Chapter 268: A Losing Battle
While Kana was off clearing the rest of the dungeon, her world was in a dire situation. "Keep firing, don"t let a single undead or devil cross the line!"
Kiliffia"s voice sounded out across the battlefield with the help of one of her protectors. She was even forced to join the battle on the front lines. The men women who were evacuated were also conscripted. It was no longer a matter of just holding the front line. Everyone"s lives were at stake, which meant every able body from the age of twelve and up had to take up arms. The younger kids were forced to help with running supplies while those fourteen and older had to take up arms. It was a sad sight to see when kids had to join the battlefield, but there were no longer any options left. This went for not just the Rural kingdom, but every continent was also forced to do the same. The lives lost that were being turned into forces fighting against them were in the millions. But even if the dead were rising, they still had to fight. If they did not, it would all be the same. They would be waiting to die without any resistance. For the people of Xeneria, it was better to fight and die knowing you put up a struggle than lay down and submit.
"Get into formation, put up a barrier and try to block the death element as much as possible. Those who are showing signs of infection fall back and get healed, those in reserve take their places. Be quick! We can not let them take more land!" Kiliffia was giving her all. She was put into a position of command without any knowledge, but now after almost a year of fighting nonstop, she was finally starting to give out her own commands without needing to ask if it was good or not. Her natural leaders.h.i.+p was finally starting through. It seemed Creige had an eye for people. Because she was in command this entire time, no fighting broke out amongst the slapped together army of the worlds kingdoms and races. Even the humans from other continents who were forced to come over and help did not start fights with the other races. They followed orders like the rest. This was because they were connected with the humans of the continent of Munas and most of their countries were already multiracial.
"Commander, our left flank looks like it is about to fall. What are your orders!?" A soldier came running over to give a report.
Kiliffia looked over at the left flank at their current position. Her fluffy fox ears twitched as her fluffier tail swayed. A gust of wind picked up, causing her hair to flutter. Her brow furrowed as she looked at her homeland. Within a year, due to the lack of help from the realm of G.o.ds, they have been pushed back to the outskirts of the capital of the Rural Kingdom. What lay in the wake of the undead army and devils was nothing but wasted lands. Villages and cities were burned to the ground. The dead rose and became more strength for the enemy. They were in a desperate situation, and now it seemed they would need to fall back once again.
"Fall back behind the city walls. We can only use the capital as our final line of defense." A voice came from behind Kiliffia. She turned to see Creige standing there.
"Big Brother Creige, if we lose the capital, G.o.ddess Kana..." Kiliffia was desperately holding back her tears. She had been doing her best this entire time, trying to fight to keep her homeland safe. Trying to keep the land her G.o.ddess called home protected but so far as she has done is failed.
"Kiliffia, I have known you since the day Kana and I met you. Back then, you were a girl who was doing her best to help her father. Now here you are, commanding a ma.s.sive army to protect your homeland and the world. Even if we lose and need to retreat to a magic realm, Kana would be proud of you because you have given it your all." Ceilie, with Nergal following behind her, said with a smile.
"Sister in law is right. You need to look at your achievements and what you have accomplished thus far. Under your command, we have lasted this long. You have come up with many ideas that have been useful in staving off the death element. So there is nothing wrong with retreating into the city. You need to think of the people fighting under you as well." Creige spoke, giving a rare bit of praise. The manner in which they call each other has changed a lot over the past year. Creige now saw both Ceilie, Kiliffia, and Tilia as his in laws with how much they care about his little wife, hence why he called Ceilie sister in law.
Kiliffia slapped her cheeks and nodded her head after hearing the twos" words of encouragement. She knew she had to get a hold of herself and do what was right. She turned and nodded to the old man beside her, who automatically cast a bit of magic, causing a magic circle to appear in front of Kiliffia"s mouth. "Hear my word. We are to fall back behind the wall. The front line will hold them off while the others retreat. If someone falls, the reserves are to pull them out if they can be saved and take their place, otherwise give them a swift death so they will not rise again!"
"This is it..." Kana said, breathing heavily. She and the six sisters looked like they had been through a meat grinder. Their clothes were dirty and ripped to shreds, but they had finally cleared the final floor and were now standing in front of the last boss room. "This is the last boss."
"I swear these old bones did not know what the man was thinking when he made this place. There was no way those who pa.s.sed our training before were able to make it this far on their own." Sister Fu complained. The other five sisters all nodded their heads agreeing.
"Let"s rest for now. If it wasn"t for the fact that I can only use my dragon form for five minutes we wouldn"t be such a mess right now." Kana complained as she sat on the ground.
"No it is not your fault. You still have a ways to go before being able to match up to the ancestral dragons."
"I know… But still… Anyway, we will be done as long as we beat this last boss."