Hozora Kingdom (3)

I could choose a special area to protect, but that would mean the other areas in the kingdom are going to get hit.

What would the real Rylan Ashencroft do?

'I had no idea'.

More and more cracks started to appear on the barrier.

"I need to make a decision soon.".

The meteors seemed endless, and as I looked below, more and more people were coming out of the portals.

F*ck.

I withdrew my barrier, and I quickly landed on the ground.

At the same time, I created a barrier big enough to protect the area around the portal; coincidentally, the castle was included in that area.

It was a very big area, but compared to the kingdom that I saw from above, it was small.

I could feel the ground shake from the countless meteors, and I knew that those would kill civilians.

The meteors started to hit the kingdom, and all I did was close my eyes and try to hold on to the barrier that I had created.

Because I made a smaller area, the barrier was strengthened multiple times. And even though the meteors hit the barrier, it showed no sign of breaking.

I chose to protect the area around the portal, which made all the people outside my barrier vulnerable to the attacks.

But it's okay because this was just a novel. All the people here were just some characters in a fictional novel, so it's okay.

Suddenly, I was reminded of today when I walked through the busy streets.

Kids laughed with other kids while they ate ice cream.

A dad holding his daughter on his shoulders, a couple holding hands as their faces redden, and an old man feeding some birds.

There were countless scenes like that.

These were real things that happened today.

And now in this kingdom, they were getting killed by the metoers.

"I am sorry."

I was just trying to cope by saying that they were only people in a novel and that they weren't real.

But now that I was inside Rylan Ashencroft's body, weren't they just as real as I was?

"Rylan, there are no more meteors. You can stop now." A person said while putting her hand on my shoulder.

And as I opened my eyes, I noticed that she was right. There were no more meteors; the attack was done.

It was a woman in her 30s with a gentle face. She had white clothes on, and as she continued ahead, I noticed that there were three flaming circles on her back.

She stepped forward and took a deep breath.

"Flaming Star members! What is our motto?"She shouted.

""Burn the injuries away!""

I heard a group of people shout, and as I turned around, I noticed from the portal that a bunch of people in white clothes with a flaming circle on their backs ran forward.

They spread out to find injured people in the city.

I slapped myself in the face.

"Take it seriously, Ryan. There is no time to blame.".

When I saw the Flaming Star members run forward to heal, I knew what I was doing was pathetic.

I didn't have time to think of what I was doing, and therefore I chose the most logical area to protect, which was the portals.

Everyone here was experiencing the same meteors, but they were quickly trying to do their best in this situation.

These were people who had countless battlefield experiences. If I wanted to be useful, I needed to at least do my part as Rylan Ashencroft.

"Flying monsters have invaded the east side of the kingdom!". A soldier with wings shouted.

The man in armor with the Griffin logo jumped up a building to get a better view.

"Wyverns!". He shouted from the top of the building.

"Angel squad, prepare yourself. Get the eagles, and we will rush forward." He shouted as he whistled loudly.

He jumped out of the building, and he landed on a giant eagle that flew him towards the east.

Immediately afterwards, 10 other knights on giant eagles followed him.

"I am going to the mage tower; I need to fix the barrier crystal before another attack comes." The man with glasses said as he took the portal.

Everybody was coordinating and had a specific task.

While I was doing absolutely nothing, I was just standing here with no task to do.

I saw a knight take a circular crystal out, and I could hear a familiar voice speaking.

"We need another squad to take on the monsters from the west side.".

It was the knight commander who jumped on the eagle.

"I will give the orders!". He answered back.

"We need two platoons on the west side of the kingdom!". He shouted.

I saw around 100 people, a mix of mages, soldiers, and knights, quickly rush to the west.

I heard loud stomping on the ground, and as I turned around, I saw a 3-meter golem drag what looked like a huge cannon from the portal.

"The mana cannons are here! Bring the cannons to the north!". A soldier who looked like he had a high rank shouted.

Out of the portal came four more cannons.

A general took a circular crystal out, and I heard a tired voice speaking.

"This is Arnoldus speaking. There are too many monsters; we need more men.".

"The mana cannons are on their way; just try to hold on. We will send a company to you; do not let them enter the kingdom." The Genereal answered back.

"Understood," the tired voice replied back.

Another mix of mages, soldiers, and knights rushed to the north side.

'What am I even doing?'.

I walked over to someone who looked like he had a high rank.

"What should I do?".

He looked at me, a little surprised.

"What do you want to do?" He answered, flustered back.

What do I want to do?

The scene of the meteors hitting the kingdom appeared in my mind.

"I don't want any more people to die.".

He looked at me confused, not knowing what to say.

But it didn't matter because I now understood what I had to do.

"East, north, and west. Out of all these directions, which one needs the most help?" I asked.

He thought for a minute.

"It would be the west since they don't have any SS rank.".

That was all I needed to hear.

"Dracanis".

Four black canine-looking creatures with red, fiery eyes appeared.

"Attack," I said while pointing in the west direction.