The Stonehearted Knight
Chapter 175: Storming the gate (2)

Chapter 175: Storming the gate (2)

’Well, the ruin is completely ruined.’

Hex lamented the state of the market district as they moved toward the inner area, leading up to the gate.

There were no deserted lanes, houses with broken walls and leaky roofs, and weather-worn landmarks anywhere. The only thing Hex saw everywhere were debris, ashes, and heaps of stones.

The dry dust and ash mixed, swirling up toward the sky. The countless streams of smoke and dust created the thick columns. The mixture of ash and dust pricked his nose. Others, he noticed, had it worse. People gasped for breath or even vomited, perhaps sickened by the impure air.

A lot of the debris was coated in black and or red liquid.

’The number of creatures and humans killed in clearing these parts should be numbered in the thousands.’

Hex remained unfazed by the sight. He knew clearing the city’s ruin would take even more lives. But the number of Heartless bothered him.

Each Heartless was once a human. They were turned into mindless creatures filled with bloodlust by the Witch, to whom he was connected, whether he acknowledged it or not.

’Hopefully, they are freed from their suffering after being killed.’

The group covered the distance to the inner wall in a few hours. The people adjusted their breath to the contaminated air gradually. By the time they reached the wall, only a few looked pale.

Similar to the outer wall, the inner wall was wide and tall. A massive gate stood in the middle of the wall, its doors shut.

Hex saw the outline of roofs and multi-storied buildings at the foot of the wall. The area was clad in shadows, even though the sun stood at its zenith.

Screeches and cries filled the air. The battle never stopped. Now and then, a small dust cloud appeared. Hex suspected it appeared when something or someone crashed into a structure, causing its collapse. Whether the one flung into it survived, he couldn’t tell.

A few Hawk rushed through the crowd, handing over slips of paper. Hex looked at the slip pushed into his hand.

Join the 5th unit at the outer right corner under the red flag.

Hex looked to his right and spotted brightly glowing red banners at the edge of the wall. Without delay, he jogged toward the spot.

Behind him, people started to move as well. The center flag was green, and one before his target was blue. He saw people continuously entering the alley with the buildings, hidden in the wall’s shadow. Fewer people ran out, most of the time with wounded and disabled warriors dangling on their backs.

The cries of fighters, furious roars, mind-numbing screeches, and collapsing buildings filled his ears. Dust, smoke, sweat, blood, and other foul odors assaulted his olfactory senses.

Hex reached the red flag in a few minutes. The flag hung on a tall pole that was stuck in the ground. Hex suspected it was done recently.

Another thing he noticed was the camps built around the pole, using large pieces of broken walls and torn linen.

The crowded camps served as an infirmary. Knights with healing abilities used their techniques to treat the wounded. Not only that, based on what Hex could observe, Blessed also came to recover from fatigue and anxiety.

In the short period he observed his surroundings more people had gathered around the flag. Hex didn’t recognize any of these people but two stood out. One was a girl with light brown hair held tightly in a bun. He vaguely remembered her name to be Esmeralda.

The other person didn’t belong to the top hundred participants. He stood out to Hex because of his strength. Not only was the messy-looking man a Refined Knight he was also toward the peak of that stage. Hex had only met two others with similar strength. They were the Paladin and Templar.

"Don’t stand there like puppets!"

A stern-faced man jogged over to them and snapped at them.

"You guys are to enter those buildings and are responsible for the safe retreat of the team already in battle. Even if you can’t win, try to remain alive long enough to let the first team get a proper rest."

With those words, the man jogged away, after having pointed them toward a set of buildings close by. Hex smiled wryly at the lack of command but it made sense. They weren’t a team nor would they listen to others. It was best to give them a mission and leave it up to them to execute it as they saw fit.

Their team had more than forty people. Most were experienced and seemed mature while others seemed eager to enter battle. Only the girl and the boar-like man looked as calm as he did.

"Let’s go!"

The ones eager to fight moved without even discussing a general plan. A few people frowned but followed. Hex didn’t move at once. He waited. Only when more than thirty people formed the vanguard, did he join. Esmeralda followed behind. The boar-like man was the last.

Hx reached their goal quickly. The buildings formed an obstacle but they moved quickly over it. The wall’s shadow fell over them, decreasing visibility. The group slowed but moved steadily. After a short distance, Hex sensed fluctuating energies nearby. The other group was nearby.

The Knights at the front discovered them quickly.

"Let’s get them!"

A person at the front yelled but when he turned, there was no one. As soon as they found their goal, people moved as they saw fit.

Hex climbed over one heap of debris and peaked over it. In the area in front, he saw a weary team facing hordes of Heartless. The creatures spilled out of alleys from behind them. The ground around the group was littered with corpses of Heartless. There were also a few human corpses.

With loud shouts people at the front of Hex’s group joined the fight against the Heartless. Their arrival signaled the retreat of the other group. But the number of the creatures was too high.

Even when thirty of their group joined, the first group couldn’t retreat. Hex readied himself. He gathered his energy and activated his second blessing.

He jumped from above. The energy gathered in his fist. In the shadow, he shone like a falling star. Just as he was about to punch the ground, he saw another light streak behind him.

His punch landed.

Boom!

The ground shook. A shockwave blasted the ground. The energy shot at the incoming creatures. The horde consisted of Demons and Fiends. Many were blasted away, with the weaker ones dying instantly.

His attack disrupted the incoming stream of creatures. Before they could recognize a second wave of attacks came. From above the air, small projectiles shot out. A great amount of projectiles hit the horde. To Hex’s shock, the projectiles blasted holes into the Demons.

Esmeralda landed before him.

"Let’s team up."

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