“I can control this attack.”
Kolke’s voice was steady, and the moment he finished speaking, the “Poisha” in his hand streaked across the sky like a shooting star, slamming solidly into the barrier of light that Renith had set up.
Instantly, the radiance blazed like the sun at its zenith, dazzling and blinding. A tremendous shockwave erupted from the point of impact, sending Renith’s carefully woven barrier flying nearly two kilometers away, like leaves scattered by a violent gale.
Inside the barrier, the rampaging tentacles hadn’t come out unscathed. A fraction of the residual force from “Poishe” pierced through the seemingly impenetrable defense of “Divine Protection” like a sharp blade, striking directly at the tentacles.
Under the assault of this power, the tentacles crumbled one after another, exposing what lay beyond the barrier—and the force rushed straight toward Renith’s face.
Renith channeled her magic to deflect the strike, causing the remnants of “Poishe” to graze past her cheek.
Part of the earlier impact that had hit the tentacles had also injured her internal organs, and blood began to trickle slowly from the corner of her mouth.
“Scraped by ‘Poishe’…”
She murmured to herself.
Kolke had clearly found a way to bypass her defenses and strike directly at her body.
Even so, the resilience of “Divine Protection” remained rock-solid, leaving her in awe of the extraordinary power of Aleggia’s divine arts.
Otherwise, in her current state, she would likely have already lost her life.
A graze on the cheek and the shock to her internal organs were hardly fatal for Renith, given her demonic constitution, and she could recover quickly. But at this moment, she was far more anxious than Kolke.
Because just now, she had witnessed it with her own eyes—
Kolke’s two-thousand-strong army had already arrived at the gates of Mobis City. Combined with the nine hundred garrison troops inside the city, that made a total of two thousand nine hundred soldiers. And on top of that, this force included two viscounts and nine barons.
Renith knew full well that even if she counted all the gangsters and workers in Mobis City and generously overestimated the golems’ combat power, they still wouldn’t be able to withstand this offensive.
In just a few days, the city would be completely razed, and by then, everything would be beyond saving. But right now, the main force of the gangsters and workers was being held up here, unable to break free.
To temporarily stabilize the situation, Renith needed to extricate herself and organize a resistance.
But Kolke wasn’t about to give her that chance. He kept his eyes locked on her, allowing no opportunity for escape.
——-
Meanwhile, after sending most of the stationed soldiers into the prison south of Mobis City, Vesta rushed without pause to the front lines.
Thanks to reinforcements from the gangsters, he now had seventy people under his command.
Compared to Kolke’s army and the gangsters’ main force, these seventy were nothing more than a drop in the bucket—but it was still better than nothing.
Due to the ongoing conflict, Antina, who had only recently grasped the basics of sending and receiving telegrams, was called back to handle battlefield communications.
However, Antina still seemed unaccustomed to the chaos of war, and her skills were far from polished. The messages she decoded always lagged a beat behind those of both enemies and allies.
Still, for Vesta, having only seventy men meant little help to the gangsters and even less threat to Kolke’s forces.
They just needed to do their part, stir things up, and that would be enough.
So a lag in intelligence didn’t really hurt Vesta’s squad.
“Kolke… army… two thousand… Mobis…”
Antina muttered as she pieced together decoded characters from Morse code fragments.
When combined, these fragments formed a staggering piece of news:
Kolke’s two-thousand-man army had already arrived at Mobis City!
The news hit like a thunderbolt, startling everyone.
Two thousand!
A full two thousand men!
This army outnumbered the rebels inside Mobis City five to one, and they were well-equipped and highly trained—far superior to the city’s guards and police.
Upon hearing this, Vesta’s squad fell into a deathly silence.
Even a fool could grasp what a two-thousand-man army meant.
It seemed like they could just stomp on these frail rebels and crush them underfoot.
Antina shuddered violently and turned to look at Vesta:
“What should we do?”
Vesta shook his head with a bitter smile.
Faced with such an overwhelming disparity in strength, all they could do was take it one step at a time, stall for as long as possible, and look for a chance to strike back.
“The only thing we can do is never give up the fight. But for now, that two-thousand-man army won’t reach us just yet. Our top priority is to clear out the remaining Kolke forces in this area.”
“If those two thousand manage to cross the river, we’ll scatter immediately. The workers will retreat to Mobis City railway station, and our gangster comrades will head back to their headquarters.”
No one raised any objections, and Vesta’s group pressed on.
They moved through the battlefield, searching for every target they could hit.
Perhaps it was because Vesta’s team was too efficient, or maybe the water golem was just too conspicuous, but they ended up drawing the attention of a baron.
Vesta was momentarily baffled.
