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Cerberus swung hard with his right arm, the Ice Falchion cleanly lopping off an orc warrior's head. The orcs were foolishly led closer and closer into the Prontera south gate, thinking that they had gained the upper hand.

It was Cerberus and his platoon of knights who had the last laugh. The moment the orcs stepped through the opened gate, navy figures leaped out of nowhere to puncture the chest of the unsuspecting orcs with thin blades known as Muramasa. Together with the Fiendbane Enforcer's ambush came a rain of elemental bolts from Cerberus's two swords. At least a quarter of the entire south gate invaders perished horribly.

The ninja warriors slipped away from the orcs' attacks nimbly, countering it with a stab to the chest. The knights impaled close orcs with their spears as Cerberus took control over the situation. The knight leader of Avenger wielded his two swords with ease, as if the weight of it was taken away. Orcish weapons were knocked off by the Ice Falchion, while the Firebrand handed out the death sentence. Besides the combination, magical bolts shot out occasionally to either sear the green skinned beasts or immobilize them with a frozen status.

Piffy made use of a fluid approach, hurling colourful yet dangerous bottles in the head of the orcs. The results varied, but the more common ones were an eruption of fire and destruction of the orcs's armour. When he had enough fun with the bottles, the alchemist brandished his buster axe in time to demonstrate its power to an approaching orc. The orc's head was cleaved into two with black ichor splashing over his face. He did not bother to wipe everything off, and cleared those affecting his sight. What amused and baffled him was that, the orcs who came near him quickly kept a distance from him. Since he would not be harmed temporarily, due to his face, he gave it some thought.

Thinking that the orcs treated him like some sort of apparition with black facial features, he tested his assumption by waving his buster axe over his head and howled in a haunting manner. He hunched as he walked towards an orc, who dropped his sword to make a run for the south gate. Piffy laughed as his theory was proven correct, and he saw two orcs cornering a heavily wounded knight. The alchemist ran, and stopped when he was right behind them. He snuck up to the two beasts, giving his best howl. The two orcs jumped in surprise, then it became a total shock when they saw his face. To show that he was not some harmless doll, Piffy slammed his buster against one of their head. The orc fell dead, while the other staggered backwards, before escaping off the gate.

Cerberus's phalanx of knights and the Fiendbanes were down with one last score of orcs. More than ten knights had already been killed, but Cerberus pushed the rest on nonetheless. The knight's voice was hoarse from all the order shouting, but he still gave one last battle cry. The Fiendbanes made the first move –and javelins struck them. They were caught unexpected as this last score quickly switched to spears, killing at least half of the band.

"What in hades…" Cerberus muttered in horror.

He had no time to grieve over the tragic loss. A last volley came at them, since each of these orcs carried a couple of javelins. A few more knights were unable to evade them, and the small troop was further decreased. Suddenly, a howl caused the orcs to look over to a pillar. A hunched figure with its face painted black howled again, making the orcs falter in their next move. The figure pretended to conjure a fatal curse by uttering fast and incomprehensible incantations, pointing an axe to the score of orcs.

When the soft chants ended with an abrupt roar, the orcs expected something abominable to descend on them. They made a motion to their comrades to leave, and they obliged. The south gate was made silent again following the orcs' escape, but the mood was rather sombre. Many dead lay in a bloody mess with spears jutting out of their carcass, or with a deep gash across their chest. Cerberus did not celebrate their victory, instead, he knelt onto the ground.

Piffy wiped the black ichor off his face and went over to the devastated knight.

"Somebody has to die. At the very least we didn't suffer a rout, lad."

"I have failed as a leader once again. The orcs had been defeated, but I have defeated myself. The Fiendbanes shouldn't have died… they were a rare talent," Cerberus said sadly.

"We have much to do," Piffy responded with a sense of urgency. "The west needs us."

The alchemist waved to the Fiendbanes who were alive. He then patted the knight's shoulder.

"Come on, we can't abandon them to fight by themselves. We'll give these honourable warriors a proper burial after the battle, if we triumph, that is. But they will still live in our memory."

Cerberus sheathed his two swords, then wiped tears away from his eyes. Nodding to his friend appreciatively, he complimented Piffy on his efforts. They turned from the south gate –and a refreshed roar sounded from behind. It did not exactly sound like a roar, but more of a loud gurgle. The group turned back again to see hundreds of dark orcs, instead of the greens. They were orc zombies, together with the previous score of orc warriors.

Piffy was the only one who did not look at all intimidated by the fresh troop of undead. The alchemist's gaze darted over the ground, while the rest knelt in resignation. Snapping his fingers, he held up a rather heavy orc carcass.

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It seemed like Prontera had an endless stream of scouts around the world. Just before they came, a scout warned them of Lord of Death's invasion back in Payon. And now, a scout dashed into the church in panic. Tien and his two archer companions were already used to such an expression, for every one scout wore it be it relaying dire news or not.

"What now?" the monk put the bottle of water away as he spoke.

The scout did not reply immediately. Seeing the king, he knelt in respect, then saluted.

"Report," said King Tristan III.

With his head still bent low, the scout kept it short and precise.

