On the border of Two Rivers County stood a heavily guarded sentry post.
At that moment, a watchful sentry stood ramrod straight atop the watchtower, his eyes fixed on the distant grasslands.
The vast expanse had been unusually quiet lately. Not a trace of Barbarian Cavalry had appeared for several days in a row.
Sentry duty was dull and tedious, and the man could not help feeling a little restless and sleepy, but his sense of duty kept him highly alert.
He yawned while silently counting down the time, hoping the next shift would arrive soon so he could return to his warm, comfortable room and get some proper rest.
But just as he became absorbed in his thoughts, clusters of indistinct black shapes suddenly appeared on the horizon at the edge of his vision.
With temperatures rising in recent days, the snow on the grasslands had gradually melted, turning the once spotless white landscape into a mottled patchwork of colors.
Against that backdrop, the shadowy shapes were even harder to make out.
The sentry immediately focused his attention, widening his eyes as he tried to see exactly what was happening ahead.
As time passed, the dark shapes drew closer. Though they remained hazy, his years of experience and keen instincts told him one thing for certain: those were no ordinary animals or natural phenomena—they were unmistakably enormous groups moving at speed!
His heart burning with urgency, he quickly picked up the telescope beside him.
The Border Defense Line had issued one of these telescopes to every sentry post. Though their performance was hardly exceptional, they were more than sufficient to give a clear view of targets two or three kilometers away.
He raised the telescope steadily to his eye. The moment he looked through the lens, his face changed