"Luckily this cabin is already pretty damaged, so we can use the scattered pieces of wood," said Hexon, carrying five wooden planks at once to Dens, who was closing the main entrance door to the cabin.
"But, that's also a sign that this cabin is very vulnerable to collapse. So, stay alert."
"Wood elves and undeads are in battle, I can't estimate the distance, but there are almost a hundred of them," Gans said as he went down.
Hexon smiled while handing the planks he carried to Dens, "We'll die if that's the case."
"I'm sure they're NPCs, such a large number is unlikely for players," replied Dens while continuing to assemble the planks he received to block the entrance door.
"Alright, I just wanted to tell that. I'll go back and rest, if yo—"
"We need you to find a way out, please find it before you sleep," Dens interrupted Gans.
Gans nodded and, in a half-run, went to search for a way out.
"If we had the old Gans, from before the update, maybe half of their numbers could be killed by him alone now," Hexon said with a small laugh.
Dens smiled while receiving the planks brought by Hexon, "And you'll handle the rest, typical."
###
Piercing screams began to be heard, as well as the thundering sound of horses hooves approaching them.
Zhendra, who was monitoring from a small hole in the window covered with planks, began to sweat despite the cold night air.
The bright light that was previously seen in the distance slowly approached, along with the flames, which moved swiftly in a wagon that continued moving without its pulling horse.
Dozens of wood elves still riding their horses attempted to shoot arrows several times at the fast and slow moving undead group heading towards them.
Meanwhile, about dozens other wood elves who had lost their horses were forced to run or fight directly. Those running were civilians without armor, some were children, and there were even babies among them.
As for those fighting with small shields and gleaming swords under the moonlight of unique elven weapons, they successfully killed the undead one by one, but the overwhelming number of undead was too much for them to handle.
The Sun of Lion Knight group, once again, witnessed the wood elves' forces being defeated in the slaughter.
The shouts and cries of troops and children were loud. The sounds of swords and shields clashing were intense. The sounds of horses expressing their pain from being pierced, slashed, and burned. And the growls of the undead reveling in the slaughter they were committing. All these sounds became clearer and woke up all the members of the Sun of Lion Knight who were asleep.
Without needing to ask or exchange words, they could all see directly the slaughter happening not far from them.
Natasha started shedding tears, witnessing wood elf babies, her kin, brutally killed. Some of the babies were trampled by horses running aimlessly because their riders had been slain. Some were even dragged along by those horses.
Preta, standing right beside Natasha, also shed tears as his gaze focused only on the undead devouring the babies until their eyeballs popped out and their loud cries vanished as the undead severed the arteries in their neck with a bite.
Zhendra, watching the scene unfold, had tears flooding his eyes and cheeks. He could clearly see a little wood elf girl with a sword thrust through her neck. After her lifeless body fell, the undead immediately split her chest open and took her heart. Not stopping there, they beheaded her and kicked her head to a wood elf troop riding a horse, causing him to fall and be crushed by a burning wagon.
While their three friends mourned, Hexon and Gans grinned, finding entertainment in the slaughter.
Hexon even chuckled a bit when he couldn't resist his laughter, seeing an elf troop trying to fend off the undead only to die by being hit by a burning wagon. Moreover, his body got stuck in the wagon and was dragged quite far, evident from the blood dripping onto the ground.
Gans, although not laughing like Hexon, was enjoyed when he witnessed what he had been waiting for, a wood elf with both hands and feet severed, then his chest tethered to a horse whipped by undead. Gans was happy to see the wood elf suffering towards his death.
Dens, unable to bear it, immediately moved towards Preta and pulled him, "We need to get ready, they're coming. Should we defend or run?"
Preta, still crying, tried to hold back his tears and sorrow, "Defend."
"Are you crazy?" Crocils said, approaching Preta, "There are too many of them, we won't stand a chance. We'd better run."
"He's right, we should run while we still can," Vector said, about to go down.
In sobs, Preta replied, "If y-you go... you'll die."
"That's true. The wood elves ride horses from their kind, much faster than our horses, but they are still catchable," Gans said, preparing his bow and arrows.
"So, are we defending?" Vector stopped in his tracks and turned, "We'll die with them in such numbers."
"No, as long as we can hold on until dawn," Preta said after he managed to regain control.
This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
"If we defend, we need to think of a plan, not just one but many, including a plan to escape if we fail to hold on," Dens said, putting on armor and preparing his sword.
"Check your ammunition, items, and other things," Preta said, also wearing armor and preparing his weapons.
"111 arrows, 27 of them are almost damaged, and healing items," Gans said, pointing his arrows towards the slaughter, ready to attack whenever the command is given.
"Total of eight healing items, everyone gets one except for Vector, Crocils, and Zhendra. I've already got theirs earlier," replied Natasha, wiping away the leftover tears on her face.
"Alright, each of us just carries one, and the rest give to Natasha," responded Preta, taking a moment to drink from their water pouch.
Vector, Crocils, and Zhendra, who were getting ready, handed over their healing items to Natasha.
"Nat, these healing things give you five HP, so use them wisely," said Dens. "My HP and Hexon's are 12, the rest default to 10."
"What about Def, who's the weakest?" Natasha asked, organizing all the healing items to keep them secure.
"I'm at 6, the weakest, I think," said Preta, scraped his sword against the wooden floor.
"Hass should be the same, 8," Vector replied, busy finding a good window for his attack.
