Crossroad. Western outskirts. Back alley.
Krrrreek!
A werewolf is chasing a fleeing citizen.
“Aaaah! Help, someone help me! It’s a monster! Someone please help…!”
The werewolf was almost upon the desperately screaming citizen.
The monster’s claws flashed menacingly, ready to slash the citizen’s back—
“…Not before I neutralize youuuu!”
I threw the magic core in my hand with all my might as I rushed forward.
A shield turret was summoned in mid-air. A taunt projectile was fired from the first formed muzzle, hitting the werewolf’s head. Thwack!
Krrk?!
The taunted werewolf turned away from the citizen and looked at the shield turret. That’s it!
“Dieee! You bastard!”
I swung my staff, summoning three magic blades that pierced the werewolf’s body.
The werewolf, screaming, was thrown back, crashing into the alley wall before collapsing, bleeding.
“Haa, haa, hoo!”
I wiped my mouth, which tasted of blood, with the back of my hand, panting. Damn it, I’ve been running non-stop without a break; it’s really exhausting.
‘But I have no choice!’
I am the commander here, and it is ultimately my responsibility that these monsters have entered the city.
If I can reduce the damage even a little by running, then of course I have to run.
Having barely caught my breath, I turned to the citizen who had been attacked by the werewolf and asked,
“Hey, are you alri….”
“Hee, hee, hee! Help meee!”
The citizen was already running away down the alley.
I clicked my tongue awkwardly. Well, at least they seem safe.
“Your Highness!”
At that moment, a scout who had been following me with binoculars from a rooftop shouted.
“There’s another werewolf over there!”
“Alright! Let’s go!”
I immediately started running in the direction the scout indicated.
Currently, scouts were spread out in all directions throughout the city.
A rudimentary information network had been formed, and I was collecting information from all over the city while repelling the werewolves.
The front lines of Crossroad were currently divided into three areas.
The southern wall, holding back the main force of the werewolf army.
The northern wall, holding back the werewolf commander, Lunared.
And the street battles against dozens of werewolves that had infiltrated the city.
‘I have no choice but to trust that the south and north will hold!’
In the next alley, I encountered a werewolf searching for victims.
I shot out magic blades, but it dodged them. The charging beast bared its teeth at me, but I ducked to avoid it.
Engaged in a desperate close-quarters battle with this wolf monster, I gritted my teeth and thought.
‘I need to prioritize eliminating the ones that have infiltrated the city!’
If these monsters penetrate the city center and extend their reach to the general public, there will be enormous damage.
The damage to soldiers and the damage to civilians are completely different in nature. No matter what, I have to protect the citizens.
Thwack!
Krrrk…!
“Haa, haa, haa!”
Having barely managed to end the werewolf’s life, I staggered to my feet.
Even in this situation, scouts were bringing information from rooftops all around.
Other heroes and soldiers were being deployed in various places, starting searches to deal with the werewolves that had infiltrated the city.
I instructed the scouts to spread the information to others as well.
I ran through the city’s alleys, hoping that as little damage as possible would occur, and that the southern and northern fronts would hold.
***
Barracks.
Kureha stood blankly at the entrance of this empty place, where all the soldiers had left.
She was worried about her younger brother. She was also worried about the situation in the city.
But what could she do?
Kureha looked alternately at her emaciated left leg and her withered right arm.
To suppress the berserk wolf curse that would activate if she used her power, Kureha had undergone a ritual to mummify her own body.
‘I can’t fight with this body….’
No matter how much knowledge of her clan’s martial arts filled her mind, it was useless because she couldn’t use it.
All she could do was watch. Sighing, Kureha looked at the sky. The full moon was ominously bright.
It was then.
“Kyaaaaaa! Aaaaaaah!”
“Monster, monster!”
“Stop them-!”
“We have to stop them here!”
Screams and fighting sounds came from nearby.
Startled, Kureha unconsciously moved her limping leg towards the sounds.
In an open space, two old people were trembling, hugging each other, and soldiers were fighting a monster as if protecting them.
There were about a dozen soldiers, and only one monster, but.
Thwack!
Slash-!
They were no match.
The monster was a white-furred werewolf.
A white werewolf that had successfully infiltrated through the west gate had penetrated this far faster than any other wolf.
The monster’s hideous claws instantly slaughtered the soldiers.
One of the soldiers, who had been protecting the old people until the very end, collapsed, spitting blood as he said,
“Run, away….”
The soldier soon died. The two old people covered their mouths and swallowed their cries.
Krr…krr, krr.
A strange chuckle came from the monster’s mouth. The white werewolf took large steps, approaching its next victims.
Thwack!
In that moment, Kureha intervened.
Krrk?
The white werewolf, glaring at Kureha who had blocked its path, soon noticed something strange.
Sniff.
Sniff, sniff.
The white werewolf’s mouth slowly opened as it smelled Kureha.
《…What are you?》
A puzzled voice came from the monster’s mouth.
《A kin, perhaps?》
“…No.”
The next moment, Kureha’s left fist, launched like lightning, struck the wolf’s jaw.
Thwack-!
《-?!》
The monster’s body, struck by a perfect power strike, flew through the air and crashed loudly into the far side of the alley. Crash, bang-!
Swoosh….
Muscles and flesh fell from Kureha’s left arm, turning to dust.
