God Ash: Remnants of the fallen.-Chapter 910: For the Curtain Call, The End of the World as we Know It (1).

Chapter 910: For the Curtain Call, The End of the World as we Know It (1).

Cain collapsed inside his tent, his body scorched and steaming.

He let out a deep, tired sigh as he rolled over in the bedding laid on the cold, hard floor. However, the terrible living conditions were the furthest thing from his mind.

’So tired...’

A loud explosion rocked the world outside the tent, followed by screams and hurried shouts.

Two weeks had gone by since that day, but its implications had yet to vanish.

Every once in a while, they would get an outbreak of humans infected by the {Soulfiend Parasytes}. Depending on the severity, the damage had been either minimal or catastrophic.

Despite all that, they had still held on up until now.

As the weeks went by, their casualties began to pile up. To make sure none of the deceased returned as the undead, they had to quickly burn their corpses, leaving nothing behind but grey ash that floated in the wind.

As a result, the air had become dark with smog and ash, turning the battlefield into something even more hellish.

Hundreds of thousands of bullets, spells, arrows, and spears were exchanged by the minute, creating an apocalyptic scene that sent shudders through the mind.

The battle had gone on for close to three weeks now.

The Devils had also experienced loss, but their losses were quickly replaced.

To make things worse, as the days went by, the intensity of the crimson moon increased. However, its radiance was completely blocked out by an enormous cloud of Devil Essence that had stretched over to their side of the chasm.

So instead of the crimson moonlight eating at their vitality, they had the cloud of Devil Essence corrupting and eroding the enormous shield of mana Cain had constructed using the items he had requested from the Craftsmen of Mljorra, as well as severely affecting the flow of mana.

It was a nightmare.

Despite all these, the humans had managed to persevere for this long.

The flap of his tent flew open and Hunter stumbled in.

The fur growing on his skin was scorched in numerous areas, and he had a rather deep wound wrapped in bandages on his shoulder.

"We will begin the retreat soon," he said gruffly.

Cain nodded solemnly then went silent.

Although they had done their best, the firepower of the Devils was not something they could match.

Only after two weeks, they had lost half of their numbers, and the casualties only continued to grow.

The same went for Lukas, Gilead, and all the other humans fighting in the city. They had already begun their own retreat.

’Was it a mistake?’ Cain thought to himself.

He had believed at the time that barricading themselves in Valestorm would achieve nothing but a massive waste of mana cores and resources.

He had thought with the aid of those from the other Divine Settlements, they would have been able to push the Devils back.

However, not only had that not been the case, but those serving the Blood Moon Goddess had decided to attack other humans. Most of the fighters from the Dome of Fire were dead as well.

He slowly ran a hand through his hair. It was slick with blood, sweat, dust, and ash.

A terrible exhaustion had crept into his bones as he couldn’t help but wonder if they had stayed in Valestorm, perhaps they would have been able to defend against the Devils.

He chuckled bitterly and sighed,

"It doesn’t matter. It’s over now, isn’t it?"

Hunter’s eyes narrowed dangerously as he raised a brow,

"What the hell are you talking about?"

Cain pursed his lips,

"It’s all my fault, isn’t it? If I had not suggested trying to fight away from Valestorm, all this wouldn’t have happened."

Hunter was silent for a moment.

Then he spat coldly,

"Have you become an idiot just from hitting your head a few times?"

Cain grimaced, "What the hell are you saying?"

Hunter sighed and shook his head,

"There is no point in showing regret now. I thought you had made up your mind to bear the consequences regardless of whether you were right or wrong?"

Cain fell silent.

Hunter shook his head,

"If you ask me, getting to walk away with our current numbers is the best possible outcome. Not only that, but we’ve made a huge dent in the resources of those vile monsters. That’s a big win."

"It doesn’t feel like a win, Hunter," Cain said as he slowly stood up.

"With every day that goes by, I feel this terrible guilt eating me up from the inside out. What if I’m not able to save all these people? What if we all die? Our deaths will be all for nothing as our corpses are eaten and desecrated."

The veins on his head bulged out.

Outside the tent, an enormous shell struck the ground and exploded, sending flames, scorched dirt, and shockwaves flying, tearing the tent to shreds.

Revealed to the elements, Cain accepted that his brief rest was finally over.

