Chapter 231: The Protagonist Appears

A loud roar shook the earth, and following that roar, a strange phenomenon began to unfold. The magical beasts that had been frantically attacking the city walls suddenly stopped. The once fierce battle became quiet after they retreated, and this silence felt unsettling.

“Roar…” That loud roar came again, sending chills down everyone’s spine. Soon, the magical beasts below began to stir and slowly retreat. This sudden change was baffling.

“Retreating?” Seeing this, Rod couldn’t help but mutter to himself. Why were these magical beasts retreating? Logically, night should be when they attacked most fiercely. According to Hori, the main reason the beast horde was so dangerous was precisely at night.

Once the beast horde erupted, it would attack day and night, especially at night. Those magical beasts that operated at night became a threat of unimaginable scale, as night was their domain, their time to rule. It was this constant attack day and night that made the beast horde so dangerous. Otherwise, even with the entire continent’s forces mobilized, the threat wouldn’t be so great. But it was precisely because of this reason that what was happening now left Rod confused.

Looking at the people around him, each had a serious expression, staring intently at the horde ahead as if facing a great enemy. Rod sensed something was wrong. It wasn’t over yet; something else must be about to happen, otherwise, no one would be so solemn and anxious. “Boom, boom, boom…” As expected, just as Rod sensed something was off, a dull roar echoed, turning his face pale.

“Bad! Hold the line quickly! Don’t let those things get in! Hold on—everyone, resist!” An officer in military armor shouted at everyone upon seeing this.

The heavy roars struck everyone’s hearts like a dull blow.

“Hold the west side! Help is needed on the west!”
“Help is needed on the east!”
“Hold the center…” Calls for help spread throughout the city instantly. Requests for assistance from every sector made everyone’s hearts sink, realizing the situation had become critical.

“Has the main opponent arrived? Then let’s fight! I’ll give it my all today!” A royal-class warrior in his forties standing beside Rod muttered these words upon seeing the scene, his tone heavy, like the last words of a dying man, evoking a sense of melancholy.

“What’s going on?” Clearly, upon seeing this man, Rod knew he must be aware of what was happening.

“The biggest threat in these beast invasions comes from their powerful army of magical beasts. The core of this army consists of Earth Bears. Aside from them, even the lowest-ranked magical beasts are at the royal class, with some even reaching the sacred class. Their assault poses a great danger to us; if we can’t hold out, the city will be ruined.” Hearing Rod’s words, the man was stunned. He turned to look at Rod, his eyes flashing with curiosity as he regarded this man who had just become the focus of attention. For some reason, he had a premonition that this man might be able to help them withstand this onslaught—perhaps with him around, they might have a chance! He secretly smiled bitterly at this thought; maybe it was indeed the man’s previous actions that had convinced him.

“Ten years ago, twenty years ago—two beast invasions! I’ve crawled out of the dead twice before. This is the third time. Maybe it’s really time for me to fall here. My comrades have been waiting for me down there for a long time!” His gaze grew distant as he watched dark figures slowly approaching from afar. The man continued to speak to himself.

Hearing his words, Rod was shocked. Three times? This man had experienced three such beast invasions. It was hard to imagine anyone participating in so many battles against them. Twenty years ago, he must have been about the same age as Rod. What kind of strength did he have back then? How much luck did it take to survive? What about ten years ago? Rod stopped thinking further, his gaze toward the man filled with respect. Such a person deserved admiration and respect.

“What needs to be done? What will happen?” Taking a deep breath, Rod asked in a solemn voice. Talking more was pointless. It was better to gather some useful information now. With this man’s experience in dealing with multiple beast invasions, it might prove very helpful to him.

