The downpour had just stopped.
A rift had opened in the clouds, spilling cold daylight onto the ruined walls of Greyrock Castle.
Rainwater dripped steadily through the cracked stone, mingling with dark red liquid to form thin streams before the gates.
The Red Tide Legion's Steam War Chariots roared through the gates.
Heavy steel armor rolled over the ground, but the moving tracks made an unpleasant, sticky squelch, as though the vehicles were crossing a mire that had yet to set.
The streets, towers, and squares were utterly silent.
No one remained alive here.
At the center of the square, the ground had completely lost its original color.
There were no intact bodies to be found, not even intact skeletons.
A layer of dark red minced flesh half a foot thick covered the entire area. Rain fell onto it as it churned slowly, still giving off steam.
The marks of explosions were everywhere.
Every wall had been painted anew by a rain of blood. Scarlet flowed down the grain of the stone like a mural that had yet to dry.
Every breath drawn into the lungs carried a nauseating sweetness.
The wall inside the gates was covered in densely packed impact dents. Its surface was charred black, still bearing the marks of intense heat.
Louis sat inside the command vehicle, observing it all through the window.
Vale stood half a step behind him, his gaze likewise resting on the square that had been crushed over and over.
Even after following Louis for years, he had rarely seen anything like this.
"They sealed the gates," Vale said, his voice distinctly cold. "They brought this on themselves. They meant to keep us out, but in the end, they kept themselves from escaping."
Louis did not answer immediately.
The outcome had been sealed