"Mr. Edman," Sai called out as he and nine others moved together in search of an old man named Edman.
Edman was a well-known traveling merchant in Anvil.
That day, he and his sons, who helped him with trading, had left Anvil on Wednesday morning, hoping to gather some firewood for themselves and possibly sell some to foreign traders.
However, Edman had been delayed for an entire day, which raised suspicions in his wife, Samantha. She went to the military center on Thursday morning to report his disappearance.
Sai was the best person to rely on in such harsh conditions to search for Edman due to his abilities. He had excellent vision, even in dark places, extending several meters.
"Mr. Edman, if you can hear us," Sai called out as he moved.
One of the soldiers asked Sai, "This is strange, sir. We've already started moving away from Anvil. Do you think something might have happened to them?"
Sai, who was moving nimbly among the trees with his hand behind him, replied, "I hope they are okay."
He paused for a moment. "Listen, I think we should split into three groups of three. I'll head east over the hills, and you spread out between the west and south. But don't go too far. If anything happens, don't hesitate to return quickly to Anvil; we don't know what we might find in these conditions."
"As for you, Sadrith, return to the castle and inform the other leaders about the locations we're splitting up to, in case of the worst."
"At your command, sir," the soldiers replied and began to spread out to intensify their search for Edman.
Sai's team, consisting of Ragnar and Sophie, moved quickly towards the top of the hill. This hill was never safe, not because of chaos, but due to the treacherous terrain.
As they moved, Sophie caught the scent of blood nearby; she had a unique ability to smell scents from far away.
"Sir, I smell blood ahead, about 400 meters," Sophie said.
Ragnar responded, "Isn't that towards the slope at the end of the hill?"
Sai tensed slightly. "Let's head there, but be cautious." They moved together towards the scent until they reached its source.
Suddenly, they all stopped when they saw the bodies of Edman and his three sons. Their bodies were all split in half, their entrails spilling out in a horrifying and gruesome sight.
Ragnar, who looked like he was about to vomit, knelt down to examine the bodies and said, "For the saints' sake, what happened here?"
Meanwhile, Sophie rushed to the edge of the slope to see if the creature that killed them was still there.
Sai's expression turned grim. "This doesn't look good; we need to return and inform Morgan immediately."
Suddenly, Sai and Ragnar heard Sophie's hysterical scream and rushed to her.
"What happened, Sophie? Are you okay?" Sai asked.
Sophie pointed towards Anvil below, and Sai and Ragnar looked in that direction. What they saw was sheer madness: dozens, no, hundreds of golem creatures moving through the forest towards Anvil.
"What the fuck is that," Ragnar cursed as he began to carry the frightened Sophie over his shoulder. He and Sai moved quickly down the hill.
"Sir, Syrian, Aryan, and Saro are searching in the direction of those creatures," Ragnar said.
Sai clenched his teeth. "We'll have to leave them; those creatures are already heading towards Anvil."
Sophie, still terrified, began to regain her senses a little and informed them, "There's a strong creature, no, a very strong creature leading them; everyone is in danger."
Sai asked her, "Did you smell its scent or something?"
Sophie, breathing heavily, replied, "No, I couldn't reach its scent, but the remnants of the stench were enough to make me choke."
Ragnar stopped and put Sophie down. "Can you move on your own now?"
She nodded. "Yes, thank you."
"Run as fast as you can," Sai ordered, and they all ran as fast as they could.
Meanwhile, Elena, who was in her room reading a book, felt the presence of the creature.
"What the hell is that!" She got up and jumped from her bed to go to Morgan.
Morgan, who also felt this presence, had already headed out with the fighters of Anvil. His eyes were black and stern as he ordered the city's special mercenary team, "Go south, inform all the cities on your way, and tell them a demonic disaster is approaching."
"A demonic disaster? Are you serious, sir?" the mercenaries responded in shock.
"Go quickly and don't waste time, you fools!" He handed them a letter with the seal of the city of Anvil.