With her mummified fist, like her right arm, held straight forward, Kureha gritted her teeth and spat out,
“I am human, monster.”
***
West side of the city. Alleyway.
“Hee, hee, hee!”
“Please save us, mages! At least save our children!”
With a family of a couple and their two children between them, Reina and Junior glared around, casting spells.
They were surrounded by about a dozen werewolves.
“Tch….”
Junior clicked his tongue.
On the plains or on the walls, the terrain was not a major obstacle when fighting werewolves.
On the plains, you could fight honestly, and on the walls, the situation was reversed, giving them an advantage.
But this was the city.
The werewolves were jumping down from the roofs of buildings, from the basement windows of abandoned houses, attacking from all directions in a three-dimensional manner.
The two mages had powerful firepower, but they couldn’t fully unleash it in the city.
The city would be reduced to ashes. Moreover, Reina’s wound from being pierced by a sword had not fully healed.
It would be good if they could concentrate and launch precise magic snipes, but the wolves were attacking from all sides, not giving them any openings.
Boom!
A water bomb shot with pinpoint accuracy missed the werewolf, and a street lamp collapsed with a loud noise. Junior gritted his teeth.
‘There are too many restrictions…!’
Slash!
Reina’s wind blade also missed the werewolf, only tearing up the roof of the adjacent building. Reina clicked her tongue briefly.
If only someone would take the front line, if only someone would protect this family, they could concentrate and snipe the wolves with magic-
At that moment.
Thwack!
A sound of metal piercing flesh was heard, and a werewolf collapsed, spitting blood, from the far side of the alley.
The two surprised mages looked in that direction.
The one who had appeared silently and stabbed a werewolf to death was a familiar middle-aged man.
Camus.
A mercenary of SR rank, a prisoner who was sentenced to death for trying to kill Reina, who should have been in prison.
“……”
“……”
A strange silence flowed.
Camus and Reina stared at each other intently.
To Camus, Reina was an irreconcilable enemy, and to Reina, Camus was a criminal who had attacked her and her subordinates.
In the strange atmosphere, Junior looked back and forth between the two, not knowing what to do.
And.
Thud. Thud.
Camus, who had approached without saying a word, spun the longsword in his hand and then.
Thwack!
Took the front line.
He stood in a position to protect Reina, Junior, and the civilian family, glaring at the werewolf pack.
There was no conversation or eye contact in this process.
As if it were the most natural thing to do, the swordsman stood in front of the two mages, sword raised.
Krrr!
Kraaaah-!
And the next moment, the werewolf pack fell from all sides.
Camus swung his sword, and Reina and Junior shot out wind and lightning.
***
Downtown. Blacksmith.
Krrr! Kraaaah!
A werewolf that had broken into the blacksmith’s entrance bared its teeth fiercely.
The blacksmiths surrounding it were sweating profusely, each holding a red-hot weapon in their hands.
They were the ones who made weapons, not the ones who used them.
They were confronting the beast with blades, but they had neither the skill nor the courage to catch this large wolf monster.
Kraaaah!
The ferocious werewolf leaped forward. The startled blacksmiths screamed and cowered.
At that moment,
Thwack-!
A stocky dwarf old man leaped forward and slammed a huge hammer he was holding down.
Squeak!
The werewolf, hit squarely on the forehead, spurted blood from its nose and crashed headfirst into the floor.
“Where did this damn mutt come from….”
Kellybay, the dwarf, readjusted the hammer in his hand and roared.
“Defiling the sacred blacksmith with the smell of blood, you bastard!”
Thwack! Thwack!
With two more hammer blows, the werewolf was completely pulverized and died. Huffing, Kellybay wiped the sweat from his forehead and looked around.
“What are you all just watching for? Everyone grab your tools! We have to go outside!”
“Y-yes?”
“Can’t you tell by the fact that a monster has come this far? The city is in danger. Aren’t you going to help?”
“B-but… what can we do….”
The bewildered blacksmiths exchanged glances. Kellybay clicked his tongue.
“Then are you just going to cower and hide?”
“……”
“Are you just going to sit idly by, waiting for the monsters to come and eat you alive?”
“But Master, we didn’t come to this city to fight!”
“You little shits. Then did I come here to fight? I came here for treatment because my back is broken, you fools!”
Kellybay shouted.
“You guys who were handling weapons in front of the fire are better at fighting than the other citizens who are sleeping soundly outside! Then you have to fight!”
“But, we are not soldiers! We are just citizens too!”
“Do you think the monsters will care about that when they kill you? To them, you are all the same humans!”
Kellybay took the lead and walked out of the blacksmith.
“Kill the monsters and save people. Isn’t that what your lord is always talking about? Isn’t that the city’s greatest motto?”
“……”
“Then save yourselves, you bastards. If you can fight, you have to fight when the time comes!”
While the other blacksmiths were still frozen, Kellybay’s assistant, Hannibal, quickly stuck to Kellybay’s side.
The young assistant held a half-finished blade in his hand.
“Let’s go, Master!”
“Look at this bold one. The youngest one.”
Kellybay chuckled.
Belatedly, the blacksmiths followed Kellybay one by one.
The foreman, who had been arguing with Kellybay a moment ago, hurriedly shouted and asked.
“W-what should we take with us?!”
“What do you make at the fortress city blacksmith?”
Kellybay turned around and answered briefly.
“Weapons!”
He added one more word.
“A lot!”