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The Aevum Empire held on longer than most kingdoms on Placidia, thanks to large castles that guarded the northern and southern entrances to the empire.

But their luck finally turned against them, when the ghouls unleashed their ultimate weapons - massive, hideous beasts that towered over the battlefield like giant humanoids.

These hulking monstrosities were covered in matted fur, and their eyes glinted with a feral hunger that made the bravest warriors tremble.

The hideous giants were sent forth to bring down the castle walls, but the Aevumians were prepared. They had acquired mana cannons from the Dwarves.

A commander stood on the wall and screamed out.

''Fire.''

As the cannons roared to life, the air crackled with energy as glowing orbs of mana shot from their barrels.

The projectiles streaked through the air with deadly accuracy, slamming into the oncoming giants.

With sickening thuds, the giants were struck down, their chests torn open by the explosive force of the enchanted shots.

Despite the relentless waves of ghouls, the defenders kept raining down a barrage of arrows, spells, and mana shots on them.

Pushing the wave back, all the soldiers cheered until a lookout spotted a new creature, he quickly screamed out a warning.

''Another creature is coming.''

Everyone looked in the direction the lookout was pointing in, they saw a large creature charging the gate.

It was a large rhino-like beast covered in the same white skin as the ghouls and had steel-like muscles.

The castle's commander started screaming out orders. ''Quickly brace the gates, raise the bridge and retreat to the second wall!''

The soldiers sprang into action, quickly raising the massive inner bridge that separated the outer and inner walls of the castle.

They braced the gates and retreated to the safety of the larger second wall.

Suddenly, the monstrous creature charged at the gate, smashing it to pieces upon impact. The force of the blow shook the entire castle.

The archers wasted no time and unleashed a barrage of arrows at the creature. While hot oil was poured down on it from the murder holes, after an hour of constant attacks the creature dropped dead.

But the soldiers couldn't rest as they became aware of the ghouls on the first wall just staring at them with their creepy jet-black eyes.

The creatures were terrifying, they stood six feet tall, skinny with long limbs that held crude but strong weapons.

It was common knowledge that they came from the underway - vast tunnels that had been discovered years ago by the Oland Kingdom.

Suddenly, every soldier in the castle heard a blood-curdling howl piercing the air. All the ghouls quickly jumped off the wall.

The soldiers were left perplexed as they tried to figure out what was happening until the unknown magic that the ghouls had been firing at them nonstop abruptly ceased.

However, their confusion was short-lived as another horrifying howl echoed from the horde, that's when even more hideous creatures emerged.

Tall humanoids, but with a sickly thinness that made their bones protrude from their flesh started sprinting towards the castle.

The panicked soldiers and mages unleashed a barrage of cannons, spells, and arrows at the incoming creatures, but to their shock, the beasts dodged every attack with uncanny agility.

Despite this, the attacks smashed into the ranks of the ghoul horde behind them. But they still made it to the wall and climbed up the wall forcing the cannons to stop firing.

The mages, and archers started firing at the things from the second wall, but their attacks only managed to bounce off their skin.

With more of them jumping across the gap between the walls and landing beyond, the soldiers stationed there were quickly overpowered and butchered.

Only mana-infused arrows could damage them, but there wasn't enough time to prepare as the onslaught continued.

The castle commander, determined to protect his men, jumped off the wall with his sword in hand.

He impaled one of the creatures through the head, causing it to crash to the ground. The others fell one by one as the battle raged on, but hundreds of Aevumians lay dead.

As the commander ascended the stairs, the castle was bombarded with more unknown magic.

Explosions ripped through the defenders, causing the ground to tremble. Finally, he reached the top of the battlements.

There, he saw a dark cloud quickly approaching the castle. His eyes widened with recognition as he realized it was a group of Bone Devils heading straight for them.

He quickly turned to shout out orders. "Bone Devils incoming! Archers, ready your arrows! Mages cast your most powerful spells!"

The creepy humanoid creatures swooped down, using their sharp talons and razor-sharp tails to attack the soldiers below.

