After I died, my personal maid rebelled.

That's how stealth warfare works. Under normal circumstances, the commanders of the troops don't get accurate information and don't have time to think about the reasons for their exposure.

The battle was about to break out, but Elene did not choose to retreat. The intelligence provided by Erian was timely, giving her ample time to make preparations.

At a command, the swordsmen and shieldmen quickly formed ranks, blocking both sides of the street, while the archers gathered around Elena, drawing their bows and nocking arrows, waiting for the enemy to enter their range.

The heavily armored soldiers moved slowly, their dragging warhammers and battle axes sparking as they scraped against the stone pavement.

Compared to the monsters' frenzied roars, the elite squad displayed a cold rationality.

There was no need to wait stiffly for the commander's orders. The moment the monsters emerged from the shadows, raising their various tattered weapons and charging towards the sword and shield formation, a barrage of arrows was released, whistling through the night sky and blooming into a blood-red expanse ten meters in front of the sword and shield soldiers.

Boom! Boom!

Several incredibly fast monsters crashed into the shield, creating a sound of flesh and iron sticking together. The swordsman, slightly hurt and forced back, pulled out the long sword he had plunged into the monster's abdomen. His two teammates worked together to cut off the tentacles, creating an opportunity for him to behead the monster.

The cold gleam of the longsword vanished into the black blood. With a flash of the blade, one monster after another fell at their feet, their heads rolling all over the ground.

Taking advantage of another volley of arrows, the swordsmen and shieldmen staggered their ranks to conserve energy and better cope with the onslaught.

Monsters had already discovered the breach. Dozens of monsters, emitting short, angry roars, pushed aside the corpses falling towards them and raced through the gap in the center of the street.

The swordsmen ignored it, and then, from the shadows, piercing screams echoed across the battlefield as the shattered monster corpses scattered into countless chunks of flesh and tentacles in mid-air.

Facing the blood mist, the heavily armored soldiers leisurely peeled the flesh off their warhammers, the bones of the corpses beneath their feet bursting open like copper beans.

A monster lunged at him, wielding a weapon that resembled an iron spike. Federico, his face covered in armor, didn't look up. He reached out and grabbed the monster's neck in mid-air, letting the monster's iron spike strike his thick shoulder armor, sending sparks flying.

With a crisp snap, Federico crushed the monster's neck with his bare hands. The metal shards, raised by his curled fingers, razor-sharply ripped out a mass of rotten flesh, a mixture of trachea and cartilage.

The battle ended quickly. Under one offensive, the monsters, whose actual number was less than three hundred, suffered heavy losses, with only a few dozen fleeing into the night.

On the other side, after sniping two monsters that were gathering intelligence, Ereon also did not find any new enemies.

But every member of the team knew perfectly well that their location had been exposed, and they had to be extremely vigilant in the next operation.

"It seems these monsters even know how to set up hidden sentries..."

Elena glanced back at the palace. At this moment, the team was only one kilometer away from the palace in a straight line, far from achieving her expected goal.

"Keep going, Ariane." Eleanor looked up and ordered sternly, "You act as the scout for the whole team. Find a suitable spot and teach these bastards a lesson."

"Yes, sir."

With his crossbow slung over his shoulder again, Erian, spear in hand, leaped from one rooftop to another, then charged forward swiftly along the walls between the noble mansions.

The black cloth covering the lantern was lifted by the wind, and in the night, Erian's figure gradually turned into a flickering light.

The assembled team no longer advanced in search formation; the entire squad, led by Elena, switched to a normal march and hurried to catch up with the light ahead.

Not only was Elene highly skilled and daring, but she also kept a flashbang, concocted by Luna, quietly in her waist pocket. In case of any emergency, she could immediately seek the Duke's assistance.

War needs no waiting. Once she has thoroughly figured out the details of these monsters, she will wreak havoc on the entire royal city.

"Humans, it's them, those damned creations of the old era!"

Clusters of torches, like stars, flickered through the streets and alleys of the royal city. This time, Erión observed very carefully; the lustful monsters indeed possessed a well-organized structure.

Beneath the dark walls of the royal city, scattered sparks gradually converged, and Erión, who was constantly scaling walls and houses, began to be actively attacked by monsters.

