A crazed laugh, teetering on the edge of madness, pierced the tense silence. The legionaries, frozen by the sight of the approaching beast horde, turned toward the source of the sound. It was Rifi, their leader for this desperate defense, standing with a strange, serene calm.
"I welcome your try, Death. Come at me," Rifi muttered softly, his words carrying a strange reassurance despite the madness of the situation.
The five legionaries near him exchanged uneasy glances. Is this guy insane? But insanity, they realized, might be exactly what they needed to survive the impending nightmare. They didn't know much about their temporary captain—only that he'd recently broken through to Purple core and had fought on the frontlines just nights ago. But with the horde closing in, none of that mattered. The sight before them—an endless sea of beasts—was enough to stir despair in even the bravest heart.
Rifi's voice snapped them out of their daze. "I know you're scared," he began, his tone steady and resolute. "I'm scared too. Life and death—those sick bastards—love to toy with us. But let's not give in just yet. We still have something to fight for—our lives, our promises. Let's show them our resolve. As long as our hearts remain steeled and our blades and mana sharp, we have a chance to win this game."
The words hit hard, igniting something deep within the legionaries. Their gazes, once clouded with fear, sharpened as they refocused on the advancing horde.
"Not all of us will make it through this," Rifi continued, his voice cutting through the chaos like a blade. "But if we give it everything we've got, some of us will survive." He paused, letting the weight of his words settle. "You two Black cores," he pointed, "spill all the black water barrels onto the walls now, then fall back and cut down anything that gets past the palisades. The two Fire Brown cores—rain down fire until they reach the walls, then retreat with the Black cores about thirty meters. Me and the Earth Brown core will hold the line here as long as we can. When we fall back, ignite the black water. After that, regroup at the second line and kill whatever's left. Understood?"
"Yes, Captain!" they responded almost in unison, their voices brimming with newfound determination.
The Black core legionaries hurried to spill the barrels of black water, their hands trembling slightly as they glanced up at the sky, already filled with the glow of fireballs and streaks of ice. Magic rained down from the walls above, hitting the first wave of beasts. The ground shook beneath their feet as the massive creatures slammed into the palisades. There wasn't much time left.
Rifi watched the approaching horde, a flicker of sadness crossing his face. These beasts, mindless in their assault—did they even realize they were throwing their lives away? Did they value them? It didn't matter. They had to be stopped. As the beasts reached the walls, Rifi infused his eyes with mana. The fight was about to begin.
The Fire mages retreated just in time, moments before the beasts began climbing the makeshift walls. All types of creatures swarmed forward, controlled by something dark and powerful, pushing them relentlessly into the fray.
A low hum resonated from Rifi's sword as lightning crackled along its edge. Tch, this sword can barely handle it, he thought. He had to lower the density of his lightning mana, or the blade would melt from the power. I need better equipment.
His purple eyes tracked every movement of the beasts with deadly precision. His sword, infused with lightning, became an extension of his will, and the beasts barely had time to register the strike before death claimed them. Rifi moved like a storm, each slash a fluid, lethal dance. His speed and power, far beyond that of the lower-tier beasts, turned the battle into a massacre.
From an outsider's perspective, it looked effortless—almost beautiful. Rifi's lightning-enhanced body moved with such precision that it seemed like an intricate dance of death. Every beast that met his blade crumpled with a final, crackling breath.
Beside him, the Earth mage fought with raw, brute force, smashing beasts with stone-encased fists. Though a few beasts managed to land hits on him, none inflicted serious injury. Rifi occasionally lent a hand, but the Earth mage was holding his own.
Ten minutes into the slaughter, the corpses had piled so high that it was difficult to even see anything and movement became very hard because of all the beast carcases around them. The air was thick with the stench of blood and burnt flesh. That's when Rifi noticed them—tier three, four, and even some tier five beasts lurking behind the frontlines. These were no ordinary beasts; they were smarter, stronger, and using the first wave as a distraction to sneak through.
We're in trouble, Rifi thought, his mind racing. He needed to alert Captain Steven immediately.
"Retreat!" Rifi barked at the Earth mage. "Get back and tell the others. Be ready to ignite the black water at any moment."
The Earth mage nodded, quickly withdrawing from the wall. Rifi turned to follow him, ready to rush to Steven, but as he leaped forward, he saw it—a massive ice spike, two meters long, piercing straight through Steven's chest.
No... Cold realization hit him like a punch to the gut. Only higher-tier beasts could wield magic, and for an ice spike that size, it had to be a tier six or higher. They had even less time than he thought.
Panic surged through him. Empowering his vocal cords with mana, Rifi shouted, "Ignite the black water! NOW! We don't have time!"
Without waiting for a response, he pushed his body to its limits, infusing his muscles and nerves with lightning mana, running faster than he ever had before. The first explosions rang out behind him as the black water ignited, the blast waves spreading through the battlefield, consuming everything in fire.
But there was no relief. As he turned, he saw the Earth mage—his ally—swallowed whole by a massive two-horned lizard that had leaped over the wall just before the explosions. The lizard's tongue slithered out, licking its lips, already searching for its next meal.
Rifi's eyes narrowed. Not today. In a blur of motion, he slammed his shoulder into the lizard's head, knocking it off course and saving the nearest legionary from its jaws.
"Get to the second line!" Rifi shouted. "I'll deal with this one. Reinforcements will be here soon—don't die before then."
His muscles burned, but the Purple core's power surged through him, far beyond what he had ever felt at Brown core. His body enhancements were stronger, his lightning tolerance higher, and his lightning mana was far more potent and dense. This lizard—despite its tier four rank—was no match for him.
The beast charged at him, all four legs pounding the earth as it aimed to crush him with its jaws. Rifi's purple eyes tracked its every movement. Too slow. Pumping lightning mana into his legs, he sidestepped the attack, the lizard's tail slicing through the air in a predictable arc.
Rifi blocked the tail with ease, using the momentum to drive his elbow into the lizard's skull, right between its horns. The beast collapsed, unconscious from the blow. Wasting no time, Rifi plunged his sword through its closed eyelid, straight into its brain. The creature twitched once, then went still.
He sighed, wiping the sweat from his brow. It's not that I've gotten stronger. This lizard was just weak.
As he shook off the blood and brains from his sword, Rifi noticed the awe in the eyes of the legionaries who watched him. In seconds, he had dispatched a tier-four beast with what looked like effortless precision. Their spirits lifted, hope flickering back to life.
But that hope was short-lived.
An ice lance, sharp and deadly, whistled through the air, flying over the flames that still burned along the wall. Rifi saw it just in time, but it was too fast, even for his body that was enhanced to its umtmost limit with the lightning mana. He managed to shift his body slightly, but not enough. The lance pierced his abdomen, just below his lung and heart.
Before he could react, a second lance came hurtling toward him. His eyes widened in horror. He had no time to dodge. This is it...
—BOOM—
The second lance shattered mid-air, sending shards of ice flying. Rifi turned, his body weakened but his heart soaring. A squad of mages was rushing toward the wall. Reinforcements. They had arrived.
One of the mages had intercepted the lance, saving him at the last moment.
A smile crept across Rifi's face as his vision blurred. Heh... not yet, you bastards. Then, as the pain overwhelmed him, his smile twisted into a grimace.