After running for quite some time, Valyr had eventually arrived where the east section was now located, gasping for a bit of air once he recognized a couple of familiar people appeared in his field of vision.
While he was catching his breath, Myst came up to him, prompting Valyr to look back at her before giving her a quick thumbs up.
Nodding in response, she then told Valyr to follow her, only for the two of them to stop near the boundary of the east section's defensive line.
Letting out a light sigh, Myst looked at Valyr with an expression of relief written all over her face. "To be honest, I thought you wouldn't make it in time before the fourth wave."
In response, Valyr looked at the battlefield in front of them, quickly noticing that only a couple dozen monsters remained to be slain before the fourth wave would begin. With that in mind, he could not help but inwardly let out a sigh of relief that he finished his upgrade in time. "Well, I thought I wouldn't make it in time either."
Hearing that, a light smile appeared on Myst's face for a bit, only for it to disappear as she stared at the battlefield solemnly. "I know this might sound grating to the ears, but we'll be the ones making a move for the fourth wave."
"Just the two of us again?" Valyr raised his eyebrow.
Myst shook her head in response. "Although us two will be moving again, we'll be accompanied by everyone else who's at Rank 1."
Turning around to look at who would accompany them, Myst could not help but scratch her head before letting out a sigh. "Then again, the number of people in the village that have a Rank 1 class are only in the low double digits, around 30 or so. Add on the fact that all of them have to work in groups of three against the upcoming wave, we'll probably be making the most difference again."
"It sucks that our forces are being stretched thin, but we have to make do with what we have."
After Myst was finished saying those words, silence covered their surroundings, which made Valyr uncomfortable for some reason. Retrieving the spear behind his back, he decided to take a look and see how everyone was faring while also being mindful of the progress on the battlefield.
In an instant, it quickly stood out to him that almost everyone behind the defensive line had somber expressions on their faces. Whether it was those up in line to fight the monsters against the fourth wave, or those who had just returned from fighting the monsters in the third wave, all of them seemed despondent, as if they had accepted something before it even had the chance to happen.
"What's with the somber mood?" Curious, Valyr decided to ask Myst beside him.
Surprisingly, in response to the question, Myst gave him a bitter smile. "Right. I almost forgot this is the first time you're helping the village out against a monster tide."
"Well, to answer your question, the fourth wave is when the village's forces are finally spread out so thin that monsters inevitably pass through the battlefield and finally deal considerable damage to the village." She let out a light sigh. "Then again, we don't really have anything to stop it from happening. Those who have the strength to deal with the fourth wave are out in the battlefield, while those staying behind the defensive line are all weaker than the monsters who barge through."
"We could have those at the defensive line give it their all to make sure the village doesn't get hit, but that would just mean piling up sacrifices that could have been avoided in the first place." Myst looked at Valyr. "It's easier to replace broken parts of the village than find more people to defend the village, after all."
"Though, that doesn't mean we've accepted the fact that we're helpless against the fourth wave and the waves after that. Not even one bit." As she said those words, a faint killing intent emanated from her, slowly unsheathing her blade. "We're still going to give it our all to kill every monster we can."
"For the sake of the village."
After listening to Myst's words, Valyr could not help but grip tightly on his wooden spear, his mind wondering whether his presence in this village was helping reduce the damage the village received from the monster tide. After all, he was only one person. There was only so much he could do with his current level of strength, something he took pride in, but knew that it wouldn't change how the village fared that much by the end of the tide.
Just as the doubts in his mind intensified regarding his participation in the defense against the tide, Valyr looked at the people behind him, noticing that some of them were looking at him. From their gazes alone, he quickly felt that these people had placed all of their trust that he would try his best to defend the village from the fourth wave's monsters as much as possible. Of course, he was not the only recipient of this kind of gaze. Myst, Tristan, Damian, everyone who had a Rank 1 class all felt these gazes behind their back, feeling as if multiple intangible hands were pushing on their back, prompting them to move forward.
Realizing this, Valyr looked at his upgraded wooden spear before shifting his gaze to the battlefield. Focusing his attention on the next wave of monsters that he and the others would be fighting against, he took in a deep breath before letting out a light sigh, a killing intent gradually emanating around him.
…
"Men! As the fourth wave is looming before us, it's time for us to make adequate preparations!" As the number of monsters in the battlefield was now less than ten, Myst, as well as the leaders of the other two sections, decided to prepare for the upcoming wave, knowing that their next fight's goal was to reduce as much damage the village took as possible. "All of those near and at the limit of Rank 0, you'll be making us the first line of defense for this section! Group yourselves up into four and attack any monster that passes through the defensive line!"
"However, don't be foolish to sacrifice your life for just one monster. If you feel like you're no match for it, let it ram against the village walls before attacking it from the back!" Myst's voice was stern, prompting everyone who heard it to listen to her commands. "Those that aren't included in the first line of defense, I commend your bravery to still be here! You shall make up the second line of defense. Your goal is to aid the first line in killing any monster that passes by as quickly as possible!"
"Do I make myself clear?"
"Yes, ma'am!" Multiple voices responded to her question in unison, the somber atmosphere surrounded them just a while ago now gone. Instead, what replaced it was a feeling of immense determination, a determination to make sure that their village wouldn't succumb to the tyranny of the monster tide.
Nodding in satisfaction, Myst then focused her gaze on the ones who would be accompanying her and Valyr into the battlefield. "As for you guys, you'll be grouping yourselves up into three against the monsters. Just like what I've said earlier, don't be foolish to sacrifice your life for just one monster. If you know you can't fight against it, just retreat."
"Am I clear?"
"Yes, ma'am!" Unlike before, only a few voices responded in unison to Myst's question. Nevertheless, the unyielding feeling from before was still there.
Once she was done talking, Myst spared a glance towards Valyr, who nodded back at her in response. Seeing that, she took in a deep breath before looking at the others, nodding at them before starting to make her way to the battlefield. Naturally, the others followed suit, accompanying her as all of them stared at the monsters they were up against, knowing that they had to give it beyond their all.
"Advance!"