Chapter 908: Act 84 – Infiltration of the Night IV
Time rewinds to half an hour earlier.
Compared to the commotion in Gravel Town, the nearby hills lay in silence. On the hilltop where the Erluin embassy was located, everyone remained quietly nestled in the pine forest. Out of concern for the harpy circling overhead, no one dared to make a fire or act out of line—speaking itself was limited to hushed tones as they all awaited complete darkness to envelop the land.
Before that moment arrived, time stretched long and dull. Some whispered, while others nibbled on rations to maintain their strength. Four interior knights were discussing matters related to the North Mountain outpost. Romaine was telling stories to the duchess, who gazed at the Merchant Miss in admiration. The former had a special talent for narrating events yet to unfold as if they were vividly occurring; she spoke of her trade caravan, with a merchant ship sporting enormous sails akin to clouds crossing the glimmering sea, heading toward bustling ports and wild regions, elusive beasts lurking in the depths of the ocean, storms brewing above the waves, bizarre fish, and wonders rarely seen in a mortal’s lifetime. Although she had never visited those places, she narrated as if she had witnessed them firsthand, captivating her audience. Soon others gathered around her, including Brendel, who spotted JarSugar, Dierphir, and Himelam as three of Romaine’s loyal listeners, along with QiYala and Margadale.
The duchess was stargazing with Eynid, marveling at the peculiar constellations that shimmered from east to west across Vaunte’s night sky, like a black cloth sprinkled with shards of jewels, glistening brilliantly. A river of starlight gradually emerged, seemingly heralding the onset of night. However, after the stars and the moon converged, the area beyond the forest became bright, with the valley bathed in silver radiance under the night sky.
Before night fully descended, Brendel continued inquiring about the situation inside Gravel Town with Cooper, who also wanted to break through under cover of darkness but was troubled by the town’s tight defenses. Just the harpies above posed a formidable challenge. He knew little about the current conditions within Gravel Town, offering only vague answers to Brendel’s probing questions. However, as a local noble, he knew the town inside and out—where the markets were, where the open streets lay, where the barracks and towers stood, as well as the location of the temple, and could sketch a simple map.
Brendel’s detailed inquiries puzzled Cooper, who couldn’t help but ask, “Lord Earl, do you really have confidence in capturing Gravel Town?”
“It’s still hard to say; we’ll only know after night falls,” Brendel replied.
“Lord Earl, the Jotungrund troops stationed in Gravel Town are not inferior to us. They have defensive advantages, and the combat strength of the harpies and the troglodytes is greater than that of our swordsmen and spearmen—though perhaps they don’t compare to your forces, sir. But from what I observe, you don’t seem to have brought many guards,” Cooper questioned cautiously.
In Erluin, particularly in the southern regions, noble spearmen were generally on par with tier-one troops, often even below the baseline levels of local infantry and swordsmen. However, in Cruz, the quality of the noble private soldiers was somewhat stronger, comparable to the swordsmen in Erluin’s first and second-tier armies. They fell within the same tier, with the troglodytes being of a mid-to-high level in their tier, while Cruz’s noble spearmen and swordsmen barely qualified as second-tier. Human forces had greater discipline but lacked in individual combat prowess. This disciplinary advantage was more notable in large-scale battles but could be overshadowed in smaller skirmishes, where personal strength could decide the outcome.
Let alone the fact that Jotungrund boasted harpies and razorback boars—true tier-three creatures. If the town also hosted a couple of den leaders or minotaurs, it would spell disaster for these local noble forces.
“I think we should find a way around them…we’re outnumbered, and they might not notice us moving through the hills,” Cooper suggested hesitantly, as if even he doubted the reliability of his suggestion. Brendel smiled knowingly and shook his head; moving one or two thousand troops through the hills without being detected was impossible. Even with just a few hundred people, once they moved, even the densest canopy wouldn’t provide cover. Unless they scattered into smaller groups, which required immense space and time—a luxury they did not possess.
If they did not deal with the defenders of Gravel Town, they could not safely leave this place.
“Alas,” Cooper sighed, a hint of despair creeping in. “Must we fight? Is there no other way?”
Brendel sensed Cooper was rather intimidated by the Jotungrund forces and offered him a few words of comfort: “Sir Cooper, Gravel Town is not as hard to conquer as you might think.”
