Gretel Town was peaceful and beautiful in the early morning, until one day...
After a deafening crash, a house collapsed, and an enormous black beetle slowly advanced.
Dozens of Lion-Ant-Bee Warriors stood together on the beetle's back, all staring at the towering walls not far beyond the town. They had reached Layton City.
A Noble Hunting Team was fleeing for its life. Their clothes were in tatters, their bodies covered in blood. Pale-faced and terrified, they scrambled away. The enormous beetle behind them had become their most dreaded nightmare.
There were too many.
They had barely left the city before encountering a dense swarm of enormous beetles, each carrying Lion-Ant-Bee Warriors on its back.
In a single encounter, their captain, deputy captain, shield-bearer, spearman, and archer had been killed by projectiles hurled by the enemy.
Seeing that things had gone horribly wrong, they immediately turned and ran, using the trees as cover in an attempt to escape the monsters' attacks. But they could not get away. There was simply no escape.
In Gretel Town, countless residents had just awakened when they heard houses collapsing, followed by screams and cries of agony.
Mailon was Gretel Town's finest hunter, and its so-called greatest warrior.
He had once ventured alone into the deep mountain forests to hunt a Rainbow-feathered Leopard as a betrothal gift, winning the mayor's approval and marrying his daughter.
Yesterday, his wife had taken their daughter back to his father-in-law's home. It was not actually far away: one house was in the east of town, the other in the west, only half an hour's journey apart.
Gretel Town was close to Layton City. Strictly speaking, it was an extension of the city, separated from it by only a short stretch of land. Traveling in and out was extremely convenient, so