"I'm at 10, and Zhendra should be at 10 too because our body attributes are the same," Gans replied, watching the wood elves briefly hold back the seemingly endless horde of undead.
"I'm at 14, I'll guard the lower area," said Dens, storing their water pouches and fruit rations in a safe place.
Hexon, examining his longsword, said, "20, I'm the highest."
"Alright, thanks," replied Natasha, ready for battle.
Preta, who had finished making some marks on the wooden floor, called them all, "Alright, this is the cabin layout, we've got two floors. The first floor has just one room in the northwest, to the east, there's a staircase, and to the south, there's a kitchen, equipment area, and a back door. The main entrance, closed by Dens and Hexon, is in the east directly facing the fireplace. On the second floor, there are three rooms, all of them in the south. Do you guys get the layout?"
Preta then made circular marks on the layout, "Enemies are coming from the north, so our main focus is on the north. Dens will guard area one —the room downstairs, the kitchen, and the back door. Hexon will guard area two —the staircase and the main entrance. Dens, if there are too many enemies, retreat immediately, same goes for Hexon. Focus the defense on the staircase."
"Got it," said Dens and Hexon at the same time.
"Zhendra, you'll be watching the north on the second floor, making it area three. Area four will be watched by Crocils on the west, area five will be watched by Vector on the east. Natasha will keep an eye on room three in the middle to see the south, and that's area six," continued Preta, giving his instructions while pointing his sword as a marker.
Preta looked at all the members to ensure they understood what he told, "Gans and I will roam around to provide assistance and relay messages. If the defense downstairs starts struggling, Gans will be on the stairs shooting enemies. And if enemies climb to the second floor, I'll help out."
"So, my only report is if enemies are seen from the south?" said Natasha.
Preta took a quick breath, "Right, the southern part should be safe because there's no opening except in the Hexon area, which is the fireplace part. And whatever happens, if you're overwhelmed, retreat to the stairs. Gans told me that he saw a small tunnel under the stairs. He doesn't know where it leads, but we can use it to escape."
"Got it," said Natasha.
Dens, after looking at the map, stood up and prepared his sword, "Cloth armor adds one defense, remember that. It also dampens damage for piercing and bludgeoning, so avoid swords or scratches if you can."
Zhendra, done looking at the map, immediately looked back to the slaughter location, "The undead seems to be ušfrām, they'll die when exposed to sunlight, so they'll leave when dawn is near."
"I already know, that's why I said we just need to hold on until dawn," replied Preta. "Can you estimate when dawn will arrive?"
Zhendra moved to his right to get a better view, after a moment of silence, he said, "Four hours less, but the ušfrām will leave in three hours if their hiding place isn't far enough."
"In that case, stay quiet as long as possible. Three hours is a long time if we attract attention," said Dens.
"Preta, I don't know if this will be useful or not, but I only have enough SP for 15 spells, no more," said Vector, returning from his self-UI.
"How long does it take to cast a spell if your SP runs out?" asked Preta.
"Five minutes, but if the SP runs out continuously, it will drain energy. So, I suggest waiting for six minutes."
"I do too, and I've got bad news —Force Arrow isn't available. It seems tied to the staff taken by Liberté Naïve," said Crocils, who had just returned from his self-UI.
"You can aim slashes at the neck and pierce the eyes. If their neck is severed, it'll kill them, and if their eyes are blind, it'll make things harder for them," replied Zhendra, who had returned to his position.
"As much as possible, aim for the eyes if they're still far away. It'll mess up their coordination, and they might end up fighting each other. Remember, ušfrām are foolish creatures, not intelligent beings," said Preta. "Refresh yourselves with water, then disperse and get ready."
"Got it."
#- Area 3 -#
Wood elves pursued by the ušfrām were killed and devoured one by one. After half an hour, only eighteen wood elves were left, mostly civilians. Meanwhile, the remaining ušfrām were still numerous.
"About two hundred meters, get ready," whispered Zhendra to Preta, who was beside him.
The night air was cold enough that when Preta exhaled, he could see the mist coming out of his mouth.
"Ušfrām, the harbingers of death. The air is getting colder," replied Preta. "How many of them are there?"
"Still dozens, but not more than a hundred. Maybe around fifty."
"Regardless, they're swift and feel no pain. I'll inform the others, may Javers be with you," said Preta, turning around to tell the message to the others.
Zhendra smiled upon hearing that and whispered so softly that it was almost inaudible even to someone next to him, "Javers? He's very faithful. May Ghiloke protect you."
#- Area 1 -#
"Two hundred meters, about fifty. Get ready," Preta said to update Dens, who was in a room in his area.
"Got it. By the way, I just got rations from the kitchen, stored it well, and we can use it. Can you secure it?" replied Dens.
"Okay, but Dens, don't tell anyone, but I'm not sure this will hold, I mean, none of us might survive. And if I die first, lead them, don't try to hold on, just escape."
Dens gently punched Preta's chest while smiling, "A Hors never flees. We trust you, so trust yourself. Natasha will heal you if you get hurt."
Preta taking a deep breath and exhaling, "May Javers be with you."
Dens' smile faded, his face covered in question marks, "Javers? Who's that? Are you praying?"
And Preta just realized it; he chuckled softly, "TAGAR influences again. It seems like it is a prayer, and hopefully, it works."
"I respect you, but Hors doesn't pray in war."