Supreme BeastTamer: I Can Copy and Upgrade Skills 10x!

"What is the current situation?" Nathan shouted through his crystal, his face filled with worry and anxieties. Although, because of the dimensional rift in the Cromwell barony, the walls of the towns were considerably stronger.

Still, Nathan knew the walls' difference would prove ineffective against a stampede of furious beasts.

Elvin, who had remained behind, spoke out with a grim voice.

"They're still some distance away, but... in the next couple of hours... I'm, I'm afraid."

"Afraid of what?" Nathan shouted with slight impatience and panic in his voice.

"In the next couple of hours, I'm afraid they might breach the walls... right now, my strike team and I will try to keep them away, but with their current size, I doubt we'll hold on for long."

Nathan hung up the communication crystal, clenching his fist, his eyes blazing with fury. "I knew it!" he spat out. "I knew there was something fishy when the beasts suddenly stopped attacking. Did they go into hiding and..."

"...cultivate their strength to attack with full force to catch us off guard?" Lord Landon approached Nathan, finishing what he was about to say. His expression was dark.

Quickly, without a moment of hesitation, Nathan brought out a special whistle with trembling hands and blew it. The action confused some of those around him, as they hadn't heard any sound, but Nathan didn't care. The one he wanted to communicate with had heard the message perfectly.

Meanwhile, in the crowd, heads swirled around as the spectators exchanged wary, uneasy glances.

"What is happening?"

"Why is everyone so restless all of a sudden?"

"This is bad!" Kron's face was filled with worry as he rushed to the duke's side again. After pushing through crowds of people, he arrived, but was met with an empty seat.

Duke Felix was long gone!

"This bastard!" Kron seethed with rage, his face turning red. "Where did he go? Don't tell me he abandoned everyone."

Kron's words were highly unlikely, but it was the only thing that came to his mind. After all, it was only logical for a duke to stay behind and keep things in order, even though he was technically no longer the duke.

"Who do I run to?" Kron clenched his jaw, a large vein throbbing on his temple as his mind raced. Unlike the duke, he couldn't abandon the duchy. Why? Because his father was the original Duke of Armstrong Duchy, but he had died under mysterious circumstances.

A couple of days later, the king appointed Felix as the new duke.

Just then, a certain person flashed in his mind, and he hastily rushed over to the place he had last seen that person; however, even he was nowhere to be found.

"Shit!" Kron cursed as he channeled mana into his lungs and shouted in a thunderous voice.

"All citizens, fall back! Go back to your homes!"

The arena was very close to the walls, so Kron needed to get everyone out of there as fast as he could.

An uproar arose! The arena was suddenly engulfed in screams and chaos, and the Armstrong citizens were running deeper into the towns. Though most of them, like the youths, didn't know the reason for the horn, they could tell it was ominous, and the urgency in Kron's voice only solidified this thought process.

"All Cromwell citizens, stay right where you are!" Seeing the commotion, Aina and Hans immediately gave a series of commands, which they obeyed, though they were very anxious.

Meanwhile, in the other towns...

"Get out of my way!"

"You're the one in my way!"

"Argh!!! Stop! Stop trampling on me!"

Kron's expression turned ashen as he saw what was unfolding below. Aina and Hans had already anticipated this, which was the reason they had told every single one of their members to remain in their spots.

Just as his citizens were rushing to safety, the other towns' citizens were rushing out of the arena toward the giant gates to leave and go protect their towns.

This... this caused commotion at the town entrance. The watchkeepers there were sweating bullets. They glanced one last time into the distance, and the massive black wave of monsters was still encroaching.

They were conflicted on whether to open the gate or not. They were frightened that before all these people could leave successfully, the beasts would arrive.

After seeing through the gatekeepers' thoughts, anger surged through the crowd, and they started to bombard the gates with attacks. The other side proved stubborn and fought back, yet they were overwhelmed due to the collective strength of over ten towns.

BOOM!

A thunderous boom echoed, and a cloud of dust rose into the air as the double gate collapsed on the ground, forming a deep impression. Then, like a wave of raging floodwaters, they all rushed out!

Just like that, the first line of defense of Armstrong Duchy, the most wealthy town in the western region, was already breached!

"This is..." Nathan, who had also arrived at the gate, couldn't help but frown. Technically, he was now in charge of the Armstrong Duchy as well, since Nox was now the duke, though he was still oblivious to these facts.

"What do I do? I can't just abandon them, but at the same time, I need to protect the barony as well." Nathan felt a massive headache. He needed to make a decision—and fast. With the beasts approaching at an alarming rate, every second wasted could mean the destruction of lives and the death of countless people.

"Father." Just then, Aina swiftly appeared beside him like a ghost, her red hair fluttering in the wind.

"Come on, let's get going already," she said with urgency.

"I can't."

"What do you mean you can't?" Aina asked.

Nathan took a heavy sigh and explained everything. After hearing his reasons, Aina was speechless.

"Nox... a duke?" she muttered, still finding it hard to believe what she had just heard. Then her surprise soon turned to anger as she realized the weight of the gamble Nathan had made.

Knowing that this was not the time to lecture her silly father-in-law, she said, "Then here's the plan: You head over there along with Hans and Gordon; the kids, the soldiers here, and I will protect the duchy."

"Thank you, Aina." Nathan displayed a warm smile. Aina simply nodded before disappearing into the crowd.

As she left, though, the smile gradually faded from Nathan's face. 'Strange, Doombringer should be here already.'