The sirens in the form of bells echoed loudly through the east of Kalista. The people in disarray rushed to safe houses, bunkers situated not too far away from the temple.

Even if panicked, an unusual calmness was still present in people's eyes. It was built on years of trust—trust that the wall won't crumble.

Atop the walls several figures stood with bows and quivers; some even held guns, which were long and uncanny. A disturbance spread through the air as a dark stench filled their nostrils. They frowned almost together and looked up at the dark forest running through the mountains.

They were a peculiar bunch of long trees filled with dark shades; even the sky, which was grey, seemed lighter in comparison. This dark beauty, a breathtaking sight, held horrors one could hardly imagine.

Below the trees and bordering the great wall, a dark swamp has flooded the grounds. A symphonic, almost cacophonous sound came out, making the soldiers' grip tighten on their weapons.

Then several dark figures rose from the swamp like bugs, and a grim husk was draped on the monster's chest. Two large green eyes the size of a human head rested side by side like those of a flea. One couldn't tell if it had a mouth or a stinger, as a large beak-like thing came through the center of its head. Thousands of them finally appeared from the grotesque mud. And then from the sky rained bolts of arrows and bullets like hail.

One of the monsters at the front head exploded as it got hit by one of the stray arrows soaring through the sky. A green fluid splashed around as the body of the monster plummeted to the ground with a wet sound. A small sigh almost left the soldier's mouth from above the wall but it remained short-lived. Almost in the next instance, the green-eyed fleas raised their razor-sharp hands in the air and started to cut through the rain of arrows, pushing forward.

The battle seemed to pause momentarily as the swarm of green-eyed fleas divided into left and right to the walls' side, trying to attack from both sides. However, the soldiers above the wall had seen this happen many times. They too moved the towers situated at the walls corner and then again, arrows empowered by several abilities rained down again, giving monsters hell down below.

The swamp down below suddenly deepened, turning darker till it reached a pitch-black color. The monsters who had already fallen down below were suddenly submerged in the swamp, getting devoured inside of it. Then, in a similar manner as before, new figures rose from the swamp. It was a ridiculous sight to watch as they rose from the dead but still looked alive.

A devastating battle followed after.

The soldiers with bows stepped back; now the soldiers holding the guns moved forward at the wall's corner, covering both left and right sides.

And then—

Booom!

Bang! Bang!

Gunshots echoed loudly through the desolate lands of Kalista, sending chills to whoever heard them.

The bullets came roaring through the winds and then splattered on contact with the monster's visage and dark skin. But they still did the work of pushing them back, injuring the strong and slaughtering the weak without mercy.

However, that couldn't defeat the army of thousands, now even more than before, as their numbers increased with each death.

It was an army of dead but they were alive.

The battle reached sky-high as the monster-hunting bullets became useless. A greenish-white water rose from the swamp, covering the monsters for split seconds as they rushed forward.

Now the bows dropped from the soldiers' hands, but not for long. A huge wave of flame came down like a sea after several enchantments and winds supported the soldiers creating the flames and then pushing it down.

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

The land scorched as the monsters let out harrowing screams as they burned along the path of fiery waves. The swamp not far away seems to slither like a snake.

***

Asher and the others had climbed the wall after some skirmish with the other soldiers. The soldiers had dealt with these monsters for far too long to count now. They knew how to deal with them; at least that's what had been told to them.

So, they climbed the walls farther away from the field where no soldiers fought and just kept a strong watch from afar.

Asher and his group have started to watch the battle from the beginning.

The sight of those grotesque insectoid monsters rising from the swamp in large numbers and then moving toward the walls like moths was a deadly sight to watch.

Watching the battle remain in stalemate even though only a handful of hundreds of Awakeners shot the arrows was somewhat pleasant, even inspiring, if Asher were to say so.

But no battle was ever easy; this was a thought they all shared equally.

Asher because he had seen horrors beyond imagination in such a small time. While the others simply because of their long experience as an awakener and awakened.

"W—what?!"

Asher exclaimed as he saw the monster come back out of the swamp even after getting its head blasted like a freaking watermelon. The dark swamp slithering and then the waves of flames coming one after another were a dreadful sight to watch.

However, Asher could tell something: the flames coming out in waves were not potent. While they were in large quantities and enough to burn all of them to ashes, the quality of the flames, or more like the force behind it, wasn't as strong as Liber's and the corrupted knight's flames.

'Is it a matter of essence? Or rank?'

Asher was unsure; they both were different things.

The essence of flame would have surely burned the flames with much more strength, as Morgana had told him. But rank, of course, also played a part in it.

Most of the soldiers fighting were awakeners. While the knight and Liber were of rank 2.

The difference was clear.

At least to Asher, he couldn't say the same for others yet.

'I should also teach them about will and other stuff later.'

Asher thoughts drifted for a moment as again another loud noise ringed in his ears like clouds bursting.

He looked down leaning forward towards the wall along with Summer, who stood beside him. Then their eyes again widened as the green–eyed fleas stood in a line as if waiting for their execution.

But then their splinters like a beak opened like a thin pipe. A rotten smell filled the battlefield, even coming as far to the top of the wall where Asher and the others stood still in anticipation.

Then dark streaks shot forward like rays of light.

For a moment Asher almost raised his hands habitually to shield the other through [Static] but his mind worked faster—He knew it wouldn't work.

He was simply too far away.

As Asher blinked he watched the dark rays come for the walls and the soldiers above them in slow motion.

Pusssssss!

A burning smell entered their nostrils along with a hot sizzling sound.

To their surprise nothing happened as a crooked steel wall along with earth and sand erupted from the grounds covering the wall like an ethereal layer of protective coating.

"Awakeneds have the join the war, huh." Chris muttered with a hint of excitement in his voice.

The brilliant display of tactics one after another blocking all the attacks from happening was different from what they have ever seen.

Compared to this, the Central base suddenly looked less efficient and prepared in response. However reality was different—

The swamp suddenly swallowed all the fallen monsters in a wave of splash, the dark swamp far away turned into a dark shade of ethereal green.

A thread like dark substance came out like the roots of a tree and then weaved themselves into something new—Something far more terrifying.

"Is… is that a beast?"

Anny gasped as she heard Enzo speak.

The presence of the beasts were announced with earthly roars. The morning wind went still as if it had become heavy. Then a light–greenish mist covered the filled like a canopy.

'How many are even there?'

The mist covering the earth made it harder to look at the desolate grounds ahead. No one could count how many beasts had been raised from the swamp but just from the roars a rough estimate made it seems like a hundred of them had appeared.

Asher turned his head to look at the soldiers covering the wall giving them a worried and rather concerned look.

"Will they be able to deal with this?" He whispered, asking himself.

However seeing the soldiers' dreadful faces the possibility seemed slim to none. His grip tightened as he looked at his companions. Almost as if asking them if they wish to join now. But he didn't get the chance to ask this.

Zzzzzzzz!

Like a flash of light, something—or someone—rushed across the field. Asher couldn't see it coming, its path uncertain, its frame wrapped in blue light that crackled with a sharp, zapping sound.

The monsters near the wall froze, their bodies crashing to the ground the moment the blue light passed through them. Blood spilled out like a river, flooding the land with a sickly green stench.

The light came to a stop, standing atop a pile of corpses with one foot pressing the dead beneath him. A black coat draped his figure, a star engraved over his heart. As he held his curved blade for a moment, the battlefield stilled, silence broken only by the heavy pressure spreading through the land.

The Blade of the East had arrived.

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