Not Enough to Hold The Monsters

The monster attack began to hit the town, the battle sounds only faintly reaching the inner part of the town.

Lark, on his way home, didn't care about what was happening to the town and the monster waves since his store and home were stationed in the middle part of the town. It would take the monsters longer to reach his place. 

The armies and adventurers will take care of it, it shouldn't be a problem, he thought as he walked. Wait, is that bastard helping defending the town too? Lark stopped in his tracks. 

Right, I could just destroy his store again. If he goes there helping the town, I could ransack and destroy everything, leave nothing to him this time-. Evil grin formed on his lips.

Let's check his trash shop. Lark immediately turn around and ran toward Nikos' shop.

The night was filled with screams and shrieks in the distance, the sounds carrying through the night air. 

The usual bustling night market was empty now, unlike when in normal times, the market been quite empty since the monster waves attack. 

Many buildings on the side of the street where townsfolk lived had their lights turned off, fearing it would attract the monsters.

As Lark reached Nikos' shop, which was at the edge of the market, he saw the shop's lights were off. Nice, that means that bastard isn't in his shop. This time, you won't be able to recover. Lark thought, running toward the store with euphoria.

However, before he could reach the store, couple of arrows strucking his knee from the shadows fast.

"Argh! Who the fuck is that?" Lark groaned in pain, clutching his leg. He looked to the source and saw two goblin archers smiling menacingly at him from the shadow of a building.

Shit! The monsters have reached this area. I can't waste time; I need to burn his shop first and fast. Lark ran toward Nikos' shop with his limping foot.

But from his side, a big troll bumped hard into him, sending Lark crashing into the side wall of a building.

Bam!

Lark spat blood onto the ground, he trying to look around, but his vision was blurry. However, his half-elf ears caught the sound of several monster footsteps on the ground. Not only that, but the sound of flapping aerial monsters also reached his ears. 

He quickly drew and drank a high-purity healing potion. Slowly, his vision returned to normal, and his health recovered.

"Ah, a troll," Lark muttered as he saw a pack of monsters approaching him. 

Surrounding him were a big troll, a small pack of goblins, the two goblin archers, a fiery hawk, and a large bat in the air.

These shitty monsters have already reached this area? Where are the adventurers and armies? They're doing a terrible job. Lark cursed inwardly. I can't be here anymore, I need to run now.

Lark quickly stood, turning to run, but the two goblin archers pulled their bows and released their arrows. 

Lark didn't stay idle; with a flick of his wrist, he tossed a small vial of shimmering silver dust into the air. The powder exploded into a cloud of glittering particles of dust that swirled around him, deflecting the goblin archers' arrows with a soft ping. 

The arrows flew off to a nearby building, clanking against the wall.

However, the troll, already in front of him, swung clumsy blows. Using his half-elf agility, Lark evaded the beast's powerful swings.

Tch, this stupid monster.

As Lark danced around the troll, he threw a series of small crystal vials at the goblin pack at the back. The vials shattered on impact, releasing bursts of noxious, acidic smoke that sent the goblins reeling.

"You picked the wrong opponent, you idiots!"

The goblin archers on the back, however, proved more troublesome. They leaped forward to Lark's side, trying to stab him. Lark parried their swift jabs with his dagger, but the goblins' agility allowed them to dodge and weave around his attacks.

Just as Lark thought he had the upper hand, a fiery hawk swooped down from the sky, its talons extended. 

Lark pulled and tore a spell scroll, and a shimmering barrier of silver light erupted around him, deflecting the hawk's attack. The bird shrieked in frustration, circling back for another pass.

As the hawk attacked, a large bat dropped from the canopy above, its leathery wings beating the air with a deafening roar. Lark stumbled back, his eyes darting between the multiple threats. 

The troll, sensing its chance, charged forward with a deafening roar.

Lark's eyes locked onto the troll, and he pointed the spell scroll and ripped it hard. 

A blast of golden light erupted from the scroll, striking the troll with incredible force. The beast stumbled, its warty skin crackling with energy, before collapsing to the ground with a thunderous crash.

Shit! I already use two high spell scrolls.

The other monsters, sensing the troll's defeat, stayed in confusion. Using the opportunity, Lark fled while drinking a speed potion. 

The remaining monsters tried to pursue him, but Lark's speed was faster, especially since he added another spell scroll to enhance his speed.

As he ran, Lark looked back at Nikos' shop. You bastard, you're truly lucky this time. Wait for me next time, you will not be as luck as today. He continued to run away from the area.

Back at the town gates, the archers on top of the fortress wall were overwhelmed by swarming aerial monsters. Fiery hawks, large bats, storm sparrows, and many more filled the skies. 

Chloe the mage was side by side with Orion the healer, continually activating all their skills to fight the monsters and heal their allies.

On the ground, too many monsters began to break through the first line of defense.

We can't hold the first line anymore. We need to evacuate the townspeople. Reychard thought, searching for his teammate Thalion. 

Then he found Thalion fighting a pack of wolves.

"Thalion! Quick, evacuate the townspeople!" Reychard ordered.

Thalion, hearing his leader's command, nodded and left the pack of wolves to other adventurers. He entered the town's buildings, checking for people and trying to evacuate them to the safest place, but he found nothing.

Quickly, he ran out and shouted back, "Reychard, I couldn't find the townsfolk!"

Reychard, hearing this, felt confused. He looked around the area. The adventurers, armies, and monsters had already been pushed back to the backup line, but he didn't see Nikos and his group in this area. 

Sir Nikos must have already evacuated the citizens. Reychard thought, then he focusing back on the monsters.

"Everyone! Fall back to the inner wall!" he commanded, his voice cutting through the chaos. "We'll make our new stand there!"

The adventurers retreated in an organized manner, fighting off the monsters as they moved back towards the more fortified inner defenses. The narrow streets and barricades provided them with choke points, making it easier to manage the flow of the horde.

But sadly, it was still not enough to hold the monsters. Some still broke through the defenses and ran further into the town.

In another part of town, Liriel and Marielle had already evacuated many civilians to a safer place in the town square, following Nikos' orders. There, the townspeople gathered: children, the elderly, and ordinary folks huddled together. Lukas, with his guard and others, also waited there.

"Sir Lukas, master has entrusted the civilians here. Please keep them safe," Liriel said to Lukas.

Lukas nodded, understanding. "I'll keep them safe here. Go assist your master."

Liriel and Marielle nodded and went back to help their master.

In one area, chaos from the monsters that had infiltrated the town created an uproar. 

Among the chaos, a young family was caught in the midst of the attack. A mother and father, holding their terrified child, tried to flee from the monsters. 

But they were quickly confronted by a big orc, its tusked face twisted with a cruel grin.

The child, a little boy with a curly brown hair, clung to his parents, his eyes wide with fear. His parents, trying to be brave, stood tall, ready to defend their child against the monsters.

But the orc were too strong, too fast. The monster attacked with brutal efficiency, its clubs striking true the parents' body. The parents tried to fight back, but they were no match for the orcs' ferocity.

With one big swing, both parents were sent flying, crashing hard to the ground. 

The mother immediately fainted, and the father tried to stand but couldn't. His hand stretched out, trying to stop the monster that was now far away from him.

The orc approached the child. The little boy froze in his spot, dying of fear in front of the monster.

"P… please, no… not my child," the father tried to shout with a hoarse voice.

The orc opened its mouth wide, ready to devour the child.