Siege

Inside the guard army's command tent outside Nanmu Forest, Como was carefully wiping his sword with a fine piece of silk.

After he wiped it clean, one could faintly see the Magic Runes engraved into the blade with Mithril. It was clearly a magic weapon.

These past few days, because of the Earth Tyrant Bear that had appeared during practical lessons, their entire regiment had been busy for over half a month. At daybreak every day, he led teams into the forest to hunt Magic Beasts.

Tiring as it was, the Magic Beast hides, bones, and meat they harvested had also earned the regiment a handsome profit.

After wiping down and maintaining his sword, Como rose to inspect the camp.

Yet just as he stood up, this peak Silver Warrior sensed a whiff of danger.

As a general forged on the battlefield, he trusted his instincts completely. He knew that a crisis was drawing near.

He immediately drew the longsword he had just sheathed, went to the entrance of the tent, lifted a corner of the flap, and peered outside.

At that moment, clusters of campfires crackled throughout the camp, and the off-duty soldiers sat around them, driving away the chill of the late autumn night.

When the soldiers outside saw Como emerge with his sword, they all rose and stood at attention.

From before his tent, Como could see the forest beyond the camp. It remained as dark and dangerous as ever.

He released his battle intent, yet the trees outside the camp merely trembled a few times, followed by the cries of beasts fleeing into the distance.

Como sheathed his sword, then smiled and said:

"Sit down, all of you. When it is your turn to patrol later, keep your spirits up. You have all worked hard these past few days clearing the fierce beasts from the mountains. Once this is over, I will certainly ask the Count to reward you for your merits.

"And once we sell this batch of hunted Magic Beasts, you lot will be able to have a fat year as well."

Como's words drew a cheer from the soldiers, and every one of them became even more alert and spirited.

Yet at that very moment, a sudden change erupted. The whistling sound of arrows tearing through the air came from outside the camp.

Anyone who had crawled through a real battlefield knew that this was the sound of a large force of archers firing at the same target.

Como reacted swiftly. He instantly drew the sword at his waist, poured his Battle Aura into it, and continuously swung the blade to block the falling arrows.

The arrows came swiftly and left swiftly. Soon, the first wave of arrow rain had passed. When Como looked over the camp, it was already filled with wails, corpses, and blood everywhere.

Judging from the number of arrows that had fallen, he estimated from experience that there were no fewer than ten thousand enemies on the other side.

The soldiers who had survived the first wave of arrows all ran out of their tents, and Como issued the best order he could under the circumstances.

He had not expected his released battle intent to fail. The enemies lurking in the dark were truly cunning; they had somehow remained unaffected by it.

"All soldiers, take up shields and find cover to avoid the arrow rain! Every captain still alive, organize your men to put out the campfires around you!"

Como knew the enemy would certainly not fire only one volley. At night, his men were in the light while the enemy was hidden in darkness.

To the enemy, they were living targets. They had to extinguish the light sources so the enemy could no longer find them.

And just as he had predicted, another wave of arrows whistled through the air.

But this time, with Como's orders in place, not many died beneath the arrow rain.

Once the arrows stopped, Como immediately gathered the surviving soldiers in the camp. He knew that the enemy would next send troops to attack.

At that moment, Como summoned his adjutant.

"Wilda, by my estimate, the enemy has at least ten thousand men. The soldiers currently in the camp cannot hold them off. I need you to bring news of this back to the city and have the Count prepare for battle."

"General, you cannot do this. If the enemy truly has so many men, you will be needed to command the defense of the city afterward. I should stay behind. General, you should take the men back to report this."

Wilda spoke in a resolute tone.

Yet Como gave a sorrowful smile.

"Wilda, I am a knight, and I am also a general. As a knight, when I encounter an enemy, I can only charge forward bravely. As a general, I must remain with my soldiers.

"For the sake of my knightly honor and the people of Huidun Territory, please return at once. Otherwise, once the enemies outside complete their encirclement, it will be too late for everyone."

Wilda's heart was tangled beyond measure. He knew his general's temperament very well.

