The following days were bustling with activity at the Silent Wind Military Base as everyone, soldiers and civilians alike, carried out their duties. Twenty days after Vlad’s return, the moment they had all been waiting for—and dreading—finally arrived.
Nearly two hundred soldiers were positioned atop and beneath the southern walls of the Silent Wind Military Base. They could see a massive horde of over 7,000 demons marching toward them.
Vlad had killed thousands taking down the bridge, but it was clear they gained more in the way. Luckily, most were low-level demonic beasts.
The high-ranking horde was at the base of the mountain, advancing rapidly. In less than half an hour, the front of the horde would reach the southern wall, and the all-out battle would begin—a fight where they would have to put their lives on the line.
General Anglius stood at the top of the wall, his eyes sharp and resolute, serving as a figure people could see and rely on. He had already gained the respect of all the civilians who reached the military base. They knew he was strict yet fair, and while he pushed others to their limit, he pushed himself even harder.
Seeing the middle-aged man stand with them gave the people some confidence, but the general could see how fragile that was. The seasoned soldiers were fine, but the civilians, who had too little time to train, struggled with the tension despite their Paths and Levels.
Just as General Anglius was thinking about the best way to improve their morale before the great battle, something amazing and shocking happened: a figure descended from the air, covered in lightning!
Immediately, all eyes turned to the lightning figure who descended to the top of the walls like a divine entity.
He was none other than Vlad, the young man who had erased a city’s worth of demons and killed a monster the size of a small building!
Vlad’s body was covered in arcs of lightning, and his eyes were focused on the incoming horde. The power he had just unleashed was none other than his Bloodline Ability, which had awakened two days ago.
Lightning Forged Charge!
"You might fear death. That doesn’t make you less; it only makes you human. But remember what stands behind us!" Vlad’s voice echoed across the walls, reaching the ears of all the soldiers, who immediately took their eyes away from the horde and focused on the barracks in the distance.
Not all the civilians from Good Side Town were going to fight, as General Casidius sent many to hide. They were not fit for the battlefield; either their bodies or minds were not fit to endure this pressure, and they were currently hiding in a bunker. Those were their families and friends, and if they failed to stop the horde, all of them would die.
The fear of death was crippling, but the fear of losing all your loved ones and everything you held dear was even worse.
"We will not break. We will not stop fighting no matter what. Even if your bodies shatter, we will keep striking because we are true warriors." At this point, Vlad turned around and glanced straight into the soldiers’ eyes as he took out his sword and raised it into the air.
"Fight with all you have. I swear by my honor as a soldier and human that I will stay by your side every second of this battle. I will fight as long as there is a breath of air in my lungs." Vlad’s eyes glowed with white light as a blast of lightning burst from his sword, charging into the air.
Silence reigned as all the soldiers watched the young man who seemed a divine envoy, his power like something from myth, and who would lead them into the incoming battle.
"Wrath!" Vlad shouted as arcs of dark red force, embodying the feeling of rage, coursed through his figure as he aimed his sword toward the incoming high demonic horde.
"Roar! Roar! Thud! Thud! Stomp! Stomp!"
The sound of soldiers roaring and stamping their weapons and feet on the ground as they gazed at the high demonic horde was something out of a legend. All the fear from before vanished, replaced by an immense sense of rage and hatred toward the horde that dared to face them.
General Anglius saw the soldiers’ reaction and could not help but smile as he glanced at the young man. ’Rage is always better than fear. He might not be the best commander, but he is easy to follow.’
While rage could make people do rash things and make mistakes, it was always better than being paralyzed by fear. General Anglius would have problems handling those who were too rash, but they would be much easier to manage than those afraid to move.
Vlad did not take his eyes away from the horde; his face was calm and cold as he heard the soldiers roaring behind him. It would be a lie to say he was not afraid of dying, but he was the only person whose heart could never falter. That was the weight of leadership, the one he decided to bear.
The high demonic horde kept advancing faster and faster toward the Silent Wind Military Base’s northern gate, making the earth tremble, and ferocious noises of demonic beasts echo. However, the enraged soldiers did not see monsters, but things that wanted to kill their families and friends, and their rage only increased as they stood firm.
Vlad’s eyes narrowed as he saw how the vanguard of the high demonic horde was primarily composed of low-level demonic beasts and very few Champions. They were clearly being used as cannon fodder for all the traps that could be in place.
"Hmph, smart demon," Vlad sneered as he figured out Arasbus’s tactics, but then he smiled. "But not smart enough!"
General Caisidius felt Vlad’s gaze, and his eyes narrowed as he saw the front of the demonic horde less than two hundred meters away from the walls, so he shouted with all his strength, "Mages! Battle Tactic 1! NOW!"