Chapter 99: The Beginning of a Bloody Battle

"Quick, quick, quick! Assemble, assemble!"

"Damn it, hurry up, hurry up! Clear out the onlookers, get them out of here, don't let them get in the way."

"A Gate of Hell? How could such a thing appear inside the Royal City?"

The young captain rallied every combatant he could find in the vicinity, though he had no idea what purpose this would serve against the magma-filled rift rising into the sky.

"Sir, where are your Night's Edge troops?" The captain glanced at Edward, who was staring fixedly at the rising Gate of Hell, and asked with a hint of hesitation.

Everyone knew that during wartime, the Royal City Guard was merely a nominal protector; they were fine for handling common bandits or minor disturbances, but when it came to something on the scale of a Gate of Hell, they were fundamentally out of their depth.

Yet, this Night's Edge officer—whom he had briefly encountered on the night the flesh-monster ravaged the Wall District—had not gone to find his own unit, but instead ordered him to gather as many guardsmen as possible.

But were these guardsmen, who were still clamoring in confusion and displaying immense terror at the sight of the Gate, truly of any use?

The young captain was a minor noble himself. He was just unlucky; he had only come to the City Guard to serve a stint and gild his resume, only to run into this kind of disaster twice. Still, he wondered if he should call himself lucky—he hadn't been the scapegoat last time, and he figured he wouldn't be this time, either.

"Hmph... they are inside the Royal Palace; we cannot count on them for now. All we can do is hold out until the Imperial Guard arrives."

Edward exhaled. The kingdom's internal strength was indeed hollowed out; the war had drained too many troops to the front lines. Previously, at least every district's guard had been led by a high-ranking official knight, but now...

This captain, who was at least diligent, possessed the strength of a high-ranking squire, but as for the other districts, Edward doubted they were any better off.

Normally, the Night's Edge would have filled the void left by the guards during wartime, but the timing was disastrous. The Night's Edge was incapacitated, and it would take time for the Imperial Guard to arrive.

Watching winged demons fly out of the magma rift and soar into the sky, their human-like faces twisted with a mix of confusion and mounting excitement as they surveyed their surroundings, Edward knew these were the vanguard from Hell. If the Gate was not closed soon, more powerful demons would sense the path, and that would be a true catastrophe.

"The Gate has appeared, which means Wang Yu failed to stop it... I hope he's alright," Edward muttered to himself.

Communication had been severed by the field of the Reality Anchor, and Wang Yu hadn't sent another message since. He didn't know what that explosion was about, but it was likely Wang Yu's doing.

"Edward, I detonated the Reality Anchor, trying to blast open the top of the demon summoning array. It seems I failed—I was a step too slow—but I did gain something."

Coincidentally, just as Edward was worrying about him, Wang Yu's transmission arrived.

Running through the Wall District, which was not yet covered by the rift, Wang Yu recalled what he had seen in that pit, organized his thoughts, and relayed the information to Edward.

"Someone cleared out a cavity in the sewers below beforehand and drew a demonic summoning array inside. The missing residents from the Wall District you discovered were likely dragged down there as sacrifices."

Recalling the scene of mangled flesh below, and the agonizing wails that hadn't ceased even as souls dissipated, he had to admit that life in the underbelly of the Royal City was truly wretched.

It was difficult to target residents outside the Wall District without being noticed, but the large-scale disappearance of these people—who were nominally citizens but effectively outcasts—hadn't caused a ripple.

Wang Yu didn't know if the Royal City's structure was inherently deformed, but it certainly harbored many hidden dangers. Considering the unchecked violence and chaos beneath the city's shadows, he couldn't help but suspect the Royal Family was deliberately cultivating something.

The Professor had once mentioned a weapon called the "God's Remains of the End." Although the Professor believed the protective measures prevented Wang Yu from hearing it, in reality, they had no effect on him.

"The darkness and brutality born from the hearts of these people will eventually be projected into that sea of psychic energy. Whatever is gestating at its center will grow stronger, and eventually, that nascent Abyss will reach maturity. Alastair Royal Family, what on earth are you doing..."

Shaking his head, Wang Yu cast these extraneous thoughts aside. Now was not the time for conspiracy theories. The priority was to stall these demons and prevent the spread of the scorched earth.

"Although the explosion failed to destroy the array, it had one benefit: it opened a path from the summoning circle to the surface. Once the Imperial Guard arrives, they can force their way in from above. Edward, what we must do now is contain these demons and minimize casualties."

Wang Yu's thinking was crystal clear. These demons were only the vanguard. The winged demons weren't very strong—roughly the level of high-ranking squires—and their physical constitution wasn't high; they were only dangerous because they could fly and hurl fireballs.

The real trouble would be the Beholders, Bull-Demons, and Black Goats that would appear later. Their strength would skyrocket, far surpassing the terror of these winged creatures.

"Aaaah! Help! Someone, please save me!" A shrill scream echoed from afar. Wang Yu glanced back while running to see a young woman discovered by a winged demon between two buildings. The inherently evil creature carried her into the sky, savoring her terrified face and desperate struggles.

"Sigh..." Wang Yu sighed and ignored it. It was too far. While killing these demons wasn't difficult, he wasn't a superhero; he possessed neither the strength nor the burden of one. He might save those within his reach, but for strangers further away, he felt no guilt in leaving them to their fate.

"Thud." The sound of a heavy object hitting the ground followed, and the screaming stopped abruptly. Wang Yu did not look back. This was just the beginning. As long as these demons rampaged, tragedies would continue to unfold. What he had seen was merely a microcosm of the Royal City's chaos.

