The burning tents lit up the night, illuminating the wreckage scattered across the ground and sending the atmosphere straight through the roof.
The Ancient Remnants Alliance soldiers indulging in slaughter within the city also noticed something was wrong outside, but it was already too late to withdraw.
From the moment the cavalry trampled through the encampments, the collapse of the troops left behind had become inevitable. Exhausted, weak forces facing elite human troops had been doomed to a one-sided battle from the start.
Facing the Alpha Kingdom Army's assault, the various unaffiliated races could only fight on their own. They simply could not form an effective resistance.
"Retreat!"
"Withdraw from the city immediately!"
The commanders of the various races at the front issued retreat orders one after another. Everyone knew that once the camps outside the city were lost, the balance between offense and defense would be reversed.
The blow to morale in particular was impossible to measure.
What should have been an orderly retreat with alternating cover had now turned into a mad rush outward.
The Ancient Remnants Alliance was far too mixed in composition. Everyone held a degree of suspicion toward their allies, and no one could guarantee that if they stayed behind to cover the retreat, their companions would not abandon them and flee once they left the city.
Unable to tell exactly how many enemy troops had raided the camps outside, the panicked allied soldiers could only retreat desperately. Their combat strength instantly dropped by more than half.
"The enemy has already collapsed. Rackel, pass down the order: have every city defense unit launch an immediate counterattack. We cannot let these battered remnants escape!"
The enemy's main force still remained, but in the pitch-black chaos, neither side could make out the other's exact situation. As