Chapter 5

In ten minutes, the monsters would besiege the stronghold. If they hadn’t found shelter by then, they’d all be dead.

But Julian seemed to hear the biggest joke in the world. He bent down and pinched my chin.

He forced me to look into the mirror, to see how these men were humiliating me.

To see how many more men were standing by, eager to get their turn!

“Regret? When they have you crying and begging for mercy later, remember how ridiculous that sounds today!”

Seraphina leaned into his arms, timidly adding, “Cassidy, don’t be so stubborn. Just cooperate, and everyone will have an easier time!”

I closed my eyes in despair, my fingers subtly gripping the bronze key at my chest.

Just as another man reached out to tear open my collar, an earth-shattering roar suddenly came from the distance.

The sky instantly rolled with black mist, thick enough to blot out the sun. Monsters surged forward like a tide.

“It’s a horde! The ultimate boss is leading a horde!”

The crowd instantly erupted into chaos. Cries, gunshots, and monster roars became a tangled mess.

Julian’s face instantly paled. He instinctively shielded Seraphina behind him, his gaze sweeping over the chaotic crowd before finally fixating on me.

“Cassidy! Quick, cut off your arm and use your blood to lure them to the east gate! You can’t die, can you? Go now!”

I coldly pushed myself up from the ground.

Seeing me not move, Julian tried to rush at me, but a sudden pouncing monster forced him to retreat.

He stamped his foot impatiently. “Cassidy, are you crazy? If you don’t go, we’ll all die!”

I pulled out the last long spike piercing my ankle and stepped barefoot into the pooling blood.

Step by step, I walked towards the stronghold.

“Cassidy, are you kidding me? That’s Commander Rhys’s stronghold, not just anyone can get in! If you go now and lure those monsters away, I promise you, after you revive, we’ll get married, okay?!”

He screamed my name like a madman, his voice filled with panic for the first time.

I stopped but didn’t turn back. I just held up the bronze key in my hand.

I lowered my head and chuckled softly:

“Married? Julian, do you even deserve it?”

Blood dripped from my fingertips onto the ground, reflecting his terrified face.

“This is the pass I earned with sixty-six of my lives. I even secured a spot for you, but unfortunately, that disappeared the moment you stood by and watched my mother die for another woman!”

“You and your precious sweetheart can stay here and be torn to shreds by monsters. I’m not saving you!”

Julian stared at the bronze key in my hand in disbelief, watching me walk into the stronghold behind me.

The moment the main gate was about to close, Julian finally panicked.