“There’s only one point of attack for them, and no one knows where that is. The other two sides will bear the assault from the other monsters! With attacks from three sides, one of them is their main target—the place where this powerful group of monsters will strike. Their task is to break through, and we must prevent them from succeeding. There’s not much we can do; we just need to hold the east side. Someone will deal with that group. Hopefully, we can hold them off!”
As the army of monsters grew closer, the man spoke in a low voice, his worry evident. Even someone as experienced as him couldn’t help but feel a hint of fear facing such a powerful enemy.
“Remember, if… if we really can’t hold on… then… retreat back. I’ll hold them off for you. You’re young; you still have many chances. Don’t waste your life here. I can hold them off for a while. With your abilities, escaping isn’t a problem!” His eyes flickered as he looked at Rod, took a deep breath, and seemed to make a decision before speaking in a firm voice.
His words left Rod stunned. He couldn’t believe he had heard such things and stared at the man in disbelief, not understanding what he meant.
“I don’t know your true identity, but I can sense that you’re not a bad person. You’re even younger than you appear now. I believe I’m not wrong. No matter what your purpose is, once you’re discovered, it’s impossible to hide your true identity from those in the field. Don’t rely too much on that. Consider this my last piece of advice!” With a slight smile, the man looked at Rod with a strange gaze as he spoke.
At that moment, Rod felt as if he had been struck hard. He stood there frozen, mouth agape, not knowing what to say. He thought his disguise was flawless, with no flaws to be found. How could this man see through it? This made Rod start to doubt the man’s identity.
“The east side! Their target is the east side! Send reinforcements quickly! We must stop them!” A roar echoed, silencing Rod’s words.
The thunderous footsteps seemed to be right beside his ears. Looking up, he was horrified to see those giant figures already at the city walls, beginning their attack.

The city walls were beginning to fail. Intense vibrations made it difficult to stand steadily, as if a massive earthquake had struck, leaving no sense of balance. If not for the walls’ strength and durability, they would likely have already collapsed under such repeated impacts.

As those giant magical beasts approached the eastern wall, the remaining beasts, led by several imperial-class ones, launched fierce attacks on the central and western walls! With danger emerging in the east, the west and center also faced severe crises!

This was because the huge threat in the east forced them to dispatch troops to assist. Meanwhile, the beasts that had previously been attacking from three directions now concentrated their attacks from two, sharply increasing the threat. This turn of events was beyond everyone’s expectations.

“Damn it!” Feeling the violent shaking of the walls and watching the Earth Bear, known for its extraordinary defense capabilities, relentlessly ravage the walls, Rod cursed inwardly as he noticed the tiny cracks forming in them. Several imperial-class warriors tried to organize a defense but were quickly eliminated by the other beasts before they could achieve anything. Even the magicians’ spells proved ineffective at this point—some of the beasts also possessed magical abilities, and their defensive spells were no weaker than those of human magicians. Coupled with the Earth Bear’s insane defenses, the spells, after consuming much of their energy, posed no real threat, causing only minor damage.

Rod was deeply troubled by this situation. The intelligence of these beasts far exceeded his imagination—they could coordinate their attacks so efficiently, which puzzled him. Although these beasts had reached a level where their intelligence rivaled that of a 16- or 17-year-old human, they shouldn’t have been able to achieve such coordination. His earlier doubts grew stronger. He felt there must be an unseen force manipulating everything; otherwise, how could the beasts be so united and focused, especially when natural enemies existed among them!

“Hmph, beasts! Retire at once!” A roar like thunder from the heavens crashed across the battlefield, forcing everyone to cover their ears. Soon after, several figures appeared on the eastern wall, glowing with purple light.

Upon closer inspection, it was discovered that there were five men standing steadily on top of the city wall. The loud shouting earlier had come from one of them, a man who appeared to be in his thirties or forties. He held two swords, each appearing to weigh dozens of kilograms and emitting a sharp chill, yet in his hands, such weapons seemed as light as toys.

Next was a man in his thirties standing in the middle, with his hands behind his back. His upright posture gave off a calm aura, and his pure white robe made him appear otherworldly. Since he was facing away from everyone, it was impossible to see his true face or expression.

Right beside him was a red-haired female mage with bun-like hair and two cold-looking warriors. This group of five immediately caught everyone’s attention, even making the wild Earth Bears below become slightly quieter.

“The Five Elements! The Five Elements have arrived! They’re here—great, now there’s hope!” After a moment, someone in the crowd first uttered these words, which quickly spread, and everyone in the city began cheering and getting excited.