According to intelligence, Kolke’s seven barons should have all been tied up on the main front.
Had the main front already collapsed?
But the constant gunfire ruled that out.
That meant this baron must have come from Kolke’s two-thousand-strong army.
“Retreat…”
Vesta’s eyes flickered with “Appraisal,” and he made the call without hesitation. He ordered an immediate withdrawal, leaving the water golem to cover their retreat.
If a baron had already reached the opposite bank, he could reasonably assume that the two-thousand-man army was already crossing the river. The golem defense line at the riverbank had most likely fallen.
And that was exactly what had happened.
The crossing soldiers hurled grenades like a hailstorm at the earth golem.
Though sturdy, the earth golem couldn’t repair itself fast enough under such concentrated fire. Its internal mana reserves were drained completely, and it eventually crumbled into a heap of rubble.
Seeing the writing on the wall, Leoro and Oseku followed Vesta’s earlier instructions and headed for Mobis City railway station.
Vesta’s group bolted.
The baron glanced at their retreating figures, then turned his attention to the water golem crawling slowly across the ground.
He pried a stone loose from a rooftop and hurled it fiercely at the golem.
The water golem made no move to block it—the stone sank into its body and began to dissolve slowly.
Finding himself unable to deal with this golem, the baron decided to chase after Vesta and the others instead.
But before he could take more than a few steps, a tentacle shot out from the water golem and wrapped around him. The tentacle was as soft as jelly, yet astonishingly tough. The baron strained against it, only to find he couldn’t break free.
“This is bad…”
He cursed inwardly.
The next second, the water golem hoisted him high into the air and slammed him hard against the ground.
With a deafening crash, the baron was left dazed and disoriented, unable to tell up from down. He lay there, unable to get up for a long time.
By the time Vesta’s group made it back to the railway station, Kolke’s two-thousand-man army had already crossed the river.
In an instant, even with the golems’ help, the gangsters’ defensive line crumbled, pushed back to their original turf.
Antina sent and received telegrams, the shifting tides of battle flooding into Vesta’s ears.
A chill ran through everyone. The hard-won advantages they had built up vanished in a flash.
But Vesta was far calmer than before.
After reflecting on his previous actions, Vista believed that as long as he had like-minded partners by his side, there was no difficulty that could not be overcome.
“Everyone, rest where you are. And while you’re at it, think about whether there’s any way… to turn the tide.”
To be honest, no one thought there was a way.
Faced with a force more than five times their size, the weak could only flee in panic—just as they were doing now.
But then, two more figures burst in.
It was Leoro and Oseku!
Their clothes were drenched in sweat, and they were gasping for breath.
Once they’d caught their breath, Leoro spoke up:
“You have no idea—suddenly, a bunch of people popped up by the riverbank and chucked over a dozen grenades. They blew my earth golem to bits!”
Oseku nodded in agreement, adding:
“Same here. Those grenades were way too powerful—the golem just couldn’t hold up.”
“I figured as much.”
Vesta nodded and swept his gaze across the group.
“Did anyone follow you here?”
“Didn’t notice, but probably not?”
Leoro scanned the area, finding it quiet with no sign of anyone. He let out a sigh of relief.
“Looks like we’re safe.”
“Get some rest for now…”
Vesta patted Leoro on the shoulder.
“There’s a tough fight coming soon. Also—does anyone know how to drive a train? Well… drive anything, really. We need to make some preparations…”
His gaze landed on a train forcibly parked at Mobis City railway station. It looked like it could still run.
If it could be started, it would be their last resort.
“Vesta, the train!”
Just then, Antina cried out. She had just entered the train to send a telegram when she discovered someone already inside.
A figure in a white robe, wearing a monocle, leisurely sipping coffee.
“Teacher Demihov! …Thank you for last time.”
A teacher for a day, a father for life. Demihov had imparted ideas and a course of action to Antina and had even saved her life—he more than deserved the title.
Still, Antina’s expression was somewhat strained, as she couldn’t help but recall the soldiers Demihov had dismembered that day—though in the darkness, no one noticed.
Vesta was equally surprised. He hadn’t expected to encounter their ideological pioneer here—Demihov.
“What brings you here?”
Vesta approached respectfully.
Demihov paused for a moment, thought for a while, and seemed to finally remember Antina and Vesta. A look of recognition dawned on his face.
After acknowledging them, Demihov didn’t put on any airs and gestured for Vesta and Antina to sit.
Vesta first gave instructions to the workers and gangsters outside, telling them to stay alert to their surroundings, then sat down with Antina across from Demihov.
“I came here for two reasons. First, to lie low for a while. Second, I had a sudden idea.”
