Transmigrated As An Extra In The Apocalypse-Chapter 72 - 71: Barrier

The world was a blur of motion, my breath coming in sharp, controlled bursts as my boots pounded against the dirt.

My arms burning from the weight of the wounded lady I carried.

The gate was just ahead, wide open, flickering with the faint glow of the protective barrier that was still activating.

I pushed forward, ignoring the pain in my legs, the ache in my muscles.

There was no time to stop.

No time to look back.

"Amber, faster!" Edward’s voice cut through the chaos, urging me on.

He was inside the gate, helping soldiers and awakened who where seriously injured enter, his face tight with exertion.

The city walls loomed ahead, tall and imposing, the last safe haven from the hell outside.

Soldiers stood at the entrance, shouting orders, ushering in the final wave of survivors.

The barrier was almost close to fully activating.

Just a little more.

I gritted my teeth, adjusting my grip on the woman in my arms.

Her breathing was shallow, but she was still alive.

I didn’t have time to heal her.

She clung to me weakly, barely conscious, but her fingers tightened slightly around my sleeve.

She wanted to live.

So I had to make sure she did.

With a final burst of speed, I crossed the threshold, practically throwing myself past the gate.

Edward quickly supported some of the people I saved that were behind me.

The moment we were inside, the soldiers rushed to us, pulling the wounded from our grasp.

"Get someone to heal them now!" one of them barked.

I barely registered the words.

My legs gave out beneath me, and I collapsed to my knees, my chest heaving.

Sweat dripped down my forehead, mixing with the grime and blood that clung to my skin.

I turned my head just in time to see the city’s barrier flared to life, a translucent dome of flickering energy stretching across the sky like an unbreakable shield.

A deafening silence followed, broken only by the distant growls of goblins outside, their fury palpable even through the walls.

We had made it.

Barely.

The tense silence remained.

The air was thick with the acrid scent of sweat, blood, and remnants of the battle that had raged just beyond the walls.

Soldiers and awakened where there, some where sitting, looking outside of the gate, while some lay on the ground out of exhaustion to move.

Everyone faces grim and weary, gripping their weapons with white-knuckled.

Some stood with their eyes fixed on the sky, while some others stole nervous glances at each other, as if searching for reassurance in the midst of impending doom.

I stood among them, heart pounding against my ribs, sweat trickling down my spine despite the cold night air.

My fingers curled tightly around my rifle, but at this moment, there was nothing I could do but watch.

Then, they all descended.

A sharp, whistling sound cut through the stillness, a dreadful noise, like the wail of a banshee.

I barely had time to process it before the first shadow passed overhead.

Then another.

And another.

Hundreds.

All the arrows.

They descended like a storm, their blackened tips glinting ominously against the barrier.

It was as if the heavens themselves had declared war upon us, unleashing a torrent of death with no mercy.

The first wave of arrows struck the barrier, and in an instant, they disintegrated into nothingness.

The impact sent ripples across the barrier, a web of light spreading outward like a ripple in water.

But it held.

More arrows followed, a relentless downpour crashing against the protective dome.

Some sparked upon contact, bursting into harmless embers, while others dissolved into thin air.

But still, they came, hundreds, thousands, a never-ending rain of destruction that should have reduced the city to ruin and poison every last survivors.

But it didn’t.

The barrier endured.

All around me, soldiers and awakened watched in silent awe, their breaths caught in their throats.

Some whispered prayers, others clutched their weapons even tighter, as if afraid that at any moment, the shield would break.

It didn’t.

The storm of arrows continued for what felt like an eternity, and yet, the city remained untouched.

For now.

The air was thick with the lingering tension of battle, the faint hum of the barrier still reverberating through the city.

The sky, once filled with a deadly rain of arrows, now stretched empty above us, save for the faint glow of the magical dome that had shielded us from certain death.

The city stood untouched, but my mind was restless.

I sat on a makeshift bench near the city’s inner walls, my gun resting against my leg.

The sounds of distant orders being shouted, weapons being checked, and the wounded being tended to filled the air, but I wasn’t focused on any of it.

My thoughts were on the barrier.

On how long it had taken to activate.

A heavy presence settled beside me, and without looking, I knew it was Edward.

His sheer size made the bench creak under the added weight, but he remained still, his posture as rigid as always.

"I didn’t expect them to be able to do something like this," he said finally, his voice firm and unwavering, like it always was.

I turned my gaze to him, studying the way his brows furrowed slightly as he stared at the shimmering barrier above.

His tone wasn’t filled with skepticism, just observation.

I exhaled.

"Honestly? I expected it to happen earlier." I shifted slightly, leaning forward with my elbows on my knees. "There are powerful awakened in this city. Some of the best. That barrier should have gone up long before those arrows even touched the air."

Edward said nothing, but I knew he was thinking about it.

I continued.

