Chapter 244 - 246: Ruva’s Strength (part 1)
Zugan Town, Outskirts of Imlan Kingdom
Four days before the arrival of the Ashedge Clan
The sky above Zugan is thick with black smoke, choking out the morning light. The once-bustling frontier town now trembles beneath the roar of beasts and the cries of the dying. Half the outer wall has collapsed. Fires burn in the northern district. Blood paints the cobblestones crimson.
Middle-level Tier 5 Commander Relk stands atop a shattered watchtower, wind whipping at his tattered cloak. His armor is dented, splashed with soot and monster ichor. His once-polished sword is chipped. Below him, ten thousand soldiers, fight tooth and nail against the monstrous tide.
Relk grips the rusted iron railing, jaw clenched. His eyes scan the chaos—rows of Imlan soldiers in tight formations trying to hold chokepoints, archers stationed atop half-broken rooftops, healers desperately pouring magic into broken bodies. But it’s not enough. It’s never enough.
The monsters are twisted, intelligent, and cruel. Some tower with bristling carapace and bone-horns, others are lean, serpent-like things that weave through sword strikes with unnerving grace. And among them, commanders—evolved variants in crimson armor, leading their kin with silent precision.
Relk’s adjutant scrambles up the stairs behind him, helmet tucked under one arm, blood running down the side of his head.
"Sir! We’ve lost the south wall! They’re flanking through the merchant district!"
Relk snarls. "Where’s the Seventh Company?!"
"Gone, sir. Ripped apart before they could fall back."
A tremor shakes the tower—far off, but heavy. A siege beast slams its clawed limbs into the western gate, splitting stone with each impact.
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