"Bang!"

Just as the sun passed overhead, a huge explosion was heard outside the city.

"What happened?"

The bearded man put down his food and looked up at the sky.

The city's inhabitants were also awakened by the explosion and took to the streets. Like the bearded man, they looked up at the sky. However, the explosion was some distance from Gray Furnace City, and the azure sky remained unchanged, with only the clouds being disturbed and moved slightly.

"It must be that group of people!"

Joey calmly put the last piece of pastry in her hand into her mouth, chewed it casually a few times and swallowed it, then stood up and looked up at the sky.

"Captain Joey, Captain Pouf is calling you!"

Medes also looked up, but he wasn't looking at the sky; instead, he was looking at the lookout tower where Puff had been.

Joey and the bearded man looked toward the watchtower at the same time, where a flag bearer was waving two small flags and giving them instructions.

"semaphore?"

Joey hadn't systematically studied this, and the bearded man wasn't cut out for studying either, so he definitely wouldn't know it either. He could only ask Medes for help.

"Yes, that's right!"

"So what did he say?"

"An explosion has occurred...about six kilometers southeast of the city!"

"As expected, the attackers have arrived. However, since they are outside the city, it could be a diversionary tactic. We'd better not make any rash moves!"

As Joey listened to Medes' explanation of the flag signals, he also pondered and analyzed the current situation.

"Yes, I think Joey is right!"

The bearded man, a big fan of Joey, immediately expressed his support.

"Captain Joey...take your men and head immediately to...the explosion site to assess the situation!"

Medes continued looking at the observation deck, then spoke slowly and deliberately.

"What? What's that Puff guy up to? Can't he even figure this out?"

Joey looked on incredulously when he heard what Puff said.

Joey looked up at the observation deck, her expression turning somewhat angry.

Little did they know that the flag signals from the lookout tower were not yet finished.

"This is the city lord's order!"

Medes continued translating.

"Is this the city lord's order? What is my future father-in-law up to?"

Joey didn't think Lord Maragon was an incompetent fool who would make such a stupid decision at this time.

"Joey, what should we do? Should we go?"

The bearded man didn't care about the city lord's orders; Joey was his boss, and only his words counted as orders.

"Captain, if this is truly the city lord's arrangement, we can't disobey, can we?"

Medes had spent many years in the military and knew the consequences of disobeying orders, so he still reminded Joey.

"Let's go. Since it's the city lord's arrangement, then we'll go!"

Without much thought, Joey spoke to the two of them.

Medes breathed a sigh of relief when he heard what Joey said. He picked up a bun and a pastry and started waving them around, treating them like command flags.

"Captain Puff, Sergeant Medes has been notified and will go to check outside the city as you instructed!"

After watching Medes' actions, one of the guards said to Puff.

"Great, this guy can't be of any help here anyway, might as well let him go out for a stroll!"

Puff glanced at Joey on the street again, then stopped looking at him and instead focused on the black smoke rising in the distance outside the city.

"Hmm? There's still a while until the agreed time, so why is there movement outside the city? Could it be that it's started early?"

Lan hid alone in a dark corner, waiting for her chance to strike. The explosion had surprised her as well.

"No, no! If this wasn't our operation brought forward, then it was them!"

Lan murmured to herself, looking up at the tall castle before her, her gaze becoming profound.

"Is it ahead of schedule?"

A figure covered by a hood on the street suddenly stopped. Although he was also confused, he seemed to have made up his mind and disappeared from the spot in a flash.

Southwest of the city.

"What happened?"

"Has the operation been brought forward?"

Two orcs emerged from the dense grass, looking puzzled at the black smoke rising into the sky in the distance.

"With such a commotion, the city must have already been placed under martial law. We'd better hurry!"

The two orcs took a long horn from their waists and blew it.

"Waaah—"

"Waaah—"

The deep, heavy sound of the horn was particularly jarring in the wilderness, startling all the birds and beasts nearby into fleeing.

As the horn sounded, a crack began to appear above the orcs' heads. As time went by, the crack grew larger and larger, eventually transforming into a three-meter-high circular portal.

As the portal gradually stabilized, the scene inside became very clear. There were armies of nearly 10,000 men standing inside, ready to go. Seeing that the portal was stable, the orcs standing in front excitedly raised their shields and struck the battle axes in their other hands, making a deafening sound.

The orc army began to emerge orderly from the portal, appearing quite excited upon seeing the dense jungle, but they did not run around recklessly, indicating that the army's discipline was quite good.

...

"Captain Pouf, there's trouble to the southwest!"

A guard put down his binoculars and pointed at the flock of birds that had just been startled and taken flight in the southwest of the city.

"The Southwest?"

Puff stroked his chin, lost in thought.

Joey was assigned by the city lord to the southeast, where an explosion had just occurred, and Joey only had three people with him; but judging from the situation in the southwest, there seemed to be quite a few people there...

"Captain, should we send someone over to check it out?"

"Just like how the city lord arranged for Captain Joey?"

The guard continued to ask, feeling that the commotion in the southwest should be dealt with more quickly, while the southeast was likely a smokescreen by the enemy.

"Before I came, the city lord had already instructed me that, apart from Joey, no one else should leave the city!"

"Although we don't yet understand the city lord's arrangements, he must have already made proper plans!"

"We should proceed according to the city lord's instructions. Immediately notify the city gates to be closed, and no more people should be allowed to enter or leave Ashfurnace City at will!"

Puff put down his binoculars, then looked toward the city gate and issued instructions methodically.

"yes!"

One of the guards immediately jogged down from the watchtower and headed towards the city gate.