Outside Copper Town’s western wall.
The monster tide moved through the darkness without end.
Wolves ran alongside mutated deer while serpents slithered between the legs of larger beasts. Their numbers were so great that the ground remained in a constant state of trembling.
Amidst this tide, a group of men fought their way toward the town.
Gunshots resounded periodically.
A wolf leapt from the darkness and was struck in the chest. The bullet sent it tumbling beneath the feet of the beasts behind, where it disappeared almost immediately.
"Keep moving!"
A Captain pulled his sword from the neck of another wolf and hurried after the group.
His uniform was covered in mud and blood. The insignia belonging to the Knight Order had been removed, but the people around him continued addressing him by his former rank.
There were eight unit Captains and two regional Commanders within the group, accompanied by several dozen knights they had gathered along the way.
They had lost their horses within the first hour.
After that, they had been forced to advance on foot.
One of the Captains stumbled over the body of a deer and nearly fell. A knight caught his arm and helped him regain his footing before the monsters running behind could trample him.
The Captain pushed the knight’s hand away and continued moving.
"The letter mentioned increased monster sightings!" he shouted. "It did not mention every monster in the Highlands moving at once!"
Another Captain fired his revolver into the open mouth of a serpent.
The creature collapsed, but the man had no time to retrieve the spent bullets or inspect the corpse.
"The Young Count probably did not know either!"
"Then why are we answering his summons after he suspended the entire Order?"
The men continued running as they spoke.
Their dissatisfaction was apparent, but none turned away.
The D’Arc seal had been present on the summons. It called the Grand Commander, Commanders and Captains sent to the border back due to the sudden increase in monster activity.
Whether the Young Count respected the Knight Order or not was irrelevant during an emergency.
A large boar rushed toward the group from the side.
Its tusks had grown unevenly and curved around its face. Dark scales covered portions of its head and shoulders.
Several knights raised their rifles.
"Don’t waste the bullets."
A calm voice came from the middle of the group.
The Northern Commander stepped forward.
Unlike the Captains around him, he had not complained once during the journey. His long coat was torn near the waist and blood covered one sleeve, but his breathing remained steady.
He waited until the boar came close.
The Northern Commander moved to the side and drove his sword beneath its jaw. The blade entered through the softer flesh and emerged from the other end of its head.
The boar’s body continued forward without him.
It crashed into two wolves and rolled across the ground.
The Northern Commander pulled his sword free and returned to the group.
"The Young Count’s competence can be discussed after we enter Copper Town," he said. "Until then, conserve your breath."
The Captain who complained earlier closed his mouth.
They continued moving.
Copper Town’s western wall was now visible through the darkness.
Gas lamps burned along the top while Railguards fired at the monsters that came too close. The main western gate was farther south, but reaching it would require fighting through another large section of the tide.
A Commander beside the Northern Commander pointed ahead.
"There’s movement near the base of the wall."
Several buildings had been constructed close to the western boundary. Most were tightly packed brick and wooden structures belonging to the slums.
Between them, a section of the wall had partially collapsed.
Smoke rose from the opening.
Monsters entered through it while civilians fled deeper into the town.
The Northern Commander stared at the breach for a few seconds.
"We’ll enter from there."
The Captains turned toward him.
"Through the monsters!?"
"Yes. They’ve created a path for us, we might as well use it."
The Northern Commander wiped the blood from his sword and began moving toward the breach.
The others followed.
...
Vincent could smell smoke before he reached the western slums.
By the time he and Anastasia turned onto the final street, the sounds of fighting had replaced the distant noise of the monsters outside.
Railguards fired from rooftops and behind overturned carts.
Residents ran in the opposite direction while carrying whatever they had managed to grab from their homes. Some held bags of clothes. Others carried food, money, or sleeping children.
"Keep the center of the road clear!" Vincent shouted while moving toward the barricades. "Families go east. Anyone who can fight stays behind the second line, not the first!"
A Railguard Captain rushed toward him.
"My Lord, we have sealed three streets, but monsters are still entering through the breach."
Vincent knitted his brows. "How large is it?"
"Wide enough for several beasts to enter together. The ground beneath the wall has collapsed as well, so we cannot repair it tonight."
Vincent looked toward the western end of the street.
The top of the broken wall was visible over the buildings. A continuous stream of creatures moved through the opening.
Some continued running through the slums without attacking anyone.
Others became frightened after entering the narrow streets and lashed out against whatever stood nearby.
"Don’t block the ones that are leaving," Vincent ordered. "Clear a road toward the southern drainage channel. Force them to follow it and leave the town from there."
The Captain immediately relayed his orders.
"What about the ones attacking people?"
"Kill, what else?"
Vincent then pointed toward the wooden crates being carried into the street.
"Give the scale-piercers to the front line. Don’t waste them against wolves or anything without armor. Use rifles and ordinary steel for those."
Railguards opened the crates.
The crude iron weapons Leona produced were quickly distributed among the men stationed at the barricades.
A serpent emerged between two buildings and struck at the closest Railguard.
The man raised his shield.
Its fangs pierced through the wood.
Before it could pull away, another Railguard drove a scale-piercer beneath its head. The faint markings across the iron bar flickered.
The scales broke.
The bar entered the serpent’s neck and snapped inside it.
The creature twisted across the road, knocking down part of the barricade. Several men rushed forward and pushed the wooden carts back into place.
Vincent watched the fight while trying to understand the situation.
’There’s so many entry points...’
The slums had not been built with any planning.
Houses and workshops had been expanded wherever space was available. Alleys ended abruptly, roads narrowed without warning, and some buildings were so close that their roofs almost touched.
