At the deepest part of Howling Wind Fortress stood a square watchtower rising from the earth like a small city. Three sides connected to rolling mountain ridges, while only its front faced the outside world.
The seven-zhang-tall watchtower was no lower than the walls of some great cities. Its entire structure had been carved and built from bluish-green boulders patterned with fish scales, while its gate was forged from dark ironstone and operated by mechanical gears. Clearly, Howling Wind Hall had put considerable thought into its defenses, a display of its deep foundations.
By now, the slaughter and fighting on the outskirts of Howling Wind Fortress had long alarmed the guards atop the watchtower. Warriors wielding blades, spears, and bows crowded its walls, heads packed together in dense masses as they prepared their defense.
Below the watchtower, fewer than a hundred defeated remnants gathered in panicked confusion.
Their clothes were ragged, their bodies covered in wounds, their hair hanging loose. As they watched the vast dark army slowly close in, they frantically pounded on the watchtower's ironstone gate, tears and snot streaming down their faces as they begged those inside to let them in.
Linghu Rui was brimming with satisfaction. Holding a steel spear, he rode forward at a leisurely pace, his horse's hoofbeats ticking softly.
Behind him stretched, through the darkness, an endless host of elite soldiers. Tempered in blood and battle formations, they had thoroughly transformed from martial world wanderers into the Imperial Court's formidable army. Every one of them radiated a chilling presence and unmatched killing intent. Their powerful military aura blanketed everything for several li around.
With a sweep of Linghu Rui's arm, infantrymen clad in armor stained scarlet escorted forward the captured disciples of Howling Wind Hall and their families.
There were no small number