The undead swarmed the walls like an endless tide. Pushing against the walls, they pressed into the safety of the Hueryss' shadow. The remaining army rushed towards the gates like it was Black Friday. Large abominations slammed fist, axe and hammer against the thick iron-bounded wooden gates. They buckled from the colossal strikes yet held firm as the defenders unleashed burning pitch and arrows from murder holes above.

Ghouls and vampires climbed the walls. The few that reached the top rampaged like unstoppable killers until they were finally swarmed and slain by the desperate defenders. The craftier ones found undefended areas to slink into the city and feed upon the vulnerable.

Fritz commanded the beastkin to defend the walls. He reunited with Marcelle amongst the chaos. The purple-tailed lamia, glowered as Fritz and Ada jogged upon the wide walls towards her. Marcelle was covered in the enemies blood. Toshi's battle harem was firing the last of their rounds as Toshi lay wounded nearby.

"Marcelle! They're threatening the gates. We need to plug the hole." Fritz yelled above the din of battle.

"Ada's alive?" Marcelle's lips turned upwards in disgust. "You're too lucky for your own good." Ada ignored her moving quickly to scan the battlefield.

"Fritz, they're everywhere." She said. Her voice was barely audible above the sounds of cannons.

"Fangirls!" Fritz yelled. The beastkin girls snapped to attention, immediately. "Grab the last of your shells, and throw them over the walls." The beastkin took a second to register the command before rushing into action. The remaining six shells were tossed over Hueyrss's walls, like trash. Fritz conjured a bottle of vodka before stuffing the opening with cloth. He ignited the Molotov cocktail and threw it towards the mortar shells.

"Get your boyfriend, and get him out of here." Fritz shouted.

"He's not our boyfriend!" One of the girls screeched, as a deep blush encompassed her cheeks. Fritz ignored her before continuing.

"Get him out! Take the mortar and start evacuating civilians towards the inner castle." Fritz turned on his heels towards the guardhouse.

"What was that supposed to do?" Ada asked looking over the walls.

"Come on!" Fritz said, motioning to his companions. The shells ignited in a huge explosion of shrapnel and burning holy water. Ada flinched as the sound of the explosion overwhelmed her.

They ran towards Gaspard within the guardhouse. The cannons inside shot masses of grapeshot. Small silver balls flew out of the barrels, ripping through the dead. Gaspard shouted like a madman, managing the cannon battery like a maestro. The guards fell into a steady rhythm of reloading and firing despite the battle.

"Give them no relief!" Boom. "Kill them!" Boom. Gaspard's "Avenge our warriors!" Boom. "Avenge my stupid brother!" Boom. Gaspard screamed, masking his pain underneath the cannon fire.

Underneath them, gigantic abominations sewn together from the remains of several warriors with grafted muscles and extra arms attacked the gates. Errant guards not manning the cannons, harried them from above.

"Fire! Fire! Fire!" Gaspard screamed. Immediately the cannons ignited their gunpowder, silver grapeshot flew out of the barrels.

"Gaspard! They're attacking the gates!"

"Fritz! They're everywhere."

"Just more to kill. We'll be fine if we can keep the main horde out." Fritz yelled.

"What do we do?"

"We need to plug the hole."

"How?!"

"Move the cannons out the way. Take the napalm barrels, and toss them out." Fritz yelled. The splintering sound of wood reached his ears, as the giant undead warriors slammed into the gates.

"You heard the champion." Gaspard shouted. "Pull them back!"

The guards were quick to spring into action, pulling the heavy cannons back away from the windows. A separate set of guards moved the barrels towards the windows before throwing them out. The barrels splintered and busted on swarming undead. Fritz conjured another Molotov cocktail and threw it. The napalm ignited burning long dead flesh. The smell was horrendous, yet the patch of fire would burn long and hot. Fritz immediately moved to the murder holes overlooking the gates below.

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Conjuring a huge bottle of expanding fire resistant foam he threw it, before chasing it with vials and vials of holy water. The large grotesque monstrosities continued to pound upon the iron-reinforced wooden gates oblivious to everything around them. The holy water burned holes in their flesh, as the foam expanded around them like a mass of sticky webbing. They lost movement in their feet, as the dense foam traveled up their body. Mixed with Freyes' holy water the abominations would slowly die entombed in a chemical coffin.

Fritz's head pounded in exhaustion, as the sounds directly below him went quiet at last.

"Move the cannons back up!" Gaspard shouted. His men rushed into action, pushing the heavy iron frames forwards. Cleaners moved quickly extinguishing flame remnants within the barrels. Gunpowder and grapeshot came next, before the ignition. Gaspard screamed for his brother as the cannons fired so that no one could hear his pain.

