Its body was a dull, dark gray, textured like weathered rock. Its thick arms were sturdier than mature tree trunks, and its fingertips nearly touched the ground when hanging by its sides.
It simply sat there quietly, yet no one dared to look at it directly.
The oppressive aura radiating from its body alone made the archers on the city wall freeze up, unable to even draw their bows.
At the base of the wall's inner side, a woman in a gray robe curled her body up, burying her face between her knees.
Her robe was torn in multiple places, revealing dark leather armor underneath.
She was surrounded by a dense crowd of displaced refugees—elderly people, women, and children all huddled together. Some wept softly, some trembled violently, and others had already collapsed onto the ground in despair.
A mother holding a young child squatted beside her. The child cried hysterically, and the mother could only desperately cover its mouth, silent tears streaming down her cheeks.
The gray-robed woman never raised her head. She merely tried her best to curl herself even tighter, like an unremarkable pebble hidden in the shadows of the corner.
The captain quickly stepped down from the city wall, raising his sword to slice a Shadow Rat that had squeezed through a gap in half. Warm monster blood splattered across his face.
He turned to look, only to see that the guards under his command had already lost their nerve. They shrank back one after another, and many even sheathed their weapons entirely.
“Hold the line!” he roared, his voice hoarse and strained.
A young guard pointed at the crumbling town gate, his voice filled with panic. “Captain, the gate isn't going to hold!”
The captain immediately rushed forward, slamming his shoulder against the warped wooden gate. He yelled at the panicked crowd, “Everyone, get over here and help! Don't just stand there!”
Several guards rushed forward, using their bodies and thick wooden logs to prop up the gate.
The monsters outside battered the gate relentlessly. With every impact, a new crack splintered the wood, sending wood chips flying as the fractures spread.
Up on the wall, an archer fired his very last arrow. He stood frozen with his empty bow, staring at the endless tide of monsters below, his hands shaking uncontrollably.
Suddenly, a shrill, agonizing scream—distinctly different from the monsters' roars—echoed from the other side of the wall.
The captain whipped his head around and saw a common refugee dressed in plain cloth pinned to the ground by two lunging Shadow Rats.
The refugee struggled violently for a brief moment before falling completely still. It was clear that the panicked civilian had met a tragic end at the hands of the monsters.
The captain clenched his teeth. He looked at the gate on the verge of shattering, then swept his gaze over the completely collapsed defensive line on the wall. His heart sank to the absolute bottom.
“Retreat!” he bellowed with all his might. “Everyone, fall back to the Inner Town immediately!”
“Captain! What about the civilians in the Outer Town...” The young guard's eyes widened, filled with disbelief and reluctance.
“We can't hold it!” The captain shoved him aside and bolted toward the passage leading to the Inner Town without a second thought.
A few guards hesitated for a split second before gritting their teeth and following. Seeing this, the rest of the crowd quickly trailed behind, joining the retreating ranks.
The refugees at the town entrance looked on in terror as they watched the town guards flee in panic.
An elderly man reached out a trembling, withered hand, tightly grasping the hem of the guard captain's coat. His voice was dry, hoarse, and filled with despair.
“My Lord, you can't leave! If you retreat, what will happen to us ordinary people?”
With a cold expression, the captain kicked the old man away, not pausing his steps for even a fraction of a second.
“Let go!” The old man's grip was broken by brute force. He stumbled backward and fell heavily onto the ground. His palms scraped harshly against the rough rubble, and tiny beads of blood immediately seeped from his torn skin.
Lying on the ground, he watched the retreating backs of the guards. His lips trembled uncontrollably as the last remaining spark of hope in his eyes slowly died out.
The woman holding the infant fell heavily to her knees on the rubble, her knees slamming against the hard ground.
With one arm tightly shielding her crying child, she stretched her other hand out in despair toward the rushing guards. “Please! I beg of you, take my child! If you leave, he won't survive on his own!”
Not a single person stopped.
One guard, whose pant leg she managed to grab, glanced down at the woman's desperate face. His steps paused, a flicker of hesitation crossing his eyes. But in the end, he steeled his heart, wrenched his leg free, and ran off without looking back.
All strength leaving her body, the woman slumped onto the ground. She pressed her child's face tightly against her chest, shielding him from the sight of those heartless, fleeing backs.
The child's cries came in fitful gasps. Hot tears streamed down the woman's cheeks, dripping onto the child's soft hair.
“Don't be afraid, Mommy is here...” she whispered repeatedly to comfort him, but her trembling voice betrayed her own deep terror.
No one paid any mind to her pleas. Not a single soul was willing to stop.
At the base of the wall, the gray-robed woman slowly stood up. She dusted off her robe, kept her head down, and began to shuffle along with the panicked crowd of refugees toward the Inner Wall of the town.
The surging crowd scrambled toward the Inner Wall. Cries, screams, and chaotic footsteps intermingled, filling the entire town with noise.
Swept up in the crowd, the gray-robed woman walked at a steady, even pace, showing no signs of panic whatsoever.
She kept her head lowered the entire time, letting the human tide carry her forward. She looked no different from any of the other panicked refugees.
She didn't look back at the breached town gate, nor did she glance at the monsters pouring into the town. She simply followed the crowd quietly.
With a thunderous crash, the gate of the Inner Wall slammed shut, locking a massive crowd of refugees outside.
Leaning against the cold base of the wall, the gray-robed woman silently watched the people outside frantically pounding and throwing themselves against the heavy wooden gate.
She watched them get instantly pounced upon by the pursuing monsters, and she watched as the cries for help and desperate struggles outside slowly faded into complete silence.
Her face remained calm and placid, devoid of any emotion.
The monsters were countless. Many bypassed the outer wall, leaping over into the town's side alleys.
A Shadowmane Wolf suddenly burst out of an alley, lunging directly at an old man who had fallen to the ground. The old man closed his eyes in despair, waiting for death to claim him.
At that exact moment, a fist clad in a dark-silver clawed gauntlet smashed down, striking the Shadowmane Wolf's skull with brutal force.
The wolf's skull caved in instantly. Its massive body was sent flying, crashing heavily against a stone wall before sliding down, completely motionless.
The old man opened his eyes in shock, only to find the gray-robed woman standing before him, warm blood splattered across the back of her hand.
She withdrew her fist, casually flicked away the blood, and continued walking forward.
The old man's lips trembled as he tried to voice his thanks, but the woman's figure had already drifted far into the distance.
She walked all the way to a damaged breach in the city wall. While the town's official guards had long since fled, a group of people still stood their ground here.
Several adventurers wearing light leather armor were fighting at the breach.
Their gear was mismatched; some held iron swords, others gripped battleaxes, and there was even a cat-eared demi-human Archer crouching behind the battlements. Though her quiver was completely empty, she continued to notch and fire arrows.
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