MEMELAND

The northern district had become Muscle City's final shield.

Smoke drifted across the walls.

The air smelled of blood, iron, and burning timber.

Soldiers hurried between barricades.

Archers checked their quivers.

Mages refreshed defensive formations.

Engineers loaded the wall-mounted cannons.

Civilians carried ammunition.

Others transported the wounded toward the rear.

No one stood idle.

At the center of it all—

Taai.

His body was wrapped in fresh bandages.

Blood continued to seep through them.

Every breath hurt.

Every movement reminded him of the bullets, blades, and the technique he had forced upon himself to stabilize Kai.

Yet—

He stood straight.

The soldiers immediately gathered around him.

Some saluted.

Others simply waited.

Taai looked across every face.

Young.

Old.

Veterans.

First-time fighters.

Workers.

Blacksmiths.

Teachers.

Parents.

Children barely old enough to hold a spear.

They were afraid.

He could see it.

So he smiled.

"...Good."

Everyone blinked.

"If you're scared..."

"...That means you're still alive."

A few nervous chuckles spread through the ranks.

Taai folded his arms.

"You know why Muscle City exists?"

Silence.

"Because after the First Demon War..."

"...we promised."

"We would never be caught unprepared again."

His voice carried across the wall.

"We trained."

"We lifted."

"We fought."

"We bled."

"We built stronger walls."

"We built stronger weapons."

"But most importantly..."

He struck his own chest.

"We built stronger people."

The soldiers straightened.

Taai grinned.

"People laugh at us."

"They say all we know is muscles."

"They're right."

More laughter.

"But these muscles..."

He clenched his fist.

"...weren't built for showing off."

"They were built..."

"...to protect the people behind us."

He pointed toward the evacuation routes.

Women.

Children.

The elderly.

The injured.

"They're trusting us."

"They believe we'll stop this."

"So tell me."

His voice thundered.

"ARE WE GOING TO LET THEM DOWN?!"

"NO!"

The answer shook the walls.

"Louder!"

"NO!!"

"Louder!"

"NOOOOO!!!"

The city itself seemed to answer.

Taai smiled.

"There it is."

"The spirit of Muscle City."

He pointed toward the endless horde beyond the walls.

"I don't care if it's demons."

"I don't care if it's monsters."

"I don't care if Hell itself comes knocking."

He slammed a fist into the stone .

The wall cracked beneath the impact.

"They'll learn..."

"...our fists hit harder."

The defenders erupted.

Weapons slammed against shields.

Spears struck the ground.

Cheers echoed across the northern district.

Morale surged.

Taai raised one hand.

"Those who cannot fight."

"Continue evacuating."

"Those who can."

He pointed forward.

"Stand beside me."

Without hesitation—

Hundreds of civilians stepped into formation.

Blacksmiths carrying hammers.

Hunters gripping bows.

Builders wielding heavy axes.

Shopkeepers holding old spears.

Some even carried single-shot rifles inherited from previous generations.

They weren't soldiers.

Today—

They would become them.

Far beyond the walls—

The earth trembled.

A deafening horn echoed across the battlefield.

BOOOOOOOOM—

The demon army advanced.

Thousands upon thousands.

Demons.

Monsters.

Beasts.

Their roars merged into one impossible sound.

The ground shook beneath their march.

Taai inhaled deeply.

"...Ready."

The wall cannons fired first.

BOOM!

BOOM!

BOOM!

Massive shells tore through the advancing ranks.

Entire groups vanished beneath explosions.

Archers released volleys.

The sky darkened with arrows.

Mages unleashed walls of flame, ice, and lightning.

Dozens of monsters fell.

Yet...

The horde never slowed.

"They're climbing!"

"Ladders!"

"Flying monsters!"

The defenders answered immediately.

Spears pierced climbing demons.

Axes hacked apart monstrous limbs.

The northern wall became a sea of steel.

Then—

CRAAAAAAACK!

A monstrous fist slammed into the gate.

The entire wall shook.

Again.

BOOM!

Again.

BOOM!

Stone fractured.

Timbers splintered.

Engineers desperately reinforced the supports.

Too late.

The gate exploded inward.

A storm of debris blasted through the entrance.

The northern wall...

Had fallen.

"FORMATION!"

Taai roared.

The defenders didn't panic.

They had prepared for this.

Rows of shields locked together.

Spearmen crouched behind them.

Riflemen fired over their shoulders.

The first wave crashed against the defenders.

Steel met claw.

Hammer met fang.

Blood sprayed across the streets.

The northern district—

Had become another battlefield.

A soldier fired his single-shot rifle.

The bullet tore through a demon's skull.

Before the body hit the ground—

He drew a sword.

A blacksmith smashed a monster's jaw apart with a forge hammer.

A hunter buried three arrows into a flying beast before switching to twin daggers.

Every citizen fought.

Every street echoed with battle.

Taai led from the very front.

His fists shattered skulls.

Every punch launched monsters through buildings.

Every kick broke bones.

Despite his wounds—

He never stopped moving.

Then...

The ground trembled again.

Heavier.

Slower.

Each step sounded like thunder.

Boom.

Boom.

Boom.

The frontline gradually fell silent.

Even the demons moved aside.

From within the smoke—

They emerged.

Towering figures.

Twice the height of ordinary demons.

Thick black armor fused to crimson flesh.

Massive horns.

Claws the size of swords.

Their eyes glowed like burning furnaces.

Greater Demons.

One reached the frontline first.

A soldier charged bravely.

The demon caught him.

Without effort—

It ripped him in half.

Blood rained across the street.

Another grabbed two civilians.

Their screams ended almost instantly.

A third crushed an entire barricade beneath one swing of its arm.

Panic spread through the ranks.

"...Fall back!"

"No!"

Taai stepped forward.

"We hold!"

The Greater Demons roared together.

The sound shook windows throughout the district.

Then—

The defenders answered.

Rifles fired.

Magic exploded.

Ballista bolts pierced thick flesh.

Spears flew.

Axes swung.

Even knowing many would die—

No one ran.

The battle for the north...

Had truly begun.