Chapter 13: Crisis in the City of Ashes

Night completely enveloped the City of Ashes, the lights on the dilapidated streets were scarce, and the shadows constantly shifted among the ruins.

Ian stayed quietly by the side of the little girl, who was curled up in a corner, her eyes red and swollen, obviously having just cried. The two waited in silence, surrounded by nothing but the occasional sound of wind and muffled shouts in the distance.

"What's your name?" Ian asked softly, trying to ease the girl's fears.

The little girl looked up and timidly replied, "My name is Lily."

Ian smiled slightly and said soothingly, "Lily is a very nice name, don't be afraid, your mom will surely be back soon."

Lily nodded, but the uneasiness in her eyes didn't quite subside. She hesitated for a moment and asked in a small voice, "Brother, will you always stay with me?"

Ian gently stroked her hair and firmly replied, "Of course, I will stay with you until your mother returns."

Just then, a commotion suddenly came from the direction of the city gates, vaguely interspersed with the shouts and sirens of a panicked crowd.

Immediately alert, Ian stood up and peered into the distance in the direction of the gates, "What's going on?"

Lily clung to Ian's leg in fear, her voice trembling, "Brother, what's happening?"

"I don't know ...," Ian frowned, a trace of strong uneasiness welling up in his heart.

Suddenly, a woman came running from the distance in a panic, looking anxious, "Lily!"

"Mom!" Lily jumped into the woman's arms at once, crying with joy, "Mommy, you're finally back!"

The woman's face was filled with anxiety and she hugged her daughter tightly before urgently saying to Ian, "Hurry up and go! The defense line at the city gates has been breached by monsters, and now there are monsters everywhere, the whole city is in danger!"

"What?" Ian's heart sank within him and he immediately looked back in the direction of the city gates.

At this time, the distant shrieks and screams became more and more obvious, and a large number of fast-moving shadows faintly appeared in the darkness of the night, hissing and roaring like a tidal wave rushing in.

The crowd instantly fell into a frantic state of flight, and the streets were filled with terrified screams and cries from everywhere. People ran without order, and some tried to resist, only to be torn apart by the monsters that quickly pounced on them, splattering blood everywhere.

"Lily, run!" The woman pulled up her daughter and shouted anxiously.

But several monsters were already rapidly approaching, their sharp, sharp claws glinting icily in the dimness. Lily and her mother were instantly in extreme danger.

"Ah!" Lily screamed, closing her eyes in fear.

A flash of determination and calmness flashed in Ian's eyes as he quickly drew his long knife and stormed towards the monster, " back off!"

The blade cut through the air like a meteor, precise and swift. Before the two monsters could even get close to mother and daughter Lily, they were instantly decapitated and their bodies fell heavily to the ground.

Ian's figure steadily blocked in front of Lily and her mother, the blade in his hand still dripping with sticky blood. His eyes stared coldly ahead, and the ever-approaching monsters hesitated slightly under his gaze.

"Get to safety!" Ian quickly shouted to the mother and daughter.

The woman nodded nervously, "Thank you, sir!" She picked up Lily and quickly ran towards the safe area.

Ian took a deep breath, his eyes sharply scanning the swarm of monsters that kept pouring into the streets. He gripped the long knife in his hand tightly, his muscles tensed up, and he quickly entered a combat state.

At this moment, the entire city was already in desperate chaos. People were fleeing in all directions, terrified and desperate; the monsters were swarming in like a tidal wave, killing the survivors indiscriminately.

Ian quickly assessed the situation and calmly formulated his tactics. His body rushed into the group of monsters like a fast wind, relying on his great speed and strength, his blade quickly and accurately sliced through the fatal parts of each monster, his movements as smooth as a dance.

The monster's sharp claws nearly cut through his skin time and time again, but each time he was able to skillfully dodge them with amazing reaction speed. His combat skills became more and more refined, his movements were swift and powerful, and the monsters fell to the ground one after another.

Soon the surrounding monsters were cleaned up by him, looking at the monster corpses on the ground and the ordinary people struggling for survival not far away, a special emotion arose in his heart: yes, these hideous and horrifying mutants in the eyes of ordinary people are not the slightest bit threatening to me, is this the meaning of my existence.

At this moment, he finally clarified the true goal within himself - no matter how hard it was, he would become people's hope and lead them through the darkness.

And this, was the mission that truly belonged to him.

Just as Ian clarified his heart, the system's beep sounded.

[Detected that the host has gotten rid of his confusion and clarified his heart, now releasing the mainline mission] 

[Mainline mission: End the chaotic world and lead humanity back to the age of civilization] 

[Mission description: None] 

[Mission reward: ???????

Ian's feet lurched, and he inwardly spat, "System, what kind of mainline mission is this, even if there is no description, how come there is not even a reward. " 

[This main quest has no conditions, the host can complete it by any method, and the reward will be based on completion].

Ian saw that he couldn't ask for any useful information and took a deep breath, no matter what the reward was, it wouldn't affect his inner decision. Let's start the first step by saving the City of Ashes.