Glancing around, the wind whipping their hair wildly in all directions, Hunter let out a sigh,

"Look at all this. You would be insane to believe you could shoulder all this by yourself. Don’t think so highly of yourself."

Cain’s expression turned dark,

"If I don’t shoulder it, then who will?! You?! Don’t make me laugh!"

Hunter’s eyes widened,

"Bastard! You think you are the only one doing something here?!"

Cain sneered, "Yes, I do. Where the hell do you get off telling me to get off my high horse?! I’ve broken life and limb for you bastards!"

Hunter snorted coldly,

"You wanted to be a leader, right? Well, there you have it. This is what you get! You bear everything. All the guilt and loss. All the glory and pride. You can have it all!"

Webs of lightning crackled across the sky as the battle’s tempo reached a crescendo.

Thunder rumbled across the land violently...

The wind carried violent gusts of sand, rubble, and ash, whipping it across their faces.

Cain went silent.

The wounds he had suffered from earlier had already disappeared, and he was ready to join the battle once again as they made their retreat.

In a way, his body made him feel immortal.

No— perhaps he was somewhat immortal. So long as his body was relatively preserved, he would come back to life even if he died.

Maybe that was why he felt so guilty.

Those he had used his decisions to damn were not as lucky as he was.

They were dead. That was it for them. The end of the line. It didn’t make it any better that most of them that had died had done so brutally.

Their deaths were not silent and peaceful at all.

Hunter let out a tired sigh as he walked over and placed a hand on his shoulder,

"We need to destroy the bridge before we retreat. The Devils will have an easier time chasing us down if we don’t."

Cain thought about it for a moment then nodded.

"Alright. Tell the others to leave. I’ll destroy the bridge myself."

Hunter’s expression turned dark,

"You really are stubborn, aren’t you..."

The world was covered in layers of dust and ash, making it difficult to see much. Despite that, he was able to see rather clearly.

He suddenly chuckled,

"What, you want to go down with me? I’ll have you know it is really difficult for me to die."

Hunter snorted,

"I don’t care about that. If you want to do anything crazy because of guilt, I’m here to smack some sense into you."

Hearing those words, Cain couldn’t help but chuckle.

He had no doubt that there were a few people blaming him for the constant tragedies. At least in Valestorm, they had been safe. Now, they had been forced out to fight, people dying left and right.

Over the last two weeks, there had been a few defectors who had tried to run away.

Of course, most of them hadn’t gotten far before they were gunned down by the aerial assault of the Devils.

There were a few who had even refused to participate in the battle.

All these things had affected the morale of the rest of the human army, which was one of the main reasons he had called for a retreat. There was no way they could defeat the legion of Devils this way.

"Don’t worry. I’m not trying anything crazy. In fact, I can’t destroy the land bridge on my own."

Hunter smiled as he nodded,

"Then we’ll do it together."

Cain didn’t know when it had happened. All he knew was that at some point, he had found out he was learning to entrust things to others. fɾēewebnσveℓ.com

He was not alone in this battle, and he could lean the burden of the world on other shoulders to earn himself some respite.

"This fight is not yours alone to fight. Please remember that," Hunter said firmly.

Cain snorted and rolled his eyes,

"Whatever you say. Just remember not to fall behind or die. I don’t want anyone dragging me down."

Hunter’s expression crumpled. Then he chuckled,

"I’m not the only one who thinks this way."

The din of battle was drowned out a bit as the dust and ash cleared away to reveal the small army behind Hunter.

He smiled warmly.

The world was ending and hellish artillery rained down from the sky above.

But there were still people willing to fight behind— No.

There were still people willing to fight alongside him.

A strange warmth washed over his heart.

It was not a bad feeling at all.

"See? I told you he’d try something crazy like going on his own."

"We’ll carve a way through for you, Cain."

"It’s not over yet. We still have some fight in us!"

"You can rely on us, Cain."

Seeing this, Cain chuckled wryly then let out a sigh,

’And I always thought I had the worst luck. I couldn’t have been more wrong.’

He sucked in a breath then grinned,

"Alright, you damned bastards! Let’s give these blasted Devils one last thing to remember us by!"

This 𝓬ontent is taken from f(r)eeweb(n)ovel.𝒄𝒐𝙢