The area outside of Tidehark was shrouded in silence.
The imperial army had retreated—only the traces of that giant army camp and the ruined city stood proof of the battle that had taken place several days ago.
The city was lifeless even during the daytime. Every house had shut their doors, and the few people on the streets moved in a hurried pace. Only a handful of people were working, hauling corpses outside the city for burial. No one accompanied them, nor did anyone cry for these unidentified fallen men.
The pa.s.sersby and the people from the windows gazed at the corpse truck with cold expressions. Some of them revealed expressions of sorrow, but most of them were fairly indifferent.
The city guard had long since been destroyed, and the survivors were now hiding in their homes, not daring to reveal themselves. The spirit of the entire city had collapsed. The G.o.d they looked up to, Luo Bingfeng, had fallen, and there were rumors claiming Zhang Buzhou had a part in it. The people felt their spiritual support collapse… just like the holy mountain.
The imperial army’s withdrawal was too sudden—they pulled out entirely in less than half a day and destroyed all the equipment they couldn’t pack. There was no one holding power in Tidehark these days, yet there was neither chaos, robbery, nor rape.
That was because the city guard weren’t the only ones fighting during the battle. Many brave, hot-blooded citizens also took up arms to join the defense.
However, the defensive structures they believed impenetrable were useless before the overwhelming imperial firepower, especially the torrential cannon-fire from the wars.h.i.+ps. Song Zining had equipped those ragtag mercenaries to the teeth and sent them against the defensive line in a clumsy yet firm formation. The defense was gradually suppressed and ultimately routed in its entirety.
Song Zining had used an unheard of strategy that combined airs.h.i.+p and heavy cannon support. The short but extreme training, as well as the perfect command and coordination, served as a lesson to the major powers of the neutral lands. They finally came to understand what standard imperial warfare looked like.
After occupying Tidehark, Song Zining a.s.sumed order inside the city with an iron fist. All dissenters and opportunists were killed without hesitation. There weren’t many people left at this point as they had either died during the battle or were killed after the occupation.
The survivors were deeply apprehensive of Song Zining’s cruel methods. Although the imperial forces had retreated, no one knew whether they would return or what they would do if they did. Hence, two days pa.s.sed by without anyone keeping order or recruiting for a new city guard. The biggest human city of the past was now in a defenseless state.
Such a city appeared before the Eternal Flame when the Evernight alliance appeared.
At this point, the demonkin had joined forces with their earlier arrivals. Their strength had increased sharply and was now on par with the vampire and arachne. The Eternal Flame observed the pa.s.sage over the holy mountain and said, “The pa.s.sage will open the day after tomorrow, it will last one day.”
The Eternal Flame couldn’t be wrong. The entire Evernight alliance broke into action, quickly setting up camp and sending in the army to take over Tidehark’s defenses.
The transfer of authority was oddly smooth and quiet—there was no resistance, nor were there any sneak attacks. Even the duke a.s.suming control of the city felt confused and wondered whether this was an Evernight territory instead.
After taking over the city, the three races had no intention of engaging in in-depth administration. All they did was impose a curfew before letting things run on their own. After all, there was only one more day before the pa.s.sage opened, and they were in no mood to bully the citizens.
The experts had a lot of things to do. For instance, scouting out the enemy situation, scrying future dangers, and monitoring the pa.s.sage condition. The most important issue was to decide how many people they would send in, and the order of it.
The Evernight side discovered the opening of this pa.s.sage later than the empire. The demonkin who had arrived first, in addition to Linken’s fleet, were the squads located closest to the neutral lands. In the end, Linken was defeated by Qianye and the first batch of demonkin had been firmly pinned down by Song Zining’s military power. No one had expected Song Zining to be that decisive, concentrating all military power toward taking Tidehark and securing the pa.s.sage first.
The Evernight forces were now facing a difficult problem. Those entering first might encounter surprise attacks from the empire while they were in their weakest state after emerging from the tunnel. If they went late, however, the pa.s.sage would become unstable and they would die during the traversal.
Additionally, the Evernight races didn’t have enough time to negotiate a plan that was acceptable for all parties. They simply hammered out a rough quota for each race before rus.h.i.+ng toward the neutral lands. The vampires and arachne hadn’t expected the Eternal Flame to suddenly show up here. Now, there were new variables in the predetermined plans.
