Chapter 140: The Counteroffensive Begins.
Stone Guardians moved first.
Boom.
Boom.
Boom.
Their massive footsteps echoed through the ruined streets as they advanced in an unbroken line, shields raised, enormous stone weapons resting on their shoulders.
Behind them marched the Goblin Statues, ancient bronze armor reflecting the golden light beneath their feet. Every ancient weapon gleamed as though the city itself had awakened.
Behind them came the Spectral Warriors walking through ruined buildings instead of around them, golden spirits drifting between broken walls like ancient heroes returning home.
Then came the Crownwall Tribe.
Suri stepped forward and planted her spear into the shattered road. "Forward!"
The response shook the city.
"FORWARD!!"
The Crownwall Tribe didn’t hesitate and for the first time. They really were experiencing just a bit of feeling of what the Dawn Kingdom used to be like. Thousands of Goblin voices became one and the army surged ahead.
A pack of Wolf Beasts tried escaping across the rooftops. "They’re getting away!"
Several Goblin Hunters smiled. "Not a chance."
BOOM!!
They leaped after them.
One Hunter landed directly in front of the leading Beast, and his spear flashed. The Wolf never reached the next rooftop. Another Hunter vaulted over a collapsing chimney, his axe splitting a second Beast from shoulder to waist. A third Hunter kicked off a wall, grabbed the final Wolf by its tail, and slammed it through a broken roof.
The rooftop became quiet.
Far below, Goblin Riders charged, their Direwolves bounding through narrow alleyways faster than the retreating Beasts could flee. One terrified Beast looked over its shoulder.
Too late.
A Direwolf crashed into its back, and the rider’s spear struck in the same motion. Without slowing down, they continued chasing the next fleeing monster.
Another Beast darted into a side street. Three Direwolves immediately split apart. One blocked the alley. Another cut off the opposite exit. The third charged straight through the middle. The trapped Beast didn’t even have time to scream.
Above them, Goblin Archers occupied shattered rooftops.
"Left street!"
"Thirty meters!"
"Loose!"
TWANG!!
Hundreds of arrows darkened the air and the fleeing Beasts looked up.
Their expressions changed from hope to despair.
The volley struck. Monsters collapsed one after another across the ruined road.
Goblin Mages stepped forward next. Stone staffs slammed into the ground, and walls of rock erupted behind the retreating Beasts. Another group raised blazing walls of fire. The monsters suddenly found themselves trapped.
One Beast desperately turned around. Goblin Spearmen were already waiting.
"Advance."
One synchronized step.
"Advance."
Another. The wall of spears never broke formation. Every Beast forced backward met another spear. Another shield. Another disciplined line.
They weren’t warriors anymore. They were a moving fortress.
A Titan Boulder Ape roared and charged, lowering one shoulder, intending to break through. A Stone Guardian answered.
BOOOOOOOM!!
The two giants collided. The Stone Guardian didn’t stop. Didn’t stagger. Didn’t retreat. It simply kept walking. The Behemoth’s feet carved trenches through the street as it was physically pushed backward.
Again.
Again.
Again.
Until, CRAAAAASH!!
The enormous Beast smashed through a ruined building before disappearing beneath collapsing stone. At the next intersection, three Goblin Statues stood shoulder to shoulder, their ancient shields locked together.
A dozen Beasts rushed them simultaneously.
The Goblin Status raised their swords before slashing them down. Bodies collapsed before ever reaching the formation. Not one Beast crossed the intersection.
Inside abandoned homes, hidden Beasts held their breath.
One quietly smiled. "They’ve passed."
A golden hand suddenly reached through the wall itself. The Beast’s eyes widened. Spectral Warriors emerged from the stone like ghosts.
One silent swing.
The hidden monsters never made another sound.
Across the battlefield, the Crownwall Tribe moved wherever Athena directed them.
"North street."
Before the order fully echoed, Hunters were already running.
"South barricade."
Mages arrived first.
"Western breach."
Goblin Riders crossed three rooftops before the sentence finished.
Every movement fit together perfectly, like one enormous machine. The city itself fought beside them.
A little Goblin carefully stepped outside. He looked left. Then right. A Stone Guardian slowly walked past him, and the giant looked down, then gently nodded. The child smiled. Then laughed.
The sound spread.
More doors opened.
Families emerged from hiding and Healers finally lowered themselves against broken walls. Some laughed while others quietly cried. Hunters removed cracked helmets. One simply sat on the ground. "...We made it."
Nearby, Stone Guardians lifted collapsed buildings from buried roads. Goblin Statues cleared shattered barricades. Mages extinguished lingering fires. Spectral Warriors completed one final patrol before dissolving into drifting golden light, one after another, like ancient candles finally allowed to rest.
The city breathed again.
Only one battlefield remained which was the breach. Thousands of Beasts still fought desperately outside the broken wall.
Athena calmly watched them and then spoke. "Drive them out."
Nothing more.
The army answered.
Stone Guardians lowered their shoulders.
Goblin Statues marched.
Goblin Hunters sprinted.
Goblin Riders quickly found the beasts and struck them. While Goblin Archers advanced while firing with Goblin Mages raining down the elements and the Goblin Spearmen maintained perfect formation.