The mercenary teams were the fastest on the continent. Each city in Marta had a number of mercenaries whose tasks included scouting or delivering urgent news. The team of four mercenaries took the letter and said, "Stay safe."
Then they moved in the blink of an eye, leaping over the walls gracefully.
Morgan grabbed a sword and headed towards the gate, where Elena and some of the other leaders were already waiting.
"Morgan, did you feel that?" Elena seemed extremely anxious as she asked Morgan.
He replied, "My instinct tells me it's a demonic creature."
"Damn," Elena cursed under her breath. "We need to evacuate the residents; move quickly and knock on every door to warn everyone to flee," Morgan ordered all the soldiers in Anvil.
Everyone moved quickly, and the news spread throughout the city like wildfire. People rushed in panic towards the main gate, while the soldiers did their best to load the citizens onto the vehicles outside the city.
"Don't push, please!"
"Ladies first, please!"
"Hey, don't shove me, you old fool!"
The soldiers struggled to organize the civilians. The number of carts was limited and couldn't accommodate everyone, as each horse-drawn cart could barely carry ten people. And there were 2 million residents in Anvil trying to escape, all in a state of panic!
"Those people are crazy," sighed one of the leaders named Shihab.
Everyone was trying to leave. Elena and the other leaders were donning their armor and preparing their equipment for the upcoming battle.
"How far is that thing?" one awakened soldier wondered.
Meanwhile, Cedrith had returned to the city.
"What in the hell is going on here?" Cedrith asked, astonished by the scene.
Morgan shouted at him, "You really lack sense, you idiot! There's a demonic creature approaching us right now!"
Cedrith quickly responded, "Commander, Sai and the others are still outside!"
Morgan spat angrily, "Damn it! What were you all doing outside in this weather, for heaven's sake?"
Cedrith replied, "We were looking for a missing person named Edman."
"Damn Edman and his greed," Morgan cursed him.
Elena interrupted them, "The situation at the gate doesn't look good at all. The civilians are pushing the soldiers, and there are already many injuries."
Morgan shouted angrily, "I'll deal with it myself."
Morgan walked to the gate and climbed atop the gatehouse. He then used his unique ability called "Ascending Thunder." He swung his sword in the air, and everyone heard a thunderous sound.
Morgan then yelled, "Any of you rabid civilians who cause more trouble, I'll kill you myself!"
Commander Morgan had just called the inhabitants of his city dogs and idiots. In any other city, this would have caused more unrest, but everyone in Anvil knew that Morgan was crazy enough to follow through on his threats. After all, his nickname was "The Thunder Dog"!
Silence fell over the crowd as Morgan descended to continue directing the soldiers.
"Is that what you call dealing with them?" Elena sighed, looking at Morgan.
Morgan cursed, "These bastards never leave me a quiet day!"
The chaos creatures were quickly approaching the city. Sai was running as fast as he could, hoping to outrun the creatures. Morgan and the other soldiers were already preparing for battle.
Meanwhile, ten kilometers from the city, eleven saints were moving, including Saruman and Leonard's team, consisting of Bark, Lamar, and Orosawa.
"We're too late," Victor, one of the saints, mused, pressing his hands together.
Jennifer, a saint with an arrogant tone, said, "Thanks to Leonard and his late information."
Park responded seriously, "If it weren't for that information, we wouldn't have known about the gate's appearance in the first place."
Another saint called Somo asked, "How did Leonard even predict the appearance of a level-six portal in Anvil?"
Orosawa laughed and said, "It's his ability that lets him sense the appearance of strong portals."
Lamar, as usual uninterested, asked, "What is Saruman even doing here, Leonard?"
Leonard, who was watching Saruman move ahead of everyone at an insane speed, replied, "If we lose Anvil tonight, everyone on the continent will suffer from a lack of medicinal herbs."
"Besides, we don't know what abomination might come out of that portal ."
She sighed, "So you're telling me we're about to face a creature that requires a saint as strong as Saruman, right?"
Leonard smiled. "Yes..."