The castle commander looked carefully at the ocean.
As he watched that terrifying black shadow, he remembered the mage's words from a few moments earlier… that the nearby islands were also asking for help.
The commander put those pieces together in his mind.
And suddenly—
he realized what was happening.
His eyes widened, and he shouted loudly to the soldiers and knights standing on the castle walls:
"Prepare immediately!"
Then he continued in a firm voice:
"Gather all the knights and soldiers inside the castle! I want everyone on the walls now!"
The moment he gave the order—
the soldiers ran in every direction, rushing to carry out the commands.
After that—
the commander turned to the nearby mage and quickly said:
"Request reinforcements from the continent of Mira immediately!"
Then he continued firmly:
"The high-ranking knights and mages must come here."
He added seriously:
"This is not just an attack on a fallen island."
Then he looked again at the terrifying shadow covering the surface of the ocean and approaching at a frightening speed.
He continued:
"This is a war… one that will involve the entire continent of Mira."
When one of the knights heard that—
and saw the shadow drawing closer—
he became terrified and asked the commander with a trembling voice:
"What is that shadow, sir…?"
He hesitated before asking:
"Are… are they demons?"
The castle commander looked at the knight and shook his head firmly.
"This is not the time for questions!"
Then he added:
"We are about to face a disaster."
He pointed to the wall and said:
"Order the mages to strengthen the magical barrier immediately!"
Then he continued:
"And prepare to use fire magic with their full power!"
The knight nodded quickly…
then ran toward where the mages were gathered to deliver the commander's orders.
In the sky—
Odin's raven was flying above that enormous black shadow.
When Odin saw what was covering the ocean—
his eyes widened in surprise.
He thought to himself:
"Are all of those… snakes?"
Then he continued in amazement:
"They fill the entire ocean… forming a black shadow meant to terrify the enemy even before the battle begins."
Odin watched the scene for several moments…
then thought for a moment.
After that he gave his raven an order:
"A terrifying army of this size… surely there must be one or two demonic ravens like you among them."
Then he said coldly:
"Find them… I want them."
As soon as the raven heard its master's command—
it flew swiftly through the sky.
It began searching among the clouds for any demonic raven.
But—
even after a long time of searching…
it found nothing.
Odin was surprised.
He thought to himself:
"I know demonic ravens are a rare species… even in the demonic continent."
Then he thought further:
"But with an army this large… shouldn't at least one or two come with them?"
Then he suddenly remembered something.
He thought:
"Don't they love feeding on corpses in the continent of Mira?"
Then he continued thinking:
"That's why they usually follow demonic armies… to feast on the dead after battles."
Suddenly—
he understood what was happening.
He immediately ordered his raven:
"Go to the castle on the island."
Then he said:
"The demonic ravens must be hiding now."
He added coldly:
"And when the battle ends… and the bodies pile up… they will come out to feed."
As soon as the raven received the order—
it flew quickly toward the castle.
Moments later—
it was circling directly above it.
At that moment—
the snakes that had been swimming in the ocean began climbing onto the island.
Their numbers were countless.
They slithered across the land at a terrifying speed…
heading directly toward the castle at the center of the island.
The castle commander stood on the wall watching that black tide of snakes.
They kept coming… and coming…
until they were only a short distance from the walls.
When they came close enough—
the commander shouted at the top of his lungs:
"Attack!"
The moment he gave the order—
a massive wave of attacks rained down upon the snakes crawling on the ground.
Elven arrows poured down from the walls like rain…
At the same time, the mages unleashed torrents of fire magic that swept across the ground in front of the castle.
Huge rocks were thrown from the top of the walls to crush whatever approached.
The ground before the castle burst into flames…
and was filled with streams of burned and severed snakes.
When the commander saw that—
he laughed confidently.
"Ha ha ha… it seems I overestimated the enemy's strength."
Then he said mockingly:
"They are merely weak creatures."
But—
before he could finish speaking—
he noticed something strange.
The snakes that had died near the walls…
were being crawled over by other snakes.
They continued advancing without stopping… as if the deaths of their own kind meant nothing.
The commander looked at the scene quickly.
Then he shouted angrily:
"What are you all staring at?!"
He added:
"Keep attacking!"
The soldiers obeyed his command…
continuing to fire arrows and unleash fire magic without stopping.
But—
with every attack the defenders launched…
the number of snakes surrounding the castle kept increasing.
When the commander saw that—
he shouted:
"Use the magical barrier—!"
But he suddenly stopped.
Something was approaching from afar…
giant snakes.
But they were not ordinary.
Some had two heads…
others had three…
others four…
and even five heads.
When he saw that—
he immediately understood who they were facing.
His eyes widened in shock.
He turned quickly to the nearby knight and shouted in fear:
"Did… did the message we sent reach the continent of Mira?!"
The knight looked at his commander and nodded quickly.
"Yes… yes, sir!"
Then he added nervously:
"The message was delivered."
But his voice trembled as he continued:
"However… many other islands are sending distress signals as well."
Then he finished:
"So I don't think reinforcements will arrive anytime soon."
When the commander heard that—
he struck the knight hard on the chest and shouted:
"Go immediately!"
Then he yelled:
"Tell them we are not facing ordinary demons!"
He added furiously:
"We are facing the followers of one of the Demon Lords, you fool!"
When the knight heard that—
his legs trembled with fear.
And he wasn't the only one…
many nearby soldiers had also heard the commander's words.
They looked at each other with pale faces.
The commander shouted at them:
"What are you staring at?!"
Then he added:
"Keep firing your arrows!"
He said firmly:
"If you want to live another day… then fight!"
The guards listened to his orders…
and quickly returned to battle.
But—
even as they continued firing arrows and casting magic…
fear was clearly visible on their faces.
The commander looked at them.
At the trembling defenders…
who were still fighting despite their terror.
He sighed slowly.
Now he understood the truth.
And he said to himself wearily:
"None of us will survive this battle… alive."