Castian's Deduction
This is the twelfth day since the Blood Moon Season Rose fully erupted.
Bishop Stian's Mithril boots pounded heavily across the dark purple Frozen Tundra.
Behind him, the Holy Knight at the core of the Graymist Defense Zone silently dispersed, instantly forming a defensive formation.
These elite warriors breathed steadily and deeply, their platinum-gold Battle Aura flowing slowly along their armor, showing almost no signs of fatigue.
This was the only unit in the Graymist Defense Zone that could still move at full speed through the Blood Moon Season. After a long march, they arrived to find only the fifth territory that had just been destroyed.
The Permanent Sacred Flame Platform in the center of the territory has completely collapsed.
The broken Rune base was still spewing acrid black smoke, charring and blackening the corpses of the surrounding guards.
A gust of wind swept up Ashen and the stench of blood, and even the air itself carried a burning, pungent odor that seemed to penetrate the lungs.
Castian's face was ashen as he crouched down and parted the tattered breastplate of a Knight.
The cervical vertebrae were severed by a sharp weapon, leaving a smooth cut. When low-level Magic Creature pounced on them, they could only bite and pull.
But the wounds on this corpse were too clean; it was clearly intended to kill as quickly as possible.
"It's probably some Werewolf Tribe that went mad prematurely," Malcolm muttered under his breath.
Castian slowly shook his head.
Malcolm was taken aback. "Not Werewolf?"
Castian glanced down at the corpses on the ground. "Werewolf prefer to lie in wait at the edge of the Gray Fog, waiting for the lower-level Magic Creature to wear down the defenses layer by layer, and then pounce out to devour the remaining enemies when the Blood Moon Season reaches its mid-to-late stages."
Malcolm frowned. "But given the situation here, if it's not Werewolf— "
"This is different. In the early stages of the Blood Moon invasion, they launched a full-scale attack on a well-maintained fortification guarded by Heavy Cavalry Knights, and even knew to dismantle the base. Werewolf don't have that kind of brain."
Castian glanced at the wasteland engulfed in Blood Mist, and a chilling thought rose to his spine.
Every time these Dark Races strike, it's as if they've measured the distance and timed it perfectly beforehand.
It was like an invisible hand wielding sharp scissors, specifically targeting the weakest points in the patrol network, even including its own Holy Knight troops.
The thing hiding behind the scenes has an astonishingly keen sense of smell.
Whenever this fully armed elite force was about to arrive, the dark power deep within the Gray Fog would immediately recede and disappear behind the Red Fog in the blink of an eye.
"Bishop, should we immediately send an urgent request for assistance to the Tear Knight Governor's Residence?"
Castian slowly shook his head. "The pressure on the Tear Knight Defense Line is almost at its limit. Even in the Tear Knight City area, traces of High-Ranking Blood Clan Duke' activities have appeared in the early stages of the Blood Moon Season."
The main force of the Tear Knight Legion is pinned down at the core of the defensive line; for the peripheral areas like the Graymist Defense Zone, we'll have to handle it ourselves.
Having said that, Castian strode into the temporary tent and stopped in front of the huge parchment map.
He didn't start writing immediately, but stared at the entire Defense Zone map for a few moments.
The most important thing right now is to find the black hand hiding behind the Gray Fog.
Only by forcing that thing out and cutting it off can this festering, bleeding wound possibly be stopped.
Of course, to achieve this, one must first identify a territory most likely to retain it, so that reinforcements can arrive in time.
The quill pen, dipped in red ink, was pressed down sharply, drawing several deep red lines on the map.
"Ironthorn Fief is guarded by a veteran Viscount who has spent over a decade on the Eternal Night Wall. In the Radiant Basin, a full-strength Church garrison is stationed—"
The quill continued its journey, finally stopping at a coordinate on the westernmost side of the Defense Zone.
Blackpine Fief.
Malcolm frowned, looking at the corner. "Bishop, the one guarding that spot is just a newcomer who's barely fourteen years old. I'm afraid—"
Castian shook his head. "Almost all the battle reports coming back from around the territory are about collapsing and requesting reinforcements."
This isolated place remained eerily quiet; when several extremely powerful Beast Tide rushed towards it, they were as if they had crashed into a swamp, without even making a sound.
But whether it's here or not, I can't say for sure right now. However, I have a hunch that the young lord named Shien might be able to do it.
In this desolate wasteland where daylight never comes, the lower-ranking soldiers could only roughly judge by the number of black bread loaves delivered to them that the Blood Moon Season had probably lasted for more than ten days.
Over the past period, the Blood Moon has had its most ominous moments, as well as periods when it has slightly subsided.
The first few nights of the Blood Moon Season are often the hardest to endure.
The Magic Creature from the nearby wasteland will all swarm towards the nearest Long Night Fief; whoever holds them off first will have to pay the price with their lives.
Once we get through the initial phase, the next thing we need to guard against is the remaining forces that will sweep into this area after other territories have been conquered.
If the entire Blood Moon Season had maintained the maddening intensity of the first night, most of the strongholds on the Eternal Night Wall would have been completely wiped out a few days ago.
Ten days or so have passed, Kyle's team, which originally consisted of seven members, is now down to one.
One of the team members was accidentally splashed with acid sprayed by the Mire Venom Insect, and half of his body melted away on the spot. When they collected the body, not even a single intact bone was left.
Of course, the higher-ups quickly replaced them with four more soldiers from other decimated squads.
Of the original group, only veteran Kyle, main spearman Todd, and side hooker Finn remain.
At this moment, Todd sat expressionlessly in the blood that had reached his ankles, numbly chewing on black bread, his hands pressing down on a rough whetstone, scraping back and forth on the blade of Silver-Plated Iron Spear.
"Snap, snap, ----"
Amidst the ear-piercing scraping sound, the Magic Creature's black blood and bone fragments that had congealed in the blood groove were scraped off bit by bit and fell into the muddy water.
Kyle took off the dented iron flask from his waist, tilted his head back and took a swig of liquor, wincing from the spiciness.
Then he casually tossed the flask into Todd's arms, his rough hand slamming heavily onto the blood-stained shoulder armor. "Have a drink to warm your stomach."
Todd tugged at his chapped lips, uncorked the bottle, and took a big gulp before tossing the flask to Finn and the other recruits.
The men shared a sip, grinned, and said nothing more.
But this rest period didn't last long.
"Boom!"
A dull, trembling tremor suddenly rolled up from the depths of the Frozen Tundra, and pebbles and clods of Frozen Tundra slid off the trench walls and crashed into the puddles.
The tremors that shook the ground were not something a small or medium-sized magical beast could produce; something huge was heading straight for them.
At the same time, a sharp bronze bell on the towering command tower of the Inner Fortress suddenly rang out, signifying "large, high-threat target, awaiting high-level support."
The slight smugness in Kyle's eyes vanished instantly. "Form ranks! Large target approaching! Hold the line at your lives, trap that beast outside the trench! Wait for the high-ranking Knight to arrive!"
Upon hearing this, Todd's nerves, which had just relaxed a little, were instantly tightened again, but there was no longer any fear in his eyes.