Chapter 91 Outside in Chaos II

For a while after then, they helped move people between vehicles and cleared whatever they could from the road. Those who were still fit carried bags, supported the injured and passed instructions from one end of the line to the other.

Nolan helped a responder bring several children out of an overcrowded minibus, while Bren used his good arm to hold open a damaged door until everyone inside had climbed onto the verge.

Some time later, another alarm sounded.

"Off the bend! Move!"

Something struck the other side of the delivery truck, folding part of its metal wall inwards.

Leon immediately summoned the Great Swordsman and both Skirmishers.

A broad creature covered in thick plates forced its way around the truck. Its head hung low between its shoulders, while its foreclaws tore into the road as it turned towards the people.

"Grade Four Peak!" One of the local summoners shouted.

Linda’s Yeti appeared beside the verge and immediately attacked. The first ice spike shattered against the creature’s plates, while another caught beneath one of its forelegs and forced it slightly to the side.

Despite that , it still continued moving.

The Great Swordsman stepped between it and a man trying to pull a child away from one of the cars. Its blade struck the exposed joint behind the monster’s foreleg and drew blood, but the creature responded by smashing its shoulder into the undead.

The Swordsman turned enough to avoid taking the full strike, but it was still thrown into the side of a car, crushing the metal beneath its armoured back while folding much of the car.

"Get back and guard the people." Leon commanded, immediately calling out the Mage.

The Swordsman stood up while the Skirmishers pulled the man and child away.

Gareth joined the fight from the side, using his scaled forearms to catch the creature’s head long enough for another summoner to attack. The woman with the spear came around the truck shortly after and forced it to turn away from the evacuees.

"Keep moving!" She shouted.

Linda spread ice across the ground between the fight and the cars. The creature broke through the first ridge with one foreclaw, but the obstruction still gave the responders enough time to move more people along the verge.

Her Yeti could hold it back for some time, but defeating it alone was a different matter.

Leon could only support with his defensive barriers, afraid that any fires might end up leading to explosions in a road filled with vehicles.

More impacts came from beyond the nearby buildings, and Linda looked from the trapped vehicles to an open section farther down the road.

"Get everyone off the car roofs."

"What?" One of the responders asked.

"I can make a way across."

He understood once ice started rising beside the nearest car.

Wide steps formed from the road and led to a platform above the trapped vehicles. Thick supports extended into the spaces between them, while the ice continued across the blocked bend until it reached the clear verge on the other side.

"One line!" The responder shouted. "Walk, don’t run!"

Linda remained where she could see the entire structure, with the Yeti adding raised edges to the places people hesitated and widening the landing on the other side.

Leon helped a woman onto the first step before moving on to the next person.

Above them, Nolan’s Wind Hawk carried a small child inside one of the responders’ rescue slings. It dropped the child safely beyond the obstruction before returning for another.

The walkway helped them move the people trapped around that part of the road, but it didn’t solve every problem.

A man was still inside a car whose doors wouldn’t open, two more people were calling from the overturned vehicle below the damaged verge, while an elderly passenger farther back couldn’t climb the ice steps.

Leon sent the Great Swordsman to the trapped man, and it simply tore the door off.

Both Skirmishers moved towards the damaged verge and carefully climbed down to the overturned vehicle.

That left no summon beside Leon when three children came running between the cars, crying for an adult who hadn’t followed them.

"Come here and stay together," Leon said as he hurried towards them.

He handed them over to a responder before looking farther down the road.

Gareth and the local summoners had managed to force the plated creature away from the bend, but they were still fighting it. Flashes continued appearing between the buildings beyond them, meaning that it probably wasn’t the only monster in the area.

The ice walkway carried a steady line of evacuees, but the number of people waiting behind it was still increasing.

The summons he had out weren’t enough.

Bringing out the second Swordsman wouldn’t be enough either.

Leon could place the Swordsman at the far end of the walkway and leave the Mage near Lex. That would protect both places, but neither summon could be everywhere at once. There were still vehicles farther down the road that needed to be opened, injured people coming from the side streets, and more people calling from beneath the verge.

Thinking about it, the good thing was, none of those tasks required a Grade Three summon. They only needed something strong enough to lift, carry and pull people out without getting tired.

Leon looked towards the dark spaces between the vehicles.

His ordinary Skeleton Warriors were useless against the Grade Four Peak monster. Sending them there would only get them destroyed, but they could open car doors, carry the injured, clear smaller obstructions and lead people towards the walkway. Even his weaker summons would be useful here as long as he gave them the right work.

Leon looked towards Lex.

The instructor was helping a medic arrange the wounded beside the supply vehicle. Linda was concentrating on the ice walkway, while Nolan stood farther ahead and directed the Wind Hawk towards the waiting families.

Everyone was too busy with what was in front of them.

Night had already covered most of the road, leaving only the scattered headlights and emergency lamps. Smoke blurred the surrounding buildings, while the civilians were more concerned with finding a way out than counting Leon’s summons.

It was true that someone could still notice, but at this point, it didn’t matter.

Leon looked towards the overturned vehicle again.

’I’ll deal with the attention later.’