When fighting against a hoard of monsters, what's the difference between war and an outbreak? Both seek carnage, destruction, slaughter and chaos. But there is a slight difference.
People wage war for a purpose, whether its freedom, politics, justice, vengeance or conquest. Ordered by a ruler, planned by a strategist, led by a commander and fought by a soldier, both parties confront each other with their strength, resources, ambition, conviction, resolve and ideologies.
An outbreak, on the other hand, brings only chaos and destruction. One side seeks ruin, the other, survival, or sometimes, profit.
But what about our current situation? An army of monsters seeking utter slaughter and destruction with lack of discipline. But they do have a clear purpose. They wish to celebrate the birth of their ruler. From their perspective, Vermaris must fall no matter what, and all those who are standing on this battlefield must be slaughtered.
That will mark a new era for humans and demons, putting an end to the era of peace, bringing forth conquest. This conflict has been brewing for a long time. Rulers from both sides have been waiting for this historical moment to come pass. Almost like this moment war pre engineered a long time ago by a higher force, making monster and soldiers move like a pawn on a chess board.
Ordinary people who have no desire for conflict and wish to live peacefully are forced to participate in this game of destiny.
My memories are slowly stabilizing. Even if Adrian is gone, two of us used to be merged as a single existence. So, everything that happened after his transmigration in the last four years is slowly coming back to me. Although there were some things I would've done differently if had the knowledge of the novel, I can't really blame him. He did his best
There were no clear detailed mentions about the monsters who destroyed Vermaris in the novel except one. When imperial soldiers arrived after all the destruction, they found a little girl hiding behind a wreckage and crying for her parents to come back. It goes like this…
"One's a bustling city, filled with busy crowds moving about their everyday lives, has changed drastically overnight. Imperial soldiers of the 1st legion marched across the ruins, hoping to find any trace of survivors. Their arrival certainly would have inspired hope yesterday. But today that very image of soldiers clads in golden armor, their prideful gaze and redcaps flowing against the wind created nothing but a hollow feeling among survivors. One soldier among them stopped his march and directed his gaze towards the wreckage of a house. His face held traces of sympathy, perhaps due to being young and new to the legion. He swiftly moved and started clearing through the wreckage. A few minutes later, he rejoined the legion with a little girl in his arms. She was sobbing.
I'm sorry, mama. I will not be a bad girl anymore. Please come back.
Mama, I'm hungry. Dad, where are you? I can't find mama.
The soldier did not have the heart to reply or comfort her. He could only cover her eyes and stare at the two corpses outside the house. One of them had bright orange hair, just like the little girl."
There was a portrait of this scene in the novel. Soldier holding the girl and staring at the gruesome sight of her parents' corpses. In the road next to him, there was a giant footprint. In the background, readers could observe one of the four walls demarcating Vermaris or at least what was remaining of the wall.
Readers who observe every small detail speculated that a large monster rammed into the walls, crumbling them to pieces. And when the walls were breached, Fate of Vermaris was sealed. It was a calculated strategy. Which means different from an inrush of a sudden monster wave, someone is leading or rather directing these creatures with limited intelligence. Among all demon generals, there was one who was highly adapt in controlling monsters, like a hive mind. He will undoubtedly make their appearance, especially when things turn out differently than he anticipated.
Can I defeat him. Of course not. Maybe I have two more years to reach my full potential and reach the upper tier of the Royal Mana core. But not as I am right now. I can't afford to two years. I have to deal with that bastard right here and now. Let's hope I do not have to resort to that method. But if the push comes to shove, I will do whatever it takes to win.
Slowly, the ground started trembling. An eerie stillness engulfed the city. The air was so still that people could hear the heartbeat of another. And then a shattering sound reverberated through the city. From the direction of the dungeon, a giant crack levitated into the air. Slowly small cracks appeared. Reality itself was cracking, opening a gateway on to another realm.
And then small, shattered pieces fell suddenly as if a glass was suddenly shattering and falling into pieces. The other side looked hollow, a black void devoid of nothingness. And then everything went still once more. Then people started hearing chimes. Chimes of bells, announcing the arrival of midnight. Two large deep red eyes could be seen through the void.
A furious roaring sound reverberated across the battlefield, making the adventurers cover their ears.
A beast of nightmares. Its tusks curved like scythes, it hides a grotesque mix of hardened flesh and pulsating veins of demonic energy. The cliffs that once made Vermaris untouchable now seemed like mere walls of a cage, trapping them in with the monster
A giant Behemoth appeared from the void, striking fear and doubt in to all who pledged to fight, except for Theon who was frozen for a little bit and making up his mind. He grinned and muttered,
"Damn you, Adrian. You never said it would be this large"
Theon raised his sword and directed it into the sky. A large mana circle appeared around him which ignited and created a large pillar of crimson flames shooting into the sky. He shouted across the battlefield,
"Vermaris shall not fall".
For a split second, silence.
Then, like a storm breaking, the warriors roared in response.
"VERMARIS SHALL NOT FALL!"
The chant rippled through the city, drowning out fear. The battle had begun.