Because of the looming crisis of the Dark Creatures' invasion, Nalant spent the next few days training in the castle and preparing for battle.
As for patrolling the territory and handling other matters affecting the people's livelihood, he would have to wait until after this deadly crisis had been dealt with.
A week passed in the blink of an eye.
The castle dining hall covered more than eighty square meters and was rectangular, making it feel spacious and quiet. Its only drawback was the lack of decorations. The sole ornament was an old copper chandelier hanging overhead, which hardly conveyed the lord's wealth. Nalant sat alone at the long table, enjoying dinner with a knife and fork.
"My lord, Captain Vivian reports that the small pits you ordered dug are ready. Captain Quick has also brought Lord Anthony here!" Steward Thomas hurried into the dining hall.
"Good. It should be about time," Nalant replied with a nod.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Just then, several explosive bangs suddenly rang out in the sky, accompanied by flashes of light that appeared with each blast!
"It's starting," Nalant murmured, setting down his knife and fork. The greatest crisis Storm Territory had ever faced was finally about to arrive with tonight's meteor shower.
"Thomas, remember: no one is to open the castle gates later without my order!" Nalant stood up and reminded Thomas once more.
"Yes, my lord!"
After receiving his reply, Nalant gripped the sword at his waist and left the dining hall.
Tonight, Nalant was fully armed. He wore both chain mail and leather armor, and had a buckler strapped to his left arm and a helmet on his head.
Along with the sword at his waist, the standard military gear weighed at least twenty pounds.
Usually, Nalant would have struggled to move in such heavy equipment. But now, he walked with steady, easy steps.
That was because just last night, Nalant had finally gathered enough Fire Battle Qi to form a Battle Qi Seed inside his body. He had become a powerful, transcendent Title Knight.
"Greetings, my lord!"
"Greetings, my lord!"
When Nalant reached the castle's exterior, Quick and Vivian were already waiting with the guards.
Everyone looked surprised to see Nalant so heavily armed.
Anthony, seeing him like this, felt even more uneasy. If they hadn't been standing outside the castle, he would have mounted his horse and fled at once.
"Lord, may I ask why you summoned me here so late?" Anthony asked cautiously.
"Anthony, tonight is the Night of Meteors. I merely invited you to the castle to enjoy the meteor shower," Nalant replied with a smile.
Anthony's face darkened at that. He thought Nalant was making fun of him. "My apologies, Lord. As the civil administrator, I have many duties to attend to. Since you have no official business with me, I'll take my leave."
With that, Anthony prepared to leave.
"Oh no, my lord! A huge meteor shower is falling toward us!" someone among the guards suddenly shouted.
Everyone then stared up at the sky in alarm.
They had seen the meteor shower earlier, but it was a sight that appeared every week. Though they were nervous, they had managed to stay calm.
This time was different. Two or three dozen meteors were actually falling toward them.
"We're doomed! We're doomed!" The guards went pale, their hands and legs trembling uncontrollably.
The only person there who remained calm was Nalant. He knew exactly how many creatures would invade tonight—and that they would land less than two hundred meters from the castle.
"So this is the Land of Misfortune? We've only been here a little over a week, and already we've encountered such a huge wave of Dark Creatures!" Anthony trembled as he watched the meteors fall from the sky. He knew what had happened to the previous lords.
"My lord, it's dangerous here! Get back inside the castle!" Quick and the others came to their senses and prepared to escort Nalant back inside.
"No, Quick! The experiences of four previous lords have already shown us that hiding in this decrepit castle won't save us from the Dark Creatures. So..." Nalant's gaze swept over the group, then he drew his sword with a ringing clang.
"So tonight, our only chance is to kill them all while they're still recovering from their fall!"
After landing, the Dark Creatures usually suffered a five-minute period of weakness. It was unclear whether this was due to the impact or some other factor.
