The breach in the wall widened with every heartbeat. Rain poured into the shattered gap, mixing with mud and blood as the first wave of beasts clawed their way through. Their glowing eyes reflected the torchlight on the battlements, and their snarls vibrated through the air like the sound of an approaching avalanche.
Xu Mang moved first.
A violet spark flashed across his palm as he traced the star orbit in his mind. The seven Lightning stars lit one after another. His gaze sharpened.
"Lightning Strike."
A spear of violet light shot out, blasting through the skull of the first climbing beast. It convulsed, fell backward into the horde, and disappeared under trampling claws. But the wave did not slow. More beasts climbed the wall, clawing into the stone as if the rain itself drove them mad.
Lu Jun stepped beside him, drawing the seven blue stars of Water into formation. The air rippled as a transparent barrier surged upward.
"Water Shield."
A shimmering wall of layered water expanded across the broken walkway, blocking a sweeping claw from the beast that had leapt closest.
He followed immediately with Metal. His star map for the secondary element flared with golden-white light, forming a razor-like arc.
"Metal Slash."
It cut through the beast's forearm and buried itself into the stone below. The creature fell back shrieking.
Hunter squads around them stared in disbelief. They had expected students to panic, not cast spells like seasoned battlemages.
Mo Fan burst onto the scene moments later, fire swirling around his fist. The red starlit diagram behind him glowed brighter than any novice-level mage should possess. He lowered his stance, flame gathering in his knuckles.
"Fiery Fist."
The fire exploded outward as he punched into a beast lunging over the ruined wall. Heat rolled across the battlements. The creature was lifted and thrown back, rolling down the muddy slope, fur singed black.
"Damn…" a hunter muttered. "That kid's Intermediate Fire is already this strong?"
Mo Fan didn't even hear him. He coated his boots in a thin layer of flame—nothing formal, not a spell listed in any textbook, but a makeshift trick that let him dash forward with incredible speed. He slammed another Fiery Fist into the skull of a lunging wolf, its head snapping backward with a crack.
Xu Mang fired two more Lightning Strikes, frying smaller beasts that attempted to leap at the battlements. His control tightened under rain-soaked pressure. But something else stirred inside him—the newly awakened Intermediate spell's presence tugged faintly at his spiritual world.
Thunderclap.
He refused to cast it yet. Not with so many allies nearby. The area damage was too risky.
Below them, the swarm grew louder. More beasts rushed the wall, some using Earth Wave to propel themselves up the mud slopes. Dirt exploded beneath their feet as they launched themselves halfway up the breach.
Xu Mang countered instantly.
A violet glow shimmered between his fingertips.
"Lightning Strike."
The beast collapsed mid-air, dropping like a stone.
A pack of wolves managed to scale the broken stones, icy breath drifting from their fangs. Their jaws opened, cold blue light building inside their throats—
Ice Spread.
A sudden sheet of cyan ice erupted from somewhere behind them, freezing the top layer of mud. An Ice mage had cast a counter-spell. The wolves lost traction and slid backward into the swarm.
Lu Jun seized the moment, his hands sweeping in a precise pattern.
"Violent Waves."
A powerful surge of water crashed downward through the breach, washing several beasts off the broken foundation entirely. The impact cracked the remaining stones further, but bought precious seconds.
The roar of the beast tide intensified.
The second wave was coming.
Mo Fan smashed another Fiery Fist into a wolf's spine and shouted, "They're piling at the center! They want to widen the breach!"
Xu Mang looked at Lu Jun and completed the thought. "We need to collapse the inside slope. Make it harder for them to climb."
Lu Jun nodded instantly, drawing his Water stars again.
"Violent Waves!"
This time he directed the water sideways, turning it into a battering ram that hammered the inner foundation, causing part of the walkway to crumble into an uneven cliff. The beasts would struggle to climb that.
Lightning flickered overhead. A bolt struck a tower at the far west end with a deafening boom. Xu Mang felt it—the surge of beast aura from the direction of the marshlands.
The first true commander of the night was approaching.
He didn't need to see it to know.
"Lu Jun," Xu Mang said quietly, "the timeline is accelerating again."
"I know," Lu Jun replied. "We weren't supposed to face this commander until Mo Fan returned from the Holy Spring."
Mo Fan stiffened. "The hell does that mean?"
Xu Mang pointed toward the horizon.
A massive silhouette lumbered through the trees. Its fur glistened with dark water. Its roar shook nearby rooftops and sent sparks flying from the lanterns on the wall.
Xu Mang whispered, "Commander-level Black Wolf Winged Beast."
The hunters on the wall paled.
One shouted, "We can't fight that! Where's Captain Zhan Kong?!"
He wasn't here.
He was underground with Mo Fan's destiny.
He couldn't be at the wall yet.
The entire northern side of Bo City was exposed.
Lu Jun gritted his teeth. "If it reaches the breach, the wall collapses completely."
Xu Mang raised his hand, stars flickering violet. "We need to buy time."
"You're not thinking of using Thunderclap, are you?" Lu Jun hissed.
Xu Mang didn't answer.
The commander roared again, sending lesser beasts scattering. It began its run directly toward the broken wall.
Mo Fan took a step forward. Flames ignited at his fists again. "I can distract it—"
"No," Xu Mang snapped.
Mo Fan blinked. "Why not?"
Lu Jun grabbed him by the shoulder. "Trust us."
The commander charged, mud exploding behind it.
Xu Mang traced the intermediate diagram in his mind. The stars resonated. The spiritual world shook. Violet light surrounded his arm like a forming storm.
Thunderclap.
The Intermediate Lightning spell.
A full-area concussive blast.
He aimed away from the hunters, positioning himself at the very edge of the wall.
Lightning surged inside his arm. The sky answered with a violent flash.
"Xu Mang—!" Lu Jun shouted.
The commander's roar swallowed the rest.
Xu Mang released the spell.
"Thunderclap!"
A violent explosion of violet lightning burst outward, smashing into the oncoming tide. Dozens of beasts were thrown back instantly. The ground cratered from the impact, the air shaking with the force of the concussive wave.
Rain instantly turned to steam.
Beasts flew.
Mud vaporized.
A path of destruction carved itself directly through the horde.
But the commander was bigger.
Stronger.
More resilient.
It slowed…
but did not fall.
Xu Mang staggered backward. Casting Thunderclap without proper foothold drained half his energy instantly. His chest tightened; his breath caught.
Lu Jun steadied him. "You idiot. You weren't supposed to cast that yet."
"It bought us ten seconds," Xu Mang muttered, breathing hard. "Use them."
Mo Fan didn't waste them. He lit his fists and streamed forward, casting Fire Burst at the beasts climbing the walls again. Lu Jun unleashed another Violent Waves to push the nearest beasts back.
The commander regained its footing.
It roared, shaking loose debris from nearby buildings.
Xu Mang felt the air shift.
Something was coming from the west.
A figure blurred through the rain, landing on the wall with a force that cracked the stone beneath him.
Zhan Kong.
His coat flapped violently in the storm wind. His eyes were cold. Dead cold.
"You three," he said without looking back, "off the wall."
They didn't argue.
They dropped behind the battlements.
Zhan Kong faced the commander alone.
The rain fell harder.
The beasts roared louder.
The city braced itself for the darkest night in its history.