Chapter 70: Suppressed strength
They kept on with the barrage, the rain of arrows never ceasing for more than a breath. The air above the field was thick with the sharp whistle of projectiles and the howling roars of the oncoming horde. Though their relentless efforts had managed to slow the beasts down considerably, there was no denying what was becoming painfully clear to every soldier on the wall...the swarm was endless. For every creature brought down by an arrow, two more took its place, charging across the open fields like a flood of claws and muscle. They fell, bled, and died, but never stopped moving. They pushed on like waves against stone.
Lucas stood near the edge of the wall, eyes narrowed and breathing calm despite the chaos. He fired another arrow, its energy infused with that same pulse of kinetic force, watching as it exploded upon contact and blasted apart a cluster of beasts. And still they came.
He looked to his side and saw Nyx. Her focus was unbroken, her aim sharper than before thanks to his earlier pointers. She loosed another arrow and took down a beast mid-leap. Yet Lucas could feel the strain setting in. Around them, the soldiers’ arms were tiring, and some had even run out of Qi to form arrows. The archers who had picked up his technique were firing with more accuracy, but not everyone had the stamina or Qi control to sustain the effort for long.
A sudden shout from one of the scouts snapped everyone’s attention. Then came the call from Commander Alexander...his voice carried across the wall like a whip cracking through fog. He barked orders, calling for the rear archers to reposition. Lucas turned to look.
The beasts had begun scaling the wall.
Not just one or two strays either. A wave of them, hundreds in motion, using their claws and limbs to claw their way up. Some leapt from the backs of others, launching themselves higher, their bodies scraping and skidding across the stone. Some had already reached midway. The sound of their claws scraping against the stone walls was bone-chilling, like the rattling of dry bones against metal.
Alexander’s command echoed again, targeting the wall-scaling ones, but Lucas could already tell...this wouldn’t be enough. The archers had little angle, and many of the beasts were too fast, darting back and forth across the wall face to avoid the line of fire. One or two had already managed to grip the lower ramparts with inhuman strength.
Lucas’s gut clenched. He knew what would happen if even a dozen of them got over. These weren’t ordinary beasts. They weren’t mindless animals. They were vicious, coordinated, and utterly relentless. If they got into the city proper, it would be a massacre.
His thoughts sharpened. Time was slipping from their hands like sand through a sieve. He didn’t hesitate. As his eyes scanned the rising tide of monstrosities scaling the fortress wall, Lucas knew he had to act now. Whatever he did next would make the difference between containing this assault... and watching the city fall.