The joyous atmosphere of the festival was shattered in an instant as Rice, Ryden, and Darius sprang into action, their voices cutting through the rising noise of confusion and panic.

  “All non-combatants, get inside the city!” Ryden shouted, his voice hoarse but commanding. “Head to the central pza and stay there! Go, go, go!”

  “Every able-bodied warrior, grab your weapons!” Darius bellowed, his tone sharp and urgent. “Don’t wait for instructions—get ready to fight!”

  Rice darted through the crowd, yelling orders as he gestured wildly. “Snake Lady—Lyssara! Get those traps set up! Summon every spirit you’ve got! Goat cn, fortify the walls! Horse cn, secure the horses! Everyone else—MOVE!”

  The pza, once filled with ughter and celebration, became a whirlwind of chaos. Non-combatants, mostly women, children, and elderly citizens, scrambled toward the inner city. Parents scooped up their children, artisans grabbed whatever tools they could carry, and traders abandoned their stalls, their goods spilling onto the streets as they ran.

  Warriors from the cns and the city alike surged into action. Men and women sprinted to retrieve their weapons—bronze-tipped spears, swords, bows, and shields—while spirits began to gather around their summoners, their forms glowing with readiness. The glow of a fox spirit darted between the legs of warriors, its sharp gaze scanning for threats. A massive wolf spirit from the Burning Cw Cn snarled, fmes licking at its fur as it followed its summoner to the walls.

  Amid the chaos, the Zodiac cn leaders rushed to where Rice, Ryden, and Darius were shouting commands near the city gates. Torran, the Dog Cn leader, was the first to reach them, his towering frame casting a long shadow over the frantic scene.

  “What’s going on?” he demanded, his voice low but tense.

  Ryden turned to him, his face grim. He held up the glowing booklet for a brief moment, the golden letters flickering ominously. “Something really bad,” he said, his voice heavy. “Whenever those red comets appear, a massive monster attack comes.”

  Torran’s expression darkened. “How many?”

  Ryden hesitated, his throat dry, before he finally spoke. “A hundred thousand.”

  The words hung in the air like a death knell. Torran’s eyes widened, his usual stoicism faltering as the weight of the number hit him. The other cn leaders who had gathered—Lyssara, Korrin, Zael, and the rest—stared in shock, their faces reflecting the growing dread that spread like wildfire.

  But Torran snapped out of it first. He turned sharply to his warriors, barking orders with the authority of a seasoned leader. “Dog Cn, to the walls! Archers, take positions on the parapets! Spearmen, form ranks behind the gates! Move now!”

  Lyssara, though shaken, quickly followed Torran’s lead. “Snake Cn!” she called, her voice slicing through the noise. “Set traps at every chokepoint! Poison your arrows and keep your spirits ready to strike!”

  Korrin of the Dragon Cn hefted his spear, lightning crackling along its edge. “Dragon Cn! Form up by the eastern gate! Shields in front, archers behind—hold the line!”

  Zael of the Horse Cn shouted to her riders. “Secure the horses and prepare for hit-and-run tactics! We’ll strike them from the fnks!”

  The other cn leaders echoed simir commands, their voices rising over the chaos as warriors scrambled to their positions.

  Arika arrived with Zovar and Orvek, their expressions grim but focused as they carried a crude but functional yout of the city etched into a rge wooden board. She smmed it down onto a nearby table, drawing the attention of the cn leaders and the trio.

  “Here’s the situation,” Arika began, her tone clipped and steady. She pointed at the map, her finger tracing the walls of Pilris. “The city has four main entrances—north, south, east, and west. The walls are reinforced with bronze, but against a force this rge and with only about 5000 defenders they’ll only hold for so long.”

  She tapped the gates. “We’ll put archers and spear throwers on the walls. Every archer who can shoot, every warrior with a throwing arm—get them up there. Spearmen will defend the gates themselves, and we’ll barricade the streets behind them. If the gates fall, we’ll make them fight for every inch they take.”

  Rice blinked at her in surprise. “This isn’t your first time doing this, huh?”

  Arika let out a dry ugh, her phoenix spirit fring behind her. “Rice, it’s been ten years. Pilris has been through a lot.”

  “You don’t say,” Rice muttered, scratching his head.

  Zovar pointed to the central pza. “Non-combatants will be sheltered here. It’s the most defensible position in the city. We’ll keep a reserve force nearby to defend it if the outer lines are breached.”

  Darius leaned over the map, his mind racing as he absorbed the pn. “The walls will buy us time, but they won’t stop the full force. We’ll need to concentrate our efforts on deying them as much as possible.”

  “Agreed,” Arika said. She turned to the cn leaders. “Your warriors are strong, but coordination will be key. We can’t afford to fight as separate groups. We have to be one army.”

  The leaders nodded, their earlier hesitation repced by resolve.

  The city was a hive of activity. Warriors armed themselves and took their positions on the walls, their spirits glowing beside them. Bcksmiths worked furiously to sharpen weapons and repair armor. Cnspeople hauled barricades into the streets, stacking barrels, crates, and stone to create choke points.

  Snake Cn warriors set up traps in key locations—hidden pits lined with spikes, nets rigged to drop from rooftops, and poison-coated caltrops scattered across likely paths of attack. The Moon Step Cn worked in tandem, their stealthy warriors slipping through the shadows to pnt additional defenses in strategic locations.

  The Horse Cn secured their horses, preparing to ride out in quick, decisive strikes. Their riders whispered reassurances to their mounts, their spirits standing by like guardians of the pins.

  Above it all, the red comets continued to streak across the sky, their descent growing faster and more numerous with each passing moment. Ryden, Rice, and Darius stood together, their eyes scanning the preparations as the weight of the coming battle settled heavily on their shoulders.

  “Ready or not,” Ryden muttered, his voice grim. “This is going to be the fight of our lives.”

  Rice cracked a shaky grin, trying to lighten the mood. “At least it’s not boring, right?”

  Darius snorted. “Not the time, Rice.”