Chapter 213 First Line Fallen (1)

Chapter 213: Chapter 213 First Line Fallen (1)

Back in the fortress

Stefan’s wrists burned every time he moved.

The rope had cut deep into his skin, and the blood from his wrists had already dried once before fresh blood soaked through again. He was no longer pulling because he believed he could snap the rope. He was pulling because keeping still felt worse, because every scream from the battlefield reminded him that his body was useless while his ability sat trapped behind the metal collar locked around his neck.

Beside him, Enzo remained on his knees, his eyes fixed on the broken barricade ahead.

The monsters were already inside the western line.

Soldiers were no longer standing in neat rows behind the barricades. They were scattered between overturned trucks, burning metal, broken concrete, and monster corpses, firing wherever they could find space while officers shouted over one another to keep the retreat from becoming a stampede.

A soldier stumbled backward past them, his helmet gone and one side of his face covered in blood. He tried to reload his rifle, but his fingers shook so badly that the magazine slipped from his hand and clattered across the ground.

"Damn it..." he muttered, bending to grab it.

A monster lunged from the smoke before he could stand up.

Stefan’s body jerked forward. "Look out!"

The soldier turned too late. The monster crashed into him and drove him into the ground, but before its jaws could close around his throat, gunfire tore into its side. The creature rolled away with a shriek, and the soldier scrambled back on his elbows, kicking wildly until another soldier grabbed him by the back of his vest and dragged him behind a burning truck.

The man who had fired stood only a few steps from Enzo. It was the same guard who had mocked Stefan earlier. His rifle clicked empty.

He tried to reload, but when his hand reached for his vest, his fingers found only empty pouches. For a second, he just stared down as if he could not understand where the rest of his ammunition had gone.

Another impact shook the ground.

The guard looked toward the barricade, then toward the soldiers falling back through the smoke, and his face changed little by little as he finally understood what everyone else had already begun shouting.

They could not hold this position.

"Second line!" Rowan’s voice crackled through a radio somewhere nearby. "Fall back to the second line! Do not scatter!"

The order rang through the air almost immediately.

"Fall back!"

"Cover the wounded!"

"Move! Move!"

The guard took a step backward, then stopped when his eyes fell on Enzo and Stefan.

For a moment, a confused glint flickered through his eyes.

Stefan’s chest rose and fell quickly as he stared back, sweat and dust sticking to his face. "You heard him," he said, his voice hoarse. "Everyone is falling back. Are you going to leave us here tied like animals?"

The guard’s jaw tightened.

Another soldier rushed past them while dragging a wounded man whose leg was bent at an angle that made Stefan’s stomach twist. Neither of them even glanced toward the prisoners.

Enzo finally spoke, his voice calm despite the chaos around them. "If you leave us like this, we die here and you gain nothing."

The guard swallowed, his fingers tightening around his empty rifle. "You are still prisoners. I will lose my head if I set you free."

Enzo looked toward the smoke where another monster had just climbed over the remains of the barricade. "Then consider this your chance to use your prisoners before the monsters do."

The guard’s expression contorted into a frown.

Stefan leaned forward as much as the rope allowed. "Take this collar off me. I can teleport people out. I can move the wounded. I can help you."

"You can also run."

Stefan let out a sharp, bitter laugh, though there was no humor in it. "Run where? Where could I possibly run to?! My niece is within this very wall, and I will go nowhere without her. Give me a chance to protect this fortress,ifthe fortress stands it means she gets to live a good life." His voice turned solemn.

The guard froze slightly at his words, a look of pity flickering through his eyes.

A scream tore through the air from the left.

One of the soldiers carrying ammunition crates had fallen, and the crate had burst open across the ground. Bullets scattered everywhere as the soldier tried to crawl away, but a monster caught his leg and dragged him backward. He clawed at the ground, fingers scraping bloody lines through the dust, before Dylan’s voice cut through the chaos.

"Lennox squad, defend the left side!"

Gunfire echoed through the air. The monster dropped, and two Lennox soldiers rushed forward to pull the ammunition carrier away.

Enzo watched them, his face hardening. "Dylan is still holding his side."

The guard looked in the same direction.

Farther along the western line, Dylan and the Lennox soldiers were moving like a single body, falling back without breaking apart. They were not fighting to reclaim the barricade. They were keeping a path open so the wounded could be carried behind the second line.

The guard looked back at Enzo. Blood ran down his face from a cut above his brow, and his breathing was uneven, but his eyes carried conviction.

For the first time, the guard did not look at him like a traitor. He looked at him like a commander.

Another order came through the radio, sharper this time. "All units abandon the first barricade. Repeat, abandon the first barricade. Second line holds inside the western gate."

The guard cursed under his breath.

Stefan pulled again, and the rope dug deeper into his wrists. "Please," he said, and this time his voice dropped lower. "I am begging you. If you have even a little conscience left, release us."

The guard looked at the collar around Stefan’s neck, then at Enzo’s tied hands.

Then, he turned, staring at the soldiers dying around them.

His face contorted as if the decision physically hurt him. Finally, he reached for the knife at his waist.

"Don’t make me regret this." He said.

He moved behind Enzo first and cut through the rope with one hard stroke. The moment Enzo’s hands came free, he brought them forward, his fingers stiff and swollen from being tied for too long. He did not waste time rubbing the blood back into them. He only flexed once, then pushed himself to his feet.

The guard moved to Stefan next. The blade sliced through the rope, and Stefan nearly stumbled forward from how quickly he tried to stand. His hands shook as he reached for the collar, but the metal remained locked tight around his neck.

"The key," Stefan said quickly.

The guard hesitated.

Stefan’s eyes reddened. "You already cut the ropes."