PS: Background BGM of this chapter: Proteto of the Earth

Prime Material Plane, Northland, Minas Tirith.

Fifteen days have passed since this most prosperous White City was besieged by the tide of demons emerging from the abyss.

And the hearts of the citizens in Baicheng also hung in the air for fifteen days and nights.

If it were a war between ordinary human city-states on the main material plane, a siege lasting half a month would be nothing more than a very ordinary number, and it would often even be the beginning of the war.

But if the target of the siege is replaced by the devil of the bottomless abyss,

I am afraid that only the Mith Drannor and Ellan Elf Empires, which have disappeared in the dust of history, and the Zeelandian warriors currently fighting to guard the frontier of the First City, can they feel so deeply that they can resist the tide of demons.

What kind of terrifying pressure is like a mountain or a sea, and it feels like the blood is being drained bit by bit, slowly suffocating.

Powerlessness and despair!

Yes, only despair can be described.

Because the demons of Chaos, who were born in the most cruel and harsh abyss, are like a group on adrenaline when facing this kind of situation where they are almost certain to win on this kind of battlefield. They are simply tireless.

, not afraid of pain and ignoring potential threats of death.

They don't need sleep, so the devil's attacks are endless, day and night!

They don't need logistics. When people see these hungry demons picking up the dead bodies of their comrades on the battlefield and gnawing at them like crazy, it is the most deadly spiritual erosion in itself!

They are naturally powerful warriors with killing instincts. Even human soldiers who have been trained for many years cannot have the slightest advantage in front of them. Once they come into close combat with mid-to-high-level demons, it will be the beginning of a nightmare.

They are originally nightmares in the shadow of chaos in the multiverse. For any threatened civilization, they are like a swarm of locusts that sweeps and devours everything. They are the beginning of the most chaotic and the ultimate end of destruction. Wherever they pass, the stars are extinguished and everything is destroyed.

Turn into ashes.

This is simply not an enemy that ordinary creatures on the main material plane can match.

What's more, there is a group of drow headed by Gelthorn underground who are also attacking the Acropolis of Zelandia regardless of the cost, continuing to threaten the safety of the North Nether Tunnel, which is the lifeline of military supplies.

In the eyes of some beings in the North, it is an incredible miracle that Zeelandia was able to resist on its own without falling despite being attacked from both sides.

However, due to the fierce fighting situation, there was no time to clean the battlefield and count the casualties in time.

So much so that officials have stopped daily casualty counts and obituaries.

In response to this, the citizens in the city have long been numb, and they can only hide in the shelter between Minas Tirith and Zeelandia and pray silently, praying that the soldiers on the front line can hold on, and praying for the blessings of the gods.

Persevere until the miracle comes, persevere until the miracle happens.

But before they could expect any signs or miracles, the draft mobilization order came.

I saw a wolf cavalry covered in blood and with broken armor, pushing open the door of the underground shelter, exhaling a breath of hot mist-like breath, looking around, and then holding up a trumpet-like alchemical loudspeaker and announced:

"All gnolls over 10 years old! Humans over 18 years old! Dwarves, elves, drows, and half-elves over 90 years old! All come out! If the logistics of the city defense line can't keep up, follow me!"

The next moment, all the young people who had been mentally prepared for this moment stood up silently one after another, either in confusion or with frowning eyebrows.

Some people took a deep breath and looked at each other in silence. You could see a trace of anxiety, tension and fear in each other's eyes, but more importantly, there was a kind of silent perseverance.

Almost all of them came here during Zeelandia's most prosperous and fastest-growing era. Together with their fathers, they witnessed the development of Minas Tirith from scratch in the past few decades. It rose from the Northland to become the Northland.

has fallen into economic stagnation and difficulties caused by natural disasters.

They are all beneficiaries of free and compulsory education in this miracle city.

Their fate also changes with the increase of knowledge and knowledge.

They all hope that this emerging and powerful city will give them hope

Can stand forever!

Let your descendants still have a place where they can strive for their dreams in this increasingly chaotic and noisy world.

But at this moment, a haggard-looking mother suddenly ran out in a panic, hugging a young student with immature cheeks and crying bitterly:

"No! No! No! Adrian, come back! You haven't graduated yet, and you haven't officially turned eighteen yet! Your father has already gone up! What should your brother and I do if something happens to you?

!You can’t just abandon us!”

This scene immediately caused many people to stop and show signs of pain.

The wolf cavalry also strode towards this place and looked at the top student from Minas Tirith University with an inquiring look.

The 'law' apprentice named Adrian had a struggle in his eyes. He couldn't bear to break away his mother's white hand holding him. Instead, he turned around and hugged his crying mother hard. The painful, low but firm voice resounded throughout the room.

In the ears of every traveler:

"Mom, after this birthday, I will already be an independent adult.

