Surprisingly they were still greeted by the morning sun on that fourth day since the creation of the ritual began. Livia felt like the mood almost demanded that the ritual should waste a bunch of its power on a setting of eternal darkness, but really it had just been Livia being surprised at the sun finally disappearing last night. Seems it is real easy to lose track of time when you're watching people die.

The sun was apparently here to stay when the summer approached this part of the Elderwood continent, so the full darkness of night lasted barely more than four hours. But despite the dark there had still been enough light from the powerful magic for Sten to make out what was going on as the third phase began.

The enchanted rod, which had been using the ritual to draw magic from the entire valley, was split down the middle, making the sound of distressed metal being torn in the process, but to a magnitude that echoed from the valley's tall sides. The two pieces then hovered, as if magnetic force was keeping them at bay but tethered, and eventually stabilized their position to form a tall Gate.

So far the energy field in between was blank enough that you could still see through to the other side. From what Redd had been able to remember, they knew the concentrated energy would soon start to open the Gates to different dimensions, culminating in the manifestation of a superior Natural Treasure. That is unless they made the Mantis pay by sabotaging it, which would in all likelihood instead open a Rift to the Daemon realm which would not close.

It made for a tense situation that felt like it could explode at any minute, keeping everyone in the expedition, but Algernon, from getting any sleep.

The force from Dormata knew they had to finish this and destroy the Gate, but things were now so far gone that even should they manage it, the consequences could prove calamitous for the local region. The earlier they could get it done, the bigger their shot of having the whole thing just implode and go away.

First they had to make a difficult choice however. The retreat was sounded. Despite more than ten thousand ant warriors dead, and a sizable portion of the Mantis, they had themselves taken quite the licking as well. Last night they had to make the tough call that a further push in their current state was too big a risk, and that they would need to take the night to rest and build a defensible camp. That would ensure more reinforcements could reach them, and that they could keep pushing all the way or die trying without falling to exhaustion.

But it seemed the giant insects were having trouble of their own. Apparently the Gate had finally activated as the dawn light reached it, and what came through was a horde of light blue, lizard-looking things with raptor bodies and the aggression to match. They threw themselves at the waiting warriors, suicidally. Are those dinosaurs?

The ants were more than prepared to deal with this emerging threat, and the Humans had not yet positioned themselves to take advantage. That did not mean it was too late however, apparently this happened each new step of the third phase, as the energy kept reaching new realms.

Despite being able to kill the smaller raptors with ease, the horde had been so copious that quite a few made it past the lines in their frenzy, only to be surrounded from all sides as they went too deep.

That was the opportunity a different ambush predator had been waiting for. Steps like thunder came through the Gate, embodied by a bundle of muscles with a maw like a steel trap. It was not that different from the raptors, but it had at least twelve times the mass.

It launched itself as it was spotted and tore through a group of warriors before they even managed to turn around, but despite the aggression a Mantis soon returned the favor and struck from behind to hamstring it and allow the ants to all get at it together.

When the threat was dealt with the portal seemed to return to a state between realms, turning the Gate transparent again.

The losses were not even in the hundreds yet on this day, but that same level of preparation was going to be hard to maintain in the face of the Human assault. Oscar mused that the Gate was going to give the Humans an opening as these realms progressed in power, and Redd and Livia could only agree.

The Finns made their first probing attack that day in unison with the 2nd activation of the gate. This time it was a group of sapients, a short but wide humanoid race with flaming orange beards and darkly tanned skin as if from a forge. They wielded bolas and black stone-tipped staffs that exploded with flame every few strikes. Sten claimed they fought in a style resemblant of monks.

The assault from both sides failed to break through, but the Humans were not committing yet. They wanted a decisive opening, and the idea was that the next Gate to send sapients through should be strong enough to do it.

That did not mean it was not worth it to tire the enemy out, and they kept up the ranged bombardment and even made a few faux charges to force the enemy to either stay tense or risk being relaxed when they charged for real.

The third realm unleashed a stampede of large, shark-skinned lions with aquatic frills for manes, but for some reason they had no sharp teeth and moved more like bulls as they pushed ahead in a tight group with the largest member in front. One of the elite squads of ant warriors was swift to get in and tackle the front line, making the momentum stall completely and turning the panic-stricken giants to easy work.

The Humans were watching patiently.

The 4th Gate activation took quite a while longer for some reason, and the sudden deep darkness that filled the portal once it did had everyone watching closely, filled with a sense of trepidation. Even the ants started backing away in the more undisciplined sections where Mantis officers were missing.

Suddenly the darkness spread from the Gate, fast as light, to form a large dome in the immediate area on the other side, and that was when the Humans ordered the charge. The sounds of battle and ants dying could be heard clearly from the deeper parts of the enemy camp, and the leadership already felt like they had waited longer than they could really afford.

The full force of the Finns, every Caster and warrior, including those who arrived in the night, came charging at the prepared warrior ant lines, hiding behind their rebuilt palisade that was already smoking and riddled with holes again.

