When the black-armored warrior stood in front of Jennings, the latter felt as if he had seen him somewhere before.

"Watch your manners!" The adjutant looked at the black-armored warrior who neither bowed nor spoke, and said loudly with displeasure, "The man before you is the Regent of Lone Rock City, the Southern Guardian of the Father's Diocese!"

By the light of the torch, Jennings looked at the black armor on the warrior's body and frowned thoughtfully.

The adjutant, finding the soldier still unmoved, angrily shouted, "There's a limit to rudeness! Take off your helmet!"

The adjutant's voice drew the attention of the surrounding soldiers, who gathered around. Some were curious, some were puzzled, and some were worried. All eyes were on the black-armored warrior.

The latter finally moved.

"As you wish."

After a simple sentence, the protective gear covering his head was removed, revealing the warrior's resolute face... and dozens of twisted, writhing parasitic limbs.

"A mutant! He's a mutant!"

A sharp scream erupted from the crowd of onlookers, and the tense adjutant drew his sword, looking warily at the soldier.

Jennings was taken aback at first, then he waved his hand and said to his adjutant, "Put away your swords! And you guys! Get to the battlefield and clean up the mess!"

After dealing with everything around him, Jennings turned to look at the soldier's fearless face and calmly asked, "What's your name?"

"Randall Quincy".

“Randall Quincy? Where have I heard that name before?” Jennings tried to recall, then suddenly remembered something and said emotionally, “If I remember correctly, you seem to be…”

Randall calmly replied, "That's right, I served under you for a time. Later, because of my alien identity, I had to flee into exile with my mother..."

Jennings sighed, his face darkening. "I remember now. You were originally a hunter who joined the militia to help the kingdom. On the battlefield, your archery skills and bravery left a deep impression on me. Back then..."

“My lord, I don’t want to bring up the past anymore. Why don’t we focus our attention on the battle at hand?” Randall put his helmet back on, looked at the dark night outside the city, and listened to the foreign language carried on the wind. He said, “The enemy’s attack has been thwarted, and they will certainly not retreat now.”

Jennings took a deep breath and nodded, saying, "If I'm not mistaken, this enemy light cavalry unit is on a surprise attack mission. Their main objective is to use their mobility to capture the city gate by surprise."

"In other words, the enemy's main force will arrive very soon."

“That’s right, but there’s no need to worry. I’ve already sent messengers to several generals in the kingdom, and they will be here soon with reinforcements.”

Randall glanced at the corpses on the city wall and said in a low voice, "The question is, can this place be held before reinforcements arrive?"

Jennings knew what he was worried about and laughed, "Lone Rock is built on a mountain ridge, and the outer city gates are protected by natural rock walls on both sides. If you want to attack from the bottom of the mountain, not only will the power of muskets and cannons be greatly reduced, but even the marching of soldiers will become extremely difficult."

Jennings paused for a moment, then continued, "The only problem is that there aren't many garrison troops in the city."

Randall asked curiously, "Aren't there many garrison troops in the city?"

"Most of the soldiers are stationed on the Moon Creek Plain north of Lone Rock City."

Randall was even more puzzled: "The Heretic Empire is located to the south of Lone Rock City, so why is it stationing its army in the north?!"

Jennings gazed into the distance and said softly, "I just don't want to repeat the mistakes of Holy Guard City."

Upon hearing this, Randall instantly understood everything.

Lonely Rock City stationed most of its soldiers in the north to defend against Twilight City.

In the struggle for the throne of Saint Guard City, the Knights of Twilight, under the pretext of an attack on their mission, forcibly entered Saint Guard City's territory and ultimately installed Queen Mary on the throne. Although there were many twists and turns in the process, to outsiders, this appeared to be an act of usurpation by the Knights of Twilight.

Furthermore, the establishment of Protestantism by the Holy King of the West, which expanded its influence while suppressing the Father's Diocese, has also raised concerns among some traditional religious kingdoms.

Finally, the fact that the Southerners had not launched a large-scale attack against the North for decades also somewhat numbed Lone Rock's judgment.

These three factors combined led the Regent of Lonely Rock to make the decision to "gather troops in the north".

Having figured all this out, Randall sighed deeply. He said to Jennings, "My lord, Twilight City is not what you imagine."

“The rise of any kingdom is inherently filled with killing, deception, and plunder; history is replete with such examples.” Jennings glanced at the horizon, where the faint light of dawn foreshadowed the passing of night and the imminent arrival of light.

He said with emotion, "You were originally a citizen of this place, so you should know that due to its special geographical environment, Lone Rock City has always existed in the gap between powers. We have been forced to learn to be cautious and defensive, which is something we can't help but do."

Seeing that Randall remained silent, Jennings smiled and said, "If you're worried about troop strength, I can tell you there's no need to. The army stationed at Lone Rock on Moonbrook Plains is very close to the capital and can return in two or three days at most to join the fight against the south."

Randall nodded slightly and said, "I hope so."

A shout came from the watchtower: "Enemy! The enemy has appeared!"

Hearing the screams of the soldiers around him, Jennings pushed aside the people next to him, strode to the city wall, and looked into the distance. What he saw made his eyes widen and he gasped.

Imperial army, imperial army covering the mountains and plains!

The neatly arranged musketeer regiment, the fully armed heavy infantry, the gleaming artillery, and the endless supply wagons slowly appeared before everyone's eyes in the rising sun.

The adjutant standing beside Jennings looked at the Imperial army on the winding mountain road and stammered, "There are probably three... no, four legions here."

Jennings looked troubled and said in a voice only he could hear, “The South was in the midst of war in the past, and I always thought that those heretics were not that powerful. Now it seems that this unified empire is like a sleeping lion, showing its sharp fangs and claws.”

Randall walked up behind Jennings and whispered to him, "Sir, if I may be so bold, the disparity in military strength between the enemy and us is too great."

The latter steadied himself and shouted to his adjutant behind him, "Immediately send out a second batch of messengers! Find our generals and tell them to speed up their march! Immediately! Right now! Reinforce Lonely Rock City as soon as possible!"