Maiden Of The Splitting Moon

"We must hurry then, there is no one there able to even stall a rank 5 monster", Tower said.

With that said, everyone stopped talking and focused on reaching Luan City as fast as possible. At this moment, the night attack had just ended.

"They won't be attacking for several more hours, I suggest that you rest," said Owner Su to Ming Yue.

She was worn out from the constant work and followed his instructions, leaving the walls and slept in one of the medical tents. She didn't change out her clothes and just plopped on the floor before going straight to sleep. Her clothes were quite damaged with blood stained through out it. Fortunately, she wore the Floating Breeze Robes, which had a recovery feature so it pretty much fixed itself as she slept. She had been fighting non-stop and helping out with the treatment of any injured. She barely had a rest before the night attack happened which lasted until the sun rose.

This rest was well deserved and she slept like a log. When she woke up, it was already midday and everyone was busy. The horde hasn't even attacked yet but everyone seemed extremely tense. Ming Yue wasn't sure what was going on and decided to ask but no one stopped to listen, they were all busy fortifying their building and creating weapons. It wasn't until she met with Owner Su that she found out.

"There is another Rank 5 and it is within the beast horde!" she said, shocked by this new information.

"But how can that be?" she asked.

Owner Su replied, "It is the only explanation. How is it that only one rank 5 could cause a beast horde of this size? Furthermore, It took much less time to for it too. What else could cause this?"

Ming Yue was dispirited, she knew the strength of a rank 5. It wouldn't matter if it was now or if it was before, she and everyone else in the city could not stand a chance against one even if there was not beast horde.

"Don't worry," said Owner Su, "the team that was sent to defeat the first rank 5 has already done their job and are heading for our city. They will arrive in a day so all we need to do is to last today and we will have survived. Furthermore, the reinforcements from the other cities are arriving in two days."

He smiled at Ming Yue, who felt more optimistic about their circumstances. They only needed to hold out for today.

The sounds the horns suddenly filled the air and everyone started running to their positions. The beast horde had come back once again!

However it was different this time. Instead of attacking from all for sides, several thousand roaring beasts rushed at the east side. It caught the defenders by surprise as they moved closer to the eastern gate.

"Quickly, Support the eastern wall. They are going to try to break in from one point," Owner Su commanded his men and Ming Yue followed suit.

She rushed to the eastern walls, helping to clear out any creatures climbing up the walls. They continued to climb the walls as some of them rammed into the gate. Each time, they crashed into the gate, it creaked ever so slightly. Splinters fell from the giant wooden door every so often. While it

was completely wooden, the gates had metal studs running across it along with a giant wood bolt. The gate was extremely sturdy but not even the soldiers were sure that it would last.

The ones on top of the wall focused more and more on the beasts around the gate. If they manage to breach it, they city was gone. She wanted to jump down and attack again but decided against it. There were much more beasts than before, making it harder for her to even move around. Jumping down was akin to suicide and she did not want to die just yet. She could only help by stopping anything that reached the top the walls.

It was a battle of attrition.

This went on for hours and bodies began to pile up against the wall. Both sides suffered casualties but the beast horde continued to rush at them. The beast bodies were being used by their own comrades to reach the walls even quicker. Any one of them charged at the closest person, jaws open and ready to tear their heads off. However, each attempt was met with spears and blades, ripping their bodies apart. They fell back down the walls, crashing onto any other climbers in their way onto the pile of bodies. But it quickly disappeared under the claws of other fiends, taking their place and climbing up the walls.

While they continued to attack the walls, the gate was not in a good situation. It was groaning even more loudly. You could hear the horde crashing into the gate, clawing at it and slowly making dents. It was barely holding on and a team was already sent to support the gate. They brought wooden beams to support the gate and braced themselves. They stood in place like stone statues, using the beams to keep the gate alive.

It was only until the sun began to set that they stopped attacking and retreated. Everyone sighed in relief. They had managed to live and the rank 5 did not come out.

The defenders smiled in victory. Although the beast horde has not ended yet, they were able to last until reinforcements arrived. After such a intense fight, the beast horde had lost their momentum and would not be able to attack for at least a day. Everyone went to celebrate but what happened next caused everyone to go cold.

"SKKRRREEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"

A blood curdling screech echoed throughout the city. A dark cloud appeared in the sky, approaching the city. It grew larger and larger until some recognized it.

It was certainly rank 5 but it wasn't just one, it was a swarm.