Before she even had the chance to finish the sentence people started moving from the inner side of the barrier, almost as if it was in response to Claudia's comment.

The city guards cleared away the wooden barricades because not only were they just in the way but if the corrupted spawns actually broke in they would provide little protection if any at all.

Hazel stood on one of the watchtowers overseeing the entire field and was the one giving orders to the rest of them.

"What is that girl saying, go closer!" she commanded and the swallows followed, covertly flying closer to the city gates.

Maybe their voices were loud or maybe the swallows had much sharper senses because they were able to pick up on everything that was happening on the ground from more than fifty meters away.

"Clear the path, don't leave anything that could slow down the ones who are retreating," she spoke to the city guards first who were reduced to mere errand runners at this point. Then came the other cultivators.

"I want all the magic and element users on one of these three watchtowers. Come up only if you need a direct line of sight or your abilities can be used in a straight line only. Everyone else stand in the middle of the gates."

"If you do not have a clear line of sight then at least aim for 60 meters away from your position. The last thing we need is friendly fire."

About twenty people came forward while just seven of them climbed to the towers. Each tower could only hold 3 people comfortably so it was just enough.

From there they could finally see the tide of monsters laying just outside the barrier, currently being held back by a handful of individuals taking turns.

Even the ones that couldn't clearly see far off into the distance were able to catch a glimpse of the countless bobbing heads just a short distance out.

Many of their expressions darkened. They had no idea how bad it was until seeing it in person and expectantly, it was the same thought that popped up in many of their heads.

'Can we really do this?'

Still, as young as they were none of them were novices. They had, at the very least, received basic training and knew voicing their concerns at this point in time would do more harm than good.

They might have come from a far-off world crossing billions of miles to fight in this place that was meant to be little more than a test of their abilities but...things had gotten way out of hand.

Their lives depended on this and every other battle that would come after it. It was a matter of survival and suffice to say, it was going to be a long few days.

Hazel reached into her coat and pulled out a small gold jewelry box. It had a very simple design with little to no decorations other than a name engraved on the cover.

[The Grail Seeker]

With a soft sigh, she brushed her fingers across the cold metal plate.

"Did he know I would need it one day?" she muttered under her breath as a slew of old memories came flooding in.

She saw a much younger version of herself sitting under a tree wrapped mostly in bandages from head to toe. In front of her was Henrik, standing with the jewelry box in his hand.

"I got this as a gift but I feel like it's much more suitable for you than me. Make sure to keep it safe, treat it with respect and it will never let you down," he said smilingly as the sun slowly set behind him.

She looked back towards the stone platform and saw the same exact Henrik down on his knees scribbling away the final inscriptions. Only now his visage looked much worse.

'I won't let you down, never again!'

With gritted teeth and an indomitable will that could stand against even the tallest of the mountains, she opened the box.

*WOOSH*

A wave of pure spiritual energy shot out in all directions for more than 500 meters. Even ordinary mortals felt like someone had lent them a helping hand while the cultivators felt like their energies were being bolstered by an unseen force.

A golden light floated up from inside the jewelry box and hovered in front of Hazel. She carefully put away the box and reached out towards the orb of light. She grasped it as if it was a solid object and the moment her hands came into contact with it the light began to expand.

It grew longer and longer, stopping finally upon reaching 3 meters of length. The golden light surrounding it cracked and burst into sparkling dust to reveal its true form.

A quarterstaff with two solid gold cups on either end. Just behind the cups were pure white rings of light connecting the main body to each of the cups.

Hazel tightened her grip around the shaft and it buzzed loudly. A living weapon, and a powerful one at that since it had a name of its own.

She felt the energy surging through her body, being further bolstered by the Grail Seeker's power.

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