The Prince of Heaven's Gate - Last Stand At World's End

“Hurry up everyone!” Thoram, the Commander of the Stronghold of Norria, led the charge towards Leaf Village.

Behind him, over five hundred Riders of Norria rode their trusty Goats. Leaf Village had rung the highest level of alarm possible, which meant that they weren’t dealing with just an ordinary Monster Outbreak.

Boreas, one of his most trusted Captains, had been stationed to look after the village. With him there, no ordinary Monster Outbreak could possibly get past him. Still, the Calamity Bell of Leaf Village had been rung, which meant that the problem they were facing could potentially wipe out the entire village from the face of the world.

From afar, he could see dark clouds covering the entirety of the village. All of the Riders of Norria watched as lightning bolts fell from the sky, followed by a booming thunder that spread across the entire territory of Norria.

As the strongest Dwarf Commander, he had also felt the powerful fluctuations that were happening in the distance.

‘It will still take us about thirty minutes before we can arrive.’ Thoram gritted his teeth. ‘If Leaf Village falls, I will be demoted from my position and possibly be replaced by the King for my inability to secure this territory. No matter what happens, I must get there in time!’

When the almost non-existent protective walls of Leaf Village finally came into view, all that Thoram saw was smoke rising up in the air. His heart sank, thinking that the village had been destroyed completely and that no one had survived.

“Sound the battle horns!” Thoram ordered. “Make them know that reinforcements have arrived!”_.

Immediately, the sound of horns reverberated in the surroundings as the Riders of Norria entered Leaf Village with their weapons raised high. Their eyes were bloodshot and they were ready to kill the first Monster that crossed their path.

The first thing that Thoram saw when he and his troops entered the village were the countless bodies of Monsters lying on the ground. There were also several Dwarfs that had fallen in battle, but all of them were adults, who had done their best to fight for those that were important to them.

It was obvious that they prioritized the evacuation of the children and the Foreigners, who would often help the Village resist Monster Outbreaks.

When the Riders of Norria arrived near the center of the village, they saw over a hundred Skeletons loitering about. There was even a Rock Golem, who was carrying a few Dwarves in his hands, which made Thoram roar in anger.

“Kill these filthy Monsters!” Thoram roared. “Avenge Leaf Village!”

“”Kill!””

The Skeletons looked towards the direction of the approaching Riders, some even waving at them from afar. Thoram thought that the monsters were mocking them so he raised his warhammer and lunged at the nearest Skeleton and smashed his hammer on its face.

The poor Skeleton was then gangbanged until its entire body shattered into pieces. Seeing this scene, all the other Skeletons made a run for it, and headed to the very center of the village.

“Don’t let them escape!” Thoram ordered. “Kill them all!”

Just as the Riders were about to follow their Commander’s orders, Boreas and his subordinates ran towards their Commander while waving their hands in an attempt to stop the massacre of friendly forces.

“Commander! They are allies!” Boreas shouted. “Don’t kill them!”

Aron, the Head of the Village Guards, also appeared from the distance, running in their direction and shouting to not kill the Skeletons.

Thoram raised his hand to stop the Riders’ advance and looked at his Rider Captain, as well as the Guard Captain with a serious expression on his face.

“Explain the situation,” Thoram ordered. “Where are the monsters? Is everyone dead? Where is Cedwyn?”

Boreas cleared his throat before he answered his Commander’s barrage of questions.

“The Monsters are still being dealt with, but most of them have been slain. We are currently in the middle of clean up operations, Commander,” Boreas answered. “As for the villagers, we had over a hundred casualties, and hundreds of wounded who are now receiving treatment.”

“Village Head, Cedwyn, was injured, but there is no danger to his life. He is currently at the rear of the village, looking after the wounded.”

Thoram sighed after hearing Boreas’ explanation. He then looked at the devastated village in front of him with a serious expression on his face.

“Just what on Earth attacked this place?” Thoram asked. “This is too much destruction for a Monster Outbreak.”

Boreas nodded. “It was no ordinary Monster Outbreak, Commander. It was a Grand Monster Outbreak. The Beasts from the Aspiration plains, the Undead from the Cemetery, the Insect Monsters from the Figaro Gardens, as well as the Dire Wolves from the Heartwood Forest, all attacked at the same time.”

“However, that is not the main reason for this much destruction. A Rank 5 Mutated Thunder Wolf King also appeared and destroyed any attempt of resistance from the villagers and us. I’m not gonna lie, Commander. I thought that I wouldn’t be able to survive unless all of you arrived.”

Thoram’s expression became grim when he heard the name of the Monster that attacked Leaf Village. There had been several cases in the past where the Thunder Wolf King had been sighted, especially near the territory of the Intermediate Towns.

Everytime it happened, the Adventurer’s Guild would issue an emergency order to slay it as soon as possible in order to prevent widespread casualties that usually followed the appearance of such Beasts.

The Dwarf Commander knew that Boreas, as well as Aron, couldn’t possibly defeat the Field Boss Monster, which was nearing the Pseudo-Deimos Rank.

“Where is it now?” Thoram asked. “Did it leave after destroying more than half of the village?”

Boreas shook his head. “No, sir. The Mutated Thunder Wolf King is now dead. We are just cleaning up the remaining Beasts that are still loitering within the village.”

Thoram blinked once then twice as he stared at his Rider Captain with an incredulous look on his face.

“Killed?” Thoram asked. “What do you mean killed? Who killed it?”

Boreas didn’t answer, and simply pointed towards the center of the village. There, a red-headed teenager, seated on top of a Black Warg, could be seen.

Thoram looked at the Half-Elf, who was holding his Soul Book in his hands and seemed to be pondering something very important. After looking at Lux, he then shifted his attention to Boreas and gave him the “You must be kidding me?” glare, which made the latter scratch his head in helplessness.

“It is true, Commander,” Aron said as he walked towards the Commander of the Riders of Norria. “It was indeed Lux who slew the Mutated Thunder Wolf King. If I didn’t witness it myself, I’d have the same expression you have on your face right now.”

Thoram shifted his attention back to the Half-Elf, who was still seated on top of his Black Warg. Right now, he was still half in doubt whether Boreas and Aron were telling him the truth.

However, things were clear, the Grand Monster Outbreak was now over and the villagers were safe. He wouldn’t have to be demoted and kicked out of his position as the Commander of Norria.

‘I guess I owe this kid a favor,’ Thoram thought as he urged his mount to head towards the savior of Leaf Village. He still had so many questions, but decided to hold onto them until he could get a detailed report from the Elders of Leaf Village.

Boreas and Aron watched as the Commander of Norria headed towards the Half-Elf, who was still busy looking at his Soul Book. A moment later, the two exchanged a knowing glance with each other because Lux’s performance had far exceeded those of the previous foreigners that had stayed in Leaf Village.

They had a feeling that if the officials in the Capital were to hear about his latest feat, the King might confer another Honorary Rank on him, which would raise Lux’s rank to that of an Honorary Baronet.