NOVEL WEB Chapter 43: Siege!
The fire kindling from the embers of a used-up torch seems to never start, as if it has a heart of its own, beating into the sound of battle. Alas, it is but a fire, and fire needs something to burn to light anew, but there was nothing left to consume, as it had already consumed everything. Thus, with the cold breeze of the wind, it slowly but surely until it was snuffed out of its final embers, and with it, the accursed beating stopped as it lost the colors, its very beauty, turning into what is now dull and monotonous, lifeless death of its kind.
The sound and vibration of steel clashing into the ground sends shockwaves into the underworld of critters; those who have been asleep are now wide awake. Some chose to go deeper into the ground, whilst some chose to go and relocate elsewhere trying to find somewhere much quieter than going back into the hellhole and attempting to dig deeper.
Marching in unison, the people of numerous races were doing about patrolling from one area to another. Some had pointy ears, but the rest seemed to have human features, while some had the features of a human but did not have the same skin, and instead, a large amount of fur had gone into their skin and body. All the while resembling that of a human.
A furry human with the face of a man but has the ears of a bunny and the tail of a bunny too; with each person, it changes from elephants to alligators, there seemed to be one for each kind or person. It was as if the human features were the standard template that was made for them, but they were allowed to customize their avatars.
Moreover, despite the appearance of humanity, there are no humans in sight; it looks like a human, does things like a human, and acts like a human; therefore, is it a human? No? Since there were human features, should there be an ancestor for humans themselves? It does not seem like there is, but maybe there is; not everything can be answered through observation.
With that observation, the group of races continued marching on in an orderly manner. The atmosphere around the village, city, or fortress seemed to be at an all-time high as there were people being extra vigilant and alert all this time. There were also soldiers patrolling in each and every corner, and proper mage towers or vantage points were also being built in case of an attack.
It seemed like the people who have built this place are sparing no thought in fortifying this very place, as it holds a very dear place to the people around here. Not only did the people or locals hold these places dear, but people of power also took place here and made enormous contributions to fortifying this place. Not only was this place very important to the locals, but it also seemed to be also a strategic place.
A strategic place, if lost, is a huge loss for a nation, which could also mean why there were such large amounts of movements and investments coming into this place and never leaving ever again.
Nevertheless, the clanking of iron boots permeates the surroundings, people with strange black jackets wander all around the place, and immigration is tightly halted. Anyone who wanders in never comes back out. It was as if the place had made a final stand and would not let anybody have that honor. Thus, nobody would ever get out of this place; no matter how angry anybody is, they would be dying together.
"!!!" A terrible explosion rocked the surroundings, debris flying everywhere, dust clouds forming and the shouts and cries of the innocent seemed to ever drown the tranquil state of the city.
Upon hearing the explosion, soldiers and citizens alike ducked their heads to avoid any fatalities or anything of sorts from getting through their self-made barrier. When it ended, they raised their heads and watched in horror. One of their walls had been destroyed, and now the darkness of the world was pouring into its streets.
Brave men and women, picked up the torch to push back the darkness. Moreover, why did they even use torches to push back the darkness? What was even the point of it? It was absolutely necessary, as under the guise of darkness, their vision is limited, and their adversaries moved much faster during the night; in short, they were extremely under advantage even if we were to seriously bring out the lights, that would just be a massive fire and a complaint towards human resource.
They pushed back the terror of the night by pushing it slowly with their torches, and soon enough, it became inadequate. He felt that they could have done something much more better. Alas, the limitations of the money and the word love
With those things in their hand and a sword on the other, the armored soldiers attempted to hold it out and support their allies from being overwhelmed. Unfortunately, the ghouls just kept on getting in more and more, and some of them even had to jump from the top. They were confused as to why are these things even happening or how they would digest seeing all this first.
They have the strongest gate and the strongest wall, so how were they still able to open it? No matter the gunpowder, it still should still be enough. Yet it took a few tiny explosions for the entire thing to collapse under its own weight. Moreover, they do not even have any explosives inside this city. Then, that must mean something else or someone else is deliberately controlling the situation so that it unfolds in this exact place.
That being must have possessed such strong intelligence that it would rival this world's own geniuses, acting up and going toe to toe against an enemy.
With those in mind, the valiant defenders fought with much fury. With fury and anger present in their eyes, they chanted in unison. All the while chanting, an unknown form of energy seemed to be exuding from them, and soon enough, each of them lit up until it focused on their weapons. From swords to bows and wands and staffs of mages, they all glowed in unison.
First, the sword man attacks; with each swift stroke of its sword, it leaves off a particle of energy and, with it, creates after mirrors. Not only the effects, the sword became much faster, as if empowered by an unknown force of energy.
It was then followed by the bowmen; without taking an arrow from their quiver, they pulled the strings of their bow, and soon enough, unknown energy gathered from the cock of the bow and into the end of the bow where the strings were being pulled. Along its lines, an arrow began to form; it was entirely made of energy.
While the sword wore the energy as a cloak, the bow turned the energy into an arrow that would be shot against its adversaries.
The bowman eventually let go of the arrow, and with a flash of light, the arrow disappeared, and on the other side, a blistering powered shot struck a ghoul straight into the head. With extreme power on its core, it penetrated the skull of the ghoul and came out of the back. Leaving the ghoul in the dust on the ground, lying there lifelessly.
Lastly were the mages; the mages meanwhile concentrated their energy into the palms of their hands and with a move forward of a hand sign. A magic circle of unknown language and runes came bursting forth, and out of it, on the other side, a fireball came out.
The fireball came out hot, as the temperature immediately rose a dozen degrees higher as it moved out of the circle.
"Move Forth!" The mage shouted, and the molten flaming ball of fire moved at a blistering speed; this time, it did not go near them. Instead, it struck the ghoul at the very end of the gate. The ghoul was struck and a huge fiery explosion came forward.
Along with the fiery explosion, a burst of hot wind spreads out into the surrounding area, to the forest, to the sky, to the walls, and into the city.
The explosion rocked the surroundings and disoriented people, but it was enough; it gave the defenders ample time to reorganize themselves so that they would be able to last much longer. After all, there were reinforcements on the way to provide relief for them.
Just because a lot of settlements were abandoned does not mean they will abandon it always, it places that are strategic such as this or something that holds significant value, then as long as it has not fallen, then the people of this world or the myriad races might as well fight tooth and nail for it, against the ghouls and the virus that torment this world.