Boom!


    A loud explosive sound suddenly rang as the Femme Silver General broke into a swift sprint towards the Ruins Gate behind them. After witnessing the tragic death of her colleague, she no longer cared to stick around any longer.


    As for dominating this Planetoid? she figured those at the top would handle that matter.


    "Ah. Leaving without saying goodbye? you can''t do that in a foreign land or that would be considered rude" a light chuckle that sounded like the melodious jingling of bells rang out as a long wooden vine shot out from the ground, wrapping around the Femme Silver General.


    Ting!


    Sparks flew as the Femme Silver General attempted to chop off the vine with one of her twin axes, only for both weapons to fly out of her grip. It was like her axes were made of grass and the vine was made of thick metal.


    Splurt!


    A fountain of green blood burst forth as the Vine moved like a crafty serpent, piercing right through the Femme Silver General, skewering her like grilled meat.. well, expect more of a bloody version.


    "You fought well Zion. An accolade won''t be enough to thank you for your selfless actions" a soft string of claps resounded as a graceful looking female appeared before Zion, standing on the branch of a huge tree like humanoid, whose thick roots was moving it forward.


    "Lieutenant Barbara!--- Arck!!" recognizing the newcomer, Zion attempted to stand straight in salute, however he suddenly hacked up a mouthful of blood as his body collapsed to the ground.


    However a wooden vine suddenly shot out, wrapping around him as he got hoisted up to one of the many branches on the wooden tree humanoid.


    "Good Soldier.. you didn''t let me down. Thanks to you, all the civilians in the town have been successful evacuated" Lieutenant Barbara gave Zion a thumbs up as she beamed with pride.


    Zion''s position was a crucial spot since it just happened to be the town''s entrance gate. If he had failed to hold off his position, the number of casualties suffered would have been tragic.


    Lieutenant Barbara knew just how powerful Zion was. With his abilities, escaping with his life wouldn''t have been difficult, after all, a Sword Warlock like him excelled in quick foot works. However he still chose to stay behind and endure so many life threatening injuries. Seeing one of her subordinates in this condition made her feel bad.


    She blamed herself for not providing backup earlier. Unfortunately her hands were tied. The Royal Sentinels were known as the Nation''s private armies whose duty was to protect the territories they were assigned to. However that was just a modest way to put things. In actual fact, they were the dogs of the Noble Families.


    Take for instance the Ruins Rift and the sudden Raid. Lieutenant Barbara should''ve led the Eagle Squad to evacuate the civilians and defend the town. Yet, she was forced to compromise because she was too preoccupied trying to bring the members of the Noble Houses in Yellow Peach Springs to a safe house. The part that made her vexed the more was that the members of the Noble Household had robust Cultivation and powerful battle abilities. While the ordinary civilians who needed her help died like flies, she was busy sucking up to the Nobles..


    This vexed Lieutenant Barbara deeply, however she couldn''t go against their orders. Doing so would mean offending one of the Noble Houses, and that meant the end of her career in the military.Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.


    Fortunately, she had a diligent subordinate like Zion.


    "You should rest up. The third wave won''t start any time soon. We should use this as an opportunity to catch a breather" after saying this, the tree humanoid borrowed into the ground, disappearing from sight.


    When it did, it appeared above ground in front of a tall building. This was the Town Watchtower.


    Every Fiefdom had one. It was intended to be the the most fortified place and also the highest spot so in case an enemy launched an attack, the Sentinels at the Watch Tower would know firsthand and warn the Fiefdom residents.


    "Lieutenant!" two Sentinels who stood in patrol at the entrance instantly saluted when they saw Lieutenant Barbara.


    "Take him to the Healers. He is in critical condition and I want him patched up as quick as possible" dispelling the tree humanoid back into a large hex pattern, Lieutenant Barbara handed Zion''s unconscious body to the two Sentinels before making her way into fortified watch tower.


    The Watchtower was a large and tall structure that consisted of twenty floors. On the first floor, what greeted Lieutenant Barbara''s eyes were several Sentinels and Sentries patrolling around in a busy manner. Each one of them numbered around twenty, gathering whatever weapons they could and appeared ready to engage in battle.


    "Lieutenant! you''ve returned!" a handsome looking man in the attire of the Royal Sentinels approached Lieutenant Barbara as he saluted.


    His name was Benjamin, her trusted confidant and a member of the Eagle Squad.


    "Are these the people who can fight?" Lieutenant Barbara appeared disappointed as she scanned her eyes around.


    "I am afraid so.." Benjamin sighed as both he and Lieutenant Barbara continued walking forward, with him being a small step behind her.


    This was basic etiquette that was taught to all young Sentinels during their early days at the Boot Camp.


    "No Thanks to the War at the Capital City, the strongest manpower of the Sentry Guilds have been sent off there to provide reinforcement. Yellow Peach Springs is a small town, that means the manpower of our Platoon is slightly above average.. not to mention that we were hit with seven sudden level two Ruins Rift.. with all these setbacks and this town''s military statistics, it is a real miracle that we managed to survive two waves " Benjamin chuckled.


    "We? what did the Eagle Squad do? Oh right! we were too busy sucking up to those arrogant SOBs!"


    "Ah Lieutenant, I didn''t hear that " Benjamin shook his head with a wry smile, realizing who Barbara''s taunts were directed at.


    "Hm. Don''t you feel there''s something weird about all of this?" Lieutenant Barbara suddenly asked with a serious expression.


    "Do you have an insight to share?" Benjamin became attentive.


    It was unknown whether he was genuinely interested, or just doing so as a sign of respect.


    "I am not a Sentry, however my Uncle was one. Growing up, he taught me a thing or two. According to him, a Ruins Rift is often preceeded by symptoms that poins to a Rift happening.. according to him, it is an action done by the world to warn its residents .. however this Ruins Rift just happened all if a sudden, catching all of us by surprise " Lieutenant Barbara frowned suspiciously.


    "Maybe the symptoms were there but the Sentry Guilds were to lax to discover it?" Benjamin shrugged.


    "There''s another reason why I feel something strange. If I didn''t know better, I would say we were attacked by the Xuan Beasts "


    "What?!" this time, Benjamin become genuinely frightened.


    Although the Kingdom of Nightshade was cut off from the rest of Utopia, History studies taught about the other races that existed alongside the Human race. However many of the regular folks treated them as things of myths.


    However as a member of the Royal Sentinel Corp who worked closely with the Noble Households, Benjamin knew a thing or two. Although he had no idea the Kingdom of Nightshade was sealed away, he knew that the other races truly existed and were not myths created by delusional old folks. And according to the way the history books depicted them, they were BAD NEWS!


    "However, I have read a lot of books. These monsters are not listed there in the hierarchy of the Xuan Beasts " these words caused Benjamin to sigh in relief..


    However he couldn''t help but give his lieutenant a strange look.


    "But why would you have that kind of suspicion in the first place?"


    "Well, I encountered one of them.. using Overdrive. Have you ever heard of a Feind Beast using Overdrive with that little intelligence they possesses?"


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    —[Author Note: SOBs means Sons Of B*tches. It is a crude insult. I happened to learn it while watching a TV show lol. Happy Reading!]