This caravan carries the fruits of Nazla's months of painstaking efforts, and even more so, her eagerness to return home.
The rising sun cast its first golden rays upon the towering towers of Silvermane City, illuminating the long, winding caravan as it moved forward.
Nazla glanced back at the magnificent city gradually awakening in the morning light, took a deep breath of the air carrying the scent of morning dew and dust, and stared resolutely ahead—at the boundless, yellow sand sea of death.
"Set off!"
Her clear voice rang out, carrying an undeniable determination.
The sound of whips rang out, the pack animals growled, and the wheels rumbled.
This colossal force, composed of wealth, power, and burning passion, plunged headlong into the long, sandy road leading to the southern human kingdoms.
The sandstorm quickly blurred their silhouettes, leaving only heavy footprints and the faint, deep, powerful war song of orc warriors echoing across the wasteland.
Nazira's heart had already flown across mountains and rivers, flying to the castle that was struggling on the edge of war, flying to the figure that haunted her dreams.
…………
The brief tranquility of Grinburg was shattered instantly, like a lake surface tossed with a boulder.
Before the morning mist had completely dissipated, the piercing sound of horns tore through the silence, rolling in from the southern and western horizons.
The lookout at the top of the castle tower sounded the highest level enemy attack alarm, and the urgent alarm bell immediately rang through the sky, abruptly waking the entire Grinburg from its brief respite.
Lind's figure appeared instantly atop the castle's highest arrow tower, his robes fluttering in the strong wind. His gaze was sharp and intense, sweeping across the distance.
Dust billowed up from the direction of the southern Ork camp and the western Sass-controlled area, like two winding, yellowish-brown pythons rapidly crawling toward Greenburg.
Flags fluttered, and weapons reflected the cold light of the rising sun. Although the scale was not as large as the last general offensive, the number was still considerable, carrying a clear intention to probe and exert pressure.
"The Sassuers are the main force..."
Lind muttered to himself, his voice drowned out by the urgent alarm bells.
He recognized the style of the flags and the soldiers' equipment.
Without the slightest hesitation, Linde instantly activated "Activated Vision".
The world in my field of vision instantly lost its color, leaving only the lines and outlines of flowing energy.
The castle and camp themselves emanated halos of life and magic, strong or weak, and the soldiers on the city walls gripped their weapons tightly, with energy fluctuations like tiny ripples.
The army surging from afar was a murky torrent composed of a large amount of low-intensity life energy and a few brighter points of light.
Linde's gaze was like the most precise probe, rapidly scanning and filtering through this murky torrent.
He searched for that familiar, nauseating, deep black, viscous energy that seemed to devour light—the hallmark of the Shadow Abyss Splinter.
Once, twice...
"No?"
Linde frowned slightly.
Within sight, there was no trace of the distorted, viscous, and highly polluting active light that had appeared before.
Although the enemy's torrent contained some magical fluctuations unique to spellcasters, they all belonged to the realm of conventional arcane or elemental magic, lacking that sense of evil originating from the abyss.
But this did not make Lind feel any relief.
Last time, the split entity also appeared out of thin air and launched a deadly attack without warning.
The Shadow Abyss is far more unpredictable than anything else. They are like venomous snakes lurking in the shadows, ready to bare their deadly fangs at any moment.
"Is it a repeat of the same old trick? Or... are they waiting for the right opportunity?"
Linde's eyes were icy. He would never give Yingyuan a second chance to launch a sneak attack.
"Pass on the order!"
Lind's voice, amplified by magic, clearly reached the ears of the messengers below who were already on high alert.
"As planned, the outposts will use the outer fortifications to delay the enemy! Ranged units, walls, and arrow towers, take your positions! Notify Viscount Lilens that the camp defenses are fully activated, forming a defensive perimeter! Tell everyone that this is a probe by the enemy, but you must be on high alert, especially paying attention to any unusual energy fluctuations or individuals!"
The order was swiftly relayed. The castle and camp, like a steel hedgehog awakened from its slumber, instantly bared all their quills.
The soldiers ran into their designated positions, nocked their crossbows, and the trebuchet winches creaked and groaned.
Linde's gaze returned to the approaching dust and smoke in the distance, but a cold smile curled at the corner of his mouth.
"It's good that there are no Shadow Abyss Splits..."
He thought to himself.
“Perfect, let’s try out the ‘gift’ I’ve prepared for you first.”
The last sneak attack by the Shadow Abyss Splinter made Lind realize that conventional methods had limited effectiveness against such beings.
Upon returning to Greenburg, he began to make secret plans.
Linde ordered the army's artisans to forge a batch of crossbow bolts made of fine iron overnight. Linde then imbued these bolts with the power of light veins using the effect of a bright aura.
This greatly enhances the effectiveness against Shadow Abyss Splits.
The piercing sound of horns rang out again, but this time it came from the ranks of the Sass people.
A phalanx of about a thousand Sass infantrymen, under the cover of a few rudimentary siege vehicles (mainly wooden shield carts and a few small catapults), broke away from the main force and began to slowly advance towards the front wall of Greenburg.
Their advance deliberately avoided the meticulously constructed, labyrinthine fortifications of barricades, pitfalls, and earthen walls outside the city, choosing instead a relatively "clean" but completely exposed open area to the castle's long-range firepower.
"A feint attack from the front?"
Linde stood atop the arrow tower, observing coldly. The enemy's intentions were clear—neither probing the strength of the outer fortifications nor seeking a confrontation with the troops stationed outside the city, but instead heading straight for the main castle.
This was less of an attack and more of a provocative performance.
"Long-range troops, listen to my command!"
Lind's voice carried clearly to every section of the city wall.
"Target: Sassanid siege engine and rear guard! Three volleys, free spread!"
As the command flag was waved, a dense chorus of bowstring vibrations and the muffled thuds of mechanisms erupted from the walls of Greenburg.
A cloud of arrows soared into the sky, whistling with deathly cries, precisely covering the path of the Sassins' advance.
In Linde's activated vision, dense points of light representing arrows could be seen falling like rain into the energy torrent of the Sassians, instantly creating ripples that symbolized the passing of life.
Thud! Thud! Thud! The sound of arrows piercing flesh mingled with screams.
The Sassians' shield carts did block many direct arrows, but their effectiveness was limited against the barrage of arrows raining down from the sky.
The soldiers pushing the cart and the infantry following behind were all hit by arrows and fell to the ground, and the formation instantly fell into chaos.
Before those small catapults could even enter effective firing range, they were targeted and their key structures were pierced by several accurate heavy crossbow bolts, causing them to fall to one side.
The commander of the Sassians clearly had not anticipated that Greenburg's counterattack would be so resolute and fierce.
Their advance stalled when they were still quite a distance from the city walls. The soldiers cowered behind their shield carts, holding up their shields to fend off the relentless rain of arrows, and the casualty figures were rising rapidly.
After a brief, symbolic resistance, leaving behind dozens of corpses and several damaged shield wagons, the Sassins sounded the retreat horn.
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