Gradually, some of the braver civilians cautiously shifted the furniture away from their windows. A sliver of sunlight streamed through the gap, and one civilian's eyes widened in astonishment.
When he peered through the crack, he froze in place.
The monsters that had blanketed the sky had vanished completely. He gazed upon a clear azure sky, the sun radiating a gentle warmth, and... a young girl floating high above, bathed in sunlight and shimmering faintly as if emitting her own light.
"Has a god... truly come to save us?"
"Is that an angel?!"
"A miracle! Is this a miracle?!"
The Herta Puppet's mere presence had driven away all Featherless Birds within a radius of nearly a kilometer. Within this circle, not a single monster remained. Beyond it, however, the air still swarmed with the creatures, the Featherless Birds hovering nervously but daring not to approach.
In that moment, everyone who witnessed this scene realized that their city was under the protection of an angel! They were safe!
The ten Imperial Guard soldiers, delivered by the Herta Puppet, landed safely on the ground. Soon, residents began to gather around, recognizing their distinctive military uniforms. "It's His Majesty the King's Imperial Guard!" they exclaimed. "Has the King sent someone to rescue us?"
"Did His Majesty send the angel?"
"Thank goodness! We're saved!"
In feudal times, ordinary people held an almost blind faith in their king. As long as he lived, they believed the nation would endure. Conversely, even with vast territories and powerful armies, the death of the monarch could plunge the kingdom into chaos.
It was perfectly natural for these civilians to mistake the Herta Puppet for an angel sent by Napoleon II. Herta herself saw no need to correct them; she cared little for such hollow praise.
The puppet raised her right hand, and a blazing fireball materialized in her palm. Streaking across the sky like a meteor, it hurtled toward a swarm of monsters over a kilometer away.
Simultaneously, the ten Imperial Guard soldiers explained the situation to the gathered residents. "Madam Herta will protect this city. As long as you stay here, you'll be safe!"
Hearing this, everyone wore expressions of relief, as if they had narrowly escaped death. "Herta... is that the angel's name?"
"Thank goodness! I knew His Majesty the King wouldn't abandon us!"
"Great Madam Herta, we thank you!"
But then, an Imperial Guard soldier spoke up. "However... Madam Herta's protection extends only to this city. She cannot reach beyond these walls."
The statement seemed obvious, but seeing the soldier's grave expression, the crowd fell into an uneasy silence. The guard continued, "Therefore, we need volunteers to leave the city with us and travel to the nearby towns and villages. We must bring our fellow citizens back here to safety!"
"..."
"..."
Silence hung heavy in the air as everyone stared blankly at the ten soldiers before them, their eyes betraying unspeakable terror.
They had just survived a brutal attack, fully aware of the monsters' horror. They had barely escaped with their lives and found refuge, only to be asked to leave the sanctuary of the city and return to that same perilous environment?
A trembling voice finally broke the silence. "Going outside now... isn't that just throwing our lives away?"
The Imperial Guard simply stated calmly, "Perhaps there's no difference. But if we don't leave the city, what will become of the people in the surrounding towns and villages? Should we just wait for the monsters to slaughter them all?"
Leaving the city now offered no guarantee of survival, even if they reached their destination. And even if they made it back with the civilians from the towns and villages, their safety was far from assured.
Success was uncertain, but inaction would condemn those villagers to certain doom.
The soldiers of the Imperial Guard were not superhuman; they felt fear like anyone else. But they whispered to themselves, "This is His Majesty's command!"
That order gave them the courage to advance. For their own sake, they wouldn't dare undertake such a near-suicidal mission. But for His Majesty the King, for France, they were willing to face death itself.
Looking at the silent crowd around them, the soldiers couldn't help but sigh. Even without assistance, the ten of them would proceed with the mission.
Just then, a man stepped forward. He was in his thirties, his face etched with grim determination. "My wife died in the attack just now," he said. "I'm all alone now. I'll go with you!"
Immediately, one after another stepped forward. "My younger brother is in a small town to the south! I'll go too!"
"Count me in!" "Me too!"
Each person had their own reasons, but whether those reasons were genuine or not didn't matter. What mattered was that they had made a choice.
This scene wasn't unique to this city; it was unfolding in every town and city across France.
In times of crisis, the world never lacks heroes willing to rise to the occasion.
Yet even among all these cities, this coastal city was the most perilous. The ten Imperial Guard soldiers split into five teams, each consisting of an Elite Soldier and an Elite Corrupted, leading seven or eight volunteers. Starting from this city, they set out to evacuate civilians from the surrounding towns and villages.
Because the Herta Puppet was continuously launching attacks in the air, drawing the attention of most of the Featherless Birds in the area, the People could likely exit the city undetected if they were careful.
However, once they reached a town or village and began returning to the city with a large group, the massive movement of people would inevitably attract the birds' attention. Herta had already anticipated this contingency.
Although she had only been fighting these Featherless Birds for a few minutes—and even then, it was entirely the Puppet doing the work while Herta Herself remained inactive—she had keenly observed several of their key characteristics.
Despite having eyes, these monsters had poor eyesight. Instead, they primarily sensed enemies through their weight; the heavier the creature, the more conspicuous it appeared in their perception.
In other words, as long as one maintained a sufficient distance and kept their weight light enough, these creatures might not even notice you.
While keeping a vigilant eye on the Bird-Shaped Evil God's true form and monitoring the repair of the Dimensional Rift to prevent any unforeseen incidents, Herta also casually designed a device:
A gravity-weakening device capable of affecting an entire area. Fortunately, she had her black box "3D printer" nearby. After uploading the blueprints, the printer began churning out these devices in vast quantities. Each Herta Puppet carried several, distributing them to the Imperial Guard soldiers.
In theory, activating these devices during their return journey would reduce the probability of being detected by the Featherless Birds. However, even with this advantage, the mission remained exceedingly perilous.