Supreme BeastTamer: I Can Copy and Upgrade Skills 10x!-Chapter 547: The Vermilion Kingdom [4]
The once beautiful city now lay shattered, with burning structures and destroyed buildings scattered everywhere. In every district beyond the river's reach, demons marched through the streets, and their infernal banners now fluttered where the Vermilion Kingdom's colors once flew.
All around, the noble territories had been seized, and their respective leaders had gone into hiding within the city. Only the royal island at the city's center remained standing.
On the castle walls, frightened knights in dented armor stood shoulder to shoulder with city guards and a few battle-worn mages. Their breaths came in ragged puffs in the cold air as they scanned the burning skyline. Towering plumes of smoke rose from the districts beyond, casting flickering shadows that made it seem as if the darkness itself was alive and closing in.
The Awakened's faces were smeared with blood, yet their eyes remained fierce. They knew they were the last barrier between the demons and the heart of the kingdom.
Below, the firelight danced on the waters around the royal island, revealing makeshift bridges of rubble where the demons had tried to storm across earlier in the day — each attempt was stopped at great cost, with several Awakened dying.
Atop the eastern gatehouse, a tall handsome youth leaned on his sword as he surveyed the ruined city beyond the river. If Akira were here, she would have recognized him as Adrian, the captain of the kingdom's naval branch.
After their powerful battleship was attacked and eventually captured by the demons, the crew had no choice but to return to the capital and try defending it — at least what remained of it.
Adrian's eyes flashed, his thoughts drifting to his father, who had mysteriously disappeared since the appearance of the demon race. Rumors were also beginning to circulate that the attack was coordinated by the king himself and that he had fled.
Adrian hoped these rumors were not true, but right now, as the crown prince, he was the temporary ruler in the absence of the king.
Adrian's muscles ached, and a crude bandage was wrapped around his left arm beneath cracked armor. He could hardly tell which of the stains on him were his own blood and which were the black ichor of demons.
A shout from a lookout broke the quiet.
"Movement in the Merchant's Quarter!" came the call.
The captain squinted toward that quarter and saw the flicker of torches and hulking shapes beginning to mass. Another wave of demons was preparing to attack.
He gritted his teeth. Of course, the demons wouldn't let them rest.
"Everyone to positions on the eastern bridge!" Adrian shouted, raising his voice down the line, trying to sound confident, but the exhaustion was very palpable in his voice.
Every Awakened knew their line was hanging by a thread; if even one coordinated push made it past the walls, the castle would fall.
A distant roar rolled over the river, and on the far bank, hulking figures began to surge under a banner of skulls. The demons were on the move again. Adrian's heart thudded in his chest.
"To positions!" he bellowed once more as a pair of condensed water blades appeared in his grasp.
Along the wall, the exhausted defenders hoisted their shields and gripped their weapons tighter, mustering what strength remained.
The night was far from over.
---
On the mainland of the capital city, hundreds of captured citizens were thrown into makeshift prisons. One such dungeon was beneath the Vermilion Academy's ruins.
It was built years ago by the royal family to lock up dangerous criminals, but now it served as the prison for dozens of men, women, and children.
The eyes of these prisoners were hollow with despair and hunger, and the cries of children echoed faintly.
In a torch-lit corridor outside the cells, two demon guards kept watch.
One had curling ram's horns; the other bore a fang-filled grin splitting his gaunt face. The horned demon spat on the floor.
"Why are we stuck guarding these wretches? I'd rather be out there, hunting down the last of the rats. These lot don't even scream anymore."
His companion hissed in a low voice.
"Orders from General Eve. She wants them alive."
The mere utterance of that name made both demons tense. The fanged guard glanced about warily before continuing,
"I'm not about to ask why. You want to question her orders?"
The horned demon stiffened and shook his head quickly.
"Not me. I saw what she did to Hargul when he messed up the headcount. Turned him to ash in a blink."
He lowered his voice to a mutter.
"No one crosses her and lives."
"Exactly." Fang-face ran a clawed hand along one of the iron bars.
"That one — she's more terrifying than any demon. Even our own troops shiver when she walks by."
Some tense moments of silence stretched between them, only the sound of fighting could be heard above them.
The horned demon grunted, breaking the silence.
"At least it'll all be over by sunrise. The castle is the only thing left, and those fools are cornered on that island. They can't hold out much longer."
"Not with the general herself here, no," agreed the other.
"And that boy from the Sea Nation leading the attacks. I heard that one was hiding among these humans at the academy — a non-human right under their noses."
He let out a rasping chuckle.
"The principal and her little mages never saw it coming."
"Heh. Poor fools," the horned demon snorted.
Their laughter echoed briefly in the corridor, then died as they returned to their jobs. Neither guard noticed, behind a mound of collapsed stone nearby, that a loose wall panel had slid shut with the softest scrape of wood against stone.
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This chapt𝒆r is updated by frёewebηovel.cѳm.
Bridget pressed her back against the cool stone wall in the darkness, scarcely daring to breathe until the demon guards' voices faded away. The principal of Vermilion Academy gripped her fist tightly. Only when she was sure the demons had moved on did she exhale and turn to the students huddled behind her.
