Chapter 101: A Carnival of Demons

The appearance of the infernal worms signaled the impending arrival of even more formidable demons. Regular defenses had now become ineffective. The entire capital had to join the fight—everyone had to pull their weight.

From the distant Hellgate, creatures with blood-red shells, horned heads, and stout and muscular legs began lumbering from the walls toward the city. These were minotaurs—demons with astonishing frontal defenses, devastating destructive power, and remarkable speed.

The intensity of the battle was escalating. As the capital descended into chaos, more casualties were inevitable.

The ground began to tremble. Some of the capital's residents, still oblivious to the unfolding situation, curiously eyed the quaking buildings around them.

"What's happening?" a street vendor asked a nearby companion.

"No idea. Maybe it's some kind of massive war machine from the kingdom," the companion shrugged, continuing to hawk his wares. With the city guards preoccupied, he saw an opportunity to profit.

The capital's residents remained unaware of the severity of the situation.

To them, the Hellgate was something far removed from their ordinary lives. Even when bird-shaped constructs flew overhead, broadcasting warnings of the demonic incursion, they didn't believe the demons could breach layer upon layer of defenses to reach the city center.

In truth, most demons lacked the ability to bypass these extensive obstacles to strike at the heart of the city directly. However, the infernal worms were a rare exception.

A spire-like building suddenly exploded. A massive worm burst from the base of the structure, pulverizing it as it emerged, swallowing everyone inside, and leaping high into the air from the collapsing ruins.

The infernal worm adjusted its trajectory in mid-air and crashed down upon a nearby crowd frozen in terror. Its serrated maw snapped shut, reducing the onlookers to pulp in an instant.

Leaving behind a massive crater filled with blood and mangled remains, the worm disappeared into the ground once more as it prepared for its next bloody feast.

"Ahhh! What—what's happening?!"

"Demons! Demons! How did they get here? Why weren't they stopped at the frontlines? Run! Everyone, run!"

Panic and confusion engulfed the crowd. Only when faced with death and carnage did they realize the gravity of the situation.

The chaotic throng scattered in disorder. Paths blocked by the worm's destruction created bottlenecks, and the narrow escape routes led to collisions and trampling.

Some fell; those behind them mercilessly stepped on them while making their escape. The screams of the fallen were drowned out by the cacophony of the crowd's panicked cries and incoherent shouts.

The fallen reached out in desperation, attempting to grab hold of whatever they could, only to drag down more victims who were trampled in turn.

The mounting chaos exacerbated the stampede, squeezing the crowd into a narrow street. The bloodshed only served to draw the infernal worms closer.

The ground trembled again. Sensing the looming danger, the crowd struggled even more desperately to flee. Yet their panic left them immobilized, entrapping one another in their mutual fear. Then, the worm emerged once more.

The dense mass of people was ruthlessly torn apart by the colossal creature. Its jagged maw swallowed the cluster of bodies whole, spraying limbs and blood in every direction.

The worm surfaced, bringing carnage with it. Its massive body crushed even more people into paste as it descended.

The street became a miniature hell. Similar scenes played out across the capital as the infernal worms spread out from the Hellgate. Buildings crumbled, the ground collapsed, and residents were mercilessly devoured.

These half-elemental demons, primarily aligned with fire and secondarily with earth, could freely burrow underground in elemental form. When they found prey, they would burst through the surface and take advantage of their immense physical strength to finish off their prey.

They were natural counters to structures and fortifications. The devastation grew more severe as their incursion expanded. Meanwhile, closer to the Hellgate, the city guards on the frontlines faced a new challenge.

Adaptive barriers temporarily held off the winged demons, but minotaurs—higher-ranking infernal creatures—had charged into their formations.

"Hold the line! Don't let them through!"

"It's useless! Their strength is overwhelming! Even heavily armored knights can't withstand their charge!"

The soldiers struggled in vain. They were no match for the rampaging minotaurs. These creatures possessed monstrous strength that even full-fledged knights were hard-pressed to counter.

The rank-and-file city guards, who were largely between intermediate and advanced knights-in-training in strength, couldn't hope to resist the minotaurs' relentless assault at all.

When the frenzied minotaurs charged headlong into their ranks, attempting to block them was akin to suicide.

A shattered shield lay beside the broken wall, next to a corpse with twisted arms and a caved-in chest. The bloody scene bore grim testimony to the fate of those who tried to resist.

Even heavy armor and shields offered no protection. One heavily armored soldier planted his tower shield firmly in the ground, bracing himself against an oncoming minotaur.

Behind him were injured comrades being evacuated by support personnel. If he didn't hold the line, they would be trampled to pieces.

The soldier roared, terror mingling with resolve. He knew what awaited him but refused to retreat. His veins bulged as adrenaline coursed through him. The minotaur charged, its horned, armored head moments away from colliding with his shield.

In that life-or-death moment, the city guard felt strangely calm. A flood of adrenaline washed away his fear, leaving only rage and determination behind.

The minotaur crashed into the tower shield, which crumpled under the impact.

