In truth, Ximen Wuqing bore the greatest pressure as city lord. He felt as though a mountain weighed on his heart. The lives of hundreds of thousands in Snow City rested in his hands, and he had to answer for them.
Though he would not say human lives were mere weeds, each vibrant life he saw fall added another measure of guilt to his heart, and three measures of hatred for the Demon Soldiers outside.
Yet as that hatred grew, melancholy rose within him. It was all for survival. To survive, humans enslaved Demon Beasts and captured them as Beast Pets, then continued fighting Demon Beasts. And there was nothing blameworthy about Demon Beasts rising up to fight back for their own survival. Neither side was right or wrong. It was all for survival.
The Stone-Throwing Machines on both sides hurled their loads tirelessly.
Until the Demon Army ran out of iron balls first.
The pressure on the defenders atop the walls eased considerably.
After a bloody battle lasting well over two hours, the defenders reclaimed the battlements once more.
During that time, some defenders had wrapped their arms around Demon Soldiers who had stormed the battlements and leaped off the walls with them. Their deaths were wretched, yet heroic. Those who jumped hit the ground below, their bodies twitching a few times before falling still.
Some Demon Soldiers saw that there was no room for them and, in no hurry, charged toward the defenders' corpses instead, tearing into them madly before gulping down great mouthfuls. To stir these Demon Beasts' savage instincts, the Demon Race People would never let them eat their fill, and even starved them outright. If you wanted to fill your belly, you had better charge up there. Once you reached the top, you could eat