Ella didn't stop running and dodging. She didn't have the leisure to take it easy because the crocodiles were hell-bent on taking William out first. Even the Millennial Beast had shot high-powered water beams in their direction.

Walls of Ice surrounded the riverside as William did his best to capture their attention. Naturally, he didn't just defend. He also attacked as well.

-----

William was lucky that the crocodiles were still soaked with water. The Ice magic froze them all and the adults shattered them to pieces. Although they were resistant to Physical Damage, it was very different when they were frozen. With a swing of his hammer, Barbatos shattered all of these frozen crocodiles to pieces.

'Even though their numbers are less than a thousand, they are still a pain to kill,' William thought as Ella narrowly avoided another high-speed waterball. 'My Mana is almost exhausted. I alone can't turn the tide of battle.'

Most of his mana were used to cast Ice Wall in order to mitigate the tens of concentrated attacks that Ella couldn't evade. He already stopped casting offensive spells and focused on defending. His Mana Regeneration couldn't keep up with the high-intensity battle and he had almost been wrung dry.

The Millennial Beast, Golden-Scaled Crocodile, had already stepped on land. It raised its snout to roar and a crippling fear made William and Ella shudder.

'Fck!' William cursed. 'When did a crocodile become a dragon?!'

What William didn't know was that Dark-Scaled Crocodiles were descendants of lower dragons. Although the Dragon Blood inside their body was very thin, those who reached the ranks of a Millennial Beast would be able to awaken the ancient blood that was dormant inside their bodies.

A Golden-Scaled Crocodile at the Millennial Beast Stage could evolve into a Flood Dragon.

"Meeeeeeh…" Ella struggled as she barely dodged a water ball that passed their side by mere inches.

"Mama Ella, let's retreat," William ordered. "We can't hold on any longer. Staying here would only bring us death."

"Meeeeh!"

Ella agreed with William so she immediately ran towards the town of Lont. They had already done their best. The adults were also slowly retreating. Barbatos was blasted off the ground when he blocked the attack of the Golden-Scaled Crocodile that was aimed at William's back.

"Mr. Barbatos!" William shouted as he steered Ella to assist the fallen blacksmith.

"I'm fine!" Barbatos roared. "Don't come near me or both of us will become sitting ducks!"

William gritted his teeth as Ella stopped in her tracks. They could only watch as Barbatos gingerly stood up from the ground while holding the hammer with shaking hands.

"Don't worry," Barbatos said with a serious expression. "The only time I'll die in this situation is when that Golden-Scaled Crocodile decides to fight me at close range. Its weak long range attack is not enough to make me kick the bucket."

"Mr. Barbatos, is there any hope to win?" William asked. "If this goes on, Lont will be overrun."

Barbatos didn't answer him right away. The number of mages inside Lont could be counted with two hands. Half of those mages were currently with James, while the other half were probably on their way.

"If Celine were here, there might be a way," Barbatos answered. "However, it seems that she is not aware that we are currently under attack."

"Master?" William was genuinely shocked by Barbatos' revelation. "Master is currently doing an experiment right now. This might be why she is not aware of our current dilemma."

Barbatos looked at William with understanding. 'So that's the reason why Celine isn't here yet. We may still have a chance to turn the tables!'

The Blacksmith of Lont took out a silver spear from his storage ring and stabbed it in the ground.

"Iron Fortress!" Barbatos shouted.

Immediately, A ten-meter tall wall filled with sharp spikes extended in front of him. It surrounded the West Gate of Lont and became a protective barrier.

"This barrier will not hold on for long," Barbatos explained. "William, please, drag Celine from her laboratory. Tell her it's an emergency that concerns the life and death of Lont. Please, hurry!"

William nodded his head and urged his Mama Ella to run as fast as she could. Their destination was the house of the Dark Sorceress on the outskirts of Lont.

It took William five minutes to arrive at the house. He immediately dismounted and knocked on the door repeatedly to announce his arrival.

"Master! Master! It's William!" William shouted. "It's an emergency! We need your help! Master! Please! Help us!"

"What's with all the shouting?!" an irritated voice replied. "I'm almost done with my experiment. Come back after an hour!"

"Master, an hour from now, Lont will already be in ruins!" William screamed as he continued to knock on the door. "We need your help now! A horde of Dark-Scaled Crocodiles are attacking Lont. It is led by a Golden-Scaled Crocodile that can use Dragon's Fear!"

No reply came, but William didn't stop knocking on the door. He kept on hawking and yelling, while pounding the door with his fists.

The door abruptly opened and a disgruntled Celine appeared in front of William. Her hair was in disarray, and dark stains could be seen in her dress. Clearly, she wasn't joking when she said that she was still doing her experiment.

"If I find out that you're lying, I'm going to castrate you~" Celine said with a smile, but her eyes were screaming murder.

William nodded his head like a hen pecking rice. "If I'm joking, Master can make me her slave for a year. I won't resist even if you use me in your experiments!"

"That is the least you can do for interrupting my experiment," Celine snorted. "So, what's the current situation?"

"Master, it's--"

Before William could even start his explanation, a strong explosion reached their ears. It was followed by a strong shockwave that pushed William towards the wall of Celine's house.

Celine's hair danced as her sight locked on several giant serpent heads in the distance, that were conjured by water magic.

"It seems that you are not joking," Celine said with a serious expression.

The Dark Sorceress transformed into a dark beam of light and flew towards the sky where the Serpent Heads were located.

William did his best to stand up despite the shaking of his legs.

"Meeeeeh."

"Thank you, Mama."

William leaned on Ella's body as she helped him mount her back. Five minutes later, they returned to the West Gate to check the current state of the battlefield.