Bia-Dharla was on fire. Smoke was rising up from the city. They were still a good distance away, but a putrid stench hung in the air.
It was the smell of viscera. The smell of living creatures being burned. The smell of death.
As they approached the city, they saw heaps of monster corpses lying on the ground next to the rampart.
A Mass Craze!
There was a phenomenon among monsters called a Mass Craze, which caused them to suddenly gather and attack human settlements.
Monsters that had settlements of their own would even throw away their equivalent of society, livelihood, and property that they had built up to join this strange march. Monsters that didn’t normally form groups would show up and join as well.
Different species of monsters were often hostile toward each other, but at this time alone, they would have no hostility. They would forget about hunger and exhaustion, throw away all instinct of self-preservation, and relentlessly attack humans right up until they perished.
Bia-Dharla was under assault from monsters in a Mass Craze.
When they finally entered the city, they realized that it had not been completely destroyed. The damage, however, was great. The rampart was holding, but the south gate had been breached. Flying monsters that could breathe fire also greatly added to the damage.
Laura was mad at herself for being absent when the city needed her most, but there was no undoing what had already been done.
She spoke with her father, who was the ruler of the city. She then opened up the palace and set about carrying in injured people who had nowhere to go, treating them, and distributing emergency food. She ran around the city from early in the morning to late at night, providing medical care and giving words of encouragement to all who were injured.
Zara felt moved as he accompanied her and helped her out. Saying that you care about your people is nice, but he wondered how many nobles would be willing to go this far.
He was the eldest son of a marquis, and the time would soon come when he had to take his seat as ruler of the domain.
He stopped a moment to consider whether the people of his domain had ever been important to him. That train of thought led him to decide that he would support Laura in this moment with everything he had.
The first thing he did was offer all the medicinal goods he had on hand, taking care to keep a bit for himself. The medicines he had received from Narillia in the Great Ravine were extremely effective and were very gladly received. The antidotes for curing poison worked remarkably well.
The biggest problem that faced the city then was whether or not there would be second and third waves of attacks.
Bia-Dharla’s military force numbered three hundred and fifty people, including patrols and gatekeepers. There were fifty knights among that number, and the other three hundred were common soldiers. They also had four hundred volunteer soldiers from among the populace.
Ten knights had died and twenty were injured during the first attack. Twenty common soldiers died, and thirty were injured. Among the volunteer soldiers, thirty died and two hundred were injured. The losses were many. However, the safe return of Laura’s party to the palace caused the soldiers and the citizens to not lose heart.
Laura consulted with the commanding officers of the knights and then recruited three hundred more volunteer soldiers. It was decided that the volunteer soldiers would not participate in battle even if there was a second wave. They would instead help with transporting supplies, treating the injured, and other kinds of rear support.
Then on the fourth day, the second wave arrived.
Consisting of a number of monsters that far surpassed the defensive capabilities of the city.