Veritas was shocked to see the massacre right in front of him. Many people melted and burned due to extreme rays of the sun.
Even the roofs of the buildings melted!
Not just that, but the armor of the knights were overheating. Although they did not melt completely, it felt hot to the touch where it got to the point that it seared their skin.
Many knights writhed in pain due to this, aiming to seek shelter on the way.
"Damn! It's too hot to fight! What is with the sun?!"
"It feels like an oven in this armor!"
Inside the headquarters, the knights that were closest to the outside stood steadily as they watched a massacre unfold.
They felt helpless, but the intense heat rendered their capabilities useless..
The heat only affected the normal knights though, the Pathbearers had enhanced bodies so they felt the effects of the heat to be lessened.
Although not significantly lesser, it was still bearable as it only made them sweat and feel nauseated.
But that was not the real terror brought upon by the sun. It directly attacked the Soul!
"Something's off! My Soul is- Argh!"
A Pathbearer who was fending off a number of Faceless, immediately fell to the ground as he felt his Soul tremble suddenly.
In mere seconds, his body contracted and changed. It seemed like blood flowed out his pores and mutated his entire physical being.
He was losing his sense of self and his Soul was taking over his body!
"Be careful! He became Unanchored!"
The surrounding knights warned and they formed a circle to face off their former comrade. However! Many more knights in the distance lost control and their bodies mutated due to it!
The knights and the Unanchored faced off one another while being swarmed with the Faceless and experiencing the Soul-crushing heat.
Many Unanchored emerged in the distance. There was a Rock Golem that was as big as a house, a wooden human that had roots ingrained in the pavement, and an incorporeal being that seemed to be invisible due to the sun!
Their numbers dwindled from a few hundred to only a two digit population!
Now, even the normal knights succumbed to the attacks of the Faceless.
They entered the headquarters and started decimating the knights inside. They fought back but it worked for a couple of minutes. But as time went by, the knight's began to decrease and eventually led to their deaths.
Veritas heard their screams and panic-ridden voices. He felt helpless and his only option was to watch as the people in front of him died.
The Faceless numbered around a couple million and the chances of the knights decreased greatly!
Lancelot, who was still fighting, endured the heat of the sun and slayed a couple Unanchored of his own.
He gritted his teeth yet continued to move on to find the main perpetrator of this attack!
Floating around the city, Veritas obtained a birds-eye view of the entire situation. He saw that there was still a sea of Faceless behind the walls and it didn't seem to end any time soon.
He squinted his eyes and saw the looming figure of the three headed Seraphim that had no face.
She walked slowly, carefully approaching Central City. The Faceless ran to the walls and climbed atop of it, seeming like a flood of them was spreading throughout the entire city.
Still, they have not reached the middle most part of the city and were still making their way inside.
Due to the interference of the knights, the Faceless were slowed greatly! In fact, the Head Knight himself was doing most of the work and covered an entire sector of the city.
Veritas then suddenly heard a loud voice coming from the Head Knight's direction.
"Fall back my knights!"
Collectively, they all ran through and fended the Faceless on their way. Those that were too slow had been teleported by a Knight whose Path was related to the shadows.
They fell through the shadows and reappear somewhere else with the light.
That said, it was very difficult to move them through the shadows. Due to the radiating light from the sun, the shadows were more prevalent yet they were also countered greatly.
Suddenly, a large stone wall was conjured to block the Faceless from advancing further. It was spiked so it could not easily be scaled, and it was also a few meters thick to prevent it from easily being broken through.
Trapping the Faceless and the Unanchored could lead both parties to attack each other.
This will give time for the knights to recuperate and process the sudden attack.
Many people were gathered near the heart of the city and there were also knights that huddled to defend the civilians.
The Faceless had not reached this far to the city yet so most of the people were undamaged and uninjured.
Head Knight Lancelot suddenly appeared within a shadow of a roof, he saw the knights that he marched along with his ideals and then stated:
"Healers! Gather up! Everyone that's injured go to the left and get yourselves healed."
His bloodied hair and stained armor shone brightly, reflecting the blazing sunlight.
Many knights stood on the ground and were awestruck by the Head Knight. They were not amazed by his appearance, but rather.. They were amazed at the rapier in his hands.
It glowed like a scorching hot sun, radiating a horrid heat in the surroundings.
In a second, the light around the knights dimmed and was sucked to his rapier.
It glowed even brighter yet that was fine as it lowered the effects of the sun.
"Cassius.. How many can you still do?"
Head Knight Lancelot walked over to the knight with long and messy black hair.
"I've still got a lot within me, my lord."
"Good."
Then, turning his head to the side, in the direction of the remaining knights, Head Knight Lancelot let out his majestic voice:
"Everyone that has an elemental-type Attunement and Path, do everything you can to enforce that wall. Additionally, everyone with an Attunement and Path related to ice should help to cool down our surroundings."
He stared fiercely at the knights.
"This will be our final bastion, protect it with all you can."
"Yes, sir!" the Knights said in unison.
He walked back and spoke to the messy black haired knight once more.
"Cassius, teleport me outside the wall and govern everything inside of here. I'll try to stop the swarm with the best of my efforts."
"..Alone?"
"Yes."
"Right now?"
"Not yet."
He patted the man on his shoulders and grinned.
"Follow me to the top of the walls."
"Got it."
The two walked away from the heart of the city and made their way to the walls.
The lights dimmed wherever the Head Knight walked so they did not have that much of a problem with the sunlight.
The surroundings got colder too as the floor was turning into cold ice. Although they melted as soon as they touched the sunlight, the layers of ice still worked its wonders to defend everyone.
It stretched throughout the entire final bastion which was the size of 8 large castles.
The thick earth walls provided defense for the citizens and knights alike and a roof was also in the process of being made. That said, it was not easy and it would take about hours to complete.
..Hours which they didn't have.
As soon as the Head Knight and his right man reached the bottom of the earthen walls, he immediately commanded him to bring them up.
"Teleport us up there.."
"My lord, there are no shadows to incorporate ourselves to."
"Then, I'll make one."
The Head Knight carved out a rectangular-shaped stone boulder from the earthen wall and grabbed it with his hands.
While the stone boulder was in his hands, he spoke calmly towards the messy black-haired knight.
"Time it correctly, teleport us when a shadow atop the wall has formed."
The black-haired knight brought his hand up his chin.
"That will be quite difficult.. But it is doable."
"Great."
The Head Knight used his strength to carry the stone boulder in his hands and his arms behind him.
"Hmph!"
With a loud grunt, the Head Knight threw the boulder quickly and it immediately reached the top of the walls in a second.
His body then dove into the shadows and appeared in the falling boulder's shadow.
The Head Knight cut it quickly and split it in half. The first half fell to the inner side of the wall and the other fell at the surface of the wall.
Then, the two of them walked to the edge and saw the Unanchored and the Faceless battling among each other.
Head Knight Lancelot stared at the black-haired knight.
"Once all of the Unanchored have fallen, immediately warp me down there."
"I understand."
The black-haired knight proclaimed his respect by putting his right hand on his left chest.
The Head Knight's face immediately turned serious.
"I shall hold all of them back.."