When the Demon Tide Rose

A biting wind, carrying foul black smoke and emitting a pungent stench, enveloped the fortress.

The gloomy sky, as if about to weep, gradually dimmed, as if trying to steal away all the sunlight.

In the distance, beyond the barrier formed by the raging fire, darkness enveloped the forest.

The first thing that catches the eye is the wolf's howl.

The piercing voice penetrated the heart, triggering the deepest fears in the human heart.

A sudden Gale swept through.

From the watchtower, one can see that the dense canopy of the Black Forest sways and undulates like ocean waves, accompanied by the howling of wolves, as the tide of the Sea of Trees surges toward Blackburg.

Suddenly, the darkness expanded.

Even from a great distance, you could hear the sound of trees breaking.

The trees covered by the shadows crumbled instantly, and the debris swirled and blew in the sky with the cold winter wind, as if one could see the physical form of the Gale.

And that is indeed the case.

As the sky gradually darkened, the Gale seemed to take shape.

It was a magnificent cloud curtain that Lu Ban had never seen before in his life. It stretched across the Black Forest like a wall, with the clouds swirling in the naked eye. If it were on Earth, it would definitely be a super typhoon that surpasses even a super typhoon.

Such a massive storm was so vast that it was impossible to see its entirety from any distance.

It got completely dark.

A crimson Moon rose at some unknown time.

Enchantress, crimson, like congealed blood, bathed in the light of the red moon, giving the entire Black Fortress a strange, crimson hue.

The air grew colder and colder, and white frost immediately condensed on the leaves, accompanied by Gale that cut like a knife.

"The Demon Tide is coming."

Jonah said, half in awe and half in shock.

"Back in Blackburg, once the frost arrives, the air here will drop to extremely low temperatures where water freezes instantly in a short time."

Lu Ban saw a flock of birds scattered in the distance. As the seemingly real Gale swept through the flock, the birds froze into ice sculptures in mid-air and were carried away by the wind, flying into the sky.

As the wind sweeps across the forest tops, you can see the tree crowns, which were swaying in the wind, suddenly freeze, fixed in a crooked position.

Even the raging forest fire was frozen in an instant. The rapid freezing caused the sound to disappear, and death spread silently and swiftly.

Those still outside the fortress immediately dropped what they were holding and ran towards the fortress.

Lu Ban and Jonah also ran towards the fortress.

Looking back, Lu Ban saw that the wind was already within arm's reach.

Buzz—

The cold wind struck the fortress's magical barrier, and a layer of white frost immediately condensed on the outer side of the invisible barrier. However, it could not completely stop the Gale, and many Rangers running behind were still lifted up and swept into the air.

However, their only possible good fortune was that they died of the extreme cold shortly after leaving the ground, thus avoiding the Affliction that followed.

Lu Ban and Jonah ran into the slowly closing fortress gates.

As the door closed, the cold and terrifying scene seemed to vanish briefly.

But then, a loud bang erupted.

Thud—

It was as if something was hitting the fortress, and the entire fortress shook.

Lu Ban and Jonah arrived at the lookout point and could see that despite the magical barrier, the wind, carrying Stone, wood chips, and dirt, was still pounding on the fortress. Every now and then, huge rocks would come crashing down with the cold wind. Some were blocked by the magical barrier, while others pierced through it and smashed into the fortress's dome, shaking the entire building.

Suddenly, all the sounds disappeared.

Lu Ban could only see the huge, slowly rotating storm gradually expanding, with the clouds almost obscuring the Blood Moon.

Then, darkness descended.

Silently, the darkness spread.

The frozen trees, the fallen Stone, and the animals that had turned into ice sculptures were all swallowed up by the darkness.

The world suddenly turned black and white.

To Lu Ban's naked eye, there was nothing left but endless darkness covering the entire forest.

The crystal above Black Fortress burst forth with light, attempting to dispel the darkness, but the light seemed to be swallowed by a monster, unable to penetrate any further.

The storm was moving toward the fortress, suffocatingly.

"The magical barrier won't hold for long. Soon we'll be facing a direct confrontation with monsters. Of course, that's the best-case scenario."

Jonah laughed self-deprecatingly.

"What's worse?"

Lu Ban blurted out a question subconsciously, but quickly realized it himself.

"If the defenses are breached, the Kin of the Eternal Night could devour the people of this fortress in less than an hour. Not to mention that with this cold wind, the plague may have already infiltrated. Even if the frost doesn't appear, we will lose more than a third of our people just by relying on these two outposts of the Demon Tide."

Jonah revealed the cruel numbers.

"I need to go to the garrison; mages are still somewhat useful at this time."

Just then, Lu Ban saw a light appear in the boundless darkness.

That was a location almost level with Black Fortress, extremely far from here, where a beam of light shot into the sky like a sharp sword, piercing through the darkness.

"That's another fortress. There are more than a thousand fortresses of this size, and five times as many smaller fortresses. These fortresses together form the Black Tower's final defense line."

As Jonah spoke, even more light shot into the sky.

Some beams of light were so thin they were almost swallowed by the darkness, while others were so thick they could even illuminate parts of the surrounding area.

If you were to look down on the Black Forest from above right now, you would see countless points of light twinkling and swaying like stars within this forest that surrounds the lit-up areas of human civilization.

These are the stars of human civilization.

"The Gray Tower's final defense spell: once this light goes out, the darkness will completely engulf us. In other words, if the light goes out, it means that the fortress has fallen."

Jonah was already on the stairs.

Lu Ban followed.

The howling of wolves came again.

"Eternal Night cannot break through this spell, but Frost can. Tangible objects can directly destroy the fortress, which is why we must guard this place."

Jonah arrived at the hall located above the fortress.

Besides the mages, there were also the fortress commanders here. Lu Ban noticed that the former commander of the sentry force was also among them.

In the center of the hall, three high-backed stone chairs stand back to back.

Three monks were already seated in the high-backed chairs.

However, they don't seem like leaders, they're more like...

Lu Ban saw that the young mage's face was contorted with Affliction, his eyes rolled back, and his whole body was convulsing. He was using his last bit of willpower to sit on the bench.

His body was burning fiercely.

The silvery-white flames, made from the mage's body, had no heat, yet they illuminated the hall.

Three flames rose in an intertwined arc, shooting straight to the dome, where the flames and light were released, breaking through the fortress and surging upwards.

Lu Ban now knows exactly how these pillars of light from the protective fortresses are generated.

*

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