As the horde drew closer to the gate, a deep roar echoed from somewhere behind them. It rolled across the battlefield, loud and heavy, like a command given by something that didn't need to be seen to be obeyed. The moment the sound faded, the entire horde surged forward at once.
They didn't stagger anymore. They rushed.
A wall of bones and rotting bodies moved as one, crashing toward the compound with terrifying speed. As they closed the distance, the smell reached the defenders on the wall. It was sharp and foul, thick with rot and decay, and it clung to the air so heavily that it felt like it was crawling into their lungs. Several fighters flinched as a cold chill ran down their spines.
"Archers, loose!!!" Jide shouted.
Arrows filled the air instantly, cutting through the sky in a dark wave before crashing into the horde. Some struck skulls cleanly, snapping heads back. Others tore through rotting flesh, dropping mutated creatures mid-charge. Bodies fell, breaking apart as they hit the ground.
But it didn't matter.
More kept coming.
They ran over the fallen without slowing, their numbers swallowing the damage as if it never happened.
"Again!!! Don't stop!!!" Uzo roared.
Another wave of arrows followed. More skeletons collapsed, bones scattering across the ground. A few creatures stumbled, their limbs breaking under impact.
Still, the horde pushed forward.
They soon reached the wall.
The first skeleton slammed into the base, followed by another, then dozens more. They didn't climb like living things. They piled on top of each other, forming a rising mass of bones. Those at the bottom crushed under the weight while the ones above used them as support, climbing higher with unnatural persistence.
"Push them back!!! Don't let them stack!!!"
It was already too late.
The pile grew fast, turning into a living ladder. Mutated creatures leapt onto it, using the bodies beneath them to climb toward the top of the wall. Their movements were wrong, too fast and too jerky, like something was forcing their limbs to move.
A soldier near the edge stepped back, but not fast enough.
A skeletal hand shot up and grabbed his leg.
He froze for a split second before panic took over.
"No—help me!!! Nooo!!!"
The pull dragged him down into the mass below. His scream cut through the battlefield, then twisted into something worse as the bodies swallowed him. The sound of tearing flesh followed, wet and brutal, before everything went silent again.
More creatures climbed over the wall.
The fight began.
Uzo moved first, his hammer crashing down on the nearest creature. The impact shattered bone instantly, sending fragments flying across the wall. He swung again without stopping, knocking another off before it could reach a soldier.
"Hold your ground!!!" he shouted.
Jide raised his hand, forming a barrier just as two creatures lunged forward. They slammed into it with force, their bodies cracking against the invisible wall before sliding down.
"Stay behind the shields!!!" he called out.
Above them, shadows moved.
One of the soldiers looked up just in time to see a creature diving from the sky. It hit him hard, claws digging into his shoulders as it lifted him off his feet. His scream echoed as he was dragged upward, his body tearing apart before he could even fight back.
"Take them down!!!" someone shouted.
Arrows shifted upward, striking some of the flying creatures, but others slipped through, moving too fast to track.
At the same time, movement spread along the walls.
Figures stepped out from the shadows between the defenders. Their shapes looked human at first glance, but something about them was wrong. Their bodies dragged slightly, like they weren't fully there, and their movements were too smooth, too quiet.
One of them reached a soldier from behind.
Its arm moved.
A clean cut.
The soldier's body dropped before anyone could react.
"They're inside!!! Watch your backs!!!"
The formation started to break.
Chaos spread quickly as attacks came from every direction. Uzo kept swinging, his hammer crushing anything that got close, but even he couldn't cover every angle. Jide reinforced his barriers, blocking where he could, but the pressure kept building.
Zara moved through the air, cutting down flying creatures with sharp, precise strikes. Each swing of her blade brought something down, but more replaced them almost immediately.
Lina raised her hand, sending out a wave of force that slammed into the climbing creatures and knocked several off the wall. For a brief moment, the pressure eased.
Then it returned.
More skeletons climbed.
More creatures reached the top.
More soldiers fell.
A fighter stumbled back, clutching his side as blood spread through his armor.
"I can't—!" he shouted, but the words never finished as something dragged him down.
The line started to break.
Uzo's voice rose above everything. "DON'T FALL BACK!!! IF YOU RUN, YOU DIE!!!"
But even with that, the defenders were losing ground.
Then something changed.
A sharp sound cut through the chaos, fast and clean, like air being sliced apart. One creature froze mid-attack, its body going still for a second before its head slipped from its shoulders. Another followed, then another, each falling apart before they could react.
The fighters hesitated, confusion flashing across their faces.
Then a blast hit.
"BOOM!!!"
The piled mass at the base of the wall shattered instantly, bones exploding outward as the structure collapsed. Smoke and dust rose into the air, spreading across the battlefield and forcing everyone to pause.
For a brief moment, everything slowed.
As the smoke cleared, something stood at the center of the destruction.
A sword.
It was embedded deep into the ground, standing perfectly upright. Its blade was white, smooth like polished bone, shining faintly even in the dim light. Steam curled from its edge, and the air around it carried a faint vibration, like the echo of the blast still lingered.
No one spoke.
All eyes were drawn to it.
Then a new sound rose from the side of the battlefield.
Not from the front.
From the south.
Something was moving through the horde.
Fast.
Creatures were thrown aside as if they weighed nothing. Bodies broke apart under something that didn't slow down, carving a clear path straight toward the gate.
Then they saw it.
A massive wolf, its coat silver and gleaming even through the dust, tore through the enemy lines. Its claws ripped through bone with ease, its fangs crushing anything that came too close. Every step left destruction behind it, a trail of broken bodies marking its path.
And on its back—
A figure sat calmly.
Kael.
His silver hair caught the dim light, giving him a cold, metallic glow. His coat moved with the wind of the wolf's charge, dark and steady against the chaos around him. His gaze stayed forward, focused, as if the battlefield meant nothing to him.
His hand was still stretched out slightly, like he had just thrown something.
The sword.
The one standing at the center of the battlefield.
The realization spread through the defenders.
"He… did that…?" one of them whispered.
The wolf didn't slow.
It crashed through the last line of enemies and reached the gate in seconds, stopping just outside as the remaining creatures around it fell apart.
For a moment, the battlefield shifted.
The pressure changed.
The defenders felt it.
Hope.
Small.
But real.
Kael looked up at the wall, his expression calm, his eyes scanning everything in a single glance.
Then he spoke.
"You were about to lose."