During that time, their strength was greatly reduced. It was the only chance Nalant had to eliminate tonight's Dark Creatures.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
As Nalant raised his sword, the meteors finally began slamming into the ground one after another. The thunderous crashes made everyone's hearts tremble.
"Have you gone mad? Nalant, you've lost your mind! You're going to fight them with just ten guards and ten serfs who don't even have leather armor?" Anthony stared at Nalant as if he were an idiot.
"Anthony, I don't care why you came to Storm Territory. But if you want to stay alive, I hope you'll obey my orders. You don't have to fight, but I'm requisitioning your five guards for now." Nalant finally explained why he had summoned Anthony.
Anthony might be a piece of trash, but his five guards came from the count's own guard unit. They were well-trained and fully equipped with weapons and leather armor.
"No way! I'm not risking my life alongside a madman like you. Two or three dozen Dark Creatures—even a real baron might not be able to hold them off. And you're just a lord with the title of knight who doesn't even have Battle Qi! You have only twenty people, serfs included. This is suicide!" Anthony said, preparing to mount his horse.
"Anthony, do you think you can still get away? Look ahead. The road's blocked by the Dark Creatures!" Nalant had known the man wouldn't give in easily, which was why he had summoned him to the castle entrance in advance.
Sure enough, when Anthony looked beyond the castle, he saw that the meteor craters had completely blocked the way out.
Nalant's castle wasn't built on flat ground, but on an isolated hill.
The noble who had built it had dug away the earth and stone around the hill, leaving only a narrow, sloping path more than ten meters wide in front of the castle.
This meant that even without a moat, the steep cliffs surrounding the castle—with a drop of more than thirty meters—prevented enemies from attacking from all sides.
Likewise, if Nalant and the others wanted to leave the castle, they could only descend the slope in front, which stretched forty or fifty meters.
The Dark Creatures were already beginning to crawl out of the craters. If Anthony tried to run, he might be surrounded by them.
Nalant had assumed that, given the circumstances, Anthony would behave himself.
However, Nalant had still underestimated how afraid Anthony was of dying—or perhaps how low he was willing to stoop. Seeing no way to escape, Anthony came up with a plan and set his sights on Nalant's guards.
"You people—are you really going to die alongside this madman Nalant?"
"I'm telling you, the Dark Creatures are terrifying. Don't even think about attacking them. The castle gates have never been repaired, and they won't withstand an assault even if we defend from inside. This decrepit castle has already been breached four times!"
"So, if you want to live, this is your only chance! Follow me and break through!" Anthony was trying to convince Nalant's guards to flee with him. Only if everyone charged into the Dark Creatures together could he escape safely on his horse.
"Anthony, you're asking for death!" Nalant was stunned by Anthony's shamelessness. As time slipped away, his patience was clearly wearing thin.
"Isn't it true? Think about it—why are so many Dark Creatures attacking us? Could it be because your lord failed to kill that Daughter of Misfortune?" Anthony wasn't intimidated by Nalant's threat. He hid behind his five guards and continued to stir up trouble.
"Anthony, I'll ask you one last time. Will you obey my orders?" Nalant was truly furious. If he let Anthony keep talking, it could ruin everything.
"Nalant, don't even think about it! You five, protect me! And the rest of you, come with me! If we don't run now, it'll be too late. Don't throw your lives away for a useless lord like him! If it weren't for the count's decree, he'd just be a pitiful second son of a baron, and he doesn't even have Battle Qi..."
"You want to die? Then I'll oblige!" Nalant said no more. In the next instant, red light burst around him as he charged straight at the five guards in front of Anthony.
With Battle Qi, Nalant was more than the five guards could handle. In an instant, they were scattered in every direction, and Nalant was right in front of Anthony.
"You... How... How could..."
Pfft!
Nalant gave Anthony no chance to react. As Anthony stared in horror, the sword plunged straight into his chest.
"You mean Battle Qi? Sorry, I've already become a Title Knight!"