22 Against the Horde

While Zhang Yun was still dumbfounded, the Gate that Archede summoned appeared on Rolo Island. It was like a black hole floating above ground around one meter high, and innumerable magical beasts began to pour from it.

Dong! Dong! Dong!

The soldiers that were patrolling during the night discovered the enemies and quickly rang the bell that signalled danger was approaching. With the aid of magic, the sound of the bell woke up everyone that was asleep.

"Quickly! Get up now! The enemies are here!"

"What…"

"You slept like a pig! What do you mean 'what'? The alarm had been rung, can you not hear it? Quickly, get up and take your weapon!"

"Huh? An enemy attack?"

"Shit! You idiot! You only realized that now? I'm going to give your head a good beating after this is done!"

"Captain, we will help you later!"

"No… Brothers…"

As soon as the bell was rung, everyone on the island reacted to it very quickly, especially the garrison that was stationed here to defend the city. They immediately organized fully equipped soldiers to guard important locations. Even the civilians ran out and kept asking left and right, trying to figure out what had happened.

Then, they saw the magical beast horde that swept through the city like a tidal wave, bringing despair and terror.

"Ah! It's the magical beasts! It's a magical beast horde! Run!"

"Save me!"

"No! My shop! My money!"

"My child! My child! Has anyone seen my child?!"

"Where is the army? The lord? Someone, go and inform the lord!"

Suddenly, everyone had panicked and ran towards the opposite direction of where the magical beasts were coming from.

At this time, the garrison had arrived on the front lines and immediately organized their defenses on the spot. They did their best to hurry the terrorized civilians through.

"By my command, all wizards step forward! Create a defensive barrier and slow the horde!

"Phalanx, get into formation! Leave one path for every three people! The ones at the back, scatter and give way to the civilians!

"Archers, take to the high grounds! Snipe the magical beasts that manage to get through! Squad one, reorganize at will, and protect the snipers using three-men formations!

"Squad two, squad three. You are the vanguards, open up a path into the horde! Find the horde's leaders!

"Squad four, squad five, cover the vanguards and their flanks!

"Squad six, stand by!

"Everyone else, stand by and act according to the circumstances! Defend the formation and wait for support from reinforcements!"

The soldiers, once they had heard of their orders, all began to move and shout out in unison, "Sir! Yes, sir!"

At this time, a giant blue bird appeared from the night and began to circle the army from above continuously.

The archers began to immediately nock arrows and pulled their bows, aiming at the blue-feathered bird that was flying in the air. Then, arrows with energy were shot, streaking through the dark night in an arc.

The leader of the army looked up, "A Blue-feathered bird…

"Wait!

"Stop!

"All archers, stop your attacks at once!"

Once they had received their orders, the archers stopped their attacks despite not understanding what was happening and they looked at the blue-feathered bird that evaded the arrows with full alert.

At this time, the blue-feathered bird flew down. Euden, who was riding it on its back, raised up an emblem the size of a button. A white light shone brightly from it, and it created the phantasm of a white bird in the night sky.

The leader of the army was immediately alarmed and exclaimed, "A white phoenix? He is from the capital?"

'Oh no…

'We have just attacked someone from the capital…'

Euden stood on top of the bird and yelled out loudly, "Hear my commands! No need for formalities! Concentrate on pushing back the enemies!

"That attack was made during extraneous circumstances, I will deem you all innocent!"

With the two orders, the terrified archers all instantly calmed down and put their attention on the magic barrier blocking the magical beasts once again.

The officer that originally wanted to bow also heaved a sigh of relief. Luckily, it was not someone useless that only paid attention to formalities and not the circumstances.

As the blue-feathered bird landed, Euden jumped down from its back, scanned everyone with his sharp eyes, and yelled, "Who is the commander? Stand forth!"

The commander took a step forward, "That would be me, sir!"

Euden then waved his hand, "Order your men that charged forward to withdraw and return here. You will defend this spot, and use all you can to defend against the horde."

