The Eastern Front
The town of Carinhold had been evacuated three days ago.
Thirty thousand civilians fled south in waves, abandoning homes their families had occupied for generations. They'd left behind possessions, livestock, entire lifetimes of accumulated memories—because staying meant certain death.
The demon legion approaching from the east numbered ten thousand strong. An army large enough to overwhelm any conventional defense, disciplined enough to coordinate complex assaults, and ruthless enough to slaughter every living thing they encountered.
Carinhold's garrison had numbered perhaps two hundred soldiers. Against ten thousand demons, they'd have lasted minutes at best. So evacuation had been ordered, the town abandoned to buy time for civilians to escape.
But four people had remained behind.
