Chapter 260

Crossroad. Western outskirts. A back alley.

Swish.

A werewolf was hot on the heels of a fleeing citizen.

"Ah! Help, please help! There's a monster! Someone, please help...!"

The werewolf was just about to reach the desperate citizen.

Its claws flashed menacingly, ready to rake across the citizen's back-

"...Not before I in-ter-vene!"

I rushed forward and hurled with all my might the magic core I held.

Out of thin air, a shield turret was summoned. The first shot, a provocation projectile, fired from its newly formed barrel and struck the werewolf's head. Boom!

Distracted by the provocation, the werewolf withdrew its claws from the citizen and turned its attention to the shield turret. That's right!

"Die, you bastard!"

I swung my staff and conjured three blades of magic, plunging them directly into the werewolf's body.

With a horrifying scream, the werewolf crashed into the walls of the alley, spilling blood as it collapsed.

"Huff, huff, huff!"

Wiping the sweat from my brow, I caught my breath. Damn, I've been running non-stop since earlier; it's so damn exhausting.

'But it couldn't be helped!'

I was the commander here, and the fact that monsters infiltrated the city was ultimately on me.

If I could run and reduce the casualties even by a little, then run I must.

Having caught my breath, I turned to the citizen the werewolf was chasing.

"Hey, are you alr..."

"Eek! Eek! Save me!"

The citizen was already running away, disappearing into the other end of the alley.

I awkwardly cleared my throat. At least he seemed safe. That's a relief.

"Your Highness!"

A scout, who had been following me from the rooftops with a telescope, shouted out.

"There's another werewolf in that direction!"

"Alright! Let's go!"

I immediately dashed in the direction the scout indicated.

I had scouts positioned throughout the city.

A rudimentary information network had been established, and I was busy collecting intel from all over Crossroad while fending off the werewolves.

The current frontlines of Crossroad were divided into three areas:

The southern wall, holding back the main forces of the Werewolf Legion.

The northern wall, resisting the Werewolf Legion Leader, Lunared.

And the urban warfare against dozens of werewolves that had breached the city's defenses.

'The south and north... I have no choice but to trust they'll hold!'

In the next alley, I encountered another werewolf preying on a potential victim.

I launched magic blades at it, but it dodged. It lunged at me with bared fangs, but I ducked just in time.

Engaged in a fierce melee with this lupine beast, I gritted my teeth and thought,

'The ones hiding within the city are the top priority! They must be dealt with!'

If these monsters penetrate the heart of the city and target ordinary citizens, the devastation will be immense.

The harm faced by soldiers and civilians are of completely different natures. At all costs, I have to protect the citizens.

Woosh!

Whimper...

"Ha, ha, ha!"

Having finally taken down the werewolf, I struggled to my feet, slightly swaying.

Even amidst all this, scouts on rooftops were relaying information.

Throughout the city, other heroes and soldiers had been deployed to seek and eliminate the werewolves that had penetrated the urban area.

I issued instructions to the scouts to spread the information to others.

Hoping for minimal damage, and praying for the southern and northern fronts to hold, I dashed through the city's alleys.

***

Barracks.

All the soldiers had departed, leaving the place empty. Kureha stood distant at the entrance.

He was worried about his younger brother. He was concerned about the city's situation.

But what could he possibly do?

Kureha alternately gazed at his frail left leg and his withered right arm.

To suppress the curse of a rampaging wolf that activated with exertion, Kureha had undergone a spell that mummified parts of his own body.

'With this body, I can't even fight...'

Even if his head overflowed with profound understanding of his clan's martial techniques, they were useless if he couldn't employ them.

All he could do was watch. He sighed and looked up at the sky. The moon, luminous with a spectral glow, seemed ominously bright.

Then it happened.

"Arghhh! Aaaah!"

"A monster, a monsterrrr!"

"Stop it!"

"We must hold it here!"

Screams and sounds of combat echoed from not too far off.

Startled, Kureha, almost without thinking, moved toward the commotion on his limping legs.

In the clearing, two elderly people clung to each other, trembling in fear. Around them, soldiers were engaged in battle with a monstrous creature.

There were about ten soldiers, but only one creature.

Thud!

Rip!

They were no match.

The monster was a white-furred werewolf.

It had successfully penetrated the city from the west gate and moved quicker than any wolf to this spot.

The creature's grotesquely long claws decimated soldiers in mere moments.

The last soldier, who had been defending the elderly couple until the end, collapsed spewing blood, gasping out,

"Run... away..."

The soldier soon breathed his last. The elderly couple stifled their screams with their hands.

The creature let out a strange chuckle from its mouth. The white werewolf slowly advanced toward its next victims.

In an instant, Kureha intervened.

The white werewolf, staring at the obstruction that was Kureha, soon noticed something unusual.

Sniffing.

Sniff.

The werewolf slowly opened its mouth as it caught Kureha's scent.

"...Who are you?"

A voice full of curiosity emerged from the creature.

"One of my kind, perhaps?"

"...No."

The next moment, Kureha's left fist, swift as lightning, connected with the wolf's jaw.

Boom!

The beast, struck with a perfectly executed blow, flew and crashed noisily on the other side of the alley.

