All My Summons Become Divine Girls

Chapter 251: The Wall Holds Once

The first hound struck the outer stockade before Hans’s reserve reached the final irrigation cut.

Three village hunters drove spears through gaps above the gate, forcing it away from the latch before another climbed the wall.

The headman pulled one hunter down as claws crossed the top rail, saving his face while leaving the hound inside the stockade.

Families ran toward the storehouse without waiting for another bell, following the shelter route they had practiced after Hans arrived.

The innkeeper’s mother stood beside the door with Lana’s copied list, marking each child before anyone crossed the threshold.

"Keep them inside until I call the farm names," she said, pointing two parents away from the entrance, "crowding this door leaves everyone outside."

The hound reached the shelter path before a gate hunter struck its shoulder with an axe.

His blade caught beneath a purple growth, dragging him forward when the monster turned toward the sound.

The headman drove a spear into its open mouth, then lost the weapon as its body folded across the path.

Four more hounds hit the eastern wall together, breaking one repaired brace before the hunters shifted to meet them.

"Leave that brace," Hans said, entering through the southern gate with his spear raised, "front line steps back to the inner posts."

The first militia row followed him inside, carrying shields above Vella’s carts while the rear crews pulled frames through the gate.

Several village hunters stayed at the broken section until Hans struck one shield with the butt of his spear.

"You have another wall behind you," he said, pointing toward the inner posts, "move before the hounds decide for you."

They withdrew through both side gaps as the eastern brace broke, allowing two monsters into the space they had abandoned.

Militia shields closed across the inner path, leaving each hound trapped between the stockade and the new line.

Garret held the center with one of Ferra’s spearheads, keeping his shield edge against the miner beside him.

"Thirty seconds," Hans said, moving behind their row, "the carrying crews clear every wounded person before this line opens."

The hounds rushed together, striking three shields before the recruits finished setting their rear feet.

One miner crossed his stance under the impact, dropping to a knee while the shield beside him turned to cover the gap.

Garret leaned across both men, taking the second hound against his own shield until the front row recovered.

Spears entered above their shoulders from the rear, catching one monster across the chest while the other climbed the overlapping shields.

A recruit released his weapon when the shaft bent, though the man behind him tried holding both spear and frame.

"Drop the spear," Hans said, pulling the frame toward the shelter route, "Garret needs that space if the center opens."

The recruit obeyed after one useless tug, taking the rear handle before the next hound struck.

Vella opened a violet barrier across the treatment lane, giving two injured hunters cover while she checked the deeper cuts.

"Frames against the storehouse wall," she said, directing the carrying crews past her, "leave the middle open for anyone still walking."

The bell worker counted twenty seconds from the inner post, keeping one hand raised until the final hunter cleared the broken brace.

At twenty-four, a hound forced its head between Garret’s shield and the man kneeling beside him.

Garret drove his spear downward, killing the monster as its claws opened his side beneath the shield rim.

Blood spread across his shirt as he stayed in line, trying to pull the spear free from the body.

"Leave it," Hans said, catching the back of his coat, "the rear row has you now."

Two recruits dragged Garret onto the empty frame they had kept behind the center, retreating before another hound reached his shield.

The front line opened at thirty seconds, moving through the side posts while village hunters struck the trapped monsters from both angles.

One recruit turned toward Garret instead of following his shield partner, leaving the right gap without cover.

A hound crossed before Hans could close it, knocking the headman’s spear aside with its shoulder.

The headman caught the bite on his forearm, driving his other hand against the animal’s throat while the line broke around him.

Cassie’s earth ridge rose beneath the hound, throwing it away from the headman before its jaw closed any farther.

Her party entered through the southern gate with the final farm wagon, keeping Jonas between the monster and the arriving families.

"Right gap closes on Jonas," Cassie said, planting her staff behind him, "Toby clears the families through the left."

Jonas met the hound with his axe across its chest, carrying its rush backward until Cassie’s ridge supported his rear foot.

Toby released a white flash along the shelter path, showing every family the open gate without blinding the militia line.

The recruit who had turned returned to his shield partner, closing the gap after Jonas drove the hound outside.

"Keep the ridge below their knees," Hans said, looking toward Cassie’s barrier, "your last wall blocked the people carrying wounded."

She lowered the earth without arguing, leaving a raised edge beneath Jonas while both escape gaps stayed clear.

The remaining hounds pushed through the broken stockade, meeting militia spears inside the narrower approach.

Village hunters struck from the side posts, using shorter weapons where the recruits could not turn their full shafts.

One hound reached the treatment lane before Vella’s barrier folded around its head, stopping its jaws near an injured hunter.

She tightened the violet wall until Jonas arrived, allowing his axe to end the monster without leaving the front line for long.

"That was my patient," Vella said, releasing the barrier after the body dropped, "bring me Garret before his shirt loses more blood."

The carrying crew reached her with the frame level, placing him beside the storehouse instead of dropping him near the gate.

Golden healing closed the torn vessels along his side, though Vella left the deeper claw marks open until she checked beneath them.

"I lost Ferra’s spear," Garret said, pressing one hand against the frame, "it is under the hound near the center."

"Forget the spear," Hajin said, landing beyond the inner posts with his chain still in hand, "Vella is still closing your side."

Purple blood covered several links from the packs he had stopped along the upper ravine as one Ring continued rotating around his wrist.

"The Gate is still spilling," he said, looking toward Hans, "larger bodies are pushing through behind the hounds."

"The farms?" Hans asked, checking the storehouse count before looking toward Juna’s ridge route.

"Cassie brought the southern families," Hajin said, following the names on the shelter list, "Juna has the last ridge cart coming down now."

The innkeeper’s mother marked the final children as Juna entered behind them, then shut the storehouse door against the Gate pressure.

Every hound inside the stockade lay dead, though the eastern wall had lost one full section plus most of its braces.

Three militia recruits needed Vella’s treatment, while the headman’s bitten arm hung against his chest beneath a temporary wrap.

Hans walked the inner line once, collecting dropped shields before any recruit mistook the quiet for release.

"First wave is down," a miner said, looking toward the broken stockade, "do we hold here for the next one?"

The ground moved beneath the outer gate before Hans answered, raising a line through the path where the hounds had entered.

Hajin felt the first burrower turning below the wall as two more shapes followed it from the ravine.

Hans pointed every carrying frame toward the western checkpoint, then signaled the bell worker to ring once.