Endless Evolution: Last Star

Step. Step. Step.

Like a deadly shadow, Katrin ran forward, seeing in the distance many figures trying to reach the Fortress of the Lone Serpent as soon as possible.

From time to time, they were attacked by monsters lurking beneath the black sand, but although individually they were not as strong as Katrin, the Phantoms could easily handle the attacks.

However, they all realized that this was just the beginning. The real danger awaited them in the fortress, but the high walls were their only way to defend themselves during the Eclipse.

It was only the beginning, the first few minutes, so the waves of monsters hadn't arrived yet, but with every second, even in an empty area like the one around the fortress, there were more and more monsters.

Monsters that were sleeping or waiting for a good moment to attack, now came out from under the layers of sand, going to take advantage of the Phantoms' plight.

Katrin didn't pay much attention to this, none of the monsters tried to attack her as she kept her aura active at full power.

A chill of fear ran through the monsters' bodies, not allowing them to even twitch while Katrin was nearby, but it had nothing to do with the fortress protector.

When one Phantom had come here recently, the lone defender had shamefully lost and fled, now he had a chance to rectify the situation and restore his name.

Yet, the monster was still waiting for its time since Katrin was the first Phantom to reach the bridge.

Looking around, Katrin narrowed her eyes.

"Alan, how many Phantoms are moving here? Count only those who are in my field of vision and will be here soon." Katrin said sternly.

A few seconds and she had her answer:

'Considering that they gathered in eight groups, 84 Phantoms are moving towards you right now, however, that's only the ones that entered the Lands of the Lone Serpent, that is, the border of the far hills. I think in half an hour there will be several hundred Phantoms here, all from the nearest points.'

Katrin's eyes went wide for a moment. She wasn't surprised when she heard 84, but several hundred Phantoms was an impressive number. The last time she'd seen one was when she'd accepted a mission to defend the Citadel from one of the Eclipse, that was a couple of months ago.

'Hmmm...' Katrin internally hummed, 'Considering that Phantoms not only go to Nests and Strongholds but also to the usual monsters walking around and for resources, that number is quite realistic, also don't forget the size of the area around the fortress.'

Under any other circumstances, Phantom would have no reason to gather in one place in such numbers, but there were simply no other Strongholds within a radius of many kilometers.

"Fine, I hope they know that the only entrance is only on the west side of the fortress? There's no point in trying to get through the walls."

Alan nodded deeply.

'Sure, however... I don't think they'll all clearly follow the instructions of their Operators and military.'

Katrin looked ahead, watching the two squads approaching her. They ran close to the walls, and...

Splash.

At the same moment, out of the murky water ring, jumped a massive creature - the Blinding Sylphyre.

The squad closest to the monster stopped for a moment, while the second squad glanced back but kept moving, wanting to reach Katrin and enter the fortress together.

However... for the first squad, the Blinding Sylphyre's appearance was a critical factor.

One of them, possibly the leader, or maybe a simple member of the squad, shouted:

"Fuck! Did you see that shit! That monster is definitely not going to let us get across the bridge!" Stay updated via My Virtual Library Empire

Soon, a solution to this problem appeared:

"Wait, there's no need to panic! I can freeze the water for a while and create an ice path right up to the walls!"

The girl with the staff in her hand looked uncertainly at her mates:

"Agh? There might be monsters in there, right?"

The broad-chested man grinned widely.

"Don't worry, we're a strong squad! Even if it's the Red Zone we can handle the few monsters waiting for us on the walls!"

"Yeah, I agree, it's much better than trying to kill that huge fish! We need to defend the walls, not the bridge! Everything else doesn't matter!"

Not even a minute passed from their discussion before they quickly nodded to each other and sprang into action.

Each of them was a K2-Phantom, they were experienced fighters that had gone through many difficult trials in their history and defeated hundreds of monsters.

And, their plan actually made sense, even Katrin appreciated it.

"Hmm, it would be better if they followed orders and we all gathered in one place, but a few squads inside the fortress will make it easier for us to get in."

Whooooooooooooosh.

Simultaneously, the Phantoms from the first squad fired several ice projectiles. Following their plan, they froze part of the water ring so that the Blinding Sylphyre wouldn't get in their way, then with the combined efforts of their ice abilities, they created a long bridge leading straight to the top of the wall.

A few more and the bridge would have been finished, the Blinding Sylphyre saw what they were doing but could not interfere with them, the first squad's plan was working.

But... maybe the Blinding Sylphyre's involvement was unnecessary?

Suddenly, Katrin's eyes went wide when she saw a moving shadow on one of the four towers closest to the first squad.

A purple flash dispersed from the tower, coming from a bright sphere, a massive arrow strung on the bowstring of a great bow in the monster's long paws.

Katrin shouted sharply with a sweep of her arm.

"Fuck! Defend yourselves!"

Oddly enough, the first squad had already raised their defenses, but... that did nothing to stop one of the four archers.

Whiiizzz.

With a strange shuddering sound like the flight of a plasma spear, the purple arrow swept through the wind currents, in a heartbeat reaching the first squad.

A bright flash illuminated the entire area for a moment, an explosion field, before disappearing leaving behind only a deep crater.

Sand tumbled down the gutters, and murky water mixed with bones and bits of flesh drowned in the blood of several Phantoms, or so they were until this second.