Chapter 171: Reinforcements
The northern district had become unrecognizable.
Collapsed homes.
Shattered streets.
Fires burned where families had lived only hours before.
Blood soaked the stone roads.
Yet...
Something had changed.
Taai stood amid the destruction, breathing heavily.
The Greater Demon he had been facing lay in pieces several streets away.
Not because of him.
Because of them.
His eyes swept across the battlefield.
One...
Two...
Five...
Twelve.
Only around a dozen mysterious figures.
Yet everywhere they moved—
The battle shifted.
A demon lunged at one of them.
The cloaked figure stepped aside by a fraction.
No wasted movement.
No flourish.
The demon's momentum carried it forward.
One palm struck its chest.
The impact wasn't loud.
The demon simply stopped.
Then collapsed.
Dead.
Elsewhere—
Another member slipped between two monsters.
One sword.
Two precise cuts.
The monsters continued running.
Three steps later—
Both fell apart.
A cultist attempted to stab one of the cloaked figures from behind.
Without even turning—
The figure caught the wrist.
Twisted.
Disarmed.
A strike to the throat.
Another to the chest.
The cultist dropped without another sound.
Every movement was...
Fluid.
Efficient.
Disciplined.
No unnecessary strength.
No unnecessary speed.
Only what was needed.
Nothing more.
Nothing less.
Taai couldn't help but smile.
"...Haha..."
"This is the second time I've been saved."
He chuckled despite the pain.
"...This is getting pretty cliché."
For the first time since the battle began—
He relaxed.
Only slightly.
If these people were here...
The city still had hope.
"Taai."
A voice.
Quiet.
Familiar.
Taai froze.
His heartbeat stopped for a moment.
"..."
"...No..."
His body protested as he slowly turned around.
Every wound screamed.
Every muscle ached.
"...It can't be..."
Standing a few meters away—
Was a man wearing the same cloak as the others.
A familiar face.
Taai's lips trembled.
"..."
"...Choco...?"
The man smiled softly.
"...I'm sorry."
"...We were late, Taai."
Silence.
Neither moved.
The battlefield seemed impossibly distant.
The screams.
The explosions.
Everything faded.
Taai slowly walked forward.
One painful step at a time.
Closer.
Closer.
Until he stood in front of him.
He raised one trembling hand.
Then gently patted Choco's head.
"...Welcome back..."
"...Bro."
Choco's composure shattered.
He threw his arms around Taai.
Holding him tightly.
For a moment—
Neither spoke.
Years of grief.
Years of believing one another dead.
Years of unanswered questions.
None of it mattered.
Not right now.
Then—
Choco's expression changed.
His eyes widened.
He looked down.
Blood.
Fresh blood.
His arms were wrapped around Taai's bandaged torso.
"..."
He immediately let go.
"...S-Sorry!"
Taai laughed.
"It's alright."
Choco shook his head repeatedly.
"Nuh uh."
Taai winced.
"...Yeah..."
"I guess you're right."
"...That actually hurt."
He laughed anyway.
A real laugh.
One he hadn't made in years.
For a brief moment—
They were simply friends again.
Nothing else.
Taai finally looked at him.
"I've got so many questions."
"How did you—"
Choco raised a hand.
"We'll talk."
"When nobody's trying to kill us."
He turned toward the battlefield.
The smile disappeared.
His expression became calm.
Focused.
"Leave this to us."
"Let the Order handle the rest."
Before Taai could reply—
Choco vanished.
Like a gust of wind.
Already racing back toward the frontline.
Taai instinctively took one step after him.
Then stopped.
He watched Choco disappear into the smoke.
"..."
"...You've grown."
A small smile formed on his face.
Then he turned back toward his soldiers.
His voice echoed across the northern district.
"Everyone!"
The defenders looked toward him.
"Reinforcements have arrived!"
A cheer rose almost instantly.
"Our allies have joined the battle!"
"We're taking this city back!"
The exhausted soldiers straightened.
The civilians gripped their weapons tighter.
Hope returned to their eyes.
Taai pointed toward the retreating enemy lines.
"Hold your formations!"
"Don't chase recklessly!"
"Protect each other!"
"This battle isn't over yet!"
"Show them why this is Muscle City!"
"YES, CHIEF!"
The answer thundered through the district.
Across the battlefield—
The defenders advanced together.
Soldiers fought shoulder to shoulder.
Blacksmiths swung hammers.
Hunters loosed arrows.
Mages unleashed controlled bursts of magic.
Civilians dragged the wounded to safety while others filled gaps in broken formations.
And weaving between them—
The Order of Karma.
They flowed through the battlefield like water.
One member redirected a Greater Demon's strike, guiding its own momentum into another monster before finishing both with a single blade.
Another disarmed three cultists without killing them, only to pivot smoothly and strike down a charging demon with one precise thrust.
A spear wielder never stopped moving.
Every step had purpose.
Every attack created an opening for another defender.
A monk caught a monster's claw with both palms, rotated his hips, and sent the creature crashing into a crowd of demons before calmly finishing it.
No one shouted.
No one boasted.
Their breathing remained steady.
Their eyes remained clear.
Their movements embodied perfect discipline.
Peace within.
Order without.
The soldiers unconsciously began matching their rhythm.
Shield walls tightened.
Counterattacks became cleaner.
Chaos slowly transformed into coordination.
The tide turned.
The demons hesitated.
The monsters began falling back.
A cultist screamed,
"Retreat!"
The command spread quickly.
The remaining monsters fled toward the forests.
Demons followed.
The surviving cultists disappeared into the smoke.
Within minutes—
The battlefield fell silent.
Then—
A single voice shouted,
"...WE WON!"
Another answered.
"We're alive!"
Cheers erupted across the northern district.
Weapons were raised.
Helmets thrown into the air.
Laughter mixed with exhausted sobs.
For that day...
Muscle City still stood.