Chapter 70—Warzone

Chapter 70: 70—Warzone Lucen’s heart dropped. The city was a terrible scene. Houses turned to rubble, blood on the street. The hot air rushed over him, and loud screams filled the air. A child watched his house burn down. The golden sparks swirled around him, his face was empty and confused. Aya ran to the child and picked him up, but he was unresponsive. Lucen pushed down the urge to ask where his parents were, it seemed obvious. Aya spoke soothingly into the child’s ear. "It’s okay, you’re safe now." "Help me, please! Anyone!" Lucen and Aya exchanged a glance, and ran down the street. A man was yelling among the ruins of his house. He was covered in white dust, and blood drew a line of red on his forehead. He was clutching a little hand , struggling to lift a piece of rubble. "Please, help! My wife and daughter, they’re under—" Lucen braced his hand under the stone, and lifted it with strange ease. High [Might] putting in some work. He glanced under the rubble, and his face crumpled. He looked away, but pushed the stone away. He stepped away. The man stared at what remained of his family in disbelief. He buried his head into the ground, screaming. "Ahhh!" Lucen and Aya turned away to give him time. But they didn’t have much. He turned left, eyes narrowing. "Bull wolf incoming, Fledgling." The wolf heard the man’s anguished scream, barreling through fences and stone walls. It snarled, white canines shining. Both the child and man flinched. Aya gave the teary-faced man the child to hold. "We’ll deal with this, go south. There were people gathering at Frill street," she said. Lucen leapt forward, summoning his spear to meet the wolf’s charge. A bang split the air, and his feet slid back a few meters. But he was standing. He was strong enough to fight them directly now. The wolf snapped at him, but he danced away, and swung his spear in a wide arc. The silver body of the spear slammed into the wolf’s jaws, and sent it reeling back. Lucen chased after it, circling behind as Aya let loose a fireball. The flames exploded over it, burning away its red fur. Lucen leapt into the air and brought his spear down on it. Between the skull and neck, same spot he always went for. But this time the spear sank through the skin easily, and broke bone. The wolf fell with a heavy thud to the ground. Dead. He barely used any mana to win. Lucen flexed his fingers a bit, he could get used to this. "Let’s also go to Frill Street," Lucen said to Aya, "I want to make sure Liam is there." They caught up with the man and child, and together they arrived at Frill street. People were squashed together inside, and a golden magic circle lined both sides of the street. Their panicked voices flooded the place. Knights guarded the road, weapons tightly held. They relaxed when they saw Lucen coming with more civilians. "Where the hell were you?" One Knight asked. "Brock was going crazy looking for you." "At the Keep, didn’t expect a full invasion this night," Lucen shouted over the crowd. "How did they make it to the city?" The Knights glanced up with trepidation at the glowing figure of the wolf in the sky. A female Knight cursed, "the Tyrant attacked us head on at camp, and most of the pack ignored us and went to the city." Lucen nodded. The sudden change in behaviour forced the army to split up to deal with the crisis. Which led to further breakdown. "You know Liam, right?" Lucen asked the female Knight, "Is he in there?" The woman nodded grimly. "His mum begged us to search for him, but we didn’t find him. Some of his friends said he went to Lost street before the wolves entered the city." The contents of his stomach almost forced themselves up, and his heart pounded against his chest. He didn’t want to consider the possibility. "Lucen, leave it. Go find Brock he’s on the flank at the gate," the female Knight consoled, "Lost street is too close to the center of all the action." It suddenly clicked in his head. The center. Something exploded over them, rocking the earth. A huge cloud of fire and smoke billowed over Castaway. Lucen saw the red glow of the wolf being chased by something. The Tyrant Bull wolf was smaller than a Stalker Bull wolf, but its horns were much longer, and they glowed white. The wolf skipped through the air like it was solid ground. Behind it dots of golden light popped into existence, and Koril hopped from each of them to chase the wolf. Falgner suddenly appeared in the wolf’s path, slashing his sword through empty space. An invisible wave travelled from that point, but the wolf easily dodged it. The crimson wolf shot forward, instantly appearing behind Falgner, jaws open for the kill. But a golden disc interrupted its attack, and reflected the force, sending the wolf tumbling through the air. Koril closed in, bouncing off his disks to increase speed each time. His form drew a black line across the sky, and the moment his sword met the wolf, the air exploded again. "Everyone heads down," the Knight yelled. The shockwave of Koril’s attack washed over the street like a hurricane. Lucen pulled Aya along, leaving the street behind . Once they were far from the street, he turned back to her and said. "We have to get to the fountain at the center of Lost street." Aya raised an eyebrow. "Didn’t you promise your mom you wouldn’t fight the Tyrant?" "No, I’m not going to fight it. But I’m sure Liam is there." "How?" Lucen watched the red glow of the wolf in the sky. "Just trust me, we need to save him." He’d like to think Windy cared at least a little if Liam died, and was pointing him in the right direction with her advice. But did she know the final battle would be today? He jumped over a fence, and Aya was close behind. They ran between the streets, ignoring the howls of wolves, and the clang of metal. The air roared with heat from the burning houses, and every once in a while, the world shook from the clash above. There were too many distinct sounds, people and creatures scurrying through the ruined city. Liam could be trapped under one of the crumbling buildings, or he could be one of the mangled bodies on the street. He froze. Aya stopped, staring at him. "What now?" Lucen smiled. "I gave Liam a crystal made of my mana, so I could find him easily." "Would he keep it with him?" "I don’t—" A wave of force smashed down in front of them, obliterating the street in front of them. Lucen grabbed Aya, and put himself in front of her as the shockwave hit them.