Raiden looked at the message in front of him with a disbelieving expression on his face. For a moment, he genuinely thought he had read it wrong. His eyes went over the words once, then twice, then a third time.

Beast Tide.

Sylvia, seeing his face lose colour, grabbed his sleeve tightly. "Brother... what does it say? Did something bad happen again?"

Raiden did not answer her immediately.

It had only been a few minutes since the Level 2 alert was raised, but now the Level 3 alert came so soon.

A beast tide meant tens of thousands at minimum. If it was large enough to trigger a Level 3 alert this quickly after a Level 2, then it might be hundreds of thousands or worse.

It also meant the city had either confirmed a commander-type beast among them or judged that the front line was no longer capable of containing the flow. And a commander type meant Semi-Mythical at the very least.

And if the warning already included farms and outer settlements like this one, then the situation was far closer than Isadora had made it sound.

Sylvia’s grip on his sleeve tightened. "Brother."

Raiden inhaled sharply before locking his phone and putting it away. "Pack your things."

She blinked. "What?"

"Only essentials. Your phone, documents, clothes, medicine, and anything valuable you can carry quickly. We may have to move."

The moment those words left his mouth, the mood in the air changed completely.

Sylvia went pale. "Move? What about the farm? What about the trees? What about—"

"What about staying alive? I just said we might need to move, not that we are going to move." Raiden tapped her little head. He softened his tone a little. "For all we know, everything will be over soon, so just stay tight."

Sylvia bit her lower lip and nodded before rushing inside with Neva clinging to her shoulder. Woolie looked at Raiden, then toward the horizon, then toward Ruby, and seemed caught between wanting to fight and wanting to stay near his human.

Raiden rubbed his head hard. "Don’t look at me like that. I also don’t know what the right move is."

He walked down from the porch and headed straight toward Ruby. The crimson serpent watched him approach with those ancient golden eyes of hers, her expression unreadable.

"Aunt Ruby," he said without wasting time. "Did you feel something??"

Ruby’s tongue flicked once through the air. "I kneww many beastss were movingg. But now... it has becomee much uglier than I expectedd."

Raiden’s face tightened. "What does it mean?? Can they reach the farm?"

Ruby was quiet for two seconds before replying, and those two seconds alone were enough to make his chest feel heavy.

"If the cityy fails to slow themm down... yes."

He felt his stomach drop.

This farm was huge, yes, but that also meant it was exposed. It had too many open approaches. If a true tide spilled through the outer zones, then this place would become part of the route, not some magical sanctuary outside the path of destruction.

As if sensing Raiden thoughts, Ruby lifted her tail and patted his head.

"Don’t worry, Rai Rai~ No harmm will comee to youu two as longg as I am heree~" Raiden calmed down a lot, but his mind was still running.

His Aunt Ruby had grown weaker since she took action. If she took action again, who knows how much life span she will spend. He couldn’t bet on it.

"I need to go to the city," he muttered.

Ruby’s gaze sharpened at once. "No."

Raiden forced a laugh. "Aunt, I really need to go. They might need my help."

"This is not a gamee, Rai Rai."

"I know."

For once, there was no shamelessness in his reply.

He knew. If the tide truly reached the city walls, John and the others might already be fighting for their lives. Sarah was in the city. If she had not left yet.

There were countless ordinary people there, and while Raiden liked to tell himself he was just a simple farmer who wanted peace, the truth was uglier than that.

If he sat here while everyone else bled and screamed in the distance, he would not be able to live with himself.

Ruby understood him too well. Her eyes narrowed as she looked at him for a long moment, then at Woolie, whose wool had begun crackling more intensely, and finally toward the horizon again.

"You want to go," she said softly.

Raiden stayed silent.

"Are you suree you want to jumpp into thiss quagmire??"

He let out a bitter laugh. "I don’t want to. But I have to."

Ruby’s tail shifted once across the ground. "Then at leastt do not rush blindlyy like an idiot. If the tide is really this big, one boy running in alone changes nothing."

Raiden looked at her in surprise.

"You are letting me go?"

"I did not say thatt." Ruby snorted lightly. "I saidd if you insist on throwing yourself into danger, you will do it with your brain working, not with your blood boiling."

That was the most permission he was going to get.

Just then, Sylvia came running back outside with a small bag in her hands, breathing hard. "I packed what I could."

Raiden turned toward her and made a decision.

"Sylvia, listen to me carefully. Stay with Aunt Ruby no matter what happens. Even if you hear noises. Even if you hear fighting. Even if you think I am nearby. Do not leave her side."

Her expression changed instantly. "You are going to the front lines?? NO!!!"

Raiden did not answer that directly. "I am not going there to fight. I am just going to check the situation out. If things calm down, I will come right back. If they don’t, Ruby will take you to safety. You listen to her in everything. Understood?" 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

Sylvia stared at him in disbelief, then anger. "No. Absolutely not. You just told me to stay put, and now you are running into danger yourself?"

"I am older brother here."

"That is not an argument!"

"It is when I say it is."

"Brother, No!!"

Raiden reached out and grabbed both of her shoulders and stared into her eyes earnestly.

"Sylvia. My dear sister. Trust me."

She froze.

His eyes softened a little after that. "Please. Just this once, do exactly as I say."

Sylvia looked like she wanted to argue more. Her eyes had already started turning red, but in the end, she lowered her head and bit her lip hard enough to stop herself.

Neva, as if sensing her mood, crawled from her shoulder to the top of her head and lightly patted her with one tiny leg.

Raiden smiled weakly at the sight before turning toward Woolie.

The sheep immediately stood straighter, puffing out his chest as if saying ’Finally. We are going to war.’

"Don’t look so happy," Raiden muttered. "This is not some grand adventure."

"Woolie!!"

"Yes, yes, strongest in the world and all that rubbish. Save it for later."

Then the ground shook again.

This time, much harder.

A low thunder-like boom rolled across the horizon a second later, followed by something even worse than sound.

A distant horn rang out, long and heavy, with a weight to it that felt older than the city itself.

It echoed all the way from the direction of the city and frontier line, making the hairs on Raiden’s arms stand up. Ruby’s eyes turned icy while Sylvia’s face went white.

He looked one last time at his sister, then at Ruby, then at the haze swallowing the distant horizon.

[Emergency Update: Threat level revised. Level 4 Beast Horde Warning. All citizens in the city are required to evacuate to the underground safety bunkers immediately. This is a life and death situation for the city. All the Battle Masters have been requested to come to the frontiers for support. Repeat: this is now a Level 4 Beast Tide Warning.]

"Alright," he said quietly, his voice steadying at last. "Now it really begins."