The Eternal Flame was strong, but the vampires and arachne weren’t so weak, either. With regards to Grand Magnums, they each had one as well. Hence, they might be willing to make some minor adjustments, but one could forget about getting them to make big concessions. Although Medanzo and Noxus weren’t in the neutral lands, it made little difference in the present discussions.
It was truly difficult to finish so many things in just one day.
Outside of Tidehark, the mountain ranges were already covered in ice. The black rocks and the white snow layered together to form a natural ink and wash painting.
There was a frail figure on one of the rocks, a young girl. Her messy hair was flying in the wind, her small face was pale from the cold, and the tip of her nose was somewhat pink. Every breath she exhaled would turn into white mist, and there was frost starting to form on her brows.
She was covered in a tattered sackcloth cloak, which she would pull tighter whenever the frosty wind blew past. Despite that, she was s.h.i.+vering as the sackcloth was naturally porous, and its ability to maintain warmth was less than desirable.
There was an oblong square protrusion behind her. No one knew what it was since it was hidden under the cloth.
She gazed at the distant Tidehark from atop the rocks. From this position, she could even see the wars.h.i.+ps hovering above. The sky above Tidehark was filled with dark clouds, swirling around the city like a giant whirlpool—a scene that would stifle all onlookers.
Experts with sharper senses could feel a surging power emanating from the vortex, a force as majestic as the mountains and seas. Even a duke would tremble before this terrifying force. That was the Eternal Flame probing and stabilizing the Great Maelstrom pa.s.sage with his own power. That terrifying cloud whirlpool in the sky was just the heaven and earth responding to his strength.
The girl gazed at the swirling clouds momentarily, but then she suddenly turned around and looked down the mountain. There, a young man was in the process of scaling the cliffs. His movements were nimble and practiced, but he looked no different from an ordinary human. However, he was fairly relaxed even while climbing the snowing hillside, and arrived before the girl in a matter of moments.
“We meet again,” he greeted the girl with a smile, one as pure and penetrating as the rays of the sun. Even the cold and darkness around them were somewhat dispelled.
The girl looked at him with a thoughtful expression.
The young man said, “I’m Anwen, have you forgotten me?”
The girl shook her head. “No, it’s just that… my thoughts are a bit slow at the moment.”
Anwen pointed at the giant vortex in the sky. “That’s normal. Everyone in His Majesty’s range will be affected. Come, wear this and you’ll be fine.”
With that, Anwen produced a necklace and handed it to the girl. The chain was fairly simple and was decorated with a pendant made of black crystal, shaped like a water drop. The young girl donned the necklace without a second thought and felt noticeably more relieved.
A gust of cold wind blew past them. Anwen rubbed his hands as though he was feeling cold. “I never thought you’d come, but then again, you’ve always been quite bold, so I guess it’s not a surprise.” He sized the girl up from head to toe. She was still barefoot, and her skin was as white as the snow she was standing on.
“Are you cold?” he asked.
The girl nodded, and then shook her head.
Anwent sighed as he rubbed one of his rings. In the blink of an eye, the temperature rose and it became as warm as spring.
The temperature had just risen when several black shadows flew out from Tidehark and soon surrounded the duo. The three demonkin leaders who had just arrived were surprised to see Anwen. They bowed in greeting, but Anwen waved at them, saying, “I’m fine, can’t you see I’m meeting a friend? Leave and don’t disturb me again!”
“Yes, Young Lord.” The three demonkin left after seeing Anwen’s displeasure.
After they had left, Anwen smiled wryly. “You saw it, right? Even giving you some warmth brings me that much trouble. Why won’t you wear more clothes? This area is under His Majesty’s power, the cold here is real. Don’t you feel it?”
“It is cold.”
Anwen shook his head. “Let it be. How about this? I’ll give you clothes and shoes, I’ll have someone prepare them right away.”
“No.”
“Why? Are you worried about the quality? They might not be top-notch but should be pretty good by any standard. You’ll know after using them.” Anwen scratched his head. “After things settle down around here, I’ll get a set of top-grade clothes custom made for you. I still have some quotas left, they should be enough to pay for it.”
“I refuse.” The young girl shook her head.
“Why?” Anwen was vexed.
The girl finally spoke a full sentence, “The body is the greatest way to see. Too much gear will make it hard for me to sense my prey’s movements.”