"St Caprina had been decimated! Our north gate are now free for intrude!"

The four guards of King Tristan III talked heatedly among themselves, passing a glance at the scout occasionally. The news took a while to register with the king, for he was struggling to deny it. Heaving a deep sigh, he placed his thumb and index finger on his temples and massaged them absently.

"Everyone is… dead? How… who…"

The scout too was desperate. Swallowing hard, he continued rather reluctantly.

"I saw… saw…"

"You saw what?" the king pursued impatiently.

Tien took another gulp of water. Ignoring protocol, the monk stood up and walked over to the king without any form of greeting.

"Let him speak. We wouldn't be able to prevent the inevitable anyway. Let him speak."

The four guards wanted to comment on the monk's impudence, but a sudden tremor shook the very foundation of the church. The peaceful atmosphere that always prevailed became one of tension, causing much indecision and dread. No priests or acolytes were present anymore, since all were presented to the battleground. Those who had healed Tien retired back to their respective chambers for ample rest. A dead silence settled over those in the church, intrigued by the quake.

"I saw many behemoths… too many of them," the scout started after a pause.

"What behemoths? Pay asked.

"Majorous, with an army of Minorous."

Pay stared in disbelieve, then grabbed his Arbalest.

"Where are you going?" Elemire started after him.

The hunter did not bother responding as he strode down the aisle towards the exit. Another scout knocked into him as he came in, this one with a look more intense than the last. Pay snapped, but the scout had drowned out the hunter with his fast speech.

"Danger! Orcs trying to crush the church with rocks!"

All the more Pay had to leave. The hunter summoned his falcon by stretching out his arm, and he muttered something to it. The falcon flapped its wings and squawked loudly, before hovering into the air. Pay watched till his falcon flew out sight to the east, then headed to the north gate. Not too far away from him, the battle of the west gate raged on, the sounds of it drawing the hunter to a stop.

'I can't stop the Majorous alone,' Pay thought as he started to turn backwards.

"What do you hope to achieve other than death?" a feminine voice said. "Only a god could have stopped this nonsense alone!"

Pay jerked his head back to see Elemire approaching him. Unlike the huntress's usual personality, she held a grim look all these while. In his impulse, Pay intended to sneak a few arrows into the Majorous, though he has not the slightest idea why would these minotaurs start an invasion over Prontera. It was not as though the city held a grand treasure, except for the sacred powers of the church it possessed. The sacred powers…

"They might be under the Lord of Death too," Pay told the huntress, pointing a finger to the north. "All these unexplained and sudden hostility are probably attempts by him to destroy the church."

"If you must go, I will go too," said Elemire.

Pay raised a brow. He could not tell if she made that statement fully out of duty to free Prontera from such monstrosities, or something else beyond that. Since these were troubled times, and nobody would be unoccupied with the battle, he assumed it to be the former.

"If we could hurry to the west and warn them about the attack directly on the church, maybe they would do something about it. Two person can't do shakes!" Elemire continued.

Nodding to the huntress, Pay hoped that the Minorous army led by Majorous would be rather slow-paced considering their poor efficiency. But, he was terribly wrong. By assuming that they had an allowance of time, the last scout who came into the church might as well head back home for a long sleep, for the hunter had left too soon to hear the rest of his speech. The speech which mentioned about the Abyss Knight leading the minotaurs. And under a superior's lead, even snail-paced porings could have speed up at least two fold.

"Maybe we don't have to, after all," Pay suddenly announced.

The hunter managed a smile as he pointed to the east. Although the walls and the closed gate had obstructed their vision, they heard a familiar war cry. The voice was as if they heard it only a while ago, yet somehow it sounded like they heard it a long time ago. Elemire's face lit up as realization came over her.

"Alberta! The blacksmiths has come!"

The two saw a few more boulders flying over the walls, and onto the church before the intermittent launching ended momentarily. Apparently, the blacksmiths had engaged a battle with the catapult operating high orcs.

"Things are not looking pretty," Pay commented when he noticed the Prontera forces pulling back further into the square. The back lines had already exceeded far past the fountain.

With the coming of the blacksmiths, the two let the worries on the attack of the church fade away. By the time they reached the priests stationed at the rear, who were exhausting themselves curing the injured, they saw the orcs advancing quickly. Pay signalled to his huntress partner. The two separated, each finding themselves a suitable vantage point to snipe the beasts. It seemed like the sacred powers were not completely successful in the defence against the invaders.

But, the standard that was raised high together with the stalwart appearance of the two warlords indicated that not all hope was lost. Nobody had noticed the arrows incapacitating the orcs slowly in the midst of their concentration. Pay took full advantage of the orcs' weakness more than anyone else. He strung two arrows at a time, sniping away at the orcs tirelessly. He wished he had the case of potions with him…

The orcs were baffled as to the source of arrows hitting them. The hunters had all fell to death earlier, and they were positive that none were alive. Oridecon-tipped arrows and silver bolts disabled the anonymous marksmen's targets. Never had once a single warrior let their guards down, including healers who sent a stream of green energy at an instant at any who received an injury. They had put everything on the line, now that Prontera was at stake.