In the eastern part of the Southern Federation, lay a small human settlement bordering the Murky Mountains. This location barely had any magical beasts in their vicinity, close to none.
All the magical beasts had already been taken care of by Magi in the past. This allowed the human settlement of Pivet to take root and flourish. It started as a village, but over the years, it gradually evolved into a town.
The sun was about to set and the sky was dyed a shade of orange. Pivet started to come alive as gas lamps were lit up one by one. The streets of this peaceful town were bustling with action.
Townspeople could be seen going about their evening routines. The sound of laughter and conversations filled the air.
Suddenly…
The ground beneath them started to tremble. It was unnoticeable at first, but slowly everyone started to realize this strange happening.
"What… what's happening?"
"You felt it too, right?"
"Is this an earthquake?!"
At once, panic erupted among the townspeople. It was contagious. Thinking it was an earthquake, the people started running to open areas, away from buildings.
While the people in the town thought that what was happening was due to a natural disaster, the guards stationed at the boundary walls were the first to realize that it was something else entirely.
In the distance, the forest began to stir with an ominous energy. The guards squinted their eyes and could see shadowy figures approaching them at great speeds from the interiors of the Murky Mountains.
As the trembling grew more and more intense, they finally appeared.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64ce79d606107d003c23ea27", id: "pf-5140-1"})Magical beasts of all shapes and sizes burst forth from the depths of the forest, their expressions were maniacal and their eyes gleamed with an eerie crimson light.
Seeing this, the guards' eyes widened in disbelief and their bodies shuddered.
"Beast tide!"
"It's a large-scale beast tide!"
"How is this even possible?!"
"Run for your lives!"
If there were a small number of beasts, the guards would have stayed back and fought with their lives on the lines. After all, behind them were their loved ones whom they had to protect.
However, the number of magic beasts that were upon them numbered in the thousands!
How could mere mortals even fight against such a large number of beasts that could harness mana? It was possible for a group of five mortals to group together and kill a single magical beast.
But thousands of beasts?
Their only hope of survival was to escape. There was no chance that they could go up against this best tide even if all the townspeople were given weapons and made to fight.
So they could only do what their instincts screamed at them to do - run!
At once, the guards abandoned their posts and ran into the town, frantically warning others of the impending danger. When the townspeople realized that it wasn't an earthquake but actually a beast tide, they were petrified.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64cc9e79c7059f003e4ad4b0", id: "pf-5109-1"})This was an absolute shocker to them as this part of the Southern Federation hadn't had beast tides in decades. All the dangerous beasts in the vicinity had already been killed by Magi.
Moreover, every few months Magi would come to check the situations of any new magical beasts, ensuring that the people of Pivet remained safe.
So when the townspeople heard that a beast tide was upon them, they were momentarily rooted on the spot. But soon they ran for their lives, leaving behind all their belongings.
Mothers scooped up their children, the elderly stumbled on the ground, while the strong and brave helped their loved ones. The cheerful atmosphere from earlier was instantly replaced by pandemonium.
The atmosphere was thick with anxiety and trepidation. Screams pierced the air as the people scrambled to flee, desperate to escape the wrath of the incoming horde.
However, the magical beasts were relentless, their ferocity and ruthlessness unmatched.
Due to the effects of the artifact utilized by the orcs, these beasts had gone into a permanent state of berserk. Their strength and speed had increased, albeit slightly. They would not rest until they feasted on the flesh of the four major races.
The beasts tore through the town's boundary walls with savage fury. Although some of them died as a result, it didn't matter. They continued to dash toward the fleeing townspeople.
At once, even louder screams of pain and agony filled the air as the beasts viciously attacked the humans, their claws and teeth rending flesh and bones effortlessly.
Buildings were reduced to rubble and the once peaceful streets of Pivet ran red with blood.
It had not even been ten minutes since the beast tide had arrived and already the entire town had been slaughtered. The majority of the magical beasts dashed deeper into the depths of the Southern Federation, looking for their next meal.
Meanwhile, a small portion stayed behind, munching on the cold corpses. A few cunning ones even searched inside the destroyed houses to see if they had missed someone.
In the midst of all this, a young man slowly got out of the rubble, fear etched all over his face. He first made sure that no beasts were around before looking behind and signaling to a woman to come out.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "663633fa8ebf7442f0652b33", id: "pf-8817-1"})"H-Have they left?" The young woman stuttered in horror. She was heavily injured, blood staining her clothes. However, she had managed to make it out alive thanks to the young man in front of her.
The man looked around nervously before nodding. "Yes, they must have!"
"What should we do?" The woman asked in a hushed tone, struggling to contain her tears.
The young man thought deeply before coming to a decision. "Let's head to the east. There's no forest there, only the seas. We'll be safe there."
"Mm." the woman nodded. "I'll go wherever you take me."
The man displayed a gentle smile as he caressed her cheeks, "It's going to be okay—"
Suddenly, the words got stuck in his throat when a large shadow loomed over him. Before he could even turn around to see what it was, a cold light flashed and his head was instantly separated from his neck.
Blood splattered all over the woman's face and her mind went blank. She struggled to come to terms with what had just happened. In a daze, her gaze went past the corpse of the young man and landed on a monstrous figure standing behind him.
It was an orc!
Realization dawned on her and she involuntarily screamed in terror. "AHHHH—"
But just like the young man before her, her head was also decapitated by the orc with a swift slice of his sharp dagger.
Gorgo coldly glanced at the fresh corpse of the woman he had just killed and stated with sheer indifference, "So noisy."
Then, he turned his head in the direction of Nightingale Kingdom, his eyes flahsing with unbridled killing intent. He grit his teeth and muttered with sheer hatred,
"I'll be waiting for you…
"Adam!"
