My friends one by one started to fall back, following Amit. They clearly talked to him, but I couldn't understand the words while fighting because of the noise. Orcs were grunting, screaming, and there were also sounds of metal hitting metal, and the horrible noise made by claws scratching plates of armor.
Me and Blue tried to hold as long as we could, but eventually, we also were forced to retreat. He jumped on the wall and climbed his way up to the roof. I followed with a shadow walk. He no longer was a white werewolf, but now a pink one, all covered in his own blood.
He had problems standing, and yet did his best during the fight. I gained some new respect for the guy.
We followed the path to the city center jumping from building to building and quickly caught up to Amit and others. Only then we got down. Orcs were following us, but because the street was winding we couldn't see them. Only hear the echoing sounds of multiple footsteps.
- Did you prepare the oil?! - I asked Amit.
- We did! We spilled a lot on a distance of something around hundred meters! We couldn't do more!
How many wounded?!
- Couple! Less than I expected! Werewolves helped us a lot during the initial attack! You did an amazing job holding them for this long!
- Good, but those who are chasing us, and the rest of the troops behind them, are way stronger than regular orcs! The battle will be tough!
- We need to get you to the device! You need to restore your strength before they come!
Our giant was not talking, fighting for every breath. His face was pale. Hailwic supported him as they ran, but she also didn't look good.
- Let's regroup, burn those motherfuckers, and kill what's left of them! - said Boris.
- And hopefully, we won't burn with them! - added Will.
- It's worth the risk! - said Amit. - The city is already in flames!
Nobody tried to argue with him. Most of us looked like they don't have enough strength left for it anyway. My friends really fought to the best of their abilities.
We eventually reached the city center, making the last part through the slippery alley drenched in oil. The last few meters of cobblestone were dry though. Few barrels filled to the brim with the same liquid stood on the sides of the path. There was also firewood gathered next to the walls of the buildings. I tried my best to control the breathing on the way, and replenish lost Ki as much as I could.
That was not the only path prepared for incoming enemies. They actually managed to cover four that most likely could be used.
- Everybody is ok? - Hatta asked as soon as we arrived.
- More or less - I answered while others just crowded around the device. - Be prepared, orcs will come any minute.
They had to replenish their energy to fight for one more time.
- They are coming! - shouted Mbeki. - Prepare for battle!
As the others assumed their positions, I made my way to the device, to buy a new pudao, as the old, even with all the Ki pumped into it, was already damaged.
I also recovered completely using the now not so mysterious powers of the device. It cost me 10 thousand points because of the massive amounts of void essence I used while fighting. With that, I joined the others, as they patiently waited for orcs to made it halfway through the prepared trap.
When the time came, Hatta send a bolt of fire and ignited the oil. Flames spread in a matter of seconds on the whole four paths and reached the barrels. Those immediately exploded, wrecking the nearby buildings. Debris flew through the air, and rubble fell straight on the streets, burning down several orcs, running through the path of flames.
The armored ones couldn't withstand for long, a started turning to smoke one by one, before they managed to reach us, but the red ones were a different story. They showed incredible resilience as soon as they appeared. They charged through the fire as if they couldn't feel any pain.
Witch each step they got faster, as the fury kicked in.
- Strongest people to the front! - I yelled on top of my lungs, and immediately shadow walked to the first line.
I could feel the heat coming out of the burning alleys couple of meters from me.
Blue, Juan, Will, Boris, Nobuo, and Nil joined me. Behind us, the rest of my friends assumed positions, joined by Mihael, Zora, and the rest of Aisha's crew. With werewolves behind them, and regular soldiers at the very end.
I created the strongest barrier I could just above us, at an angle, anticipating fireballs flying our way as soon as mages would show up.
We waited nervously for a few seconds, and then the first orcs finally came charging out of flames. I cut down the first one as soon as he appeared. That was a heavy blow, that managed to kill the monster. The next ones didn't manage to achieve that.
Battle quickly turned into chaos, as monsters weren't dying even if they received mortal wounds. On top of that, most of them were on fire.
We had to give them more ground, and retreat a bit. With more space to fight, we seemed to hold on quite well. I actually started to believe we might be able to survive as more and more red berserkers kept turning to smoke, leaving crystals behind.
Then a few fireballs hit my barrier, exploded, and shattered it, but that was not the end, as more of them kept flying through the air.
- Flank the mages! - I shouted on top of my lungs.
- Flank the mages! - repeated Hatta.
- I'm on it! - yelled Amit.
I couldn't see him in the chaos.
A couple of fireballs hit the buildings where wounded and unable to fight were hidden. People inside panicked, as parts of the walls collapsed, and started screaming.. We could hear those screams even outside.