"It shouldn't be a big deal then, right?"

Zachariah says "Normally it wouldn't be. Ground attacks stand almost no chance of getting past the wall. Unfortunately, that specific alarm means that the attack is an airborne one. All combat capable people are required by law to assist in the battle."

Almort says "Right. We should head up to the roof."

Since I am curious anyway, I don't argue and follow them up to the roof. We are not the only ones heading up there, it looks like most of the building's staff is too. As we arrive on the roof, there are already people working on raising weapons from the roof itself.

The weapons look like a pair of longbows side by side in a frame similar to a ballista. Curious, I walk over to one that is already raised and take a closer look. It doesn't fire an arrow, or at least not a single arrow, it is loaded with a canister.

Inside the canister is a couple of dozen small arrows, but the canister is on a track. From the looks of it the track stops the canister and when it stops the arrows would continue. It is basically an arrow shotgun, although it doesn't look easy to reload.

Stepping up to the edge of the roof and looking around, I can see more of these weapons on every roof. Most of the buildings around this one have at least a dozen, but the association building has over a hundred. Then again, it is the biggest building in the city, so it is probably a prime target during attacks.

As for the enemy, so far all I can see is a black line on the western horizon. The city's detection system is pretty good to have spotted an attack this early. Then again, they need the time to get all the weapons set up and loaded.

Looking down at the streets I am surprised to see people moving in an orderly fashion. There is none of the panic I would expect to see, but maybe they are just used to it. After all, this obviously isn't the first time the city has been attacked by demons.

"Zachariah, why are the people heading into the buildings?"

Zachariah says "It is city law that every building must contain a shelter and open them to the populous during an attack."

"Oh, that's a good law. How often do these attacks happen?"

Almort says "Normally we get attacked once every month or two. This attack is odd because we were already attacked earlier this month. Also, the majority of the attacks are land based, airborne attacks are rare."

Zachariah says "It also looks a lot bigger than the attacks normally are."

Looking to the horizon, the line has grown and expanded, now it looks like a huge cloud. Using a bit of mana to enhance my eyes, I can see that it is a cloud made up of beasts. There are thousands of them, maybe even tens of thousands, but I can't see them clearly yet.

"The timing of this attack seems suspect. Did I cause this?"

Lin says "What do you mean? You haven't done anything recently."

"You heard them, this attack shouldn't be happening. Yet it is, and just hours after I put the crown on."

Lin says "How could that be? The effect of the crown barely reached outside the building?!"

"The effect that made people kneel only reached that far, but is that the only effect? I really don't know much about the crown, all I know is that it is an artifact and it can control an entire city. Besides, who knows how sensitive to a power surge the demon beasts are?"

Zachariah says "As far as we know they are very sensitive. We think that is why they swarm any ship that sails west, because of the enchantments."

"So, odds are that this is my fault then."

Almort says "No. If anything it is my fault. After all, I am the one who asked for proof that you are a king."

Lin says "It doesn't matter whose fault it is. We need to figure out what we are going to do about it."

"We are going to help defend the city. Almort can you tell me anything about these specific demon beasts?"

Almort says "They aren't close enough yet. Most of the airborne beasts are not strong individually, but their numbers are a major problem."

"They look like shriveled up goblins with bat-like wings."

Zachariah says "You can see that from here?!"

Almort says "Then they are called Shrikes and they are normally rank one to four at most. An average adventurer can deal with a dozen or so."

"Yeah, but from what I can see there are over ten thousand, maybe as many as twenty thousand."

Almort says "If it was around five thousand we would probably be okay. Twenty thousand will overwhelm the defenses just with sheer numbers."

"Lin, you have seen me enhance your spells. Think you can do the same?"

Lin says "Yeah, maybe. What do you have in mind? Will it be structured enough for me to enhance it?"

"It should be, I've always had a knack for wind spells."

Lin says "I thought you were best at fire or lightning spells?"

"I am, but I don't want to destroy the city. Fire and lightning are a lot harder to keep contained."

Almort says "Yes, please don't destroy the city!"

Zachariah says "Are you really that powerful?"

Lin says "Yes, he is. Now, Ash, what do you need?"

"I need a few minutes to design the spell. In the meantime those things are going to reach the city and start attacking. I need you to help hold them off until the spell is ready."

Lin says "Alright, I can do that."

I move back to the middle of the roof and sit down as I start designing the spell. I want it to cover a large area and do a lot of damage, but I need to be able to control it. Unlike my normal spells, I need it to be properly structured so it doesn't go wild when Lin enhances it.

I probably could have asked Lin if she knew a spell that would work, but I can't just do that every time. With everything Lin has taught me and all the experience from enchanting, I should be able to do it myself. After all, enchantments are structured, so I should be able to do it.

As I am working on the spell the first of the demon beasts reaches the city. However, for now they are staying high enough that the defenders can't attack them. It looks like they are at least smart enough to wait and gather their numbers before attacking.

That isn't a good thing, but in this case it gives me a bit more time to work on the spell. My main advantage is that I am only using wind, if I was mixing elements it would be harder. I already had an idea in mind, so the spell is developing quite quickly.