The defenders retreated back into the outpost's main tower. The retreat was complete, but every soul in the hall carried the same dread, ten thousand monsters marched toward them.
Adrian felt the weight of ten thousand approaching deaths pressing against his consciousness. Around him, veterans who had faced countless battles wore expressions he'd never seen before.
"Form up by divisions," Martinez barked, "Medical teams, prepare for wounded. Engineers, check the barrier generators."
The great hall filled with defenders, their faces etched with grim determination. Conversations died to whispers, then silence as Commander Drake stepped onto the command dais.
"I've contacted the EUO," Drake announced, his voice steady despite the iron grip on his comm device. "Reinforcements are inbound."
A collective exhale swept the room. Hope flickered in tired eyes.
"How many?" someone called out.
"Enough," Drake replied, though his jaw remained tight.
The reply crackled through his comm within minutes. Drake's shoulders straightened as he listened, but Adrian caught the subtle tightening around his eyes.
"Reinforcements confirmed. Hold the line until arrival."
A cheer started to build, but Drake raised his hand for silence. Something in his posture warned that more news was coming.
The distant hum of transport engines reached them first. Through the tower's massive windows, a sleek vessel descended, its hull blazing with azure runes that painted the courtyard in ethereal light.
"There," Seraphina breathed, pointing skyward. "They're here."
The transport settled. Its boarding ramp lowered, revealing a figure that commanded immediate attention.
She stepped forward with fluid grace, her azure cloak flowing like captured starlight. Power radiated from her in waves that made the air itself seem heavier. B-Rank authority wrapped around her like a second skin.
"Commander Lysara," Drake greeted
Behind her, five hundred defenders filed out in perfect formation. Fresh armor gleamed, weapons hummed with charged energy.
"This is all the Organization could spare on such short notice," Lysara said, her voice carrying across the hall. "No additional forces can reach us before the horde arrives."
Adrian watched hope drain from faces around him.
"We're still outnumbered ten to one," someone whispered.
"Ten to one with D-Rank and possible C-Rank threats," another added.
Lysara raised her hand, and silence fell instantly.
"However, the Organization has contacted a nearby A-Rank Defender."
The effect was explosive. Cheers erupted throughout the hall, defenders embracing each other with renewed vigor.
"An A-Rank!" Kai shouted over the noise. "We might actually survive this!"
"Of course we will," Marcus laughed, his earlier tension evaporating. "An A-Rank could probably handle half that horde or more alone!"
But Adrian watched Lysara's face. Her expression remained carefully neutral, and that worried him more than the approaching army.
She continued speaking, "The A-Rank is currently engaged elsewhere. He cannot break away immediately."
Silence crashed down like a falling mountain. The brief flame of hope guttered out, leaving only cold reality.
"How long?" Drake asked.
"Unknown. Our task is to hold the walls until he arrives."
A defender near the back spoke up, his voice cracking. "My daughter... she's in the residential district. If the walls fall..."
"The walls won't fall," Lysara said firmly. "We make our stand here. We hold the line."
But Adrian saw the doubt in her eyes. A B-Rank understood the seriousness of their situation.
Elena gripped her weapon tighter. "How are we supposed to hold against those numbers? Even with the walls, even with the barriers..."
"We do what we must," Helena said quietly. "Because there's no alternative."
Adrian closed his eyes, feeling the weight of responsibility settle on his shoulders. Starbreaker pulsed in his mind, that devastating fusion waiting to be unleashed.
Around him, a thousand hearts beat with shared terror and determination. They would hold the line because they had no choice.
Because behind these walls, families slept peacefully, trusting in their protection.
...
The outpost commander stepped forward, his voice rising over the silence. "Listen to me! We are not helpless. We now number one thousand defenders. Among us, two B-Ranks, four C-Ranks, dozens of D-Ranks."
He swept his gaze across the assembled forces. "The monsters are many, yes, but most are F and E-Rank. Their strength lies in numbers, not in power."
"What about the D-Ranks in their horde?" a defender called out, voice tight with worry.
The commander's tone hardened, "We will hold. That is our duty. Behind these walls lie hundreds of thousands of innocents, elders, workers, childrens."
Adrian watched faces around him shift from despair to grim determination.
"They cannot fight. Their affinities are weak, their bodies untrained. They depend on us."
"We are Defenders. That is who we are. That is why we exist."
The speech struck deep. Fear still lingered, but resolve lit behind it like flames catching kindling.
Adrian stood among the Vanguard cadets, his sharp gaze flicking between the commanders and the mass of defenders. He could feel it, the fear, yes, but also the resolve underneath it.
Humans had always been fragile compared to the monsters of the Wastelands, yet here they stood, ready to pit their thousand against ten thousand.
The cadets exchanged glances. Even they, who had faced death once already, felt the crushing weight of the numbers.
Helena moved closer to the Vanguard group, "Stay together. Watch each other's backs."
"What if the walls fall?" Elena asked, voicing what everyone was thinking.
"They won't," Adrian said quietly, Source energy beginning to pulse at his core. "We won't let them."
As dusk fell, scouts' reports began filtering in through crackling comm devices. "Dust clouds visible. Two kilometers out."
The nearest scout's voice shook as he continued. "The ground... it's black with them. I can't see where they end."
Adrian centered his breathing, feeling the familiar hum of multiple affinities stirring within him. This battle would push him further than the raptor nest ever had.
Commander Lysara's voice cut through the growing tension. "All units to positions. Shields to full power."
The walls thrummed as massive energy barriers flickered to life, casting blue light across the ramparts. Runes blazed against the darkening sky.
"Look at that," someone breathed in awe at the defensive display.
"Pretty lights won't stop ten thousand monsters," another muttered.
In the final moments before the clash, silence swept the defenders. No more chatter, no more panic, just the quiet sounds of final preparations.
The ground trembled faintly now, a vibration that grew stronger with each passing second. Each pulse reminded them of what advanced through the darkness.
"Here they come," a lookout called from the highest tower.
The first howls split the air, rising from the darkness beyond the walls like the voices of the damned. Thousands of throats crying for blood and flesh.
Adrian felt his teammates tense beside him, weapons raised, spells gathering. The moment of truth had arrived.
The defenders braced as one, a single united line against the impossible tide. For themselves, for the city, for humanity itself.
The horde was upon them.