Final Battle (5)

The book was first published on Taiwan Novel Network.

This storm came without the slightest warning, faster even than any disaster before it.

As one bard present described it, the clear skies stretching ten thousand miles had seemed no more than a colorful canvas draped over a black curtain. An invisible giant hand had seized it and torn it away in one pull, exposing the deep and terrifying truth beneath.

Those pitch-black clouds did not seem to have drifted in from anywhere. Rather, it was as if some enormous demon had dropped them directly over the battlefield where the two sides fought. Many less experienced knights and warriors thought they had been struck in the eyes, or that dust had blinded them, and that brief confusion gave their opponents a fine opportunity.

Some were knocked from their horses, while others died on the spot. But the sharper and more seasoned among them immediately realized what had happened. They withdrew from the battle before them and retreated toward their own positions. Some immediately called out to their subordinates, attendants, and brothers, telling them to fall back with them.

The battle lines that had already bunched into clusters and crowds somehow dispersed in perfect order, faster and more easily than a deft tailor unraveling a tangled skein of thread. Still shaken, people did not know whether today's battle would continue.

For hard on the heels of darkness came a hurricane. It swept madly across the entire battlefield. Men, horses, even camels struggled to keep their balance in such a gale. Under the relentless force of the wind, tents were overturned, fortifications shoved down, and even several empty ox carts and horse-drawn wagons were flipped over because they carried no goods. The animals lay on the ground, wailing without end. The soldiers hurriedly