At this time, the powerhouses like Zaol and Gregor were focused on their area, unable to leave, though it was more like attack here and defend their situation.

They could lure enemies and pull them to the sentry areas, and they nabbed several enemies one by one like this. The enemies couldn’t do the same, obviously, because the sentries were still active, not to mention the Alterrans specifically chose to camp in areas where at least 2 sentries were working.

Their priority was not to add another leak, so while they knew other areas were being attacked, they focused on their task because winning the war was simply to keep these people out.

In other words, it was a stalemate. The powerhouses were limited in their movements, yes, but so were the trebuchets and the remaining powerhouses that guarded them.

Zaol and many of his teammates were beyond the level cap, but they could use the sentries to kill for them. As long as the powerhouses were within the territory line, they could even throw trespassers up to the sky, making them helpless targets to the sentries, and it would still count as valid self-defense.

So, on this side, tens of thousands of Valov fighters were stuck, barely able to throw a proper shot without sacrificing some of their own people.

Like this, as long as Zaol and them stayed there, the people here wouldn’t be able to move forward at all.

A literal deterrent force.

The Valov folk comforted themselves that they successfully kept these powerhouses away from the ’main’ fights. They believed that with so many forces and investment, even if their side was having trouble, the rest of the Valov fighting force was fine.

They never received aether messages asking for assistance from those already inside the walls. This meant that things were under control, right!?

...

They would be slapped on the face ten minutes later.

The fight on the successful breach was so intense, and it was also nearest to the arrays, most of the projectiles made by the Lord and the others were delivered there for efficiency.

Most of the forces were naturally assigned or moved to where a successful wall breach was opened. Hence, it was not an exaggeration to say that the majority of their forces were already on that side, so it was assumed that the breach was already large and tens of thousands should be inside the walls by now.

But who’d have thought...the people facing Zaol and Gregor would also receive instructions to serve as reinforcement! 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

They did not know why they were not receiving messages from the interior of Alterra (they assumed it was because things were under control), but they could still exchange letters beyond its scope.

But...wouldn’t that mean the powerhouses like Gregor and Zaol could also join in the fight? But they just followed in the end, though there was a sense of foreboding in their stomachs, and some of them already had the idea of running back to the arrays.

It was just that Valov had a very strict rule against desertion. Not only them, but even their families, would be treated as criminals and could be killed!

So...until now, no one really dared to do so, especially since they knew there were thousands of people guarding the Valov side of the array.

And so, by the thousands, the enemy forces added more and more fighters to help out the main breach, thus concentrating the forces, and signalling the last leg of the war.

...

For the next hour or so, the battle to get more people inside intensified. Now that there was one area the enemies were targeting, more Alterrans began to concentrate more in the area as well.

There were also a few smaller leaks here and there, but only powerhouses would be able to survive several layers of level 7 sentries.

The smaller breaches had grown small in number, and since most of the threats inside the territory had already been neutralized, more people could focus on the battlements, and these enemies were detected much faster than ever.

Like this, fewer and fewer people could enter the walls, and it had turned completely into a battle of attrition, with Alterra focusing on pushing people back and just defending themselves, while the enemies desperately tried to push through, they would really lose!!

At this time, Balthazar was continuously making projectiles along with the other earth users. The fact that he had to do this for so long made him very irritable.

Balthazar was beyond the level cap, so he could not use the arrays. He was the Lord, after all, and he could not join wars, especially when he was so far away.

It was another reason why he didn’t have much qualms about consuming much of his wealth to prepare for the war, since he couldn’t be there himself, so he had to make up for it by investing a lot of money.

He was the kind not to underestimate his enemies, so the preparation he did obvious overpreparation; it was with the goal of not having to worry about losing at all.

He spent money like water to buy insurance that they would absolutely win—but it was not enough, and it humiliated him!

He was so angry that several people around him found themselves stabbed without warning, questioning why they had to stand so near the Lord.

When a batch of people from the other side—presumably to take the projectiles—came back, Balthazar was determined to provide a massive amount of shots.

He would only be satisfied if those bastards from Alterra were crushed to death!

He did not expect that they were not there to gather projectiles at all, but to bring him the head of his only surviving son!

"WHATTT!! MY SON!!!!" he bellowed, feeling his already high blood pressure rise another tier.

Balthazar was so angry that he vomited blood, and various earth spikes sprouted around him, accidentally causing chaos on his side!