Though Como was usually somewhat fierce and uncouth toward others, deep in his bones he was still a proud knight. Wilda knew that his general would never leave this place, even in death.

In the end, tears in his eyes, he led a small force out through the rear of the camp.

Not long after he and his men had escaped, they saw a strange sight—well, something that could barely be called a strange sight.

An Undead Knight led tens of thousands of Undead Skeletons in a vast tide toward the camp, followed by the sounds of savage slaughter.

Amid those sounds of battle, Wilda could hear his general urging him to leave quickly.

Wilda now understood the urgency of the situation. Wiping away his tears, he led his men on horseback in a mad dash toward Hui Dun City.

Within Huidun Academy, after Tofis found Wisdom Shield and reported that an alchemist might have appeared, Wisdom Shield, who had been quietly listening to the report, suddenly spoke in a stern voice:

"What did you say? An alchemist has come here?"

"This, this has not been confirmed. It was only said by a dead man who arrived at the city gate, and the situation was urgent at the time, so I..."

Tofis had been so frightened by Wisdom Shield that he began to stammer.

Wisdom Shield also knew the gravity of the matter. Even if it was merely chasing shadows and catching wind, Tofis had to report it to him.

Wisdom Shield's cry outside also disturbed Chen Cheng and Professor Pempes, who had been discussing matters inside.

"Wisdom Shield, what is going on?"

Professor Pempes asked with a frown.

Outside, Wisdom Shield felt as though a huge boulder were pressing down on his chest. He waved Tofis away and told him to return first, while he went to inform Professor Pempes of this matter.

If an alchemist had truly arrived, then someone as powerful as Professor Pempes would have to act to deal with him. This was the proper level of caution for those lawless madmen.

Moreover, alchemists employed bizarre methods. Only an expert with a domain like Professor Pempes could directly find their weakness and kill them with a single strike.

Wisdom Shield pushed open the door. Chen Cheng and Professor Pempes saw that Wisdom Shield, who had been perfectly fine moments ago, now wore a troubled expression.

"Professor, Brown, Governor Tofis has just reported that an alchemist is suspected to have come here."

Professor Pempes and Chen Cheng were both startled. Alchemists were a group reviled by everyone across the continent.

Once discovered, they had to be eliminated without sparing any effort.

Especially now, evil, terror, and corruption had all become the defining labels most strongly associated with this group.

In tales both great and small told by wandering bards, these people accounted for more than eighty percent of the final villains.

It could be said that wherever an alchemist appeared, that place could forget about having peaceful days thereafter. Some alchemists would even bring irreparable disasters upon an entire region just to test their magic.

When Chen Cheng had first heard of this group, he had thought they were researchers like himself, and had even considered seeking them out for help.

But after reading about their deeds, they became a pack of scientific madmen in his eyes. They crossed the bottom line of morality and could torture and slaughter tens of thousands of ordinary people for the sake of research.

From that point on, they had become the most dangerous kind of dangerous elements in Chen Cheng's eyes.

Because he knew that once certain research crossed the line, some terrifying demons would truly descend upon the human world.

After hearing this, Professor Pempes frowned, then immediately stood up.

"This matter is of great importance. I must go discuss it with Adolf.

"You and Brown should go examine that corpse first. Perhaps you can discover something from it."

With that, Professor Pempes beckoned, and his staff flew into his hand. He lightly tapped it against the ground, then vanished from before Chen Cheng and Wisdom Shield.

At that moment, amid his nervous fear, Chen Cheng also felt a small thrill of excitement. This was the first time he would truly get to see one of those legendary evil mages—an alchemist.

Perhaps after killing those scientific madmen, the research notes they left behind, steeped in sin, could serve as reference materials.

The two of them gathered up the research materials laid out on the ground, then left for the city gate.

Meanwhile, at the residence of the church priest within the city, Father Haodos, who had just been appointed a priest by Bishop Jamir, received an autopsy request from the government.

In the past, he would at most have ordered a cleric to help with such a matter.

But when he had taken office, the cleric beside Bishop Jamir had told him that if the government sought assistance, he was expected to appear personally.

Thus, he put on no airs and directly agreed to the request.