"Have the kingdom's forces fallen? How come those brigands have made their way to our capital?!" Someone said, a bit of panic in her voice as the elderly woman's face had a trace of fear.
Even though she berated the army of the other kingdom, anyone listening to her knew she was only being bitter, their enemies were nothing to scoff at. If not for the advent of mana, perhaps their kingdom would have been invaded and flattened already, this was common knowledge.
Those close to the walls where the sounds came from were in an entirely different situation however, since unlike those speculating about the effectiveness of their soldiers on the battlefield, these people were face to face with monsters, monsters of each kind.
"My Lord..." Someone muttered under their breath, unable to move.
Guards standing nearby rushed into action. Though most of these guards typically had no magical abilities, which is why they were serving in such low positions, they were still soldiers nonetheless. Instead of turning tail like civilians, they stood their ground against all odds, keeping the civilians to their backs.
With spears and swords in hand, they eagerly waited to see what would come through the cloud of dust, gripping tightly to their weapons while staring into the dust cloud.
Just at that moment, a hand twice as big as a grown man's abdomen burst through the cloud of smoke created, grabbing one of the soldier's head before he could react. Even though the soldier screamed as his body was raised up from the ground, all the others could do was watch in terror as their comrade's head was burst open from what seemed to be a light squeeze.
Witnessing such a sight, the people behind started shouting even louder than before and a full state of panic ensued.
A man holding his child just around the little commerce centered area close to the wall was also among these people.
Unlike the others however, this man seemed to be different, for he was holding in his arms a young street kid who was probably a beggar while being dressed rather well, like a mercenary. If anyone was paying attention, they would notice that he had only appeared some seconds ago and was able to save the child in his hand from being crushed by a falling chunk of stone.
Against the hoard of running civilians, he was the only person facing the walls. Swiftly locating several other children, some beggars, others not, he moved swiftly with supernatural speed and agility, pushing aside or picking up the children, showcasing an inhumane strength.
Through the dust and coupled with the low lighted environment covered in dust, all the children saw when they came to a stop were two crimson eyes, only for a brief moment, before the man disappeared.
"Saving a few won't change anything you know? What about the other people at the different explosion sites?" One of his companions said. Before his companion could say more, he cut him off, "at least these ones are safe. As long as I'm around, that's the least I can do." He said, earning himself a scoff from his companion.
He was one of the people from the Chivalrous Saints. As they had not been brainwashed, the humanity in him still compelled him to do what he normally would instead of turning a blind eye. No matter how much he buds heads with Maggie, she was too strong headed, and being his maker, he couldn't exactly go against her words if she wanted to, something he had experienced quite a few times already.
Because most of the kingdom's forces were sent to the warfront and even mercenaries were being hired, the capital was more than short on manpower, more accurately, effective manpower. There were quite the number of normal soldiers, but against monsters, there was little they could do, only those who could utilize mana would be capable of harming these monsters and wild beasts.
Since the soldiers were out of commission, there was only one other way for these monsters to be curtailed, and that was if the nobles came out personally.
Each noble house had a number of children, and out of those, not more than two were sent to the war front, and they also had their own personal soldiers. With that, they could defend themselves in such a situation without problem.
Even though they could, no extra forces were sent to handle the monsters until night came.
Rather rushing into the plans of their enemies, the heads of each of the noble houses had been summoned to a gathering with the king.
It was clear to them that the monster attack was not normal at all, after all, the behavior of the monsters was more than abnormal. Monster that were known to hunt humans now suddenly grew more interested in buildings? It was too clear.
After discussing the matter and deliberating on several ways of approaching this problem of theirs, they all agreed to make their move.
If anything, they knew it would be a bad idea to fight their assailants in the night, since that is the time they are most powerful. Their entire plan fell in line with their enemy being the Red Gate Order. They were going to wait until day came before they acted. They also planned separately in the event that the invasion was to advance further, just so they wouldn't be taken unaware.
...
An entire day passed without any advancement, and the monsters exhibiting relative dormancy. The nobles remained prepared to battle any monster that may invade into the innermost wall, while they also sent some of their forces to help those in the inner wall and assist the soldiers.
The royal family also had a number of their personal soldiers operate within the inner walls and the outer wall, trying to help around while standing on the ready to fight any monster or wild beast.
Once it was night time, the vampires went out again, this time creating a passage way for the monsters to break into the innermost wall where the nobles and royal families resided.
Aldritch was part of the forces this time, looking to play a rather crucial role in this final event.
If their plan was to proceed according to plan as it has so far, then this operation would be a truly smooth one.