But this didn't last long before the town was gradually engulfed in darkness, the sky so gloomy that it seemed to be about to collapse. The earth trembled slightly under the roar of the magical beasts, and the air was filled with the scent of blood and decay. Amidst the ruins, the survivors cowered in the corners of the crumbling walls, their eyes filled with fear and despair.
The town's defences had long since been reduced to nothing by the waves of magical beasts. The once sturdy wooden fences had collapsed, and the parapet walls were full of cracks. The warriors who had fought so far, one by one, fell in a pool of blood, their lances broken, their shields shattered. The streets that were once full of life were now a hell paved with corpses, blood seeping out from between the cracks in the stones, gathering into a black and red stream that slowly flowed out of the town.
Cries, pleas, and roars were intertwined, as if the dead were voicing their unfinished regrets. The people in the town no longer had the luxury of surviving, they only instinctively looked forward to the arrival of reinforcements - the Knights of Flowing Stone City had been their only hope.
'Where are the reinforcements ... reinforcements?!'
Someone roared hoarsely, his voice filled with despair.
But apart from the sound of the wind and the low panting of the magical beasts, there was no more response from heaven and earth.
However, just as the town was still struggling to hold on, the true calamity had quietly descended.
Time went back to not too long ago.
'Speed up the sacrifices, the reinforcements from the Cavalry Regiment will be here soon!' The black-robed leader of the congregation said in a low voice, his voice was hoarse and cold, as if it was a curse coming from the depths of hell.
At the religious leader's order, some of the bottom tier cultists around the giant egg committed suicide one after another, shouting frantically with their mouths, 'It is our honour to become the son of the great Sagittarius to offer up our sustenance! Hahaha.'
On the altar, the black magic array slowly rotated, and the air was filled with echoes of ancient and evil incantations. The surrounding magical creatures seemed to sense some kind of irresistible call and stirred. The evil miasma spread out, and the already berserk magical beasts became even more frantic, as they let out ear-piercing hisses, their eyes red as if they wanted to tear the entire world apart.
All of this was a deliberate act of the cultists. The blood qi released from their suicides not only made the demonic beasts even more frenzied, but also provided enough energy for the demonic eggs in incubation.
'The master is about to descend ...,' one of the cultists whispered fervently, his eyes filled with madness.
As a pillar of pitch-black light shot up into the sky, the huge egg shell at the centre of the altar began to crack, and a trace of black gas seeped out from the cracks, as if countless resentful souls were writhing. Then, a palm covered in hideous scales poked out from the eggshell, and with endless malice, slowly tore apart the shackles that had imprisoned it.
The birth of darkness was a foregone conclusion.
It was a demon that had yet to fully hatch, its figure not yet completely formed, but the terrifying pressure was enough to suffocate everyone. It had hideous bone wings, and its translucent black scales shone eerily in the night. Its eyes were like burning abysses, and its ghostly purple pupils didn't have the slightest emotion, only the desire to devour everything.
'I need more blood food to nourish me, Matthews!' A terrifying voice suddenly rang out.
'It is our honour to serve you, the surrounding towns have a lot of blood food.' The religious leader, also known as Matthews, responded.
'Then why don't you hurry up and get going, if I get hungry! I'll just eat you all up.' The terrifying voice responded.
Matthews then hurriedly began sweeping the surrounding town with the demons that were born.
In the town, Vetril and the townspeople had nowhere to run.
The moment the demon actually descended, the entire world seemed to fall silent.
Wherever its footsteps went, the earth cracked by inches, the air was distorted, and all living beings felt the absolute threat of death under its gaze.
Name: Abyssal Demon (Sagittarius) - Not Fully Hatched
Level: 36 (Advanced Demon)
Description: Extremely violent and eager to kill???
Formation: Chaos-Evil
Size: 3.5m tall, not yet fully hatched (expected to reach 8m when hatched)
Weaknesses: ???
The demon swept through several villages along the border, pushing for massacres along the way, tearing to pieces any creature that stood in its way. It piled the corpses of the villages into towers as a sacrifice to itself. It even carried the head of a human in its claws, which was lifeless, but its eyes were still round, as if it had witnessed unimaginable horrors before its death.
Vetril saw a familiar figure in the mountain of corpses.
It was the head of Alvin ... the old mage Alvin, right there on the pile of rotting and stinking corpses, and the once wise eyes were now full of death, as if there were still remnants of regrets that had failed to be told.
It was as if a piece of Vetril had been torn out of his heart, blood boiling in his chest as anger and grief mingled into a wild flame. His fists were clenched to the point of whiteness, his nails piercing deep into his palms, yet he could not feel a single ounce of pain.