"I also have the corresponding rights and obligations as a citizen of Zeelandia.

"The city-state has trained me for so many years. At this time when my family and country are in crisis, I can't ignore it.

"If everyone is like me, using various excuses to shirk our responsibilities

"Then, who will be like my father, like those soldiers on the front line who risk life and death to fight against foreign enemies, protect our mother, and protect our homeland?

"Mom, I'm sorry, I love you

"But I also love this city and this land very deeply.

"If something unexpected happens to me during my trip, the city and my brother will take good care of you for me."

Having said this, Adrian, with bloodshot eyes, looked at his still young brother:

"Right? My brother, Asmid."

Asmid, who was also full of tears, nodded his head and hugged his mother's wrist tightly.

Seeing the firm look in her son's eyes that could no longer be changed, the mother finally let go of her holding hands tremblingly.

Adrian looked deeply at his mother for the last time, nodded to his brother, and then resolutely followed the crowd and strode outside the shelter.

Only the helpless figure of the mother was left crying in pain.

Looking at this scene, more young people in the underground shelter seemed to be inspired and encouraged, hugging their relatives silently, and then walked towards the war-torn world outside the shelter that was already filled with thick smoke and the smell of burning.

In the innermost part of the shelter, the silver-haired Anthony sighed slowly. The group of fellow demon researchers and mages at the Demon Research Institute threw down the spellcasting materials and potion bottles in their hands with puzzled eyes, and strode towards the shelter.

Go for laymen.

"Anthony!" A colleague called him from behind.

Anthony stopped and looked back, and heard the scholar-mage in a white coat solemnly say:

"As demon researchers, it is more meaningful for us to stay here and continue working than on the battlefield."

Since underground Zelandia was also attacked by drows, in order to save Zelandia's 'brain', organizations had already moved to this shelter one after another on the first day of the war.

It is also because of the potions, enchanted bullet chains, and protective barriers they produce day and night that the front line has been able to support itself until now.

Anthony, who was looking sad, said in a low voice:

"It has reached the point where students are needed to go to the front line to maintain logistics. The 150,000 soldiers on the front line are probably more than half casualties and are on the verge of collapse.

"If the city is gone, the so-called logistics will lose its meaning."

He seemed to see the flame ignited in the haggard eyes of his colleagues, and quickly stopped their impulsiveness and said:

"Don't follow me, you won't be able to get past the checkpoint. I'm delivering a protective barrier scroll to my father.

"If Zelandia really falls, at least you will be there to rebuild it."

All the mages immediately lowered their heads, but when Anthony left, the group of scholars and mages from the Demon Research Institute behind him all stopped what they were doing, and bowed to his back, paying their last respects to the mages.

A noble act of praise.

Anthony seemed to feel the eyes of his colleagues behind him, and a free and easy smile appeared on the corner of his mouth.

On the other side, when Adrian and the others followed the footsteps of the wolf cavalry through the narrow and closed emergency passage, opened the heavy door and got out of the shelter, the deafening sounds of fighting and killing shouts in the sky spread like a scalding wave.

Come.

Adrian, like most people, looked at the scene in front of him in disbelief with his trembling eyes.

It seemed unimaginable that just half a month later, the prosperous city and home they had lived in all their lives had been reduced to the mottled and dilapidated appearance before them.

It should have been early morning at this time, but the entire sky was dyed a blood-red color like dusk by the flames of war and thick smoke burning in the endless pastoral fields in the east.

Except for the Griffon Mountains, which is backed by Minas Tirith, the entire city-state is almost at war on three sides under heavy siege!

The citizens in the city have already been evacuated to underground shelters, so at this time, the buildings near the peripheral highlands with relatively good geographical locations have been artificially demolished, and replaced by heavy alchemical cannons, accompanied by the sound of the gun barrels.

It flinched and made a low roar.

In the dusky sky, there were constantly Flo Demons that broke through the fire defenses and swooped down towards the fire points in the city. Most of them were shot into sieves by the Sabot machine launcher halfway, and their heavy bodies fell into the dilapidated buildings like meteorites.

, occasionally a firepower point would be exploded by huge fireballs and other spells shot from outside the city, causing groans and miserable howls.

Outside the city, the original lush countryside and ports no longer exist. Instead, there is a bloody wasteland that has been plowed by endless artillery. It is filled with shell craters and demon corpses countless times, as well as the dense and overwhelming swarms of locusts.

The coming tide of demons.

The Sebring River has long been filled up with the corpses of demons. After the upper reaches of the river submerges the 'dyke' formed by the accumulation of corpses, the blood-like Styx flows out from the lower reaches.

On the wasteland outside the wall, nine giant dragons of different colors were like the mainstay rocks in the black tide, tirelessly slaughtering the invading demons, but they still couldn't stop the rolling waves from rushing towards the meters along the gap between them.
To be continued...