Crimson Descends, the Black Tide Appears

As the Blood Moon Season arrived, the sky seemed to suddenly darken.

Dark red seeped continuously from the gaps in the lead-gray clouds, pressing down lower and lower, as if the entire Blackpine Fief was being held down by something invisible.

The stench of blood in the air suddenly intensified, followed by a series of low rumbling sounds coming from the depths of the Frozen Tundra beneath our feet. The city walls, the ground, the towers, and even the heads of the people trembled.

Shien immediately mobilized his Qi Sea, trying to clear his head.

But as soon as he began to circulate his Battle Aura, he felt as if he had sunk into a viscous swamp, suddenly stagnates, and even feels as if some invisible hand is tightly gripping his throat.

The halo of the Sacred Flame was shrinking inward, and the originally spread area of light was gradually forced back by the darkness, leaving only a ring of white, lingering light around the territory.

A few seconds later, Shien finally let out a breath, struggling to suppress the suffocating feeling in his chest, and the icy blue in his eyes grew even colder.

Then he turned to the messenger behind him. "The Sacred Flame is fully overclocked."

The messenger was in much worse condition Shien, but he still immediately accepted the order and ran off.

Without lingering, Shien, along with Ivan and several core messengers, strode up to the command tower leading to the highest point of the Inner Fortress.

The tower was built tall enough to take in the entire Blackpine Pine, and thick enough to be reinforced with layers of rough stone, logs, and Pig Iron, with even the outer arrow shed having three layers.

The thick iron pipes, wooden pulleys, and transmission cables extend downwards, connecting with the supply depot, underground Workshop, and Sacred Flame base.

The entire tower is like the heart of Blackpine Fief; if it stops functioning, Blackpine Fief is doomed.

In the center of the high platform, the massive Blackpine Five-Ring defensive Sand Table has been fully deployed.

On several wooden boards nearby, there were situation diagrams of each section of the fire line, the number of arrows and fuel consumed, and nameplates of each squad's rotation and casualties. All of this had been prepared long ago.

A few floors down, Recorder, flag bearers, and messengers ran back and forth, the sounds of turning pages, footsteps, trumpets, and urgent commands blending together, like the gears of a giant killing machine beginning to turn.

Shien walked to the Sand Table, placed his hands on the wooden edge, and looked down from the outermost ring all the way to the Inner Fortress.

At this point, wartime command in Blackpine Fief was completely tightened.

Shien certainly wouldn't issue a micro-management order like moving a certain spearman's position five meters to the left.

He only focused on the overall defensive line, issuing instructions such as which trenches needed to be cleared of corpses, which areas needed increased firepower, and which lines needed to be prepared for retreat.

Commands were relayed through flags, lights, horns, and bells, and officers at each level would dismantle these commands layer by layer, truly putting the entire Blackpine Fief into motion.

"Click-clack... click-clack-click!"

The sudden sound of gears turning caused the entire Blackpine Fief to tremble slightly; the sound was a mournful groan emanating from the base of the underground Sacred Flame Altar.

The next moment, a blinding pillar of platinum fire shot into the sky from the fortress spire without warning.

It was like a Holy Silver giant sword, forcefully cleaving through the dark red Blood Mist pressing down on Blackpine Fief.

The pillar of fire shot upwards, reaching a height of a hundred meters, before exploding with a deafening roar, transforming into a violent surge of light that swept outwards in all directions.

The Sacred Flame Domain, which had been gradually pushed back by the Blood Moon, finally reopened.

The platinum halo, with an almost tyrannical force, pushed the darkness away.

The Red Fog that had been approaching the Fifth Ring Road was forcibly burned away, tumbling and retreating.

In this world that was beginning to tilt towards darkness, Blackpine Fief Territory managed to reclaim most of its territory.

As the halo swept across the high platform, the thick, suffocating feeling that had been lingering in Shien's lungs was instantly torn apart.

He took a deep breath, the cold air filling his chest, and he instantly became much more awake.

The Battle Aura that had been sluggish and heavy under the weight of the Blood Moon was revived and surged rapidly through the meridians.