From Kureha's left arm, muscle and flesh turned to dust and fell.

Raising his mummified fist, Kureha gritted his teeth and declared,

"I am human, monster."

***

Western part of the city. In an alley.

"Eeeek, eeeeek!"

"Please, mages! Save our children at least!"

In between a family comprising a couple and their two children, Reina and Junior were casting spells, vigilantly scanning their surroundings.

They were surrounded by about ten werewolves.

"Tch..."

Junior clicked her tongue in frustration.

On the plains or from the walls, terrain wasn't much of an issue when facing werewolves.

On the plains, direct combat was sufficient, and from the walls, they held the advantage.

But here, it was a city.

Werewolves leapt freely from building rooftops, through basement windows of abandoned buildings, attacking from all angles in three dimensions.

The two mages were immensely powerful, but in the city, they couldn't unleash their full potential.

Because they would turn the city to ashes. Plus, Reina's injury from being pierced by a sword hadn't fully healed.

It would be great if they could precisely snipe with their magic, but the wolves attacked relentlessly, giving no room.

Boom!

A pinpoint water explosion missed a werewolf, and instead, a streetlight collapsed with a loud noise. Junior gritted her teeth.

'Too many restrictions...!'

Whoosh!

Reina's blade of wind also missed a werewolf, tearing only through the roof of a neighboring building. Reina clicked her tongue.

If only someone could take the front line, protect this family, they could focus and snipe the wolves with magic.

Just then.

Thud!

A sound of metal piercing flesh was heard, and from the alleyway, a werewolf fell, coughing up blood.

The startled mages looked in that direction.

The man who silently appeared and killed a werewolf was a familiar middle-aged man.

Camus.

An SR-grade mercenary, who was supposed to be in prison for trying to kill Reina.

"..."

"..."

An odd silence lingered.

Camus and Reina locked eyes.

To Camus, Reina was an unforgivable enemy, and to Reina, Camus was the criminal who ambushed her and her subordinates.

In this strange tension, Junior looked between the two, unsure.

Then,

Step. Step.

Without a word, Camus approached, twirling his longsword, then took a defensive stance.

Standing in a position to protect Reina, Junior, and the civilian family, he eyed the pack of werewolves.

No words, no gestures exchanged.

Naturally, as if it was the most obvious thing to do, the swordsman stood before the two mages.

Growl!

Roar!

And in the next moment, werewolves leapt at them from all sides.

Camus swung his sword, while Reina and Junior unleashed wind and lightning.

***

In town. At the blacksmith.

Growl! Roar!

A werewolf, menacing at the blacksmith's entrance, gnashed its teeth.

The blacksmiths surrounding the beast, faces red and sweaty, clutched their weapons.

They made weapons, they weren't warriors.

Though they confronted the beast with drawn weapons, they lacked the skill and courage to take down this massive wolf monster.

Roar!

The ferocious werewolf lunged forward. The startled blacksmiths screamed, crouching in fear.

At that moment,

Smash!

A short, elderly dwarf jumped forward, slamming down a massive hammer he held.

Crack!

Struck squarely on the forehead, the werewolf spewed blood, its head plunging to the ground.

"Darned beast, thinking you could..."

In the palm of his hand, the dwarf named Kellibey tightly gripped his hammer and bellowed out.

"What the hell is this, polluting the sacred forge with the smell of blood? Damn it all!"

Thud! Thud!

With two successive blows, the werewolf was thoroughly squashed and died. Wiping the sweat from his brow, Kellibey looked around.

"What are y'all gawking at? Grab your tools! We need to get out there!"

"Uh, what?"

"You think I didn't notice the monster making its way here? The city's in danger. Aren't we going to help?"

"But... what can we possibly..."

The flustered blacksmiths exchanged glances. Kellibey clicked his tongue.

"So you're just gonna hide and cower?"

"..."

"Sit on your hands, wait for the monster to come, and then just peacefully let it rip you to shreds?"

"But sir, we didn't come to this city to fight!"

"What the hell! You think I came here to fight? My back's out, I came for therapy, you idiots!"

Kellibey shouted.

"You all, who've been working with weapons by the fire, can surely fight better than those clueless citizens out there sleeping soundly! So, we fight!"

"But, we're not soldiers! We're just ordinary citizens!"

"You think those monsters care? To them, you're all just humans!"

Leading the way, Kellibey moved towards the forge's entrance.

"Kill the monsters, save the people. Isn't that what your lord always preaches? Isn't that the city's motto?"

"..."

"Then save yourselves, you fools. Those who can fight should fight when it's time!"

While the other blacksmiths remained frozen, Kellibey's young assistant Hannibal quickly joined him.

The young assistant held a knife he had been crafting earlier that day.

"Let's go, master!"

"Look at this brazen one. The youngest one here."

Kellibey chuckled.

One by one, the hesitant blacksmiths began to follow behind Kellibey.

The head of the guild, who had been arguing with Kellibey just moments ago, called out desperately.

"What should we bring with us?!"

"You know what we make in the fortress city's forge, don't you?"

Kellibey turned around and responded briefly.

"Weapons!"

He added emphatically.

"A damn lot of them!"