The fortress on the coastal cliff road outside Fatan Port fell at the first moment. Caught off guard, the guards atop the walls were pinned to them by Nethersteel Arrows fired from the darkness, and their blood froze before it had time to spread. Under the Lich's command, the skeletons used siege equipment to smash open the gates. Only then did the soldiers in the barracks realize something was terribly wrong, but they were already surrounded. The fortress's resistance lasted only a moment before fading into silence, along with the thirty-odd Port Guard soldiers stationed in the barracks, all of whom were declared dead.
Fatan Port had been built as a fortress for harboring fleets. It was situated among steep coastal cliffs, with only two narrow mountain paths connecting the port to the roads leading beyond. The Imperial Navy had built Haiya Fortress along those two paths. The fortress faced the valley leading into the cliffs, with a sheer precipice on one side and the sea on the other. It truly was a place where one man could hold off ten thousand. Five hundred meters behind the fortress stood Fatan Port's main wall. The stretch between them was still composed of mountain paths and mudflats, but the terrain was much gentler and flatter than the section before it.
At that moment, Baron Ludwig and Delphine were standing on the main wall five hundred meters behind Haiya Fortress. The wall was already packed with White Lion Guard and Port Guard troops, but under the Chancellor's daughter's orders, they had extinguished every torch, held their breath, and made not a sound. The wall was pitch-black. Several mages had raised a spell barrier to conceal the living presence, and the spell covered the entire length of the wall.
The baron watched as the