Below the tower, the armored soldiers, whose legs had been trembling under the oppressive force of the Blood Moon, almost simultaneously caught their breath and gasped for air filled with the stench of blood.

Shien knew very well that this was just a death sentence bought with the future, and every minute that was consumed was the Sacred Tallow Blackpine Fief originally had enough to last for several days.

But this price had to be paid; he had to stabilize the soldiers' positions immediately and help them gradually adapt to the Blood Moon Season.

Otherwise, before the first wave of impact from the abyss actually hits the shield wall, the sheer terror of the combined pressure of the Blood Moon and darkness would be enough to drive people insane.

However, it's impossible to use Sacred Tallow like this throughout the entire Blood Moon Season; it will only be overclocked again at crucial moments.

Shien withdrew his gaze from the sky, placed his hands on the edge of the massive defense Sand Table, and slowly closed his eyes.

Deep within his consciousness, [Lv.3 Macro Battlefield Command] was suddenly activated.

The sounds of wind, the stench of blood, the smell of decay, and the oppressive crimson that made it hard to breathe were all instantly pulled away from reality.

Instead, there is an absolutely calm, deep blue field of vision.

The entire Blackpine Fief, the crisscrossing trenches, the location of every Dark Bunker, and the position of every Steam Repeating Crossbow were all reconstructed into a cold, clear, and emotionless three-dimensional grid.

At the very edge of this azure horizon, deep within the once deathly Gray Fog, countless Crimson Light Points began to illuminate.

The number of red dots was frightening, like drops of blood boiling in the darkness.

Each spot of light represents a living organism's reaction—madness, hunger, and aggression.

The first wave of Magic Creature has fully awakened.

They churned and gathered in the Gray Fog, eventually forming a vast, endless black wave that pressed down on the defense line layer by layer.

Shien opened his eyes, slowly raised his right hand, his fingertips pointing directly at the surging black tide of death.

The next moment, his hand slammed down. "Pass on the order, Plan Number One."

The flag bearer was the first to move, and the scarlet command flag was suddenly waved down.

The bronze bell, cornet, and light signal at the top of the tower responded simultaneously, and the command was transmitted layer by layer through the high platform, Dark Bunker, trenches, and inner walls.

"First Ring of shields, erect!"

"Poisonous water trench pre-ignited!"

"Steam Repeating Crossbow, valve ready to fire!"

"Fang-Splitting Formation, prepare for impact!"

Gears meshed, white steam billowed, the shield wall landed, and spears formed a forest.

Upon receiving this command, the entire Blackpine Fief defensive line slowly bared its fangs at the onrushing black tide.

"Crunch... crunch..."

Outside the Blackpine Fief, a muffled friction sound came first.

That's the sound of bones pushing against the flesh.

The fascia was stretched open little by little, the joints were misaligned and compressed, and the sound was deep and harsh, making your teeth ache when you listened to it.

As the dim red light of the Blood Moon slowly pressed into the Gray Fog, the first Riftclaw Night Wolf finally revealed itself.

Its already large body swelled up even more, and its black fur stood on end, stiff and hard.

Those eyes were now just cloudy and grayish-white, with bloodshot veins all over them, completely devoid of any vitality that a living creature should have.

With each breath, thick saliva oozed from the crack at the corner of his mouth.

The front paws were completely different; the metacarpal bones were enlarged, the claws grew wildly, and a row of white bone spurs pierced through the skin on the back of the paw.

"Waaah... waaah..."

The first Night Wolf suddenly let out a low growl, which was forced out of its ruptured throat, filled with pain.

But the next moment, more of the same low howls rose from the mist, one after another, quickly merging into one.

"Waaaaaah! Waaaaah! Waaaaah!"

The wolves swept by the sound convulsed even more violently, but the intense pain seemed to be forcibly erased by the Blood Moon, leaving only the most primal hunger and the urge to kill.

It lunges forward and tears open the throat of a living creature.

Soon, the wolf pack in the fog all moved, like a black tide surging along the ground, rushing towards Blackpine Fief.

As soon as the ones in front lunged forward, those behind followed closely, trampling each other without the slightest hesitation.

This was Blood Moon's first wave of attacks on the Blackpine Fief defense line.