As the Magic Beast army moved, roars echoed through the clouds.
Seeing this, Chen Bugu cursed under his breath, then pulled Han Badou and Old Zhou, running back and leaving Master Fran standing bewildered.
It wasn't until Chen Bugu and the others had run far away that Master Fran came back to his senses, looking at their retreating figures with complex emotions.
Then, he walked to a war drum and personally beat it.
“Dong, dong, dong…”
Several Dwarf warriors rushed to Master Fran's side, their faces urgent. Seeing their leader unusually silent, beating the war drum without a word, they exchanged glances, not understanding what had happened.
Master Fran gripped the drumsticks tightly, striking the drumhead with increasing force, each blow heavier than the last.
The drumhead vibrated, and the drum's sound reverberated; everyone on the City Wall looked up at the agitated but silent Dwarf leader.
The drumming gradually stopped, and Master Fran stood in place, his gaze firm.
The Dwarf warriors on one side, seeing their leader finally stop, rushed forward to inquire.
“Leader, what was with that red signal flare just now? Many people on the City Wall are already in a panic.”
A big-bearded Dwarf was the first to ask. They had all seen the red signal flare explode in the sky and had rushed from both sides of the City Wall to find out what was happening.
“Both Brain Bugs and a Nine-Star Magic Beast have appeared, right here on our side. Additionally, the Magic Beasts have received reinforcements, and their numbers are still increasing.”
Master Fran looked at the Dwarfs. They were the backbone of the Dwarf in Obsidian Town, his most trusted subordinates. Facing them, there was nothing to hide.
Master Fran looked down; many Awakeneds on the City Wall were looking up at him.
The Magic Beast army had moved. As per custom, he needed to give a motivational speech before the battle began.
He placed the drumsticks aside and walked towards the watchtower.
Seeing this, the Dwarf warriors quickly followed, arguing incessantly beside Master Fran.
“Leader, you must not tell the garrison the truth, otherwise, they will be intimidated before the fight, shaking morale, which will be even more detrimental to the upcoming battle!”
No sooner had the Dwarf on Master Fran's left finished speaking than the Dwarf on his right quickly retorted.
“Nonsense! Whether it's the Nine-Star Magic Beast or the increase in the Magic Beast army's numbers, as the battle begins, it will inevitably be impossible to hide from the Awakeneds of all races.”
“If we hide it now, and later everyone discovers it and connects it to the red signal, they will surely believe we concealed information to harm them. At that time, Awakeneds of all races on the City Wall will become suspicious of each other, trust will be lost, morale will collapse, and the defensive strength will first face internal problems, which will probably be even harder to salvage!”
“Leader, the situation cannot be hidden. We must inform the Awakeneds of all races beforehand so everyone can prepare!”
Master Fran ignored the arguments around him and walked onto the watchtower alone.
The distant Magic Beast army was dense, seemingly having returned to its original state.
As the Magic Beast army began to run, dust immediately obscured the sky, and the dark mass of Magic Beasts pressed down like black clouds over the city.
Suddenly, a drop of rain fell from the sky, and it actually started to rain, followed by lightning and thunder.
A flash of lightning illuminated Master Fran's figure.
On the City Wall, everyone's gaze was fixed on him.
He stood on the wall, took a deep breath, and then shouted.
“Listen, you softies of all races!”
“The Magic Beast army retreated, replenished its forces, and is now returning.”
“Our South City Wall has also welcomed its first Nine-Star Magic Beast!”
As he finished speaking, the City Wall immediately became noisy, with many people discussing amongst themselves.
Chen Bugu had now returned to Bai Ting and the others, and they quietly watched Master Fran.
“Any softie who wants to run, you can get lost now!”
“But remember, if you run once, you'll have to keep running for the rest of your life!”
“We were thrown into this world like clowns, having already lost everything.”
“When it was time to reclaim our homeland, we retreated… But this time, the Dwarf will fight to the death and not retreat!”
“The red signal has been sent; our reinforcements are on their way!”
“Before reinforcements from other City Walls arrive, show the backbone of our South City Wall!”
“A mere Nine Star beast, I will personally smash its head!”
Master Fran raised the war hammer in his right hand high. Rain hung on his beard, and lightning illuminated his eyes.
“For yourselves, for our homeland, kill for me!”
Heavy rain pounded on the stone bricks of the City Wall, the sound of rain accompanied by Master Fran's roar, echoing across the City Wall.
“Kill!”
“Kill!”
“Kill!”
Starting with the Dwarf, and then Awakeneds of other races, everyone stood up, feeling a surge of fighting spirit Ignite in their hearts.
The Awakeneds of all races, at this moment, would defend their dignity with blood and cold blades.
They returned to their respective positions.
Amidst the heavy rain, countless sharp arrows, mixed with huge stones, were again launched from the City Wall, whistling towards the distant Magic Beast army.
Before Master Fran descended from the watchtower, he exchanged glances with Chen Bugu.
Chen Bugu admitted he had underestimated this Dwarf leader.
Which Awakened who has lived to this day has not skirted the edge of death?
Everyone understood that if the City Wall was breached, people would have nowhere to escape.
Therefore, what the defenders needed was only a determination to “burn their bridges,” and this determination had to be given by the strongest here—Master Fran.
And that Nine-Star Magic Beast, whether Master Fran truly had the ability to smash its head or not, he had already shown his attitude.
Everyone needed this attitude. Regardless of life or death, as long as someone could hold back the Nine-Star Magic Beast, this battle would not yet be completely hopeless.
Chen Bugu withdrew his gaze. Master Fran might still be too weak against a Nine-Star Magic Beast, but he had no choice, and neither did anyone else.
At this moment, the Magic Beast army had once again approached to less than a mile from the City Wall.
In the section Chen Bugu was defending, Awakeneds of all races centered around Chen Bugu and his group, consciously standing on both sides, instinctively fighting around them.
Chen Bugu stood on the City Wall, and Jade Ripple fired water arrows.
Due to the heavy rain, the Water Element in the air was far richer and more active than usual.
The joyful Water Elements allowed him to manipulate them, making every water arrow fired by Jade Ripple significantly more powerful than usual.
For Magic Beasts below Six-Star, coupled with Weakness Detection, Chen Bugu could almost instantly kill them at will.
However, this time, the quality of the Magic Beast army was much stronger than during the first wave of attack, with a large number of Six-Star Magic Beasts charging forward.
When encountering certain Magic Beasts with particularly strong defenses, Chen Bugu's water arrows could not achieve success with a single strike.
Fortunately, in this weather, there was still a large amount of lightning element in the air.
Bai Ting stood beside Chen Bugu, feeling such a vast amount of lightning element in the air for the first time.
Every time Chen Bugu fired a water arrow, he would follow it with a flash of electricity.
Below the City Wall, water arrows mixed with blood and rain flowed freely, while the lightning in the sky and the electric arcs moving on the ground reflected each other.
At this moment, people briefly illuminated the darkness!