CHAPTER 169: DIRE STRAITS

With a congregation of more than forty thousand survivors, the citadel had experienced every Night Event over the past month.

The original population of close to a hundred thousand had been whittled down to less than half, which was quite pitiful, as the inhabitants of the original central territory before the apocalypse descended numbered in the tens of millions.

And yet, those who survived were the truly powerful, possessing formidable mental fortitude. This was one aspect of Diana's leadership that Nicholas had to admire. With what he knew about Nexus Citadels, he knew the base barrier granted by the System had several stages of improvement. And from his observations, he could tell that the barrier should be capable of allowing attacks from the inside while blocking those from the outside.

Of course, such a feature consumed a staggering amount of cores and couldn't be sustained for long. Still, there had been many times over the past month when such a measure could have saved thousands of lives. And yet, Diana had never activated it, meaning no one knew such a trump card was even available to them.

Was that ruthless? Yes. But Nicholas knew that was the right mindset to have in this apocalypse. And the sight before him was the best proof.

In the previous world, the sight of just one of these monstrous mosquitoes would have sent even battle-hardened soldiers scampering away in terror. Yet here, little kids ranging from ten years old and above walked across the tops of the walls, helping transport cores and supplies, tending to the wounded, carrying ammunition, delivering messages between defensive positions, and helping maintain the equipment that kept the citadel's defenses running.

Not only that, after a month of constant fighting, a few had already broken into the second order, with none of those on the battlefield being below the first order.

This was no time to remain passive, as the more time passed, the further they would fall behind. Hiding behind a barrier would only prolong their deaths for a short time, and it was only by facing the horrors directly that they would stand a chance.

His eyes soon fell on Diana, who dominated an entire area of the battlefield.

With a massive tree towering behind her, the young leader held an enormous war bow made from special wood and fired arrows into the throngs of monsters.

Each of her blows was enough to shatter a beast's head, while the roots and branches of the tree she conjured flared out around her, entangling monsters or piercing into their bodies and sucking their blood with ravenous gluttony.

At some point, when the battle grew especially heated, a silver aura burst out around her, the pressure surrounding her intensifying several folds. Soon after, humanoid giants made from roots and branches burst out of the ground around her before roaring and lunging forward to tear the beasts before them apart.

Diana alone dominated her entire area, and yet the battle remained gruesome.

Humans fell in droves every second, and hundreds of survivors met their end on average every hour.

Nicholas's gaze lingered on the calamitous clash for a while longer before he looked into the distance with a focused expression.

Behind him, Ria stood quietly, her nerves slightly tense. Still, she bore through the worry that plagued her mind, refusing to let it overwhelm her.

Time slowly passed.

It was clear that the battle was especially heated tonight, which was not surprising considering it was the final Night Event.

Just as the appointed time for the event to close approached, Nicholas's eyes suddenly narrowed as he sensed a change. He quickly shut his eyes and focused his mind's eye.

Another string had appeared, one far thicker and brighter than the other two. From the familiarity he sensed through it, he knew it was a portion of his sister's split Will.

His right forefinger trembled ever so slightly, and it took everything within him to regain his composure.

His sister had told him she had left three safety measures with his daughter, and they would activate in times of grave danger. As for his son, he had received none, but Nicholas had been convinced that giving him one would only hinder his growth.

He waited, focusing intently for the second measure to activate, but even after a long while, it didn't come. Only then did his growing nerves slowly settle.

And just like that, System messages began to flash before his eyes, announcing the end of this special event, but he ignored them and focused on the skies, far above the barrier, where three massive globes had suddenly appeared.

The pressure hidden within those globes was such that, even one alone might prove too hard for the citadel to defend against.

Even with how Formidable the current barrier was, he estimated it would barely last a week before it eventually crumbled before such overwhelming might.

That in itself was already a commendable achievement, but to Nicholas, that wasn't enough.

He might not care to involve himself in normal circumstances, due to his personal inclinations and the restrictions acting on him.

But he still required a base for his children to return back to, after all, his heart yearned for their quick re-union.

That was to say, the Dawn Citadel couldn't be allowed to fall.

Therefore, he couldn't remain on the sidelines any longer.

_____

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