The Spell whispered into her ear:
[You have slain…]
[You have slain…]
[You have slain…]
Ignoring the sonorous choir of its voice, Effie leaned forward a little and delivered a powerful kick, pulverizing an especially large abomination.
The creature must have been at least a dozen meters tall, and would have looked like a towering behemoth to the advancing soldiers. But to her, it was no bigger than a large rat. Its body disintegrated into a disgusting torrent of bloody liquid, and before that liquid splattered across a vast stretch of the riverbed's slope, Effie was already past the foremost wave of the Nightmare Creatures… Nothing but devastation was left in her wake.
[You have slain a Corrupted Monster, Maw of Kanakht.]
A moment later, she reached the city barrier.
It was quite inferior to the great walls surrounding NQSC, Not all human cities were siege capitals, after all the true siege capitals had been constructed and received that title during the Dark Times, and there were just a few of them left standing in the world.
Of course, all human cities had been turned into highly advanced strongholds after the descent of the Spell, both to keep the Nightmare Creatures out and to make them habitable in the aftermath of the previous era. Still, the scale of their defenses varled.
The ruined city in front of Effie had quite a robust wall once upon time, but now it lay in ruins. The streets were obscured by smoke, and countless abominations were rampaging under its suffocating shroud.
From this close, she could hear a terrible cacophony of crumbling buildings, bestial roars, sporadic gunfire…
And human screams.
There were indeed survivors there, below her. Which was why she had to be careful.
«To your left!»
Jet's shout was very timely.
Turning her head, Effie saw a wide highway piercing into the heart of the city. There was a fortified railway in its middle, with a mess of overturned train cars laying on the tracks. The highway itself was crowded by military vehicles… all empty and painted red by blood.
This was where the city garrison forces had tried, and falled, to stop the tide of abominations after the walls fell.
What was important to Effie, though, was that she would be able to use the highway to reach the heart of the city without trampling countless civilians to death and toppling damaged buildings.
Paving a bloody path through the horde of abominations, she stomped her way to the highway. Countless abominations perished under her footsteps. Those that were more powerful were crushed to death in her grasp, torn apart, or splattered across the concrete.
Their assault was like a dark tide. Some were large enough to pose a threat to even someone as giant as her… but Effie did not only have size on her side. She also had her skill, intellect, and battle experience.
The combination was truly devastating, and none of these meddling creatures could withstand her might.
It would have been even more devastating if she had a proper spear and shield to wield, but alas, she did not. So, Effie fought with her bare hands- or rather, with her entire body except for one hand, which was being used to carry Jet — in accordance with the ancient hand-to-hand combat techniques hammered into her bones by the War Maidens of the Chalice Temple.
There were swarms of flying abominations, as well. When those descended upon her, even Jet received an opportunity to bloody her blade.
Reaching the highway, Effie advanced swiftly toward the heart of the city. As she ran, shattering the road and flattening overturned train cars and abandoned military vehicles with each step, she kept her eyes on the true threats.
To her left, on the edges of the city, the colossal shape of the Fallen Titan was toppling residential towers and feeding on the crushed corpses of countless humans.
To her right, the massive figure of the Corrupted Titan was consuming the remains of the government compound.
Another Titan was nearby, having already breached the ceiling of a deep underground shelter.
And finally, far ahead, on the opposite side of the city, past the shattered barrier…
A vague silhouette of the Great Devil was towering above the local outskirts, moving slowly in the eerie silence.
There were two more Gate Guardians spread throughout the ruins, as well, both already gazing at her and narrowing the distance.
And a sea of Nightmare Creatures following them.
«Everyone wants in on the party…»
Finally, she reached the drop point.
Effie sent a shockwave spreading from the spot where the edge of her foot had dug into the ground to stall her momentum, and came to an abrupt halt.
In the next moment, her voice shook the sky with a thunderous, defiant call:
«Wolf Army! Charge!»