The commander said with hesitation, "But, my lord. If we do not kill the leader of the magical beast horde, then this battle…"

Before he could even finish, Euden cut him off and said, "I know. I have just met their leaders, and there were four of them. With the manpower you have, you will not be able to defeat them through a frontal assault."

With that, the commander immediately stayed silent. At the same time, he could only admire Euden's strength. He could not believe that he managed to get out of the epicenter of the horde in one piece.

Euden continued to order them, "Remember, use the structures as walls and magic as shields. Setting up a defensive line and stopping the magical beast horde from pushing forwards will be sufficient…"

He then paused and asked, "Did anyone inform the lord? How long before he reaches? How much time does it take to organize the army? How long before reinforcements arrive?"

The commander replied, "My Lord, we have already sent someone. He was on our fastest horse, reinforcements should be able to arrive in at least one hour."

Euden nodded and said, "Very well. Hold out for an hour and wait for the reinforcements. Only attack them once your forces have converged.

"I will return to the epicenter of where the horde appeared, and occupy the monsters that were leading them, as well as baiting away a group of magical beasts. Use this time to save as many civilians as possible."

When the commander heard this, he was once again shocked and quickly advised him, "My Lord! You must not do that! It is dangerous there! How can you go there yourself?"

Euden then waved his hand and said, "Do not worry. I have ways to safely escape."

The commander wanted to say something else, "But…"

Euden cut him off once again and said, "There is nothing more to discuss. All you need to do is to defend this chokepoint and stop the magical beasts from spreading into the entire city.

"Their leaders are strong, but they are not invincible. As long as you can defend this place and do not let the magical beasts break through your defensive line, they wouldn't dare risk their lives and attack you personally."

The commander still wanted to advise him from doing so and said, "But, my lord…"

"What? Are you going to disobey my orders? Do you not know about the meaning behind the White Phoenix?" Euden climbed up the blue-feathered bird and looked down at the commander, his imposing manner no longer hidden.

The commander lowered his head and said, "Of course not!"

Euden's eyes mellowed slightly, and he said, "Alright. Now, order your army to organize the defense. Prioritize saving the civilians and protecting the city… If the magical beasts of this extent could break through your defensive line… prepare to be punished!"

The commander quickly used his right hand to tap on his shoulder and saluted, "Yes, sir! We will not fail!"

After pausing, he raised his head and looked at him with admiration, "My lord, before leaving, can you tell me your name?"

Euden gave him a glance, and then patted the blue-feathered bird's neck, telling it to take flight.

"Euden!"

With that, the blue-feathered bird extended its giant wings and flew up high into the night sky.

The commander's body shuddered as he silently muttered the name "Euden." He then turned and faced all the soldiers that were still standing on the spot.

"By my command…"

Suddenly, the commander lowered his head in silence.

After two seconds, he raised his head again, and looked at all his subordinates, and yelled out loudly.

"Brothers!

"All of you have seen it!

"That man came from the Capital City, and he was of the nobility. But he did not hide at the back, and he did not run! In order to create an opportunity to stop the horde, he personally went into the most dangerous place imaginable, the epicenter of the horde.

"The mission he gave us is to protect this place and to defend against the magical beast horde… If we cannot stop the enemies, not only will the dignity of the garrison of the White Sparrow City be lost, we would also have failed his resolution and trust in us!

"That is why…

"Should we sacrifice it all to protect this place?"

The soldiers answered in unison, "Yes!"

"Should we offer up our lives for the safety of our family?"

The soldiers continued to answer, "Yes!"

"Should we show those animals how powerful humans can be?!!"

The soldiers answered in high morale, "Yes!!!"

The commander let out a satisfied smile. He then unsheathed his sword from his belt and pointed it into the sky, and yelled out, "Long Live the Kingdom of Alberia!"

Instantly, voices crying out in unison sounded across the entire night sky!

"Long Live the Kingdom of Alberia!"