"Something isn’t right. Either there was a delay... or there’s a problem with the awakened mages or the city authorities." I glanced at him, hoping to gauge his reaction.

His silence stretched for a moment longer before he finally nodded slightly.

Not in agreement, necessarily, but in acknowledgment.

He was processing what I had said, running through possibilities in that analytical mind of his.

The thought unsettled me.

If there was a problem with our forces, then what would happen if another attack came?

Edward didn’t voice any thoughts, but I could tell he was considering the same possibilities.

His gaze remained fixed on the barrier, and for once, I wished he would say something reassuring.

But Edward wasn’t the type to offer comfort.

If there was a problem, he would find it.

If something needed to be fixed, he would act.

I sighed, straightening up.

"We need to keep an eye on this."

Edward finally turned his head slightly toward me, his expression unreadable.

Then, after another pause, he gave a single nod.

That was enough.

My fingers absently traced my gun which was resting on my legs, but my mind suddenly moved elsewhere.

I had been so focused on fighting, so caught up in survival, that I hadn’t even asked the one question that had been pressing at the back of my mind.

I turned my gaze back to Edward again.

His arms were crossed, his expression unreadable as always.

"Edward," I said, my voice quieter than I intended. "What about the others?"

His eyes flickered toward me, but he didn’t answer immediately.

The pause made my stomach twist.

I already knew the answer.

"They’re dead," he finally said, his voice firm, but lacking its usual cold detachment.

I swallowed, my fingers tightening around my gun.

"How?"

Edward let out a slow breath, as if choosing his words carefully.

"How, Edward?!" I pressed.

"They fought against the hordes, same as us. We were overwhelmed. No formation, no strategy, just chaos. We held out as long as we could, but..." He trailed off for a moment before continuing, his voice steady but grim. "Mark was the first to go. An orc crushed him. Shield and all. I didn’t even have time to react before it happened."

Mark.

He had always been the loud one, always the first to charge in.

He was reckless, sure, but he was strong. Reliable.

And now he was gone.

I clenched my jaw, but Edward kept going.

"Liam got swarmed by goblins. We tried to pull him out, but there were too many. They tore him apart." His tone didn’t waver, but I saw his hand clench slightly. "And Sarah... she held the line for as long as she could. Gave us enough time to retreat. But she never made it back."

Sarah.

I exhaled sharply, my nails digging into my palms.

"They were strong," Edward added after a moment, his gaze fixed ahead. "They fought until the end."

A bitter taste filled my mouth. Strong.

It didn’t matter.

It hadn’t saved them.

I felt something heavy settle in my chest, a slow-burning mix of sorrow and rage.

The goblins, the orcs, they had taken everything.

They had slaughtered good people, people who had trusted me, fought beside me.

I forced myself to breathe, but the anger didn’t fade.

Edward was silent, giving me time to process.

He didn’t offer empty words, didn’t try to comfort me.

That wasn’t who he was.

I looked down at my gun, my grip tightening.

"They’ll pay," I muttered.

Edward didn’t respond.

But I knew he agreed.

The air had finally started to settle.

The tension that had gripped us since the battle began was loosening, if only slightly.

People were catching their breath, some leaning against the walls, others tending to their wounds.

The barrier overhead shimmered faintly, a protective dome keeping us safe from whatever was still lurking beyond.

For the first time in hours, I let myself believe we had a moment of peace.

And then the ground shook.

A deep, rumbling vibration traveled through the earth beneath my feet, rattling loose stones and sending an eerie silence across the battlefield.

Every head snapped toward the gates. freewebnøvel.coɱ

The soldiers, the awakened, the survivors, everyone froze.

Something was coming.

The tremors grew stronger with each passing second, like the heavy footsteps of something massive.

A shadow loomed just beyond the barrier, and then it stepped forward.

My breath caught in my throat.

It was an orc, but unlike any I had seen before.

Bigger, broader, and radiating an overwhelming presence.

The others had been terrifying, but this one was something else entirely.

Its muscles rippled beneath thick, scarred skin, and its armor, dark, jagged, and worn from countless battles, looked impenetrable.

Even the strongest weapons would struggle to leave a scratch.

But it wasn’t just its size or its armor that made my blood run cold.

It was the way it moved, slow, deliberate, completely unbothered by the countless bodies of its fallen kin around it.

It carried itself like an absolute being, one that didn’t see us as a threat, but as insignificant insects beneath its gaze.

Then the realization hit me soo hard.

It was... The Orc lord.

I felt it before I even processed the thought fully.

The sheer weight of its presence pressed against my chest, making it hard to breathe.

The other soldiers reacted the same way.

Some instinctively stepped back.

Others gripped their weapons tighter, but there was hesitation now, uncertainty.

It kept walking, its heavy steps making the ground tremble.

Each step brought it closer to the barrier.

Closer to us.