Chapter 159: Under Attack

Chapter 159: Chapter 159: Under Attack

The ominous plumes of dark smoke rising against Keystone Citadel’s skyline forced Squad 07 and Princess Lyra into an immediate sprint. As the distant sound of clashing steel and panicked screams echoed down the trade road, the outer rim of the city came into view—engulfed in roaring, unnatural flames.

"Weapons out!" Lyra shouted, her voice ringing with royal authority as Squad 07 got into combat readiness and headed into the city carefully.

The outer district was in complete chaos. Defending guards were locked in a desperate struggle against violent, malformed humans—zealots whose flesh bulged and warped with unstable, synthetic mana, clearly the terrifying work of the Order of Humanity’s radical sabotage cells. The mutated attackers tore through stone barricades and set storefronts ablaze without regard for their own survival.

"Let’s help the guards," Rowan said, tipping the brim of his Enchanted Straw Hat as his sharp eyes assessed the layout of the burning streets.

"Split into groups of three! Barney, Caelen, Mirei, you guys go west!" Rowan ordered smoothly. "Myself, Seraphina, and Princess Lyra will head east! We’ll battle our way to the center of the city!"

Without missing a beat, the squad divided with practiced coordination.

Charging into the western quadrant, Barney slammed his heavy vanguard shield onto the cobblestones, driving back a wave of mutated zealots with a reverberating shockwave. Caelen darted past the shield line, his sword weaving in precise, lethal arcs to disarm the rampaging attackers.

Above them, Mirei leapt onto a high stone balcony, her translucent Breeze-Striker Longbow singing as wind-infused arrows pinned malformed beasts to the ground before they could overrun the frontline guards.

Meanwhile, on the eastern thoroughfare, Rowan channeled green vitality mana through the Hoe of the World-Tiller, driving the iron edge into the paved street. A surge of golden terra-mana upheaved the cobblestones, entangling a dozen charging mutants in churned earth and heavy debris.

Beside him, Seraphina unlatched a pair of volatile Incendiary Elixirs from her belt and hurled them into the trapped cluster, igniting the corrupted mana in a blinding alchemical inferno. Radiating her brilliant solar aura, Princess Lyra stepped into the smoke, her runic sword flashing golden light as she cut down the remaining threats and cleared the path toward the central plaza.

***

Navigating through the wreckage of burning storefronts, Rowan sprinted toward a fallen defender slumping against a shattered stone pillar. The guard was desperately clutching a jagged, oozing gash along his forearm—a violent wound left by a charging zealot’s mutated claws.

Kneeling beside the wounded man, Rowan summoned half of an Amethyst-Gold Peach from his system inventory. The fruit’s ruby-marbled skin thrummed with concentrated life energy, instantly filling the ash-choked air with a sweet, clarifying aroma.

"Eat this, quickly," Rowan instructed, pressing the glowing fruit to the guard’s lips.

The guard swallowed a bite, and the reaction was instantaneous. Hyper-pure nectar washed down his throat, cascading directly into his damaged tissues and mana pathways. A warm, golden light flared around the severe laceration; the bleeding stopped instantly, the jagged tears in his skin and muscle knitting back together within seconds until nothing remained but smooth skin.

The guard gasped, staring down at his fully restored arm in absolute disbelief. "Heavens... what kind of miracle fruit was that?"

"What happened around here?" Rowan asked, tipping the brim of his Enchanted Straw Hat as he scanned the smoke-filled street for incoming threats.

The guard caught his breath, his eyes darkening with grim intensity. "The cult... the Order of Humanity. They caught the outer gate guards completely off guard. Those zealots took some kind of corrupted potion, mutating their own bodies to tear down the outer rim and wreak complete havoc."

Rowan gave a calm, resolute nod. "Alright. Go find a safe place to recover. We’ll help the rest of the guards clear these corrupted humans out."

"Thanks, kid," the guard breathed, hurriedly unclipping an etched brass crest from his leather chestpiece and pressing it into Rowan’s hand. "Take my badge. The whole district is in complete chaos, but this will prove you’re on our side in case other guards approach you with weapons drawn."

Rowan pocketed the badge with a swift nod and turned back toward the flaming thoroughfare, ready to rejoin Seraphina and Princess Lyra in their push toward the city center.

Flashing the fallen officer’s brass badge, Rowan led Princess Lyra and Seraphina deeper into the burning eastern district. Thick columns of black smoke choked the avenues, but the chaotic sounds of clashing steel and dark shrieks served as a clear beacon.

The Order of Humanity had deployed mutated zealots across every major crossroads, attempting to sever the city’s mana infrastructure and slaughter its defenders.

At the main marketplace intersection, a squad of six city guards was heavily pinned down. Corrupted cultists—their limbs grotesquely enlarged and pulsing with volatile, synthetic magic—were hammering relentlessly against the guards’ cracking tower shields.

"There’s our opening," Rowan called out, tipping the brim of his Enchanted Straw Hat.

Rowan surged forward and slammed the iron edge of the Hoe of the World-Tiller into the cobblestones. Golden earth mana rippled beneath the pavement, causing the ground beneath the charging zealots to buckle violently and throwing the outer wave of attackers completely off balance.

Princess Lyra capitalized in an instant. Her Bracers of the Sun flared with dazzling radiant light as she unleashed a wide, sweeping arc of golden solar aura, carving clean through the malformed beasts while keeping the guards out of her line of fire.

While Lyra and Rowan drew the front line’s focus, Seraphina darted past the flank directly to the wounded defenders slumping against the storefronts. Reaching into her alchemical satchel, she retrieved a handful of glowing, crystal-clear vials filled with high-purity Healing Elixirs.

"Drink these immediately," Seraphina instructed calmly, passing the elixirs directly into the trembling hands of the fallen soldiers. "The vitality will seal your wounds in seconds."

The guards uncorked the vials and downed the liquid without hesitation. Instantly, a warm crimson radiance flared across their bodies. Deep, jagged lacerations knitted shut, broken skin reformed, and their depleted stamina returned in a sudden wave.

"We’re back in the fight!" the garrison captain shouted, pushing himself off the stone with newfound strength. Re-energized by Squad 07’s intervention, the restored guards raised their weapons with a unified roar, reforming their shield line to lock down the perimeter.

With the marketplace secured, Rowan flashed the captain’s badge to coordinate the guards into defensive holdouts. Street by burning street, the trio pushed onward—striking the corrupted cultists whenever an opening appeared and leaving fully healed, reinforced guard units in their wake as they battered their way toward the city center.