Below, the city wall had become a grinder of flesh. Monsters piled their lives into a bloody path, even shaping earth and ice with Magic to build crude ladders against the wall. Soil and snow were dyed red, corpses lay everywhere, and deep cracks ran across the masonry, held together only by constant repairs from mages.
The soldiers clenched their teeth and fought on. They swung swords until their arms shook, cranked winches with numb hands, and fired massive ballistae that skewered monsters one after another. No one dared slow down.
As for Feltz, she stared ahead with exhausted, dull eyes. Her hands moved almost by habit as she swung the Magic Staff, her arms aching and heavy. Every motion felt delayed, as if her body no longer listened.
She squeezed out what little Magic and mental focus she had left. When it ran dry, she gulped down potions to refill it, forcing herself to last until rotation allowed her to step back. Even that short rest felt like a distant dream.
"Damn it, my crystal… I did not even get to warm it up."
While releasing Magic, a sharp pain hit her chest. She had traded nearly all her savings and taken on debt to buy an extremely rare, high-quality Elemental Crystal from a young girl earlier. She had planned to use it to craft a better Magic Staff, but moments ago she had no choice but to sacrifice it as a one-time casting material to stop a powerful flying monster.
The once clear crystal was now a dull fragment. Most of its elemental power had been ripped out by force, leaving the structure ruined. Just looking at it made her heart ache.
"Southeast side! Support!"
A horn blast and a roar dragged her thoughts back to the battlefield. Near one section of the wall, a grotesque monster with two heads and eight pairs of limbs was clawing at the stone, trying to tear it apart. Its twisted body moved in jerks that made the sight hard to bear.
Feltz narrowed her eyes. Together with several nearby mages, she unleashed high-output Magic and brought the dangerous creature down in time. The moment it fell, another wave surged in to take its place.
Her chanting had grown hoarse, and her ritual movements and Magic Array lines wobbled. The level of exhaustion showed in every shaky motion. Even standing upright took effort.
She felt cursed by fate. She had gone out to run an errand, barely survived the work, and finally returned to her small room without even getting a cup of hot cocoa. Then the alarm for a Beast Tide attack came without warning, forcing every capable professional into battle, and she was pushed straight into the mage unit to fight until now.
Feltz was stunned by how unreal it all felt.
Of course, some people protested. They asked why they had to fight. Then the defending commander showed the lord's order, and after climbing the wall to look around, no one joked anymore.
A terrifying sea of beasts surrounded the entire city from every direction, slowly advancing from the horizon. After that, everyone understood that only by holding the city together was there any chance to live. Running away meant death, and anyone confident enough to charge out was free to try.
Refugees from smaller towns flooded into the city as well. Those places had also been attacked, and similar scenes were playing out everywhere, merging into this overwhelming Beast Tide. The scale left no room for doubt.
Large numbers of able-bodied people were drafted into defense. Even nobles who usually stayed aloof were forced to act after nearly a hundred of their own were killed by monsters inside the city. Survival erased pride very quickly.
Three hours had already passed since the Beast Tide began in full.
"xxxxxxxx…"
Feltz chanted in a strange, winding tone. It was a sound that required Magic to produce, combined with circles drawn by her feet and lines traced by her fingertips. The spell and ritual movements meshed together without pause.
The Magic and elemental flow in the air shifted under her influence, arranging themselves into a hidden pattern. A glowing ring of Magic Array rose from beneath her feet, spreading out and binding with mental force as her Magic Staff tapped the ground. The formation locked into place around her.
A section of ground within the Beast Tide seemed to open into a monstrous mouth. Rolling earth swallowed monster after monster intoRend gaps, grinding them into pulp below. The ground shook violently as the effect spread.
More than a hundred monsters were crushed in moments. This was the power of a Mage, with grand effects following every gesture and step. It was not something sword-swinging brutes could compare to.
The problem was that Feltz, the one casting it, was nearly dead on her feet. Chanting and ritual movement were not glamorous when your limbs felt like lead. Her arms and legs burned, and her throat was close to giving out.
What looked impressive meant her condition was terrible. Even releasing this level of Magic now required long preparation with chants and rituals. That alone showed how far she had been pushed.
It was only because she was Silver rank, and had a supply of potions delivered, that she could act as a turret like this. Under normal conditions, she would have collapsed long ago.
"Why is this not over yet…"
She muttered while mechanically releasing Magic. Then she heard waves of shouting rise at once and looked toward the distance, her eyes going wide. Everyone else was staring the same way.
"Focus on that monster! Kill it!"
A massive multi-headed serpent loomed into view. Each head was a different kind of beast, and its back bristled with dense spikes. Its presence alone crushed smaller monsters beneath its bulk.
From its enormous body grew a pair of huge, insect-like forelimbs that dragged it forward. Around it, other monsters were not only large and twisted but violently frenzied, as if the madness spread outward. Any monster near it entered a blood-mad state, stronger and fearless.
Such creatures became priority targets by instinct. Every one of them was at least Silver rank. This one was clearly stronger than the rest.
From its many mouths, it spat fire, frost, lightning, and poison. Soldiers on the wall were killed in numbers, and even nearby monsters were caught in the blasts. One head sprayed thick poison into the air above the wall, and the corrosive rain melted metal and flesh alike, turning people into pools of blood.
That made it a perfect focus for concentrated fire. Fireballs, wind blades, killing Battle Aura strikes, and specialized giant bolts slammed into it. Even so, it only staggered, its hide torn and bleeding.
"Roar!"
Severed heads, pierced bodies, spilled organs. It kept moving anyway. Its wounds healed at a visible speed, and such damage was still not fatal.
Worse, the foul blood it shed polluted the area further. The best way to kill it was burning, freezing, or burying it outright. Anything less would not end it.
"Keep going! Someone else is down!"
Under the savage breath attacks, the blockbuster defenders were burned to charcoal or dissolved by poison. Some soldiers lay on the ground screaming, clutching terrible wounds. The scene offered no pause for mercy.
A corner of the mage tower near Feltz was blasted by stray lightning, shattering part of the railing. Even standing there, her hair was slightly scorched. Cold sweat ran down her back.
This monster was dangerous. Any of its breaths posed a threat even to someone of her level. Feltz gritted her teeth and made a decision.
She pulled out a scroll sealed with red wax. It was something she had pried from that old man with great effort. If this dragged on, the already thin defenses on the wall might break completely.
"Everyone, fall back!"
She warned her fellow mages. The moment they moved, the sky outside the wall seemed to gain a second sun. Ice and snow vanished in an instant as a wave of heat rolled across the battlefield.
It was a blazing sphere shaped by layers of Magic Array control. Massive fire elements circled it like sunlight, and with the spread of Magic, a roaring corona burst outward. It was hard to believe such a thing had been sealed in a single sheet of paper.
The spell-sun expanded its corona into a solid ring of light, golden and blinding. Even without doing anything, it poured unbearable light and heat down onto the battlefield. Everything below was exposed.
Monsters ignited from fur to shell, from bone to blood. The ground melted into lava, and rivers of molten rock swallowed countless creatures. Nothing that could burn was spared.
This power was far beyond what Feltz could truly control. Her mental link, already weakened by exhaustion, began to fail. The blazing sphere shook and drifted.
"Fall…"
She clenched her teeth and let go. The unrestrained sun wobbled and slowly descended toward the giant serpent. It could not see the sight, as any eyes it grew were instantly destroyed by the heat.
"Get down!"
Shouts rang out along the wall. Barriers were raised just before the shockwave and tidal flame swept across half the battlefield. Fire and charred bodies were thrown into the air, and a massive blackened section of serpent was blown apart.