Major Fischer was almost done with the Jask, the sloth-like creature behind the barrier. The fight didn't go exactly as planned, and despite a series of unexpected events, the Major remained calm and composed throughout the fight and could put the creature in check.
His training had prepared him for unpredictable situations, and he relied on his skills to adapt to the Jask's movements. The victory was just a matter of time in Major Fischer's mind.
At the same time, the soldiers had almost completed repairing the eastern gate, and only a small gap remained, which was still big enough to let some creatures pass. Nothing that the militaries couldn't solve, though.
The problem was that too many creatures had already come through the breach, as thousands of the smaller thaids were able to go through it, and now these beasts were killing people inside the city.
The situation was dire, and reinforcements were needed to help cleanse the infested areas. However, with the gate almost repaired, the military had a better chance of defending the city from further invasion.
"We can do this!" a soldier said in his best motivational speech voice before he turned back to the others.
"I don't care how exhausted you are or how much your muscles hurt right now! We need to get those gates fixed ASAP!" He pointed toward the other side of the wall, where several dozen men worked on reinforcing the damaged section using the metal sheet that had been provided.
A few meters away, there was another group working hard, trying desperately to repair some of the gate's hinges that the Yevyagìts kicks had blasted off.
It seemed impossible, given their lack of time and the constant threat of monsters, but somehow they managed to keep going despite being exhausted beyond belief. They knew what would happen should more monsters enter the city: it would be curtains for everyone.
The army did not have enough manpower to deal with the situation; they needed help, and they knew it. The mercenaries' intervention was needed since there were still many beasts trying to get through the door, and it was not easy to fend them off. However, the higher-ups hadn't called them yet for unknown reasons.
In the meantime, Major Fischer was fighting against the Jask. He avoided the claws of the creature by a hairbreadth and counterattacked with an attack of his own. Both his ice elementals channeled a lot of mana while he kept the thaid at bay, and they created a giant ice boulder that appeared in front of them and bolted through the air like a massive bullet.
The giant boulder hit the Jask right on the head, shattering its skull and killing the beast on the spot. The creature slumped on the ground with a sonorous sound and stopped moving.
"I finally made it," he said. He took a deep breath and looked around, feeling relieved that the battle was over. He knew he had put his life on the line, but he had managed to defeat the Jask and save the soldiers around. So many lives were saved because of his intervention.
The Major then went toward the soldiers at the door. Most of them were not fighting, as the few creatures who kept lingering around the gate and managed to get inside were swiftly dealt with by the soldiers. However, they were still trying to keep the thaids on the other side away from the breach, while the artillery between the gate and the wall did the same.
"How is the situation?" the Major asked. Everything seemed to be under control, but the soldiers were still on high alert as the thaids outside the wall continued to pose a threat. The artillery was proving to be effective in keeping them at bay, but it was unclear how long they could hold out.
"All clear, sir; we are almost done closing the breach, as you can see," the soldier replied.
"Good."
Suddenly, a roar reverberated through the air. It was so strong as to shake them to their very core. The soldiers immediately took up their weapons, ready for whatever was coming their way. They knew they had to be prepared for anything in this line of work.
BOOM
The soldiers turned to look at the source of the sound, and immediately, something landed on the ground with a huge noise and raised a huge dust cloud.
It was the Blirdoth who bolted through the breach, destroying half the repairs the soldier did. The beast was furious but clearly battered by previous fights.
The thaid killed three people by just landing; it crushed them to a bloody pulp, leaving gore, brain matter, and bloodied meat on the ground. It then growled menacingly at the surrounding soldiers, who immediately went into a defensive stance, channeled mana through their neural links, and readied themselves to attack the creature.
"What's this thing doing here?" a man asked as he saw the beast.
Another one commented on its look: "This thaid looks like something out of a horror movie."
As the creature looked around, its eyes glowed with a strange light. It didn't seem afraid of the soldiers' weapons. It let out a deafening roar that echoed through the battlefield, causing some of the soldiers to falter in their resolve.
The other men around him agreed with that assessment as they looked over what was left after the thaid landed. They'd been able to keep most of the creatures outside away from the breach thanks to their efforts, and now the creature destroyed everything, forcing them almost to start over.
However, Major Fischer knew how dire the situation was. The creature shouldn't have been here, as it was the goal of the 42nd corp to kill it.
He knew that most of the soldiers repairing the breach were going to die because of it, but he didn't know how many yet—he hoped no more than two or three hundred, but it was wishful thinking.
"Stay away, soldiers!" Major Fischer shouted. "What the hell are they doing outside?" he added.
He could see that the creature was battered, and his fur bore the effects of multiple brain crystal powers, but what was it going to do here? Why did it enter?
The Major glanced at the beast; judging by its state and its size, he quickly understood that it was fairly strong. Since he was currently the higher-ranking officer, the duty to stop the creature fell on him now.
Then he called the two ice elementals, and they went straight to the dog horror. However, the two were clearly not enough to fight against the creature, and the Blirdoth made a backward jump to put some distance between itself and the elementals. It then activated its poisonous mist.
Contrary to the situation on the wall, here, the poisonous mist started having its effect since there were no countermeasures available to stop the creature; the thaid shouldn't even be there. Clearly, as the fog spread in the surroundings, countless soldiers started dying, liquefied alive by the ghastly miasma released by the creature.
Soon after, panic spread among the soldiers; it was clear they couldn't do anything to kill this thaid, and more of them died in droves as the beast wreaked havoc amidst the soldiers, who tried to run away from the beast. The Blirdoth gave chase.
"Oh shit!" one soldier shouted out loud before he started liquefying, and soon after, he fell dead right next to another soldier unfortunate enough to suffer the same fate. "No way…" A third exclaimed while falling down too.
"What the hell?" Major Fischer roared in anger. He had already been instructed about the effects of this power, as this was the creature that hunted down the squads patrolling the forest. However, knowing what to expect and seeing it in the first person were two different things.
The major ordered again to his troops to fall back and hide, but he knew better than anyone else that if the beast remained, it was unlikely they would make it. They were probably going to be turned into goo by the creature's power.
To stop the monster, he pumped a huge chunk of his available mana into his ice elementals, which were still chasing the rampaging beast left and right in an attempt to stop it. With their new energy boost, they could finally reach the monster and start attacking it. As soon as they did so, though, the beasts retaliated.
Major Fischer cursed under his breath. He wasn't sure how much longer his elementals would last with the remaining amount of mana he had.
The Blirdoth then started looking in the Major's direction, as it understood that it was he who was sending the two ice creatures to attack it.
"SHIT!" Fischer said, as he clearly became the beast's target.
The Blirdoth was now dashing at the Major, as the Heniate behind it saw the man as another annoying bug that had to squish before it could start infecting the population.
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