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Neva stomped through the city like an angry child next to Brenn. Her scarred face glowered while chaos and uncertainty mounted in the city. Reaching for her pipe, she stuffed her tobacco between curses. The more intelligent citizens were rightly starting to flee. Their misplaced faith in the Javert's warriors had finally crashed upon seeing them routed. Now, the continuous sound of cannon fire mixed with panicked screams. The vampires and ghouls that escaped past the wall's defenders feasted upon vulnerable and panicked citizens. Brenn was the first to break the silence.

"Stop glowering. You look ugly. Really ugly." Brenn remarked.

"No. Don't tell me what to do." Neva huffed.

"Ada probably feels the same way. She's grown too, just like the big ugly child next to me."

"Her behavior is abhorrent. I won't have her die because she gets a big head and thinks she's unstoppable."

"So... she's the one?"

"Yes. Don't you dare tell her either. She's already fulfilled one of her dreams. Fritz's giving her the damn sword made her think she's some kind of hero."

"Just like her mother."

"Exactly like her mother." Neva agreed.

"So? What's the plan?"

"Survive till Fehrenn. Then...."

"Figure it out?" Brenn asked.

"Basically. I'm trying to keep her alive as long as possible. Telling her about her mother would be a mistake. A very, very big mistake. This Fritz situation has ruined everything. It's all his fault."

Neva's mouth twisted as she re-adjusted her pipe. The rich tobacco filled her lungs, calming her down just a little. She needed something more. Children screamed nearby. Neva's head turned towards a nearby alleyway. A group of street rats ran for their lives as an undead knight appeared. His exposed mouth was covered in blood, dripping down to his breastplate. A fiendish grin warped his mouth as a set of dripping elongated fangs peeked from blood-stained lips.

A mace was held confidently in his hands, as he ran after the fleeing children. The kids ran for safety towards Ada and Brenn. The two beastkin warriors stood still watching their opponent.

"More to feast upon." The vampire laughed maniacally to himself. The children made it past Brenn and Neva running down the streets. They barely looked behind them as they left the two beastkin warriors in their dust.

"Let me take him." Neva said seriously. Her scarred face distorted into a frown as she let out a large exhale of tobacco.

"You really need to handle your stress in a positive manner. Take me for example. I don't rampage around when I get angry, I just need a nice tower to climb all night long, and then I'm right as rain the next morning."

"You're disgusting."

"I handle my stress in a healthy manner. Unlike you. You could learn a lot from me."

The vampire burst forward in a rush of speed. His mace surged forward as Neva drew her sword. The mace slammed against her sword, as Brenn teleported away. The vampiric assailant blinked in surprise as Neva barely moved. With her free hand she punched the vampire in the jaw. His mouth went slack as his head jerked away from the force. His mace fell from his hands, as he staggered backwards. A look of surprise overtook his leech-like features.

He howled something in pain, yet the words couldn't properly form. Neva's hard blue eyes narrowed as she looked at him in disgust. His arm shot out. Sharpened claws extended towards her jugular. Neva's sword sliced his hand off. Pain radiated through him, as the vampire drew away. His pale white hand flopped uselessly upon the ground. The bone had been sliced clean through.

She stood waiting for him to act, exuding pure sadism. Fear flooded him as he turned to run. Fire appeared in Neva's hand. She wrapped a whip of flame around his feet. He tried to move, yet his balance was disrupted, his broken jaw slammed against the stone ground. His plate armor scraped against the alley as his body was pulled back towards Neva.

"Uh, oh. Mister you're gonna get beheaded." Brenn taunted from a nearby roof. The vampire screeched, just like his victims did.

"No. Not that. Something better." Neva grinned, slamming her boot into his back. His spine snapped as the plate armor dented under the force. Stone cracked against his breastplate. "I'm gonna pop him like a pimple." The vampire's legs wouldn't listen. He could feel nothing below the waist. His free arm reached for something to propel him forward, as Neva walked in front of him.

Just who was his opponent? These animals couldn't best him. He had trained for countless millennia to make the von Erwenhest family proud. He couldn't die here. Neva's boots raised into the air. The boot stomped into his head, and unlife vanished in an instant as blood and viscera spewed across the streets.

"Feel better?" Brenn asked as she teleported down to her companion.

"A little." Neva admitted. A small grin tugged at the corner of her mouth, as she re-adjusted her pipe.

"We've still gotta save the ships." Brenn reminded her.

"Yeah. Yeah. I needed a little stress relief." Neva said, re-adjusting her pipe. Brenn looked down at Neva's boot.

"That's disgusting." Brenn commented. Neva grunted as she smudged the brain matter off her boot onto the deceased vampire.

"Still not as disgusting as you."

"Whatever you say, ugly."