"Hold steady! Be alert!"


    "Pace yourselves everyone! We''re in for the long haul!"


    "Damn pests! Die!"


    "Aim properly! How can you even miss when there arerge clusters of them? Are you dumb!?"


    "Watch out for the Insect Demons, they could somehow avoid the bombardment."


    The cacophony of screams and shouts echoed atop the city walls. The current situation was too hectic for everybody and the atmosphere was tense.


    Down and outside the city, the growing see of horrors were inly visible to them. The horde of demons was seemingly endless. Some of them actually wonder if they had enough artillery shells to support this long-term bombardment. This defense will surely cost the city a lot.


    Thankfully, even with all the chaos so far, the situation was fairly stable. Only a handful of demons were able to survive the bombardment and those who did were dealt with swiftly by their ground troops.


    The sudden appearance of the Insect Demons threw them off guard for a bit but that has passed now. People just don''t have time to linger at the surprise. If they do, more of them will die. Thankfully, everybody who''s participating in this defense had experience and could adjust swiftly.


    So far, they''ve seen Beast Demons, Insect Demons, and Avian Demons. If anybody was counting the horde so far, they must''ve lost count already due to how hectic it is here.


    The ck Sky was really horrible. Thankfully, the Lighthouse provides them with sufficient brilliance to see their enemies. This battle would''ve been lost before it started if they didn''t have that around.


    Of course, the Lighthouse was strictly defended as well. Even though it was near the core of the city, far from the heat of the battle and invulnerable so far, they just couldn''t let it be without protection since it was crucial for the defense.


    It will only take one deranged fool to turn that thing off and the city will be destroyed. They can''t be having that.


    On the east side of the city walls, the siege looked more intense. The number of demons appearing on this side seems to be greaterpared to other sides.


    This caused the people who were originally stationed here to ask for reinforcements, and they received it. Still, they''re having a more difficult time even with the backup.


    Thankfully though, someone came to help them out greatly...


    BOOM! BOOM!


    A woman fired off beams of concentrated magical energy towards the horde, decimatingrge clusters at once. Her face was solemn and chilling, one could even say that she''s disgusted right now.


    She twirled her wooden staff and summoned numerous cial spears behind her. She then pointed her staff at the horde below and the spears flew off.


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!


    The ground shook when the cial spearsnded, the attack itself leftrge clusters of sharp icicles behind that formed a wall, slowing down the advancement of the horde.


    Some demons foolishly tried to break the icicle wall while some cleverly evaded it.


    The woman didn''t seem to care about how they dealt with herst attack because she was already casting another one.


    This time, four magical circles appeared behind her as she mmed the butt of her staff on the ground. She closed her eyes and concentrated, she then focused her mana on the medium andunched a spell that caused gravity to lose its meaning.


    Numerous demons started floating, and even the flying ones lost control over their body. The spell seemed to affect a 1km zone where gravity was nullified.


    Then, from behind her, the magical circles shed and releasedrge meteorites oozing withva. She then shot it at the floating enemies, burying them in the residual pool ofva that herst spell left behind.


    The humans who witnessed her might be d that she was on their side, they couldn''t help but admire her sheer skill at weaving one spell after another. Herst attack actually disyed her ability to dual-cast spells, which is a rat ability even amongst the army of mages that have gathered in this city.


    This woman is Francine Monalise, also known as; the ''Prodigal Witch''. She''s an A-rank Superhuman Mage who reached Tier 5. Her ss is called the ''Elemental Witch'' - a legendary tier ss which she bought from the shop. Also, she came from a wealthy family, like a really, really wealthy family.


    She''s considered a genius because of her innate aptitude and willingness to pursue the path of a Mage, but her real strength lies in her wealth, why else would she be called the ''Prodigal Witch'' then?


    Almost all of the expensive skills that the System Shop offered? She has it in her possession. She even learned most of them and could use them effectively in battle. ording to what the public knows, Francine knows and uses at least 30 powerful spells, which should''ve been impossible. Additionally, her equipment was also the most expensive stuff avable on the market.


    Technically, she shouldn''t be able to learn more than 10 spells at her level and even with her ss. But this was only applicable to those who couldn''t afford the means to buy items that give them additional Spell Slots. Francine? She has a bracelet that allows her to add 10 more Spell Slots equipped, and she has two of them.


    Money has never been a problem for her. Even with the way she wantonly spends her inheritance, she would still have enough to live for at least five lifetimes, that''s how wealthy her family was.


    But while most people are dazzled with her ability to wantonly spend money, even granting her the monicker of the Prodigal Witch in the process, her alignment was very much clear from the way she performed at the city defense.


    She hates demons to her core. Not only she''s disgusted by their existence, she abhors them for some reason. It is said that the reason why she''s learning all sorts of spells, not minding how much money she wastes by doing so, was to ensure that she''d have sufficient firepower to deal with them by herself.


    And behind all the glitter and mour she exudes, people can''t deny that she has talent. Buying all sorts of spells to learn was one thing, sessfully learning them and using them effectively was entirely different.


    Right, Francine was also one of the VVIPs in the city. Rumor has it that she bought her way to this status, which shouldn''t be possible, but like what was mentioned, Francine''s family was really rich. With that much wealth, the means avable to her would be numerous so the rumor might just be correct.


    ''I should really pace myself here...they said that the ck Sky wouldst for a week at most. It hasn''t even been a day since this started.'' She mused inwardly while weaving spells at the enemy.


    ''But damn it! These demons are just really insufferable! They''re irritating to look at! Seeing them just irks me to the point of violent hostility!''


    Boom! Boom! Boom!


    ''Whatever, I''ve got a lot of options to restore my mana anyway. If I run out of it, I could always just buy more. I''m sure the System Shop will never run out of them.''


    Because of her deep-seated hatred against demons, it took little to no convincing to have help with the city''s defense. Arishem visited her once the announcement was made and he didn''t need to say much to get her help.


    Hell, she even nearly volunteered for it.


    Actually, yeah she is a volunteer. While the rest were promisedpensation should the city survive this event, Francine has no need for it. Even if they wanted to pay her, she wouldn''t ept it because, to her, any rewards she might receive here would just be a spare change in her eyes due to her staggering wealth. So yes, she might as well be a volunteer.


    "Hmm?"


    Francine seemingly sensed something strange, causing her to peel her attention away from the enemies below her. She turned towards the city and narrowed her eyes.


    She scanned her surroundings for a bit but failed to notice anything strange. She was skeptical at first but after failing to notice anything, she shook her head.


    ''I could''ve sworn I sensed something just now...'' she mused inwardly.


    She sensed a presence brushing near her range. It was faint and it didn''t linger so she wasn''t able totch to it. However, because everything happened too fast, she thought that must''ve thought wrong.


    ''Must be some kind of demon using illusions then.'' She thought to herself before nodding, ''Yeah, that makes sense. These demons are cunning and wretched. I wouldn''t put it past them to resort to such means.''


    Having that thought, her hatred against demons was re-ignited. Once again, she released a volley of spells at the horde below. The matter of that mysterious presence was thrown at the far corners of her mind, reced by the sheer need to kill more demons to appease her anger.


    Unfortunately for her, she was wrong this time. She did feel a presence, she just failed to see them because her means weren''t sufficient enough.


    However, that''s fine. What she failed to notice was spotted by someone within the city. She didn''t need to worry because that someone would deal with the thing she missed.