The dawn broke over the town, casting a somber light on the aftermath of the wolf tide. Once pristine and white, the snow was now dyed a dark shade of crimson.
The air was heavy with the scent of blood. The once-sturdy walls now bore the marks of the beasts' relentless assault. The stones had cracked and splintered, sared with the remnants of the fierce struggle.
Hundreds of beast corpses lay beyond the walls. Amidst them, one could even see the cold, lifeless bodies of dozens of rcenaries and Magi.
The sa scene could be seen within the city walls. A large number of wolves had managed to break through the defense line, resulting in the slaughter of many powerless residents.
This ti, the casualties were astronomical.
Magi rested atop the town wall, completely exhausted by the onslaught they had endured the whole night. Art, Aiden, and Eleiney stood among them, huddled together silently.
This was the first proper battle they had participated in. And it was very intense, to say the least.
On a few occasions, they had co close to dying in the maws of the frenzied wolves, but thanks to the vastly experienced Kenley and Wagner, they had managed to make it out alive.
Just thinking of the tis they had nearly died, the kids couldn't help but involuntarily shudder.
Kenley, who was covered in blood and gri, walked toward them and comforted them, "Don't be so downcast, you guys. You're alive, aren't you? That's more than enough reason to be happy."
Wagner ca forward and patted Aiden and Art's shoulders. "Co, let's go have so breakfast. The al after battling the entire night hits differently."
He paused for a mont before he joked, "If you guys were a little older, I would have offered you so ale. But I should probably refrain from doing that since your ntor would get very mad."
Aiden glanced at the blond young man and spoke with pursed lips, "He probably started drinking at an even younger age than us."
"Y-Yeah!" Art stuttered, "I'll try so ale."
He paused for a mont before softly adding, "But… you cannot tell Professor, okay?"
"Hahaha!" Wagner burst into laughter. "It's a deal."
He put his arms around Aiden and Art, and guided them down the stairs. "Follow , boys. I know just the right place!"
anwhile, Kenley approached Eleiney and asked with a chuckle, "Aren't you going to join them?"
Eleiney snapped out of her daze and shook her head. She glanced at the corpses littered on the streets of Stratford, her eyes tearing up. "Is this… normal?"
She then gazed at Kenley and added, "What I an to say is… are this many casualties consistent with the other beast tides that have happened in the past?"
Kenley's expression turned solemn as he gazed at the blood flowing down the cobblestone streets.
"No, this ti the number of deaths has been far greater. Although even in the previous beast tides there would always be so casualties within the walls, this ti there have been far too many."
"What's different this ti?" Eleney couldn't help but ask.
Kenley imdiately replied, "The beasts we were fighting were a lot more berserk compared to before, and…"
He looked into the distance, gazing at the Mayor and the town council mbers, and added, "For so reason, I feel that the defense line was positioned very loose last night. After all, how else would you explain so many wolves breaching our defenses?"
"But you just said that the wolves were more ferocious than before? Couldn't that also be the reason?" Eleiney voiced out her opinion.
She didn't know anything about warfare, so she was not able to understand what Kenley was trying to point out. However, what she said was also valid.
"Hmm, perhaps." Kenley shrugged. "Anyway, let's get the hell out of here."
He and Eleiney made their way down the wall and proceeded to walk toward the town square. He then looked at her and asked with a gentle smile, "Would you like to join and my wife for breakfast? Her cooking is fantastic!"
Eleiney knew that the staff at The White Stag would be very busy dealing with the injured people. Moreover, she was famished and couldn't wait to eat sothing.
Thus, she looked at Kenley and nodded. "Thank you."
"Haha, no problem. I have a feeling that my wife would be delighted to have your company," Kenley bead.
As they walked through the wreckage, they saw n and won worked to gather the fallen, their hands shaking from exhaustion and grief. Cries of pain and words of comfort filled the air, causing Eleiney to beco very emotional.
On her way toward Kenley's house, she ca across a mother carrying her baby in her arm and kneeling down beside a corpse that had just been covered in a white sheet.
She figured that the deceased person was the woman's husband.
Eleiney's body trembled ever so slightly and she stopped beside the mother and child. While the mother was crying in deep sorrow, the toddler glanced at her in confusion, wondering what was happening.
Seeing the baby's innocent face, tears rolled down Eleiney's eyes. She couldn't help but walk toward the mother and ask her, "Why?! Why couldn't you just leave with your family?!
"If you had left earlier, then maybe your husband would not have died and your child would still have a father!"
Seeing this scene unfold, even Kenley couldn't help but feel disheartened. The questions that Eleiney had asked just now were sothing that he always found puzzling.
He just couldn't understand these people's motive to stay behind despite knowing the danger that the wolf tide posed every month.
The woman looked at Eleiney with tearful eyes and whispered, "You're an outsider… You won't understand!"
"Then make !" Eleiney scread emotionally, causing the baby in the woman's arms to flinch and start crying.
Despite the tears continuing to fall down the woman's face, her lips curled up into a wide smile.
"We cannot leave…
"This is our ho… We cannot leave…
"The spirit of Lord Stratford will always protect us…"
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