Siege

Outside North Wind Fortress.

The noise and clamor rose and fell, filling the surrounding area.

"For the Ember Nest!"

"Occupy North Wind Fortress!"

Dark Wyvern, like surging clouds, blanketed the sky, while Kobold and Goblin, covered the land.

The skies and land outside North Wind Fortress were occupied by the vassals, a sight that seemed to the people inside the city as if the end of the world had arrived.

"Oh my god."

Standing on the city wall, the City Guard looked up at the sky and muttered to themselves.

The Wyvern Knight of the Ember Nest swept over the city, dropping a flurry of leaflets urging surrender.

The leaflets were filled with promises of generous treatment after surrender, a replica of the contract they were to serve under Duke Brad Lachmann, and even images of North Wind Fortress Blood Slave.

Finally, there's one last sentence, each word piercing the heart—

Are you really going to be loyal to a Vampire to the death?

Some previously unseen Bard from the College of Lore appear in the city, each captivating the audience with their talents. When the applause subsides, the audience may find themselves questioning everything they once firmly believed, from their faith in the local temple Divine Authority to their loyalty to the monarch.

The poets recounted the dark past of the Rackman Dynasty.

Before these anecdotal poets could finish recounting their stories, they were arrested by the guards, some even hacked to death on the spot, as a warning to others.

But the poets were completely unafraid, and even on their deathbeds they cried out:

"To exchange one life for a thousand contributions, this life was worth it!"

"For the Ember Nest!"

For example, at this moment, a Bard player with the ID "Lonely as Snow" was being dragged by a guard, and shouted loudly, "I laugh as I brandish my sword to the sky, my heart and soul remain loyal to the Kunlun Mountains!"

Although people may not understand the meaning behind it, they can hear the passionate and impassioned tone in the voice.

He was then taken to the street and beheaded on the spot.

With a whoosh, a head rolled off, blood splattering everywhere, scaring many timid people into trembling.

Soon, perhaps deliberately provoked, or perhaps naturally, some dissenting voices emerged in the city.

People soon had a terrifying idea—that the captured "traitors" might have actually become so-called Blood Slave, sacrifices to Duke Brad Lachmann. Considering the previous devil's pact case, all of this made perfect sense.

But no one dared to voice this idea, as it would only bring about their death.

They could only silently keep these suspicions and fears to themselves, but they would eventually erupt when the time was right.

At the entrance of the Ceremonial Hall of North Wind Fortress, in Eagle Square, panicked citizens were gathered together.

Perhaps learning from the lesson of Earl Dawson's death in a cannonball attack, they did not set up the meeting place near the city walls.

Earl Brandon, the supreme military commander and the official supreme commander of North Wind Fortress, looked around.

In the square below the platform, nobles in splendid attire, soldiers in armor, beggars in tattered clothes, and farmers covered in patches all gathered together, their eyes filled with fear and unease.

"His Excellency the Duke said that we must buy time at all costs."

"Once the adults complete the great ceremony, everything will fall into place."

"We must make the most of these people's last remaining value."

Thinking of this, Brandon slowly spoke.

"Citizens, I understand your fears."

"After all, the enemy you are about to face is the legendary ' Purgatory Calamity,' an evil dragon that once destroyed 30,000 allied troops. It is probably the most terrifying, powerful, and evil monster to appear in Anzeta in the last hundred years. Even if all our troops are combined, it is very likely that we will not be a match for that monster."

The crowd erupted in uproar.

Even though the army of the Ember Nest had besieged North Wind Fortress, and even though rumors were flying around the city, a considerable number of people were still unaware of the truth of the rumors. Some even used the so-called Purgatory Calamity as a pretext for the Allied generals to shirk their responsibilities.

But now, everything has been revealed.

"That's right. I have no intention of hiding it, nor can I hide it. That Red Dragon and its evil minions have descended upon North Wind Fortress Keep and besieged our entire city. But are we to surrender now, become slaves to the monsters, and accept the dragon's brutal rule?"

The crowd fell silent.

Earl Brandon looked around and then at a middle-aged soldier in the audience.

"Soldier, yes, I'm talking about you."

"Please answer truthfully, do you have children?"

When the Earl himself asked him a question, the soldier was a little nervous, but still stammered out, "Yes, it's a daughter."

Brandon nodded slightly. "Daughter, very good."

"But as far as I know, that Red Dragon is Lustful Dragon, the Wrathful Dragon. He once transformed into a ferocious humanoid form more than four meters tall, wantonly bullied a beautiful girl, and then cruelly swallowed her. This is a real case witnessed by righteous people lurking in the shadows."

He paused deliberately before staring intently at the soldier and continued, "Think about it. When this evil dragon rules North Wind Fortress, what will he do to your daughter? Can you stand by and watch your daughter suffer inhuman torture and ultimately die a tragic death? Can you bear to come home, open the door, and find your house in ruins, with only your daughter's severed limbs and bloody remains?"

"No! We can't!"

Seemingly imagining such a horrific scene, the soldier's eyes suddenly turned bloodshot, and his veins bulged.

Earl Brandon nodded in satisfaction, then turned his gaze from the soldiers to a merchant.

Do you have a wife?

"Have."

It was the same routine, the same ending, but the Earl's skillful rhetoric made the speech even more persuasive.

"It's almost done."

Brandon thought to himself.

Seeing that people were in the right mood, Brandon finally looked around, looked at everyone present, and raised his longsword high.

"Distinguished guests, regardless of your status—whether you are nobles, soldiers, farmers, or merchants—at this moment, there are no esteemed dukes, only ordinary people. You are all, like me, fathers, husbands, children, and people who simply want to protect your loved ones. So, I ask you, can you allow your dearest family members to be treated inhumanely and fall into the clutches of evil dragons?"

"Cannot!"

"No! No!"

The crowd was silent for a moment, then surged into waves of emotion.

Among the more than 30,000 residents of North Wind Fortress, many were indeed moved by the Earl's impassioned speech, but others scoffed at it, merely swept along by the tide of the crowd.