“Could it be that because their plan was leaked, the Void Demons have abandoned the assault?”
Blake listened to the guards’ reports, which came in every ten minutes. So far, no anomalies had been detected anywhere near the fortress. He massaged his brow firmly, speaking with exhaustion as he took a large gulp of freshly brewed strong tea.
“It’s hard to say. No one can be certain of the next move until new information arrives. If we recklessly lower our defenses, we might fall right into a trap set by the Void Demons,” Midir replied.
Midir, who had just recovered from his meditation, was standing by the sand table in the middle of the room. He seemed lost in thought as he looked at the newly updated movements on the table.
“I actually just received some good news. The reinforcement unit led by Ferdinand and the others will arrive at Azure Fortress tonight at the earliest. If a battle really does break out, we’ll have a slightly easier time.”
Aila was leaning casually on a nearby sofa, holding her communication stone as she shared the information she had just received with the others in the room.
“I hope Mr. Ferdinand and the others can arrive early! I don’t know how much longer we have to wait like this... Once they’re here, someone can take over our shift.”
Rosal appeared utterly exhausted. Having stayed awake all day, her spirit was visibly flagging, and even standing seemed like a burden. She leaned weakly against the wall, her eyes heavy with sleep as if she might drift off at any moment.
It wasn’t just her; Aila and Blake were also in poor spirits. One had been fighting and transporting people without pause, while the other had only recently been rescued and was relying purely on his physical constitution to hold on.
“Why don’t you all get some rest? I’ll wake you if anything happens. Seeing you all flagging so miserably makes me feel uneasy too.”
Midir frowned and tapped the table in front of him, feeling somewhat speechless at their current state.
“I’m so envious of your constitution that doesn’t require sleep... Fine, fine, I’ll rest for a bit then. You two should sleep too, don’t force yourselves to stay awake!”
Hearing Midir’s suggestion, Aila didn’t overthink it. She immediately gave up on the idea of staying up and adjusted herself into a comfortable position on the sofa to prepare for rest.
“Is it really okay to rest for a while, Mr. Midir?” Rosal asked, looking at Aila, who had already closed her eyes.
“Sleep, sleep. I’ll be here if anything goes wrong. Besides, I’ve already rested, so I’m still quite energized. Blake, you too—go catch some shut-eye. I’ll consider this my night watch,” Midir said with a shake of his head.
“Uh... alright. Then I’ll rest for a bit as well. Just for a short while. Thank you, Mr. Midir.” Hearing Midir’s response, Blake practically collapsed onto the desk, and before long, the sound of his faint snoring filled the room.
“Then I’ll rest too... Mr. Midir.” Seeing that the other two had already drifted off, Rosal also relaxed. She leaned against the sofa next to Aila and fell into a deep sleep.
The room quickly fell silent, leaving only Midir flipping through the documents in front of him. Even the sound of paper rustling felt somewhat piercing in the quiet.
“Sigh... everything that happened today feels like something is slightly off. Where exactly did the problem occur?”
Midir looked at the three sleeping soundly and sighed to himself. He mentally retraced the events of the day, but he couldn't shake the feeling that he had overlooked something.
While those in the Lord's Manor were drifting into dreams, Ronald Ironheart, who was still busy modifying the magic crystal cannons on the walls, discovered an anomaly.
“Mm... that’s it. Delay the ignition time of the magic crystal cannons by one second, and increase the yield of the shells by twenty percent... no, make it thirty percent! Remember to adjust the sights as well! Also, prepare more high-explosive ammunition; armor-piercing shells probably won't be very useful.”
Ronald spoke as he tinkered with a massive magic crystal cannon beside him. Several artillerymen specialized in cannon maintenance stood by his side.
The Ironheart family of the dwarven race was an absolute authority when it came to researching these heavy weapons. Coupled with Blake’s orders, the soldiers were very serious, diligently recording everything Ronald said in their notebooks.
Meanwhile, the guard who had gone to fetch the data for him returned quickly from a distance, carrying two thick books and accompanied by a group of priests dressed in white.
“Mr. Ronald, I’ve brought the data you requested. Also, these are the Priests from the Church of Light stationed at Azure Fortress. You can discuss the details with them.”
The guard placed the two sets of documents at Ronald’s feet and stepped aside after giving a brief introduction of the newcomers.
“Good, thank you for your hard work! Priests, please help by infusing these shells with light element. Once a few are ready, I need to test them first.”
Ronald nodded to the white-clad Priests. After stating his requirements, he began to pick up the documents from the ground. He sat directly on the floor and started reading carefully, word by word.
The Priests had clearly learned about the severity of the situation from the guard and did not take offense at his blunt attitude. After a brief exchange, they began their respective tasks.
“First, the climate... Hm, it hasn't rained for over three months. It's quite dry everywhere... The south... the south...” Ronald muttered to himself while flipping through the documents.
After looking through the two sets of data for a while, he seemed to have found a key piece of information. His expression grew increasingly grave.
Just as he was about to get up and report to the others in the city, he was drawn to a conversation between the nearby guards.
“Hey, look! Those dark clouds to the south are huge! Looks like it’s finally going to rain!” a guard standing by the wall shouted to his companion.
“Hm... now that you mention it, it hasn’t rained in the city for a while. If it rains again, it should be the start of winter, right?”
“Every autumn rain brings a layer of cold. Maybe we should go get our rain gear ready? That cloud is moving pretty fast. It’ll be a pain to maintain the armor if it gets soaked.”
“Now that you say it... those clouds are moving a bit fast. I think I can already hear thunder, but doesn't it sound strange? Don't you think?”
Following the soldiers' gaze, Ronald involuntarily looked toward the distance. At the edge of the horizon, a massive dark cloud had gathered unnoticed. It was like a sleeping giant beast slowly awakening from the edge of the world, gradually approaching Azure Fortress.
Upon seeing the abnormal dark cloud the soldiers were talking about, Ronald’s face turned extremely grim. He quickly pulled down the goggles on his forehead and peered toward the cloud.
“I can't believe my guess was actually right! Damn it! Everyone, listen up! Speed up your work! Notify the inner city immediately—enter Grade 1 combat readiness!”
Ronald’s sudden roar startled the surrounding soldiers, who all looked at him with confusion.
“Stop staring! That’s not a dark cloud! It’s the Void Demons! Move, now! Or it’ll be too late!”
Seeing the soldiers’ reaction, Ronald stamped his feet in frustration. Through the magnification of his goggles, he could clearly see that the distant dark cloud was not a sign of an approaching storm at all. It was a swarm of black insects that blotted out the sun. The strange thunder the soldiers heard was actually the sound of the air vibrating from the insects’ wings.
Only then did a soldier finally react. He grabbed the horn at his waist and blew it with all his might.
As the long, stirring blasts of the horn echoed through the valley, the entire Azure Fortress seemed to be jolted awake by an invisible force.
The sound pierced the silence of the mountain peak and resonated in everyone’s heart. Soldiers quickly rose from their posts and gathered at the edge of the walls, their gazes fixed unanimously on the dark canopy approaching from the south.
Rate on N.U.