Hours passed as the commander and remaining soldiers barricaded themselves in the great hall and made a last stand.

The ghouls broke the barricade and stormed in, slaughtering the last humans while mumbling to themselves.

''More man-things are dead, the elders want more.''

After centuries of guarding the Aevum empire in the north, the castle fell.

Bodies of soldiers were scattered everywhere as ghouls began dragging them off to an unknown destination, leaving pools of blood in their wake.

Amidst the chaos and carnage, only a handful of traumatized soldiers managed to escape the slaughter that claimed the lives of thousands of their comrades.

Their survival was owed to the sacrifice of hundreds of brave Aevumians who had stood firm against the ghoul's onslaught, buying precious time for the survivors to activate the teleportation orb and flee to safety.

As they stumbled through the portal, the survivors could only look back in horror at the devastation that had befallen their countrymen.

[Aevum Empire - Eastern Placidia - Southern Castle]

The southern commander was standing on the battlements, watching the retreating horde. A messenger ran up to him with a panicked look on his pale face.

"General, the northern castle has fallen. Only five soldiers survived, but their minds are broken and they're of no use," the messenger reported.

The general sighed, knowing the situation was dire. "Soldier, go fetch the lieutenant and meet me in the great hall," he ordered.

The messenger saluted and hurried off, while the general gave further instructions to the gate commander.

"Rauk, triple the guards and urge the craftsmen to speed up the production of the mana-infused arrows. Ensure the cannons are ready to fire at a moment's notice," he commanded.

Looking northward, the general shared the grim news. "The North has fallen. We must remain vigilant and be prepared for anything"

With that, the general strode away toward the great hall, leaving the stunned soldiers to collect themselves and carry out his orders.

He met with his lieutenant to plan out the defense of the castle and to secure more ships in case they need to evacuate the citizens.

After days of waiting, the southern castle remained quiet. However, the arrival of refugees from the north brought even grimmer news.

A soldier approached the general with a grave expression.

"General, I have urgent news," he said, saluting sharply.

The general nodded, indicating for the soldier to proceed.

"Adruil, the capital has fallen. Most of the imperial family is dead, and the ghouls have destroyed everything north of the Summertide River," the soldier reported, his voice shaking slightly.

The general's face paled at the news.

"Are you certain?" he asked, hoping against hope that the soldier had made a mistake.

"Yes, sir. I was part of the scouting party sent to investigate," the soldier replied, his eyes downcast.

The general turned to gaze out over the plains, knowing that he had a difficult decision to make.

He needed to evacuate the remaining refugees from the military harbor before it was too late.

As he stood there, lost in thought, his lieutenant approached him from behind, a note of happiness in his voice.

"General Hallbjorn, Empress Alfhild is approaching the city with the royal guard," he said.

Hallbjorn wasted no time in issuing his orders. "Open the gate, the Empress is approaching," he barked.

The massive castle gates swung open, revealing a carriage and 100 cavalrymen rushing into the castle. They came to a stop in the courtyard, and the door of the carriage flew open.

A young woman rushed toward Hallbjorn, clutching a small bundle in her arms. He looked down to see his daughter, tears streaming down her face.

"Father, he's dead," she sobbed. "The king stopped fleeing when those vile creatures caught up to us. He bought time for us to escape across the Summertide River."

Hallbjorn hugged his daughter who calmed down as one of her maids came to console her, he now knew what he had to do.

With his mind made up, he turned towards the commanders who made their way to the courtyard and issued his orders.

''Commanders, prep the ships we need to evacuate the Empress and imperial prince. Allow the citizens to board once Her Majesty is on board.''

The three men saluted and rushed off, but as they did, the tower horns blew.

"Fuck!" Hallbjorn exclaimed.

He rushed up to his daughter and hugged her one last time. As he held her, he whispered something in her ear.

"Make sure to live, my daughter. Holger's loss is not the end, but the beginning. Now go, girl!"

He turned to his personal guards and ordered them to follow the Empress.

"Go with her and make sure my family is safe."

The guards nodded and rushed to escort the Empress and her maids to the harbor.

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