Chapter 496:Chaos.

Chapter 496: 496:Chaos.

The beasts crossed the farmland like a living flood.

Tier One creatures led the stampede, followed by larger Tier Two beasts that trampled anything too slow to escape their path. Several Tier Three predators ran among them, their bodies covered in wounds, while enormous armored creatures smashed through fences and overturned abandoned farming equipment without slowing down.

The northern wall shook as the first beasts reached the settlement. Some turned and ran along the perimeter while others collided directly with the defenses.

A Tier Two horned beast struck the wall hard enough to crack several concrete blocks. Another crashed into the northern gate snd the reinforced metal doors groaned.

"Hold!" Captain Ross shouted.

The soldiers raised their weapons.

"Fire only on creatures threatening the defenses!"

Gunfire erupted everywhere.

Silver drew his handgun.

[Phantom Draw Lv4 Activated.]

The bullet left his gun in a flash.

A charging Tier Two beast collapsed before reaching the gate, and another followed.

He fired again and the creature stumbled.

Ravenna stepped forward, flames gathering along her sword.

Flame Edge

She swung her glowing sword and a narrow arc of fire struck the beast’s legs, forcing it to collapse before it could crash into the barricade.

Caleb grinned nervously.

"Here we go."

He activated Stone Skin.

His arms and shoulders hardened as a large beast slammed into the gate. He stepped forward and struck it with his hammer, the impact echoing across the defensive line.

The creature staggered backward.

Rowan immediately reinforced the damaged gate.

"Thirty seconds!" he shouted.

Helena looked toward him.

"What?"

"I can maintain this reinforcement for thirty seconds before I need to reset!"

She nodded.

"Then make them count!"

Silver fired again.

A Tier Two predator leaped toward the wall. His bullet struck its head and it fell. Another appeared behind it, then another and another.

Silver’s expression tightened.

There were far too many.

He activated Spatial Sense.

[Spatial Sense Lv3 Activated.]

The battlefield expanded within his perception.

He could sense the movement of nearby beasts, the pressure building against the gate, the shifting positions of the defenders, and the approaching mass beyond the farmland.

He immediately noticed something.

The beasts weren’t concentrating their attacks, they were simply moving forward. Those that encountered the wall attempted to turn but the creatures behind them continued pushing them hence the pressure was building.

He looked toward Helena.

"Commander!"

She turned, eyebrow raised.

"What?"

"They’re not attacking deliberately!" He said.

She blinked.

"What?"

"They’re being pushed from behind! The ones at the front can’t retreat!"

She looked toward the gate.

Silver continued.

"If we keep killing them here, the bodies will pile up and the pressure will get worse!"

Her expression changed.

She immediately contacted Peter.

"Sir, we need to redirect the tide!" She shouted through the communicator.

Peter answered.

"Agreed. Open the eastern diversion corridor!"

Captain Ross’s voice followed.

"Negative! That route leads toward the residential district!"

He looked toward the map displayed on his communicator, then pointed toward the drainage channel.

"Not if Ravenna redirects them."

She looked at him, eyes widening.

He smiled faintly.

"Think you can do it?" He asked.

She studied the terrain, then nodded.

"Yes."

She stepped forward and flames gathered around her sword.

Burning Arc

A controlled wave of fire spread across the open ground outside the eastern section of the wall, forming a narrow barrier that forced several approaching beasts to turn toward the drainage channel.

The flames remained low, precise and controlled. They didn’t spread toward the wooden buildings.

Silver smiled.

"Nice."

Ravenna grinned.

"Obviously."

The first group of beasts changed direction, then another.

For several minutes, the diversion worked but the main tide continued approaching snd the larger creatures were still coming.

The first human death occurred less than twenty minutes later.

A soldier stationed on the northern wall was helping reload a mounted weapon when a Tier Three armored beast crashed into the structure beneath him.

The impact shattered several supports and the soldier lost his footing.

He fell towards the stampede below.

Silver detected the movement through Spatial Sense and immediately activated Short-Step.

[Short-Step Lv3 Activated.]

His figure disappeared and reappeared near the collapsing section of wall and extended his hand.

[Spatial Distortion Lv2 Activated.]

A transparent barrier formed beneath the falling soldier. For a moment, it slowed his descent.