"I am gathering the guards, having them establish a defensive line at the border between the Wall District and the other sectors. The next tier of demons usually appears in five minutes. Wang Yu, you have about two minutes left; hurry and link up with us."

Edward's transmission came through, filled with the chaotic din of panicked inquiries, impatient shouting, and even weeping and cursing.

"Understood." Wang Yu nodded and picked up his pace.

It would take time for the Imperial Guard to arrive—estimated at fifteen minutes without the help of the rift. Every five minutes, the danger level of the demons emerging from the Gate would rise. Time was the one thing they lacked.

Most of these demons were currently confined to the Wall District. If not for the fact that most of the residents had been used as sacrifices, the demons would have been slaughtering them by the thousands.

But precisely because there were no weak humans left to attract their attention, the demons were quickly losing interest in this empty, dilapidated area and turning their sights elsewhere.

At that moment, the outermost guard line made contact with the first wave of demons flying toward the city. The battle to hold back the demons had begun.

Winged demons, the lowest of Hell's creatures, had nothing to boast of, but their inferior intelligence meant they knew no fear. The reason they could throw their lives away without being wiped out was their sheer numbers.

The Gate of Hell had a throughput limit; the more powerful the demon, the more "bandwidth" it consumed. The winged demons were so weak that the Gate could churn them out without pause.

Dense swarms of winged demons, laughing wildly and lacking any formation, flew from the Gate toward the first defensive line built at the border of the Wall District.

"Can we really handle this many?"

"Damn it, this is my first time in battle!"

"The guards are only supposed to handle thieves, why did we get stuck with this?"

"I'm not going to die here, am I... *sob*."

The mobilized guards had built a makeshift, waist-high barricade at the border using old carriages, furniture, and rocks—a barrier that was effectively useless.

It was useless against the flying demons and served only as a self-deception against the stronger, flightless ones that would follow.

The guards were equipped with decent, kingdom-issued metal armor, and their bows and swords were high-quality standard-issue. In any other mercenary guild outside the Royal City, this gear would be reserved for the elite.

But that was where the quality ended. While the average strength of the Royal City was a tier above the outside world—a result of environment and resources—mentality and willpower could not be supplemented by equipment.

Facing the swarming demons, they displayed uncontrollable fear and chaos, held in place only by the threat of military discipline.

The sheer number of winged demons made them seem overwhelming. Though they were only the size of ten-year-old children, their expansive wings created a suffocating pressure.

Though these temporary wartime guards were inexperienced and lacked willpower, they were part of the kingdom's regular military structure. Defying orders would lead to horrific retribution.

So, even facing the swarm, they had no choice but to grit their teeth and stand their ground.

"Stay calm! These demons are just the vanguard. If you can't even handle these, you're all going to die today. Brace yourselves, prepare to fire!"

A gray-haired knight captain in the center of the line commanded the demoralized soldiers. These veterans were either retirees from the front lines who couldn't sit still or those sidelined by old wounds.

Compared to the rest, these leaders still possessed military discipline and grit. Under his command, despite the lingering fear, the guards managed to form a firing line, using buildings as cover.

The leader watched the approaching demons. He appeared calm, but inside, he was far from steady. He had more experience than the average guard, which meant he understood the true horror of what was coming.

These were just the vanguard. Worse things were coming. As a unit unlucky enough to be on the front line, he didn't know how many would survive—or if he would survive himself.

But if they were to die, they would die fighting. "For Alastair, fire!" As the demons flew into range, the captain's booming voice rang out.

"Click, click, click!" The sound of triggers being pulled echoed incessantly. The soldiers, already on edge, pulled their triggers instinctively at the sound of the command.

The tension of the bowstrings released into the force of arrows. The power of the military crossbows was unleashed, and a storm of arrows rose from the formation, flying into the cluster of demons.

"Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!" Sharp metal arrowheads easily pierced the fragile bodies of the winged demons. Those struck in the head died instantly; those hit in the limbs fared no better, struggling briefly before losing strength and plummeting from the sky.

Even those whose wings were merely grazed could not survive; the arrowheads tore through the thin membranes, and the demons, losing their lift, fell from heights they could not survive, turning into bloody messes upon impact.

A single volley from hundreds of men thinned the front of the swarm significantly.

Afterward, because they were unfamiliar with reloading the crossbows, the firing became ragged and uneven. The sound of arrows cutting through the air came in bursts. Because of the sheer density of the swarm, they didn't need to aim; almost every shot found a target.

"Hey, these demons aren't so tough after all."

"They scared me for a second, haha."

"We might actually make a profit on this."

"We should be careful; there are simply too many of them."

"What is there to fear? They promised us a reward this time."

These inexperienced soldiers lacked confidence, yet it was easily built; seeing how effortlessly their gunfire felled the winged demons, they grew instantly emboldened.

"Take cover!" the squad leader’s voice suddenly rang out.

Seemingly noticing the humans firing upon them, the winged demons let out shrill, cackling laughter, showing not a shred of fear at their heavy losses, but rather, a heightened frenzy.

Crimson flames erupted from the hands of the approaching swarm; one by one, fireballs were conjured by these mad hellish creatures, and then, hurled.

The soldiers stared blankly at the sky raining fire, paralyzed in their stupor—were these demons not supposed to be easily killed?

Perhaps they were right, but these demons could just as easily kill them.

"Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!" The city block housing the first line of defense was plunged into a purgatory of explosions and flame.