Several monsters were torn apart like dragons by the swirling spears. But Erian still sensed an unusual gaze. He quickly climbed onto the roof and decided to observe his surroundings first.

call out!

He suddenly stepped back, a sharp spear shattering the bricks and tiles, the shards cutting Erian's cheeks and drawing tiny drops of blood.

Ereon leaped behind a chimney, vigorously unfurled his crossbow, took a deep breath, and quickly peered out to search for any suspicious targets.

The other party made no attempt to conceal its presence; it was a monster over four meters tall, its massive size standing beneath the tree, enough to send chills down one's spine at a single glance.

Aiming at its target, Eryon pulled the trigger, but the arrow, which was fired at high speed, was easily swept away by the monster with a branch. Then, a stone the size of a millstone was lifted up and, to Eryon's incredulous gaze, the stone was thrown into the air.

Relying on his fighting instincts, Ereon leaped off the roof, dodging the fatal blow. Just as he landed on the wall and regained his footing, a large portion of the roof of the house behind him collapsed instantly from the impact.

His heart pounded wildly. Arian noticed the gaze on his back again. He quickly turned around and saw another four-meter-tall monster on the other side of the wall, less than ten meters away, with its hands on the stone wall, leisurely observing him.

With wolves in front and tigers behind... Arian, crouching on the wall, had only a standard-issue rifle and a lantern in his hands. To avoid accidents caused by open flames, he didn't even bring Molotov cocktails.

It seems that the Northern Army's understanding of monsters is still not deep enough. The largest monsters recorded in the previous series of battles were only a little over three meters tall, which were extremely rare.

Now even four-meter-tall monsters are starting to appear in groups. Will there be five-meter or six-meter-tall monsters in the future?

With that ability comparable to a catapult, Erión was certain that the monsters' evolution was far more complex than they had imagined.

It's very likely that the closer the monster gets to the Vatican, the more terrifying it will be...

As Erión pondered his escape route and how to hold out until his comrades arrived, the monster standing under the big tree suddenly began to move after a brief silence.

boom!

Its mad dash was like the deafening sound of war drums; its massive body, weighing nearly a ton, kicked up dust from the stone slabs with every step.

The alarm bells in Erión's brain pounded against his will, and in the blink of an eye, the monster, fueled by the fierce wind, smashed through the wall like a chariot.

Stones flew everywhere as the agile Ereon leaped into the air and thrust his spear into the monster's arm, which was as strong as an iron pillar. With a crisp crack, the wooden shaft of the spear snapped, and the spearhead merely pierced the hard skin without drawing any blood.

"Hahaha, you stinking human rats, how dare you presume to trespass upon the territory of the Son of God!"

As soon as Ereon, who had landed in a disheveled state, stood up, the monster pulled out the broken gun from its arm and emitted a buzzing shriek from its fingertips.

Arian narrowly dodged, but the broken gun that grazed past him unleashed an unparalleled force, pulling him and his thick military uniform backward and pinning him hard against the wooden wall of the house.

His back was burning with pain. Taking a deep breath, Erión took off his coat, flipped over and smashed open the door. Then, concealing his movements, he stepped over the handrail and nimbly slipped into the second floor.

He returned to the rooftop along the collapsed section, forced himself to calm down, and crouched down to observe the monster's movements below.

If he were fully armed, he wouldn't be entirely without a chance of winning in a one-on-one situation, although this monster would probably be much stronger than the ogres the veteran had described.

Next time, bring Molotov cocktails and place an order for an Elf Wood gun barrel with the logistics arsenal...

Surprisingly, the two large monsters did not choose to pursue Ereon. Perhaps they sensed the approaching Northern Army reinforcements, or perhaps they needed to get to the gathering place where countless torches were burning.

Two minutes later, Eleanor, now without a light source, arrived at the broken wall first. Eleanor was the young general she had personally bestowed the name of her eldest son upon, and in her future plans, he was the most suitable candidate to serve as the commander of the Imperial Guard.

If anything were to happen to this child, it would be a significant loss for the Northern Army.

Just as Elena was inspecting the wall and searching for the lantern that had fallen to the ground, Erian immediately ran downstairs and rushed forward to report: "My lord, there's a new situation; we must retreat to the palace immediately."