Silver reached forward but before he could grab him, another enormous beast struck the damaged wall and the entire section collapsed.

His barrier shattered from the loss of concentration as concrete and metal crashed downward.

He activated Short-Step again, barely escaping the falling debris. When the dust settled, the soldier was gone.

Silver stood several meters away, his expression frozen.

He extended Spatial Sense but found nothing. There was no movement or heartbeat, only broken concrete and twisted metal.

Ravenna appeared beside him.

"Silver!" She called.

He didn’t answer immediately.

She looked toward the collapsed wall, then understood.

Her expression changed.

He slowly lowered his hand.

"I almost had him," he whispered.

She looked toward him, then toward the approaching beasts.

"Silver."

He swallowed.

"I almost..."

"Silver!"

Her voice sharpened.

He turned, only to see a Tier Three predator was charging toward them.

His expression changed.

He drew his sword.

[Advanced Swordsmanship Lv3 Activated.]

His blade flashed through the air and the predator’s head separated from its body, blood spraying across the broken ground.

He stood motionless for a moment, then exhaled.

She approached.

"Are you okay?"

He looked toward the collapsed wall, then nodded.

"Yeah, this is expected."

But his voice was quieter than usual. Ravenna didn’t believe him and neither did he.

The northern defenses began failing shortly afterward. The first barricade collapsed under the weight of several Tier Three beasts.

Caleb attempted to hold the opening, but the pressure forced him backward while Rowan reinforced the surrounding structures, his face pale from energy exhaustion.

Mina continued monitoring the ground, warning the defenders whenever larger creatures approached.

Elias fired continuously from the communications tower. His arrows struck exposed eyes, joints, and weak points in armored hides, while his rifle eliminated smaller predators attempting to climb the damaged walls.

Silver moved between positions.

[Short-Step Lv3 Activated.]

He appeared beside Caleb and struck a charging beast with his sword.

[Primal Strength Lv3 Activated.]

The impact sent the creature stumbling backward. Another beast lunged toward Rowan and he extended his hand.

[Spatial Distortion Lv2 Activated.]

A barrier appeared that the beast slammed into it and cracked on impact.

Silver gritted his teeth.

"Move!"

Rowan stumbled backward.

He redirected the beast’s momentum and it crashed into a concrete barricade.

Caleb finished it with his hammer.

"Thanks!" Rowan shouted.

He nodded.

Then another scream reached him.

He turned.

Several civilians were trapped near a collapsing building.

He activated Spatial Sense.

There were three adults and two children with a large beast approaching.

He looked toward Helena.

"Residential district!"

She nodded.

"Go!"

Silver disappeared.

[Short-Step Lv3 Activated.]

He reappeared beside the building.

A woman was struggling to lift a fallen beam from her husband’s leg and the two children were crying nearby.

He approached.

"Move!" He firmly said.

The woman looked up and her face lite up.

"Please! My husband..."

"I’ve got him, please move!"

He activated Primal Strength.

[Primal Strength Lv3 Activated.]

He gripped the beam and lifted. The wood creaked as it slowly left the ground. The trapped man screamed as the pressure disappeared.

He pulled him free.

"Take the children!" He shouted over the noise.

The woman hurriedly nodded and grabbed them. He lifted the injured man and turned to leave, but before he could go, he heard something approaching.

A Tier Three beast rounded the corner, its enormous body filled the narrow street.

His expression hardened.

[Spatial Distortion Lv2 Activated.]

A barrier appeared between them.

The beast struck it and the barrier cracked.

Silver gritted his teeth.

"Run!"

The woman fled with the children in her arms running after than he had ever seen someone run. He carried the injured man toward the evacuation route since he couldn’t fight with civilians next to him.

The beast struck again and the barrier shattered.

Silver activated Short-Step.

He disappeared with the injured man, reappearing several meters farther down the street.

His energy circulation strained.

The distance wasn’t enormous but carrying another person while maintaining a spatial displacement required considerably more energy than moving alone.

He stumbled, then recovered. He handed the injured man to a waiting medical team and his wife.

"Get him out!"

The medics nodded.

Silver turned and looked behind at the ensuing destruction. Another scream filled the air, followed by a sound of another collapsing building.

Another group of civilians.

He exhaled, then moved again.