The soldier's arms fractured audibly under the immense force, and his shield shattered in two.

The minotaur's charge smashed the shield as it slammed into the guard's chest, its horned head striking heavy armor.

The guard's breastplate caved inward, sending him flying. Despite the hundreds of pounds of armor he was wearing, he was tossed into the air like a rag doll.

The soldier's body was hurled against the wall at the edge of the street. Bricks crumbled, leaving a dent in the wall. Blood trickled from the soldier's mouth and nostrils.

The guard's life-and-death struggle seemed to have granted him extraordinary strength. His "only" injuries were broken arms, fractured ribs, and damaged internal organs—he retained consciousness and clung stubbornly to life. Compared to the corpses of those who had attempted to block the minotaur's frontal charge and had been snapped in half, he had fared remarkably well.

Spitting out a mouthful of blood, the heavily armored guard managed a pained, mocking grin as he glared at the fiend. The fiend, having staggered briefly from the recoil of its attack, appeared momentarily dazed.

"Ha, I'm amazing," he thought bitterly, an absurd sense of pride welling up in his heart. Stopping a minotaur's charge head-on was a feat worthy of boasting about, especially for an ordinary guard like him.

The minotaur shook its massive head as it recovered from its dizziness. Ignoring the guard's taunts, it shifted its gaze toward the support squad, who were retreating under the opportunity created by his stalwart defense.

Its short, muscular hind legs stomped the ground, kicking up dust—a clear prelude to another charge. The guard's provocations meant nothing to the fiend.

"Damn it, hit me, you bastard! What are you doing? Stop looking over there! Charge at me, you damned son of a—!" The guard's earlier calm evaporated as his heart tensed. He hadn't expected the minotaur to lose interest in him and target the support squad instead.

"This won't do!" The soldier struggled to sit up, but his grievous injuries rendered him incapable of bearing the weight of his heavy armor.

His bloodshot eyes bulged as he glared at the minotaur, which was now accelerating toward the terrified support squad. If its charge weren't stopped, everything he'd done would be for nothing—his desperate effort reduced to a cruel joke.

But he simply had no strength left. He could only watch helplessly as the minotaur's powerful hind legs propelled it forward with increasing speed.

The guard let out a roar of frustration, as the minotaur charged forward relentlessly. Suddenly, a glowing green arrow streaked through the air, striking a soft spot behind the demon's armored skull.

The minotaur staggered and lost its balance, its massive head crashing into the ground. Sliding forward from the momentum, it plowed into a nearby building, reducing it to rubble.

The soldier turned in astonishment to see a familiar figure on a rooftop—an elven ranger with a glowing bow in hand. If Wang Yu were here, he would have recognized the elf immediately as Vena. Her perfectly timed arrow had slain the demon.

Elsewhere on the street, a dwarf clad in impossibly thick armor swung a massive hammer, slamming it onto another charging minotaur's head. A flash of lightning accompanied the strike. The dwarf was sent flying into a nearby shop, but the minotaur stopped dead in its tracks.

Its thick skull began to crack before its head exploded, spilling pulverized brain matter onto the ground.

"Haha! That's what I call a hit!" The dwarf leapt out of the ruined building, laughing boisterously as he charged toward other rampaging minotaurs in the street.

In the chaos, figures emerged one after another to fight the invading demons—humans, dwarves, elves, orcs. These individuals had no formation and no discipline. They simply fought to slay the demons with whatever means they could.

These were the city's adventurers, mercenaries, guild members, and others—independent professionals drawn to the capital because of its prosperity and resources.

Though they weren't officially recognized, they were an integral part of the city's defenses. With the city guard deployed to the frontlines and the Nightblades unable to intervene, these residents became the strongest force safeguarding the capital.

A company of knights clad in golden-red armor galloped down the street on majestic horses. Among them were mages, priests, and rangers, all bearing the emblem of the royal family. The royal guard had arrived.

Ahead of their formation, the ground trembled as a massive infernal worm emerged, leaping high up into the air and crashing down toward the regiment.

The horses, undeterred, whinnied and charged fearlessly toward the descending worm.

A volley of spells from the mages created enormous fireballs that intercepted the infernal worm in mid-air. The explosion forced the creature back, sending it tumbling.

As the worm's massive body crashed to the ground, the lead knight drew a sword almost as tall as his body. With a single sweeping strike, a brilliant blade of aura extended from the weapon, slicing through the worm effortlessly.

The worm's body parted in the middle of the road. The regiment surged forward, their horses leaping over the debris without breaking formation. The infernal worm's ambush hadn't even slowed them down.

"Academy, initiate the first test attack. Fire." The lead knight sheathed his sword and, through the slit in his fully-enclosed helmet, cast a glance toward the Hellgate over the city wall. He retrieved a small crystal prism and spoke into it.

"Acknowledged."

From the Stevenson Academy of Magic came a brilliant beam of light. It shot through the air, tearing apart all obstacles in its path. It struck the gate above the city wall, detonating in a massive explosion that engulfed the entire area.