The Railguards could stop the monsters on the main roads, but creatures continued slipping between buildings.
"Move the residents out first," Vincent said. "We can abandon the district for the night if we have to."
The Captain nodded.
Another wolf appeared from an alley to Vincent’s right.
Anastasia pulled out a sword from her storage pouch.
She moved before the wolf could jump.
The blade crossed its chest and left a shallow wound.
The wolf landed and turned toward her.
Anastasia did not change her stance.
A pale trace remained in the air where her sword had passed.
She moved her blade across that same path again.
The second slash followed the first perfectly.
It entered through the existing wound and continued much deeper, unlike the normal slash from before.
Blood sprayed across the alley.
The wolf collapsed.
Vincent stared at Anastasia’s back.
’Was that her Path? Is she a regressor and a swordsman?’
He had seen Vanessa overpower enemies through pure martial ability while Leona was clearly a blacksmith. Their cultivation paths were easy to understand and figure out.
Anastasia’s cultivation felt different. She was a regressor but if continuously regressing is what strengthened her, then it doesn’t explain how she was just in the Crest Formation realm right now.
Her first strike had not been particularly strong.
The second had not created a new wound either.
It looked as if the first attack was written over again, occupying the same place while carrying the weight of both movements.
It was hard to put in words what Vincent just saw.
Another creature rushed toward them.
It was a malformed deer with bone growths covering half its face.
Anastasia stepped forward.
Her sword drew a pale line across one of its legs.
Before the deer could regain its balance, she repeated the same movement.
The second stroke passed through the exact place touched by the first.
The leg separated.
The deer crashed onto the road and was finished by the Railguards behind her.
Anastasia returned to Vincent’s side.
Her breathing remained calm, but there was a faint crease between her brows.
"Are you alright?" Vincent asked.
"Yes."
She glanced toward the next street.
A group of wolves had entered through a narrow alley and were moving behind the first Railguard line, making their way toward Vincent.
"I am nearby. If the situation gets too dangerous, please retreat. I’ll follow you shortly."
Before Vincent could respond, Anastasia moved away to block the incoming monsters.
Pale sword traces appeared between the tightly packed buildings while one wolf after another fell.
For a moment, no monsters were near him and Vincent continued toward the barricade with four Railguards beside him.
"Where are the residents from this section?"
"Most have been moved toward the warehouses," one of the men answered. "There are still some refusing to leave their homes."
"Do they not care for their lives or what? Drag them out!"
Vincent then looked across the street.
A group of children had gathered beneath the awning of a closed workshop.
There were seven or eight of them.
The oldest appeared no older than thirteen. He stood before the others while holding a broken wooden chair leg as a weapon.
Their clothes were dirty and poorly fitted.
None had an adult with them.
A Railguard tried to take them toward the evacuation road, but the smallest girl refused to move. She pointed toward one of the narrow houses behind them and cried about someone still being inside.
"Who?" the Railguard asked.
"Elliot!"
"Who is Elliot?"
"My brother!"
The Railguard looked toward the fighting, then back at the children.
He was needed at the barricade.
The other patrols were already carrying the injured or directing hundreds of residents away from the district.
Vincent walked toward the children.
"How old is your brother?"
The girl looked up at him with tear-filled eyes.
"Six."
"And he’s over there?"
Vincent pointed at a leaning wooden house near the breach where the girl was previously pointing at.
One of its walls had partially collapsed. Smoke came from a broken window while monsters ran through the street behind it.
"Yes! Yes!" The girl nodded her head like a pecking chicken. Snot flew and covered her face.
Vincent patted her head and stared at the house.
Most of the Railguards were occupied, and he only had four with him.
Anastasia had moved into the alleys to stop the wolves from reaching the fleeing residents.
Every available person was already doing something.
’Can I save that kid?’
Vincent did not possess Vanessa’s strength.
He could not repeat Anastasia’s strange sword strikes.
He could not forge a solution like Leona either.
A Railguard handed the oldest boy to another patrol and moved toward the barricade, leaving Vincent with the crying girl and the other children.
The ground trembled again.
A wolf emerged from beside the damaged house.
Then another.
Behind them, shadows moved through the breach.
Vincent took a deep breath.
"Go rescue that kid. I’ll be here with these kids."
The four Railguards hesitated. Vincent’s life would be in danger if they moved.
Vincent could see through their hesitation.
"Go! If we can save a child, we will save a child! Nothing will happen to me."
The former knights within the Railguards clutched their swords.
"My Lord, please leave everything and run if we don’t make it back in time."
Vincent nodded. "Now go!"
Just as the Railguards left, the sound of gunfire suddenly came from beyond the broken wall.
A wolf near the opening collapsed.
Another gunshot followed.
Then came the sound of many boots moving through rubble.
Men entered Copper Town through the breach.
Their uniforms were damaged and their bodies were covered in mud, but Vincent recognized the disciplined formation immediately.
’Great timing!’
Vincent had sent an emergency summon to the Commanders and Captains sent to the border before the sea of monsters had appeared.
It was to give Vanessa a break and manage the refugees.
The sea of monsters rushing toward the town was totally unexpected.
But thankfully, the decision proved to be right!
Vincent’s tense shoulders finally loosened.
’Now where do I properly place them...’
...
[A/N: The Chapters have been getting longer and I could split them in two, but I’d rather not. Please let me know if these are too many action stuff and whether I should cut some part or not. After all, I think you guys gotta pay 1 coin for every 200 words, so I’d rather have you guys save every cent with as tighter prose as possible.]
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