"Come then," John murmured under his breath, he murmured under his breath, his fingers flexing around the trigger. "We're ready for you."

  For a moment, the silence hung in the air like a taut string. But then, from deep within the shadows of the underground tunnel exits, movement stirred. Dark figures began to shift—shapes too massive and unnatural to be anything but beasts.

  “Stay sharp!” John called out to his squad, eyes narrowing as he tracked the first wave. “The Camellia-coated spikes will take care of the ground beasts. Your only priority is the airborne ones! Aim for the wings, the eyes—don’t let a single one get past us!”

  Just moments ter, the horde arrived.

  With a deafening roar, wave upon wave of magical beasts burst from the underground like a tsunami of flesh and fury. Some crawled on all fours, others bounded like malformed predators, their eyes glowing with unnatural hunger. They stampeded over the spike belts, many shrieking in pain as the Camellia-infused metal pierced their limbs. But pain meant nothing to them. They pushed through in a frenzy, ignoring the poison and thorns. Their destination was clear: the Imperial Pace.

  Then came the air-borne monsters.

  A massive winged beast—a grotesque fusion of bird and reptile with curved horns and needle-like fangs—emerged from the shadows. It shrieked triumphantly, spreading its wings as if to cim the skies above the capital.

  But the beast had no time to celebrate.

  Thunk-thunk-thunk!A barrage of steel-tipped arrows, released in precise succession, tore through the air from the rooftops. The knights had taken their positions, seven of them stationed on high ground, each armed with rapid-fire crossbows.

  The horned bird screeched in agony as bolts pierced its wings and neck, its flight disrupted midair. It spiraled and crashed into the stone street below, convulsing briefly before going still.

  “Do not let up!” John shouted over the rising chaos, his voice sharp and commanding. “They’ll just keep coming—take out the flyers before they make it to the cathedral!”

  More beasts followed. Griffon-like creatures with hooked talons, manticores with bat-like wings, and swarms of smaller harpy abominations—all surged into the sky, only to be met by a relentless storm of arrows.

  John’s hands trembled for just a moment as he paused to reload. His breath hitched in his throat as he gnced at the sheer mass of creatures flooding the streets, their numbers almost unimaginable.

  He swallowed hard.

  “So many...” he muttered under his breath. But he forced the fear down. He couldn't afford it—not now. With a sharp breath, he loaded another set of bolts into his crossbow and took aim.

  “We hold the line,” he whispered to himself, steadying his stance.

  Present – Imperial Solious Cathedral, Wedding Hall

  "Father! The flower in the chandelier!" she shouted.

  Emperor Andrew’s gaze shot upward. His daughter was an experienced mage—if she had asked for flowers right now, he would trust her.

  Without hesitation, he roared, "Knight Commander! Strike down that flower and get it to Serena!"

  The commander, despite the chaos around him, immediately adjusted his stance, his spear poised for the perfect throw.

  Crash!

  The massive fixture shattered, shards of crystal and gss raining down like falling stars. Among the debris, a glowing flower, its petals faintly humming with light fell, caught mid-air by Princess Frederica. Without a moment’s dey, she rushed it over and pced it into Princess Serena’s hands.

  But danger was never far.

  A shrieking goblin, small and fast, managed to slip through the knight formation. Its twisted dagger gleamed as it unched itself toward the Imperial Family. But before it could strike, Emperor Andrew’s sword met it mid-air, cleaving the beast in two with a fsh of silver.

  “I don’t know what you’re pnning, Serena—” the Emperor shouted, breathing heavily, “—but whatever it is, do it now!”

  Serena nodded with unwavering focus. From her hair, she pulled a silver hairpin. Holding the glowing flower delicately in one hand, she used the pin to etch a magic circle into its glowing petals, each stroke burning faint lines into the surface.

  “Everyone, close your eyes when I throw this!” she shouted, her voice rising above the battle. “When I say open them, we run to the safest pce we can find!”

  From the front of the formation, Prince William cut down a charging wolf-beast, the tip of his bde slicing clean through its throat.

  “The audience balconies!” he yelled back. “There’s a stairway beside the Solious Statue! High Priest—you have the keys, right?!”

  “Yes!” came the voice of the High Priest, still protected behind the Padin formation.

  “Good!” Serena confirmed. “Once I give the signal, we make for the stairs! Move fast, don’t look back!”

  The magical beasts outside the knight and padin lines grew more frenzied by the second. They cwed, shrieked, and smmed against shields and armor, trying to break through the defense.

  Serena held the now-inscribed flower in her hand. A soft hum filled the air as mana energy radiated from it. Then, with a powerful toss, she hurled it high into the air—straight into the center of the beast horde.

  “Close your eyes, now!” she shouted.

  The flower exploded midair, releasing a blinding burst of light. For a moment, it was as though a miniature sun had been born inside the cathedral. The light vaporized into glittering motes of dust, cascading downward in golden fres.

  Screams filled the air as many of the magical beasts shrieked in agony. Their sensitive eyes couldn’t bear the brilliance. Some colpsed, stunned. Others filed blindly, colliding into one another in their disorientation.

  “Now! Open your eyes! Move!” Serena cried out.

  The knights, padins, and nobles sprang into motion, escorting the Imperial Family and clergy toward the side stairway. The High Priest stumbled with the ring of old iron keys, his fingers trembling as the pressure mounted.

  Prince William turned, guarding the rear. “Hurry! They’re recovering—some of them are starting to see again!”

  At st, the key clicked into the lock.

  The heavy iron gate creaked open, and the group surged forward. One by one, they ascended the narrow stone stairwell to the upper balconies, leaving the burning light and chaos behind them.

  The moment the st person passed through, the High Priest smmed the gate shut and secured it.

  Just as the st bolt slid into pce, the magical beasts near the altar began to recover their vision. Their heads jerked toward the left corner, where the nobles had been building their barricade by the left Solious Statue.

  With bloodlust rekindled in their eyes, they turned and began to charge once more—toward the barricade where Ravenna and Duke Morgen stood ready.

  Read 12+ Advance Chapters by becoming a Patron: 104. The Counter Attack