Reinforcements in the form of Avalanche and Fortress Alpha were racing over, but Aziz didn’t quite know when they would get there. However, with the faltering troops, the least he could do was to make sure that the reinforcements weren’t going to arrive at an overrun defence line and a slaughtered army.

By now, the marshal was definitely aware that the Assembly and the East’s infantry had been routed from sheer fear alone. The fact that she hadn’t redirected fire to clear out the enemy ground troops could only mean that the demon fliers were already too close to Foxtrot for them to spare any support.

Between the retreating infantry and the defence line, the latter was more important, but Aziz also knew that preserving as many people as possible was crucial.

A battle cry escaped his lips as Aziz activated the Palisades on him, before tossing out whatever explosive artefacts he had on hand. Alpha Company, who was fanning out to block off as many demons as possible, did the same, and within seconds, thousands of small explosions had rippled through the demon horde.

It was an incredibly good exchange rate, if numbers were the only factor, but Aziz couldn’t help but feel some despair at how insignificant their efforts were. The demons that fell were swiftly overrun by those that followed, their bodies crushed and grounded into mushy pulp.

Unsheathing his sword, Aziz plunged into the shaken lines. A minor quake seemed to sweep through the horde as the others followed suit, and within moments, the sounds of parting flesh and monstrous roars were the only things Aziz could hear.

The demons here were unarmed, weapon-less, as if they were some kind of unfunded disposable troop tossed out to their deaths. Aziz had noticed something similar when it came to the demon fliers, who were woefully underequipped.

Slashing through a demon that was charging straight for him, Aziz jolted as a demon to his right tried to punch him, only to be stopped by the Palisade on that side. Returning the favour with a blinding slash, the colonel sliced through another five demons, before a small wave of enemies literally swamped him from the back.

“Small fry!” An utterly arrogant utterance left his lips, and the Arts he’d engraved on his body activated. Air gathered into a knife-sharp whip, and the demons around him fell apart as his Air Whip sliced their fragile bodies into two.

A faint exhaustion ate away at him as the manifestation vanished, but the colonel had managed to clear away every single living demon within ten metres. Up close, the bodies of the fallen demons were now proving to be an impediment to their alive comrades, especially since Aziz could fly.

That realisation, apparently, was not lost on the other members of Alpha Company, and the colonel’s lips twitched as he saw the others also hover a few metres away from the ground.

Somehow, Alpha Company had managed to hold back the demon horde. When he thought about in-depth, however, it did make some sense. Every enemy here was the equivalent of a Soldier, a Soldier without any equipment or defences.

The only thing they had right now was numbers. And, well, the fact that most of them were falling over each other to kill the people of the Five Lands.

If not for the fact that Thunderbolt had lots of Palisades and a Dynamo…

Abruptly, balls of light bloomed among the endless expanse of demons, tens and hundreds of them, drowning out the huge army that was occupying the vast landbridge that linked the Wildlands to the Five Lands. Gales battered at him as explosions continued to rock the demon horde, and as Aziz retreated to a safe distance, he looked up, just in time to see similar attacks engulf the demon fliers.

The sight of miniature suns lighting up the battlefield could only mean one thing.

Reinforcements had arrived. Or rather, to be more accurate, a single reinforcement had arrived.

Explosions continued to rock the landbridge as the distant, barely-visible Fortress Alpha shelled the area relentlessly, drowning out the death cries of the demons caught in the fire.

Aziz heaved a sigh of relief as the appearance of what essentially was a floating building that doled out death ended the crisis. Within three minutes of its arrival, the demon hordes had been wiped out, leaving only the battle in the upper airzone and the battle between the great gods.

High above the ground, even beyond the Paragons’ battlefield, the Divine Kingdoms of the Five Lands’ great gods and the Demon God were duking it out. As for the gods themselves, Aziz could not see them, but they were definitely fighting a bitter battle.

Making some hand signals at Hans to regroup at the defence line proper, Aziz turned back to look at the landbridge. Burning bodies lined the area, creating a solemn sight. The fact that the Five Lands had not ceded the ground and air theatre was due to the various technological improvements that had been made; if such drastic changes in warfare had not taken place a few years ago, the loss of life on the Five Lands’ part would have been drastic.

Furthermore, since the demons were functionally immortal, the gap would only grow.

With that thought in mind, Aziz returned to the defence line. He didn’t quite know what to say to General Ishtar and Commodore Tenouji, seeing as how their forces had nearly broken ranks, so he made do by checking on Alpha Company.

His order had been unreasonable to a point, so that was something he should at least do.

Walking up to Major Hans, who was checking on the other members of Alpha Company, Aziz asked, “Any casualties?”

“None, somehow. Lots of injuries, though.” Major Hans raised a hand, which was grazed. “Their main source? From falling over.”

“Falling over?” Aziz shook his head and recalled the moment when a bunch of demons had smashed into the Palisade behind him. “Human wave…no, demon-wave tactics, eh?”

“It’s time for that phrase to be phased out,” Major Hans replied.

Aziz nodded, before his mouth began to move on its own. “Still, not too shabby. That said, considering how our enemies had no weapons, defences or any proper combat ability, being injured just means that you guys are inadequate. More training is required.”

“Sir…are you serious?”

Everyone else had also frozen up from his utterance, and under such scrutiny, Aziz felt his face heat up. Silently cursing his unruly tongue, the colonel cleared his throat. “Ahem. I was just, uh, kidding! Kidding, okay? Alpha Company did a real good job out there, so yeah! Great, uh, job!”

The others simply shivered in reply.