"Prince!?"
Josh's eyes widened, his heart filled with shock.
He had thought the prince's group had abandoned them and fled for their lives. He had never expected them to return with reinforcements.
Behind the prince stood the Harbor Guard's musketeers, nearly filling the entire alleyway. The Mother Goddess believers who had reached the barricade slowly turned around, only to face a forest of black gun barrels.
"Fire!"
The officers roared their orders. Before the Mother Goddess Church's monsters could advance, the barrage of bullets forced them back. Though the crazed believers feared neither death nor pain, their flesh could not withstand bullets. Like wheat flattened by the wind, they fell row after row.
The monsters had been devouring the believers, but the people at the front fell too quickly. They had no choice but to meet the gunpowder and bullets with their own flesh. Bloody blossoms burst across their massive bodies. The monsters' roars were drowned out by gunfire, and within moments, the alley had become a river of blood.
Several Mystic Society believers dragged Josh back. He panted heavily, the brush with death having nearly drained all his strength.
"Thank goodness, thank goodness... the prince came to save us..." Josh said in gasps, but he soon noticed Zoe beside him. The girl did not look well.
"What is it, Zoe? Is something wrong?"
"Something's not right." Zoe stared fixedly at the Harbor Guard outside. Unlike the small cavalry unit the prince had led before, these were infantry. They continually reloaded and fired, and the enemies across from them dwindled with each cycle.
Following her gaze, Josh gradually realized it too. The Harbor Guard had come from the Upper District as well, so why had the Faithguard Army not arrived?
Granny had informed the Mystic Society from the very beginning