But despite more than two hundred warriors dying around the Gate, the distraction turned out to be a disappointment. Right as the Human force was committed an intense flash of light suddenly destroyed the dome of darkness and exposed the violent creatures who had been hiding within.

Trolls with no eyes, who looked like they had never seen the sun or even smelled the air above ground before, stood naked, afraid and exposed. Even their leader, a huge troll hag wielding a staff tipped by a frightening animal skull was suddenly out in the open and the sudden target of a great number of cleaving mandibles.

They made short work of the invading creatures, but the Human leadership had been watching closely. The main leader of the Mantis, who wielded the greatest enchanted items, had at last been identified and marked for death.

Even after the failure to break through the lines on the first real go, the Humans maintained the attack continuously without backing off.

They were saving cooldowns, but exhausting the enemy as soon as possible was just as high a priority as reducing their numbers at this point. They had given up hope of shattering the enemy army, and the aim now was simply to weaken them enough that a group of Human Casters could reach the portal to destroy it.

The fifth and sixth waves were both stronger, and the creatures that came through more varied and cohesive, but sapients had not been seen since the 4th wave and so they counted on the more intelligent type of enemy to aid them for the 7th Gate.

If that wave too was defeated there were only two more realms to go before the ritual completed. It was do or die.

The Humans fought bravely, and sacrificed both themselves and their friends to make the enemy pay. Heroes were born and killed within moments of each other, and there was nobody who was free from the stains of blood.

The creatures who came through the portal next were made up of headless and seemingly enchanted suits of armor who fought in brave groups of four, and whose only weakness seemed to be the enchantments running out of mana.

The Humans kept pushing. At one point a woman went on such a berserk that even Livia could spot the destruction, the warrior became a tornado of violence and tore through the lines on her own, before a Mantis launched itself and bisected her bleeding form right as she started to slow.

The bombardment of Spells that followed made it life for life, but only the Humans truly mourned.

More than half the army of ants was destroyed by the time the 8th realm opened and a wyvern with wings that spewed lightning bolts emerged. The Mantis all attacked it together, and even managed to kill it rather quickly, but each one of them had taken significant damage from the intense battle.

Just as every time before, the Humans looked to take advantage, but they had their charging wedge thwarted by the sheer weight of ants pushing back against them. The Mantis remained safely behind the lines, already preparing for the 9th and final Gate after which they just needed the actual treasure to manifest so they could make their escape.

Redd had been clutching his weapon with such force that they all heard it creaking. Despite the intense battle, for everyone but Sten it was like watching a silent movie, except for when the Gate did something new. The sound of the ritual was loud enough to reach the ends of the valley several times over.

Things were stalemated to a point that Redd actually considered going down there to help, despite already feeling exhausted and the battle being hours away.

That was when it happened. Sten suddenly spotted a group of Humans running along the river, right towards the battle. Dad?

The dashing group consisted of Brunner in the lead, Birgir and Dalmar the head of the lumber mill, and a few more. Renowned fighters, all with their level 30 capstone realized. They must have come from the same end of the valley as the ants, but the only way they could be here in time was if the alarm to muster had reached all the way to Salcret.

They all started cheering and jumping in excitement, despite the clear danger their friends were entering. This could be it, the Mantis will be caught!

There was still a ways to go before the group from Salcret reached the palisade and could start approaching the enemy, but as luck would have it their arrival coincided with the opening of the 9th Gate.

What came through was something Livia would have described as red skinned orcs. There was only one band of warriors, and the world behind them seemed like it was an island floating in a void, but they wielded weapons of great magic and started tearing through the warriors around the portal.

The Mantis were no longer numerous enough to cover the area, and their energy was all being spent holding the capital’s forces back.

The strange invaders did not seem keen to play the sacrificial pawn for long however, rather than keep slaying the ants, the band took off for the weakest side and started making their way to the forest. Neither side had the strength or positioning to stop them, so soon enough they were a forgotten factor among the day's events.

Especially with the thunderous arrival of Brunner and his company.

The familiar twin hatchets were wielded almost like icepicks as Brunner climbed his towering opponents the same way he made his way up an oak in his forests, dashing right up to the sensitive brain of the pain-stricken Mantis who felt the forces of nature invade his body with each strike. The habit of climbing every tree in the forest apparently comes in handy.

The rest of the company were not taking on Mantis alone, especially not with the warrior ant bodyguards quickly turning around to engage, but they too wielded powerful Skills and were more than used to working together. They had true synergy.

The Mantis leadership was devastated, but the true leader still remained. A strong red glow suddenly made it accelerate with aggressive speed, charging right at the Human forces and killing the Casters who had been preparing to use the distraction to have a go at the Gate.

Despite the onslaught of the group from Salcret and the more and more evident defeat of the Mantis army, they were now out of time. The 9th Gate ended with a deafening silence as the portal at last stopped amassing energy.

A Rift finally opened.