"Please repeat what you said Duke Herman." Jacob looked at the middle-aged n.o.ble who last gave an update.

"Klance City is confirmed to have fallen. There are no survivors found - the expedition didn't have time. They were focused more on escaping the new-types."

The council agreed to call the new breed of mutated beasts as "new-types". It showed how little they understood about them and where they came from. What they knew so far was that it took a lot of resources in subduing one. They also knew that they lost a lot of their cities and towns to these new-types. Reports of ravaged cities increased by the day and they were left with a few cities that were currently under siege or being destroyed.

"That makes it the third city today. How many are left standing?" Jacob turned to his royal advisers for an accurate response.

"There are only five cities apart from the capital that is left."

Jacob closed his eyes and rubbed them. His frustration was showing once more. "Are we able to do anything? We are going to lose everything at this point!"

A royal adviser in a hooded cloak stepped forward to respond. "We have started to evacuate the citizens here to the innermost parts of the city. The royal knights have also been deployed as a peace-keeping force. The royal army has been tasked with fortifying defence and to search for survivors in the nearby towns. As your majesty has wished, our priority at this point is to find survivors and focus on defending the city."

With that report, the hall became quiet once more. Discussions on strategies and options would run through the night, while the Tahan Empire's sphere of influence dwindled by the day.

***

The carriage door flung open and a female elf jumped out. With her ragged looks and frantic stare, she appeared to be in a state of panic.

"Sebastian? Sebastian?! Where are you?!" She searched within the vicinity of the crashed carriage and even looked under the horse carca.s.ses. When her breaths started to become frenzied, an adventurer stepped forward from the shadows.

"I'm here Zes, calm down. Slow your breathing or else you'll hyperventilate." Sebastian brushed the debris off his armour and slowly walked towards his distraught slave. Once again, Sebastian was moved when he saw her unwavering loyalty. Quickly surging the mana within him to heal his light wounds from within, he also checked her for any injuries.

"Sebastian! Are you okay? [Heal]." Without waiting for an answer, Zes quickly spent her mana to [Heal] her master.

"I'm okay, don't worry. I reinforced myself to my physical limits and leapt off the carriage when it came cras.h.i.+ng through. How is everyone inside?"

"Ah." She suddenly became conscious about the other adventurers and their captive inside the carriage. "Aima was knocked unconscious, Nate is still bound and gagged. Jin is tending to them both."

A soldier approached the reunited party. He gave a few coughs to indicate that he was going to interrupt their tender moment.

"I'm the captain of the guards, Vin. Are you escorting a n.o.ble here?" He pointed at the torn carriage behind them. A handful of soldiers were already making their way through the rubbish and checked on the carriage's contents.

"Captain! We've got two adventurers here and a bound person!"

At this report, Vin immediately placed his hand on his weapon. "A captive? Explain yourself!"

His action drew Zes' response as well as she unsheathed Pertinax and ran her mana through it within a breath's time. Her sword emitted the familiar hum of magick and drew the gasps of the surrounding soldiers.

"A magick weapon!" Nearby soldiers let out astonished whispers.

Sebastian placed his hand on Zes' shoulder. "He doesn't mean harm. Don't let your tension get the best of you. Calm down."

Once Zes calmed down and sheathed her sword once again, Sebastian began explaining their situation to Vin. Although he conveniently left out the parts where Nate released the new-types and that they were both Forgotten Ones. After he gave an abridged update of the situation, Jin had already pulled Aima and Nate outside the carriage with the help of the guards.

"So you need to meet Leo now right?" Vin finally got the gist of the situation.

"Yes if possible. Do you know where he is?" Sebastian was relieved that there weren't any calls for clarification on Vin's side, he understood that there were more pressing matters at the moment than checking on his backstory.

"That will be a bit difficult. He's at the monastery in his free time, he's organising the city defence along with the city council. We've been busy repelling these new mutated beasts. We're still waiting on reinforcements from any nearby city. Did you come from Klance City? How is it over there?"

Jin approached the captain of the guards. "No good. We immediately came here to check on our families. However, Klance City was in flames when we left. If you're unable to contact them then it's no good."

"Jin! It's you. Your family is okay, they're in the monastery along with the other citizens." Vin clapped Jin's shoulder, unable to suppress his joy. Any able soldier and willing adventurer was a welcome addition to their defence force. Moreso when the experienced adventurer in front of him was a previous city guard and had reasons to protect the city.

"Thank you, Vin. How are the surrounding towns? Any survivors from there?"

