take the hint and stay away."
I took a deep breath. "I wish that as well, but it'll be temporary. A week, maybe a month, then someone else will try us. Unless we find even more ways to keep them away."
"You're going back to the dungeon, then?"
"I have to. We'll need new tricks. " My eyes drifted back toward the horizon. Drakka was gone, but I knew better than to assume peace. Especially with the dungeon still representing a threat. "You have the command," I said. He nodded, and I opened a gate, directly to the fifth floor.
Only to see the defenses manned by a skeleton crew. "What's going on?" I asked. "Where's the rest?"
"They went through the breach, sir," one of them answered.
"Rosie and Logan?" I asked.
"Terry, Jessica, and two-thirds of our team," he responded.
I hid a frown. "Good. Explain to me exactly what happened when I was away," I said, listening to a lengthy report in the process. I didn't want to get angry even though I found it reckless. I repeatedly promised my students the freedom to act, and blaming them for a decision I didn't agree with would be the height of hypocrisy.
I listened as they explained the whole process, which started with Rosie stepping through the breach on her own to scout for a while, emboldened by the lack of boss monsters attacking. I understood her rationale, as heretics likely expanded most of their forces sending that pseudo-ascended, which, combined with her stealth capabilities, reduced the risk to an acceptable degree.
According to the soldiers, only after scouting for an hour, she had brought Jessica with her, soon followed by Logan, Terry, and most of the elites stationed at the breach, who reported the situation every half an hour.
Overall, it was a solid strategic approach, but a part of me was still annoyed. I wished that I could have been the first one to breach, but that was out of the question, as we had no idea how it would play with my dungeon connection.
My thoughts churned with the knowledge that my students could die there, conflicting with the idea that they could handle threats of a dungeon, manned by weakened heretical forces.
And, I could feel it working. After spending weeks there, I was familiar with the balance of energy between two dungeons. For the most of time, the fire dungeon had been the dominant one, trying to invade our dungeon with its dungeon mist, only to be rebuffed by the trees.
This time, it was completely reversed. The decay mist was flowing into the breach freely, enough to affect the process. Even the constant flow of lizards had ceased; and not just in the original breach.
Clearly, Rosie and the rest were making a difference.
"We have managed to hold our ground, sir," the soldier said once he finished his explanation. F%ind% the t^ra$nsl*atio%n on M%V&&*LEM+P#YR@.
"Yes, you all did. I'm proud of you," I replied. "Together, we won," I said nothing else, ignoring the stench of reptilian blood and decay as I waited.
Soon, Logan appeared at the breach. "Everything is going as expected —" he started, only to change his expression when he saw me. "Sir, we have succeeded."
"Congratulations," I replied. "Anything interesting?"
"Not particularly, sir," he replied, seemingly annoyed. "Whatever they have done probably depleted their reserves completely. There were only a few heretics and boss monsters, and they have all been dealt with easily. We even managed to block the dungeon gates with mist-repellent trees."
I bit my tongue, keeping myself from admonishing their recklessness. It would be unfair. "You made me proud, Logan," I said instead.
He avoided my gaze shyly. "It was nothing, sir. I have heard what happened on the surface. Our task was much easier."
"But just as critical," I replied. "Things would have been much more different if I couldn't have trusted you to hold the breach. We might have even lost the battle."
"You're just saying that, sir," he said.
"No. It took Rosie and my combined effort to deal with the enemy commander. If I had to stay here, or something interfered with my mana supply, we might have lost the battle instead. Be proud," I said.
"Thank you, sir," he said. "May I leave?"
"Yes, but make sure to report to me every fifteen minutes."
He nodded. Once he disappeared, I made a quick trip to bring the forge to the breach, and started forging Radiant Flame ammunition to replenish our stocks, which was the most critical part of our resources, only interrupted by several repetitive reports.
But, the monotony was broken by a flicker. Something was wrong with my dungeon connection.
No, not wrong, I corrected myself.
I could feel the presence of another floor.