The Crownwall Tribe filled every opening.
Like a tidal wave, the defenders swept across the breach.
Without their Chiefs, the Beast army finally broke. Some tried to fight. Others turned and ran. No commands remained to tell them what to do or help support them.
The Goblins never slowed.
Step by step.
Street by street, they protected every piece of the ancient.
Eventually, the last Beast stumbled through the shattered city gate. The defenders stopped and one Goblin crossed beyond the wall.
Thousands of exhausted Beasts gathered outside the ancient city.
Bleeding.
Bruised.
Leaderless.
Inside the walls, thousands of Goblins stood shoulder to shoulder.
Neither side moved.
Beyond the city wall, thousands of wounded Beasts stood together, breathing heavily, while inside the wall the defenders remained shoulder to shoulder, weapons still raised.
For several long seconds, neither army believed it was over.
Then one Fire Lizard slowly turned away, and another Beast followed. Soon more and more monsters began retreating.
No one chased them.
For the first time since the siege had begun, not a single Beast remained inside Dawn.
Silence lingered.
Then one exhausted Goblin Hunter suddenly laughed. "...We actually did it." He dropped onto the broken stone, breathing so hard he could barely remain sitting.
Another Hunter lowered his spear. "My arms..." "They’re finally allowed to rest."
A Goblin Mage collapsed backward, staring at the cavern ceiling. "I thought I was out of mana an hour ago."
One Cronwell Tribe Goblin Rider slid from his Direwolf’s back, and the Direwolf immediately flopped onto the ground beside him. Both simply lay there breathing.
Sun planted Long into the shattered street and wiped the blood from his face before grinning. "Hah... I was starting to think we’d never finish."
Kong plopped down beside him, his chest rising and falling rapidly. Then he looked toward Sun, raised one fist, and grinned. Sun immediately bumped it. "We’re still alive." Kong nodded enthusiastically.
Mithra slowly slid Kusa back into its sheath, and only after hearing the blade click into place did she finally relax. "So..." "We actually held."
Nearby, Goblin Hunters began laughing.
One removed his cracked helmet.
Another tossed away a broken shield.
A third quietly punched the shoulder of the Hunter beside him. "We survived."
"We survived."
Soon the words spread.
"We survived!"
The exhausted defenders slammed spears against shields, once, twice, again, the sound echoing across the breached wall.
The Stone Guardians lowered their enormous weapons, several simply remaining standing like silent mountains overlooking the battlefield. Goblin Statues planted their swords into the earth, and the Spectral Warriors slowly looked across with smiles on their face.
Their duty had been fulfilled.
Suri planted her spear into the ground, her breathing still uneven, and looked across the battlefield. The wall still stood and the city still stood. Despite everything, they had protected it. A smile slowly appeared. "We did it..."
Gruk slowly removed his helmet, his hands trembling and he looked toward Vedas. "My King... Vedas, we did it."
For a couple of secondsVedas didn’t answer. He simply looked across the area and all of the people who helped make this possible.
Then he smiled. "...We did."
High above the breach, Raku climbed onto the battered battlements, and Luka landed beside him. The two looked across the city, smoke still drifting between damaged buildings while golden veins of light continued flowing beneath every street.
Raku smiled. "We protected it."
Luka folded her arms. "Not bad."
Raku laughed. "Not bad?"
Luka sighed and slumped to the ground. "I expected it would be a closer one. I didn’t even expect us to survive."
Raku shook his head, still smiling. "I’m sure they will be proud."
Luke blinked in confusion before her eyes widened and smiled. "Yeah... King Mu, Voro, and Yasha... I’m sure they will be happy that all their efforts of keeping us safe was worth it."
"I agree."
Back in the throne room, Athena released a slow breath as the final red markers inside the city disappeared from her vision. Every district is secure and she smiled. "It’s over."
For the first time since the battle began, hope outweighed exhaustion.
She slowly removed the crown as there were no more emergency orders. No more collapsing districts or impossible choices that had to be made.
Athena smiled. "Arthur... We did it."
...
Then a low growl echoed beyond the wall, and the laughter stopped. Another Beast growled. Then another. The retreating Beast army suddenly froze, thousands of monsters stopping at exactly the same time.
One massive Behemoth slowly stepped backward.
Then another.
Crystal Serpents lowered their bodies against the ground, Fire Lizards extinguished the flames around their mouths, and Thunderbirds folded their wings. One Beast whimpered. Another began trembling.
They weren’t preparing to fight.
They were terrified.
Sun’s smile slowly disappeared. "...That’s not normal."
Kong stopped grinning, his fur standing on end.
Mithra frowned. "What are they..."
Then the feeling reached the defenders. One Goblin Hunter suddenly dropped his spear, his hands refusing to stop shaking. A Goblin Mage instinctively took three steps backward. Even the Direwolves lowered themselves to the ground. Stone Guardians stopped moving, Goblin Statues became completely motionless, and the remaining Spectral Warriors slowly turned toward the distant mountains.
Every living creature felt exactly the same thing. No one knew why or could understand.
Yet every instinct in their body, every survival sense and rational thought kept whispering the same thing to them.
Don’t move.
Don’t breathe.
Don’t let it notice you.