At this question, Vin's face darkened. "Unfortunately we were caught unaware with this attack. The first few days we were busy defending ourselves. These d.a.m.ned beasts suddenly appeared within the city walls. It took all our resources to defeat them and re-establish order. Or what's left of it." Vin finished his statement with a dejected look.

"So you haven't heard from any of the villages or towns nearby," Jin answered his own question.

"There have been some that were able to make their way through. But they number less than 20. I fear that we are too late for the nearby population."

Jin and Sebastian exchanged looks before looking at the unconscious Aima. She was being tended to by Zes at the moment. She was still unconscious but stable. For how long they were hesitant to guess.

While the city guards returned to their duties, Jin and Sebastian decided to bring Aima and Nate to the monastery. They would have more chances to meet Leo there and they would also have a secure place to stay. Along the way, they saw the damages to the city. The southern part of the city was reduced to rubble. This was the market district and where warehouses were stored. Nate's storeroom full of new-types would have been located here. This part of the city was closed off with a makes.h.i.+ft wall. Even in their current state, the city guards were still busy reinforcing the wall and constructing defences on top of this wall. The eastern and western part suffered minor damages but were eerily empty. The party felt like they were walking through an empty city as they made their way to the monastery.

Inside the monastery, it was cramped due to the number of people staying within. Women, children, and the elderly were cramped together without distinction. A feeding station was set up in one of the corners giving out soup and bread as its rations for the refugees. They still had ample resources so they were not short of food. Any sickness or fatigue was treated with magick by the monastery attendants.

As soon as they went inside, Sebastian found who he was looking for at the moment. "Rivie." He called out to her as she walked by carrying fresh towels in her hands. He wanted to say more, yet the nature of his last meeting with her still struck an awkward chord within him. He felt that he had a lot to explain and reason out with her, but this wasn't the right time for it.

"Sebastian. Jin and the rest of the party." Rivie acknowledged the other party members with a tired voice. She clearly hadn't slept much the past few days as evidenced by her drooping eyebags, weak voice, and slumped posture.

Jin nodded in response before heading off in a rush. Everyone knew where he was going to or who he was looking for and n.o.body made an effort to stop him.

Sebastian however, attempted to hand the unconscious Aima to Rivie. "I'm sorry to burden you with this, but we also have pressing matters to attend to. Please take care of her. She might be a handful when she wakes up and fully grasps the situation."

Rivie glanced at Aima before she understood what Sebastian was trying to say. "Please give her to the attendants on that side of the room. They take care of the newly-arrived refugees. My hands are literally full at the moment."

"Thank you. We'll head off then. Do you know where Leo is?"

"He's organising the patrols with Elias. We lost another group of guards in an attack yesterday so we're stretched thin at the moment. He should be back here after that."

"I see. We'll head to a private chamber upstairs then. Please let him know as well when he comes."

Sebastian carried Nate and started to make his way to the upper floors to find a solitary room where they could house Nate and continue questioning him. He took a few steps before Rivie called out once more.

"Sebastian. We should catch up sometime. You too Zes."

Sebastian couldn't say anything as he was caught by surprise with her remark. Zes took notice and replied in his stead. "Thank you, Rivie. We'd like that."

The long night continued without further incident. Sebastian and Zes took turns in watching over their captive while waiting for Leo to return.

***

In the forest outskirts of Wildecross City, dark shadows gathered and stared at the city walls in silence. The new-types were fended off by the ballistae on top of the city walls. Even with their unbelievable speeds and power, they were obliterated as soon as they attacked the walls.

A new-type werewolf looked into the distance with its hulking frame. Although similarly sized to a wolfbear, it couldn't use any of its new abilities against the projectiles used against its kind. All of a sudden, it tensed up and stopped moving. A thin, red line drew across its ears and its chest. Unable to say anything, it fell into a hot pile of a mess as the lines drew clearer and its body parts were forcibly separated. Behind it, more new-types showed up and bared their fangs. Anyone looking at their visages would think that they grinned at the murder of their fellow new-type.

Without warning, the new-types started feasting on their recently fallen comrade. Without any distinction for friend or foe, they started devouring the fresh carca.s.s in front of them. After their surprise meal, the new-types retreated into the forest. Under the cover of the darkness and the large trees, a handful of new-types underwent changes. Their limbs stretched out even further and even though they grew taller, their torsos became sleeker. Their forced growth took the whole night, but the results were dramatic. They still bore the head of a wolf. However, their limbs increased in number to rival that of a spider's. Along with their frightening visage was the formidable power carried in each of their eight clawed limbs. Their speeds became more explosive and their strength surged to leaps and bounds their previous form.

As the sunlight broke through the green canopy in the forest, the new-type spider wolves started to move forth.