Chapter 122 - 49: She’s Here

Chapter 122: Chapter 49: She’s Here

Dark clouds loomed over the city.

To resist the encroaching Demonic Qi, the Mages of Servali City had worked through the night to build towering city walls.

The Low-level Demons weren’t intelligent and couldn’t devise any real siege tactics. But the Demonic Qi was extremely corrosive to all surrounding matter. Even the city walls, forged with the combined power of all the Mages, had reached their limit after holding for nearly half a month.

These past few days, Veronica had been organizing the evacuation of civilians. However, the Demons’ encirclement was far larger than they had imagined, and stray Demons would appear from time to time in the wilderness outside.

Common people were helpless before the Demons. Any encounter meant certain slaughter.

Seville was already short on manpower, so Veronica couldn’t possibly spare anyone to protect the fleeing civilians.

Thus, the evacuation was forced to a halt after only two days.

Now, behind the city walls stood not only her, her Mages, and her Knights, but also the warriors who followed her to defend their home. Beyond them were the countless women, children, and elderly who, utterly defenseless, could only lock their doors and pray.

For their sake alone, the city walls absolutely could not fall. The casualties would be incalculable otherwise.

Veronica arrived at the front lines. Harvey was already there, having brought a squad to her.

The squad consisted of thirty people: six Mages and the rest Low-level Knights.

It was a pitiful force, yet it was the strongest team Servali City could muster.

To allow the city walls to hold a little longer and to avoid a chaotic melee inside the city, a squad like this was sent out at regular intervals. They acted as bait, luring the Demons far away while the Mages who remained behind seized the opportunity to repair the walls.

In the beginning, the bait squads had been large enough to split into multiple teams for mutual support. They rarely suffered injuries on a mission and could even slay a fair number of Demons.

But as time went on, the people inside the city received no new resources. The Mages’ Magic Power couldn’t recover in time, and casualties began to mount.

Once there was one, a second soon followed.

And after the second, there were more.

Until the squads were completely worn down, no longer able to mount any effective resistance.

This was a war of attrition.

And it was what made Veronica feel most powerless as she fought on.

—There was no hope of victory.

They could only struggle in the mire of war until they were swallowed by it.

Looking at the thirty people before her, Veronica’s expression was solemn.

She gave no rousing speech. Everyone knew they carried the lives of the entire city on their shoulders. No matter how grim the situation, they could not retreat a single step.

Veronica reached for the hilt of her sword.

SHING! The longsword slid from its sheath.

The young woman, clad in battle attire, pointed her sword beyond the walls. "Move out!"

At her command, the armored warriors atop the high walls leaped down, using Knight Skills or Magic.

As the Lord, Veronica always charged at the very front of every battle. This time was no exception.

She understood that only if she was there, only if she was the first to show a fearless disregard for death, would the others follow her charge without fear.

Veronica cleared a path with Magic. A torrent of flames split the Demonic Qi, brutally carving a path outward through the Demon horde.

But soon, the black qi swirled up along the flames, devouring all the fire and gales completely.

Veronica inwardly clicked her tongue.

’This was another thing that infuriated her.’

The Demons’ regenerative ability was infuriatingly strong. On top of that, any sustained Magic skill would be assimilated the moment it touched Demonic Qi, becoming fuel for the enemy.

Therefore, Mages had limited options when facing Demons. The Knights didn’t fare much better, as the potent corrosion of the Demonic Qi was a massive handicap for them, specialists in close-quarters combat.

The moment the thirty-person squad landed, they followed the pre-arranged battle plan, acting as bait to draw the Demons away.

Low-level Demons were like passive mobs in a game; it was incredibly easy to draw their aggro. A few skills tossed their way and they would immediately abandon Servali City—a target they had besieged for so long—and chase after Veronica and her people.

But for that very reason, it was also incredibly difficult to escape.

Veronica led her pursuers in two wide circles. Judging that enough time had passed, she prepared to shake them off and return, only to find them clinging to her far more tenaciously than she’d expected.

Not only that, but the Demons themselves seemed to have grown weary of the protracted war. In the distance, a dense cloud of Demonic Qi abruptly rose—clearly another contingent of Demons taking advantage of the main force’s absence to launch an attack.

And they were heading straight for Servali City!

’This is bad,’ Veronica thought. Just as she was about to charge back regardless of the cost, she was bogged down by the Demons around her.

Until now, the Demons she fought had been low-level creatures acting purely on instinct. She had let her guard down, never imagining they would actually use tactics against her!

Farther away, Ovis’s army, having only just arrived, seemed to sense the danger here and tried to move in for support, but...

It was too late.

It was all too late.

Veronica gripped her longsword, watching the thick black qi before her that threatened to devour everything.

In that moment, despair flooded her heart.

’Is... this the end?’

She had long anticipated such an end.

She had been prepared to die in battle ever since the defensive line was first forced to retreat. For days, she had been putting her affairs in order.

Intelligence on the Demons was being continuously sent via letters to the Royal Capital Magic Academy.

As for Hillflan, she had already given the Nobles ample warning and bought them as much time as possible to prepare for war.

As for Adrian and the others, they were all adults. Faced with an overwhelming external threat, she believed they would cast aside their differences and unite against the common enemy without needing to be told.

And...

Lilia.

’Lilia must have received my letter by now, right?’

’Is she still in Navia, or has she already done as I asked in the letter—fled the Light Kingdom to find a new, peaceful land?’

’She must be safe.’

’She’s so strong, and she has Jennifer with her.’

’So, she must be safe.’

’In that case... it’s...’

Veronica swung her sword. The crimson flames unique to her were instantly devoured by the Demonic Qi.

The longsword, forged from a special metal, was incredibly durable, yet it still couldn’t withstand the corrosion of the Demonic Qi. Its already-worn blade was as brittle as glass under the Demon’s claws.

CRACK.

The sword broke.

Half the blade went flying. As Veronica watched it go, she felt as if she were seeing her own fate.

Just as she was about to risk everything in one final, desperate stand.

BOOM!

BOOM!

BOOM!

A series of explosions suddenly erupted in the distance!

Before Veronica’s wide eyes, a pure white figure descended from the sky.

Then, flames surged upward!

In the blazing light, the girl’s jet-black eyes shone like the scorching sun.