n

n

n

n~Vrrmmmmmm!

nThe vehicles drive forward without a care in the world, ready to storm the place silly.

nEven if word got out from the gates, they would like to see how fast these people would be able to deliver the warning message to those far deep into the city.

nHey. Before word got to the Adonis leaders in the Palace, it shouldn't already be too late.

nNo! Their vehicles might even arrive faster than whoever delivers word.

nWith that, they were off!

nMeanwhile, within the enormous city, standing on the City walls, several Adonis guards patrolling there were still focused on their heated conversations.

n

"I can't believe it! Where the hell do you suppose those people are hiding? F***! We've been searching for more than a year now, and they still haven't been found yet!

"

n

"Yeah. Even though we took over the entire, if we don't get the heads of the royals and their main supporters here, then we haven't fully won yet. The leaders need their heads on wooden stakes for us to do the Adonis rituals.

"

n

"Heh. I have a feeling that it won't be long before we find them. After all, how could one stay hidden for this long? Sooner or later, it will all come to light, and by then, their deaths will be more brutal than what we originally planned. Just look at how much they delayed our grand plans?

"

nEveryone was boiling in with rage when they thought of the royals and the many people who fled.

nUnlike many other regions, they got wind of the destruction from someone who fled 3 towns and a few villages away from the Capital when his Town was being destroyed.

nHe had been hunting up the mountains and was still descending when he saw the carnage; he observed in horror for a while, and only after listening to strange words did he know that they were foreigners, even their skin tone told him otherwise.

nFrom there, he snuck away and dashed as fast as he could towards the Capital.

nHe wasted no time in making a commotion around the Palace gates when he demanded to report this matter at once.

nAfter all, his only family, A.K.A his grandfather was still within that town, and he wanted warriors to head there and save his grandfather.

nHis words were noted and quickly passed on.

nOf course, even inter-empire fights were taken seriously.

nBut this one to them was extreme because it was so disrespectful and an insult to them.

nHow can foreigners come in and start evading their empire at will?

nThis was a clear sign of trouble.

n.

nThe man retold all he saw.

nAnd when word reached the royals, the elders and those in the inner circle, their eyes grew grim.

nThey were thinking of something else instead.

nThat's right.

nShe stayed in a coma for several days, which was too long from her usual few hours.

nBut now that this report had come in, they instantly understood how grave the matter was.

nThus, they quickly started taking people into batches, using the secret city entrance that only the royal family and main elders knew of.

nIt was built ages ago, and over time, from generation to generation, it had been forgotten.

nBut it was there.

nIt was a mini-city, built in hiding but too far away from the Capital City.

nIt also had 2 entrances

/exits as well.

nThe first one was through the Palace, and the next exit was through a forest region extremely far away from the Capital city.

nIn fact, this was how Javis and the rest fled after Lucia woke up.

nFrom there, they spent close to another month and a half heading towards the Coast and getting a ship as fast as they could.

n.

nAnyway, when the hunter had brought in the message, the Adonis people, who were on their way to the Capital, spent time fighting and claiming the territories via route, giving them more time to round up people and flee.

n

n

nAnd thus, the Royals began inviting families to the Palace, but those families never went back.

nAnd by the time word came out that the Capital city gates were under attack, a few generals and worries chose to fight on and protect the place, buying more time for a few more people to flee.

nAnd when Word came that the city had been breached, the secret passage was closed.

nSo far, they had saved 65~70% of people in the Capital.

nAnd even those who stayed behind didn't know or understand where everyone else went.

nTo them, they just assumed that everyone else was probably killed when these Adonis people attacked.

nSo no matter how the Adonis people asked, they couldn't get any hints or answers.

nAfter all, when fleeing, those who managed to escape had been told to head to the Palace with their families in secret.

nThey were indirectly escorted by guards in ordinary attire, who took them around the city before heading towards the palace.

nSo it seemed like they had left their homes and headed towards the markets or even headed out as usual.

nIt was also during that time that the Adonis people concluded that those who escaped probably secretly discovered them and fled out of the city earlier on.

nAnd that's when they began their intimate search, trying to cover as much Zalipnian ground as they could.

nBut sadly, they didn't find these people at all.

nSo, could it be that they managed to flee sometime this past year and had taken refuge in a neighbouring empire?

nThe Adonis followers first thought this, but something told them that they should still be in Zalipnia.

nAfter all, it was too strange for the majority of the population to vanish for so long with almost none of them caught or no words of finding people in the woods or fleeing.

nThe search had always been on!

n.

nThinking of all the delays in their grand scheme of things, these Adonis warriors spoke passionately about their hatred for the Zalipnians.

nBut soon, something else made them pause.

nEH?

nThe group of guards in that heated conversation weren't the only ones to notice the strange speeding black carriage headed their way.

nWhat was this?

nHow could carriages speed this much? And where were the horses?

nThe more they looked, the more they were sure that these didn't belong to them.

nThey thinned their lips, their eyes, having a very uneasy feeling about it.

nCould it be an invasion?

nBut if that's the case, then where are the weapons?

nThey looked at the many carriages that were more than they could count and felt a headache come upon them.

nWhat do they do?

nThey didn't get wind of such things or cover this in training.

nSo what now?

nNo! They had to report the matter and get orders.

nAnd this, in a heartbeat, chaos had already engulfed them all.

n

"close the gates!

"

n

"Archers take position! Be ready to rain arrows at them if they try any funny business!

"

n

"Quick! Get His Holy Defender Gerald and inform him of the matter!

"

n

"Everyone, for Adonis, stand firm and await orders!

"

n

"Yes!

"

n.

n~Din. Din. Din. Din. Din~~

nLike so, the Adonis archers lined up against the walls, pointing their arrows at these strange carriages in silence and anxiety.

nBut before their emotions became deep-rooted, something popped out from the top of 2 front carriages.

nAnd the next thing they knew, something shot out from it and flew their way.

n~Feeeeeu... Boom!

nThe entire world spun for many as the deafening sounds of thunder clapped around them, making them subconsciously lower their arrows and hold their ears out in pain.

nBut before that thought could even fester, a thick orange cloud covered them wholly, followed by a terrible wave of heat.

nBurning. Burning.

nTheir bodies were on fire!

n

"Ahhhh!!!~~~

"

nThey screamed in agony as their bodies tore, taking them to hell and back.

nAnd just like so, their body parts and blood perfectly scattered out, painting the place a deep shade of red.

n~Pap. Pap. Pap. Pap.

nIt was raining men.

nThose directly hit had perished without knowing just how they died.

nBut death by direct hit wasn't the only sort of death many faced.

nThe strange wave of heat and force had directly thrown those close to the attack over the wall, falling several feet down flat.

nAnd even with the snow below, it wasn't enough to cushion their fall.

n

n

n~Bam!

nCountless people fell backwards, falling onto the city streets or areas below.

nBut that wasn't all.

nThe stone rocks that got destroyed, also few alongside them, with some getting even more crushed by the falling disasters.

nThe fall and the massive stone had completely turned their bodies into paste, making a few very unrecognizable.

nWhat happened made many die in pain.

nAdonis... Adonis.... Where are you?

n

n