The following hour passed in a blur as the cultivators desperately suppressed the monsters.

  “If monsters are spawning from darkness itself, will the moon’s light be enough to prevent them from appearing?” This was the question on everyone’s minds, but everyone was too afraid to verbalize it.

  Kenny looked around and saw that a few cultivators were arming the crowd.

  “…Where are the barrier technicians?! We need..” A trio of Cultivators shot by with their arms full of arrows and slingshot stones.

  The direction they went was filled with the roaring of monsters and flames.

  Kenny blinked as several cultivators fought back the sudden flames.

  “Oh, come on! Buildings can still burn down, but we can’t use lanterns?!” was the general sentiment of the crowd when they saw the flames.

  Kenny hummed and watched as a geyser of water erupted from a cultivator that floated on a spear.

  The geyser pushed the chicken type monsters out into view along with a black and brown canine monster.

  It was a good thing that the cultivator had aimed their water cannon spell out of city limits and the geyser had pushed the monsters out into the plains around the city.

  The other cultivators had leapt onto the opportunity and quickly moved the monsters nearby by them into the geyser and another group of cultivators had unleashed their more powerful weapons and spells to kill the monsters now that they didn’t have to worry about the buildings.

  Kenny lost direct sight of the geyser cultivator as he saw more cultivators surrounding them to serve as protection.

  “Ugh, we’re going to need a lot more bees and wax generation spells.” A woman said next to Kenny as she rubbed her nose.

  She was the robe-wearing cultivator who had saved him an hour ago.

  A bang and pop echoed from the geyser as some were forced into steam.

  “Come on, we have to secure the food supply.” The woman said.

  She didn’t wait for an answer from Kenny as she picked him up and held him against her hip like he was a bag of produce.

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  He tried to complain about being picked up in this manner, but she didn’t wait for him to understand. She jumped over the wall and sprinted away.

  The woman was as fast as his former car; as they traveled, they saw these new monsters crawl out of the shadows of the crops and trees. Kenny saw the woman’s bronze sword dart from the sheath on her left hip and slice the few chicken-like monsters that attacked them instead of heading towards the city.

  The sword was connected to her body with a thin thread of blue Qi as she used her mind to control the sword as it tore through the monsters.

  “Is there a number requirement for the dog to spawn?” She muttered as they didn’t see any dogs around them.

  She tightened her grip on Kenny to the point where he felt minor pain. She ignored him tapping her hand as she buried her fingers in his chest and side.

  “If that’s true, then we’ll need to make den busters for the breeds.” She muttered. “Assuming that they can reproduce sexually.”

  She leaped over the oak fence that separated Kenny’s property from the wilderness.

  “Please don’t raise such a concern without telling me your name first!” Kenny muttered as she finally set him down on his feet.

  “I know i’m only five and a half cen-” the woman stopped and rubbed her face. “Aand your family probably didn’t even move here until after I was born, judging by the size of your farm.”

  Indeed, there are a few fields of different crops. No more than a single person could manage with the help of machinery. Certainly not the size or development that came with generations upon generations of farmers taming the land. Definitely not more than a few centuries, for there were no mutated crops. Such as wheat, which was entirely edible in all its states, including flour, which granted additional stratification upon being eaten. Or Corn that increased your receptiveness to the Qi around you.

  Kenny nodded, “I personally got this lot for the ease of protection.”

  The woman nodded, “I did provide incentives for people to come here, nice to see that at least one person bit the bullet to more.”

  She extended her hand, “My name is Alexandra Jones, I’ll be your farm’s guardian until the crisis is over.”

  Kenny shook her hand before they looked at his house.

  While they were talking Alexandra’s sword had swiped through the air and killed all the monsters that had spilled out of the shadows to attack them. Thankfully there were no signs of any canines from the house’s surroundings.

  The cream paint melded into the oak wood trim and roofing. Of course the overhanging roof was now a detriment for the shade it had provided.

  “So do you also dabble in beekeeping?” Alexandra asked as they walked into the building.

  The sword stayed outside and prevented any monsters from entering the house or leaving the farm. Alexandra had pulled out a second sword from her cloak and would have taken her right hand and clasped it in lightning to provide luminance had she not seen the still burning candles.

  “I was going to start with more conventional livestock like chickens next month.” Kenny said.

  Alexandra hummed. “The best laid plans never come true.”

  Kenny nodded and he rubbed his chin, “Do you have any contact with salt makers or canning agents?”

  She rubbed her chin. “It’s either those or the truly ancient ways of finding an Elemental Qi Beast and harvesting their blood or preferably their Golden Core.”