The demon continued to move forward, the townspeople could no longer endure this fear, they fell to their knees, tearfully praying to the demon, expecting a miracle.
But the demon, only revealed a cold smile.
Its claws fell gently, and one by one, the lives of the townspeople crumbled like fragile paper, blood splattered, limbs scattered, and Vetril stood frozen in place, witnessing the familiar people fall one by one, their eyes full of pleas, but in the end, they all turned into eternal darkness.
Hidden in the darkness, the cultists witnessed the town's misery, and instead of showing any semblance of pity, they smiled with excitement. Their rituals had been interrupted a few times by the townspeople discovering them, and now the power of darkness had descended completely, and was about to devour the already stormy town.
Of course some people still hadn't given up.
Thomson's eyes were wide open, blood foaming from his mouth as he looked down at the sharp claws that ran through his body, his last strength being nothing more than to raise his hand and touch the hammer at his waist - the hammer he had wanted to use to teach his son to forge swords, but now his son had been reduced to a corpse in yesterday's battle.
Martha was the town's doctor, and she had cured countless patients, but this time, her potions couldn't cure anyone. She tugged at her medicine chest and knelt on the blood-covered dirt, her hands trembling as she tried to stop the bleeding of the fallen townspeople. She knew she couldn't stop the deaths, but she was still unwilling to give up her last glimmer of hope.
'Please ... don't die ...,' her voice was weak, yet full of desperation. But the demon would not respond to her, the claws swung down, and her world was returned to darkness in an instant.
'Hold on ... at least ... stall it ...'
Gareth's hand had lost consciousness, blood dripping down the blade. He knew deep down that he couldn't defeat this monster, but his heart was still as hot as blazing lava.
The breathing of his comrades was ragged, and their tired bodies had long exceeded their limits, but they still raised their weapons to keep this land from becoming a nest of demons.
Harker - the town's hunter - bent his bow and shot an arrow that grazed the demon's skin, but only left a shallow scratch. His hands can't stop shaking, but he grits his teeth and tries to find the next break.
Albert - once the town's guard - now held a spear in his hand and stood in front of Gareth, trying to use his life to buy him one last chance. His armour was shattered and half of his face had been torn apart by the demon's sharp claws, but he was still staring at the monster in front of him with what was left of his one dead eye.
'We can't retreat!' Albert roared, his voice carrying a hoarse scent of blood.
Gareth's sword finally pierced into the demon's body! However, before he could pull it out, the demon's pitch-black claw blade had already pierced through his chest.
'Gareth-!'
Harker's hiss ripped through the night sky as he recklessly rushed towards the demon, but in a flash of black shadows, his body was thrown heavily into the rubble, blood spilling from the corners of his mouth, and he could no longer get up.
Albert swung his spear and tried to pierce the demon's eye, but the barbed tail swept across and took his head.
Vetril watched as his former chums, Lily, Tommy, and Jack, gradually fell to the ground as did the adults, with nothing but screams and the demon's sneers drifting in his ears.
Elena, on the other hand, was still trying her best to protect Vetril.
Her magic was nearly depleted, and every shot of magic she released sent her spirit into extreme tearing pain. But she didn't retreat.
'Vetril, hide behind me.' Her voice was soft, but unmistakably firm.
Vetril clutched the corner of her coat, his eyes filled with tears, he wanted to say something, but as if his throat was blocked by something, he couldn't make a sound.
Elena gathered her magic for the last time, and her staff blossomed with a faint light, like a starburst swaying in the night sky.
'O wind, hear my call ...'
However, before the wind blade even touched the demon, it collapsed under the pressure of its carnivorous smile.
The body of Elena, whose magic power was exhausted, trembled as her legs finally couldn't support her and she slowly collapsed. Her face still wore a gentle smile.
'At least ... let him live ...'
Her hand trembled as she gently stroked Vetril's cheek, as if she was calming a child who was about to fall asleep.
Then her eyes lost their lustre.
The dark abyss seemed to have swallowed everything, and the demon let out a low growl as its sharp claws slowly raised and fell towards the last survivor - Vetril.
However, at that very moment - a spear glowing with blue light was drawn from afar, accompanied by a loud boom slamming into the demon's outstretched arm, and with only a loud bang the demon's arm was sent flying.
'Charge--!'
The neighing of warhorses pierced through the night sky, the reinforcements from Flowing Stone City finally arrived!
Silver armoured knights swept in like a gale, their spears pointing straight at the demons, piercing through the darkness. At the head was a knight in gold-coloured armour.
But it was too late.
Vetril knelt in a pool of blood, his hands trembling as he cradled Elena's already cold body.
His world had already turned to ashes this night.
Reinforcements had finally arrived, but his most important people, could no longer wait.