Greatest Legacy of the Magus Universe
chapter-477

The dawn broke over the town, casting a somber light on the aftermath of the wolf tide. Once pristine and white, the snow was now dyed a dark shade of crimson.

The air was heavy with the scent of blood. The once-sturdy walls now bore the marks of the beasts' relentless assault. The stones had cracked and splintered, smeared with the remnants of the fierce struggle.

Hundreds of beast corpses lay beyond the walls. Amidst them, one could even see the cold, lifeless bodies of dozens of mercenaries and Magi.

The same scene could be seen within the city walls. A large number of wolves had managed to break through the defense line, resulting in the slaughter of many powerless residents.

This time, the casualties were astronomical.

Magi rested atop the town wall, completely exhausted by the onslaught they had endured the whole night. Art, Aiden, and Eleiney stood among them, huddled together silently.

This was the first proper battle they had participated in. And it was very intense, to say the least.

On a few occasions, they had come close to dying in the maws of the frenzied wolves, but thanks to the vastly experienced Kenley and Wagner, they had managed to make it out alive.

Just thinking of the times they had nearly died, the kids couldn't help but involuntarily shudder.

Kenley, who was covered in blood and grime, walked toward them and comforted them, "Don't be so downcast, you guys. You're alive, aren't you? That's more than enough reason to be happy."

Wagner came forward and patted Aiden and Art's shoulders. "Come, let's go have some breakfast. The meal after battling the entire night hits differently."

He paused for a moment before he joked, "If you guys were a little older, I would have offered you some ale. But I should probably refrain from doing that since your mentor would get very mad."

Aiden glanced at the blond young man and spoke with pursed lips, "He probably started drinking at an even younger age than us."

"Y-Yeah!" Art stuttered, "I'll try some ale."

He paused for a moment before softly adding, "But… you cannot tell Professor, okay?"

"Hahaha!" Wagner burst into laughter. "It's a deal."

He put his arms around Aiden and Art, and guided them down the stairs. "Follow me, boys. I know just the right place!"

Meanwhile, Kenley approached Eleiney and asked with a chuckle, "Aren't you going to join them?"

Eleiney snapped out of her daze and shook her head. She glanced at the corpses littered on the streets of Stratford, her eyes tearing up. "Is this… normal?"

She then gazed at Kenley and added, "What I mean to say is… are this many casualties consistent with the other beast tides that have happened in the past?"

Kenley's expression turned solemn as he gazed at the blood flowing down the cobblestone streets.

"No, this time the number of deaths has been far greater. Although even in the previous beast tides there would always be some casualties within the walls, this time there have been far too many."

"What's different this time?" Eleney couldn't help but ask.

Kenley immediately replied, "The beasts we were fighting were a lot more berserk compared to before, and…"

He looked into the distance, gazing at the Mayor and the town council members, and added, "For some reason, I feel that the defense line was positioned very loose last night. After all, how else would you explain so many wolves breaching our defenses?"

"But you just said that the wolves were more ferocious than before? Couldn't that also be the reason?" Eleiney voiced out her opinion.

She didn't know anything about warfare, so she was not able to understand what Kenley was trying to point out. However, what she said was also valid.

"Hmm, perhaps." Kenley shrugged. "Anyway, let's get the hell out of here."

He and Eleiney made their way down the wall and proceeded to walk toward the town square. He then looked at her and asked with a gentle smile, "Would you like to join me and my wife for breakfast? Her cooking is fantastic!"

Eleiney knew that the staff at The White Stag would be very busy dealing with the injured people. Moreover, she was famished and couldn't wait to eat something.

Thus, she looked at Kenley and nodded. "Thank you."

"Haha, no problem. I have a feeling that my wife would be delighted to have your company," Kenley beamed.

As they walked through the wreckage, they saw men and women worked to gather the fallen, their hands shaking from exhaustion and grief. Cries of pain and words of comfort filled the air, causing Eleiney to become very emotional.

On her way toward Kenley's house, she came across a mother carrying her baby in her arm and kneeling down beside a corpse that had just been covered in a white sheet.

She figured that the deceased person was the woman's husband.

Eleiney's body trembled ever so slightly and she stopped beside the mother and child. While the mother was crying in deep sorrow, the toddler glanced at her in confusion, wondering what was happening.

Seeing the baby's innocent face, tears rolled down Eleiney's eyes. She couldn't help but walk toward the mother and ask her, "Why?! Why couldn't you just leave with your family?!

"If you had left earlier, then maybe your husband would not have died and your child would still have a father!"

Seeing this scene unfold, even Kenley couldn't help but feel disheartened. The questions that Eleiney had asked just now were something that he always found puzzling.

He just couldn't understand these people's motive to stay behind despite knowing the danger that the wolf tide posed every month.

The woman looked at Eleiney with tearful eyes and whispered, "You're an outsider… You won't understand!"

"Then make me!" Eleiney screamed emotionally, causing the baby in the woman's arms to flinch and start crying.

Despite the tears continuing to fall down the woman's face, her lips curled up into a wide smile.

"We cannot leave…

"This is our home… We cannot leave…

"The spirit of Lord Stratford will always protect us…"