Cooper took this as mere encouragement, nodding in a half-hearted way as he glanced towards the valley.
Haruz traversed through the dark forest, seemingly drawn by the light outside. He struggled to push through the clumps of pine trees and finally saw Laisimeka at the forest’s edge. The Medusa was standing at the edge of the bushes, her gaze fixed on the exposed white rocks illuminated by the moonlight. However, the prince noticed a looming shadow coiled around the valley, that place known as Gravel Town—a geographical exit to this valley, as his teacher had explained—yet he understood that the town was currently occupied by some special enemies.
“Are those your kin, Sister Laisimeka?” he asked quietly as he approached the Medusa from behind.
“Kin? Not exactly,” Laisimeka remarked, having already detected the prince’s voice.
Haruz looked at her in confusion.
Turning around to face the young prince, Laisimeka’s amber eyes held a gentle glint. “Sweet child, in human terms, Jotungrund is merely a geographical term, not a nation or territory. The true Jotungrund is divided into three layers: upper, middle, and lower, each vastly different. The rulers of the shallowest layer are dwarves, the middle layer is what you know as Jotungrund, and the lowest layer belongs to the dark elves’ kingdom. Below that lies rivers flowing with magma and sulfur. In the dark underground world, thousands of diverse clans exist, lacking any concept of a kingdom. Even the most powerful lords typically rule just a city and some land, with smaller tribes living under them. Since time immemorial, they have fought among themselves and harbored hostilities.”
As she spoke, she sighed. Haruz sensed he shouldn’t have brought it up and refrained from further questioning.
After seeing off Cooper, Brendel returned to Nemeses, who was watching the scene at the edge of the forest from a distance.
“That Medusa?” he turned back to ask.
“The princess promised to protect her, and the young prince seems quite fond of her,” Nemeses answered, though she did not look that way, seeming indifferent about the matter.
“No issues?”
“Not really, just don’t forget she came with a demon.”
Brendel nodded. In the lower layers of Jotungrund, the locals were traditional foes of demons, although a small number had to serve them as slaves. Given this background and the fact that she personally returned the young prince, it was not surprising that Grifian trusted her.
A moment of silence lingered between them as they gazed toward the valley. The wind blowing from the hills rustled through the pine woods above them, creating a soft sound.
“It’s getting darker,” Nemeses suddenly remarked.
“Because it’s getting close to deep winter.”
Nemeses glanced at him. “The direction of the meteor fall was near the North Mountain outpost.”
“Many witnesses have reported this, and most of the testimonies confirm it. However, the majority didn’t believe it was true; they think it’s a trick of Jotungrund.”
“The troglodytes are searching for it.”
Brendel nodded; although most thought it was directed towards Earl Orkans, he already had his answer in mind.
Nemeses looked at him with serene, orchid-like eyes: “Could that be the one?”
“We’ll find out soon enough.”
“So confident? That knight seems to doubt your ability to conquer this place,” Nemeses recalled Cooper’s expression, a smirk forming on her lips. But regrettably, Brendel did not notice. He chuckled in response: “What’s it to you? Though many great generals emerge in this era, ‘we’ have our own means too.”
“You mean ‘players’?”
Brendel didn’t want to answer that question lightly. He had been contemplating these matters for days: Does history trend toward occurrence or change? If the latter, what’s the catalyst?
As night deepened, it became evidently unrealistic to approach Gravel Town under the vigilant eyes of the harpies before darkness fell. These creatures had eyesight akin to their flying kin above. In fact, it wasn’t just the valley; stepping out from the dense canopy could soon have them targeted by the harpies. As reconnaissance units among flying entities, harpies ranked highly within Vaunte; even the gargoyles of Bud fell slightly short in terms of scouting abilities, although they were rather fragile. Habituated to leaping between underground rock layers, their short wings severely limited their capacity to ascend into the sky, which placed them at a disadvantage during aerial skirmishes.
However, attempting to approach Gravel Town after nightfall was equally fanciful. Harpies were creatures of darkness, possessing superior night vision compared to daylight due to their mild photophobia, which made them ill-suited to the surface world’s brightness.
According to Charles, the only way to silently approach Gravel Town was if everyone learned the art of invisibility—if they could find enough wizards to cast spells for the thousand-odd people hiding in the woodlands.
It seemed the only path forward was a full-frontal assault.
But players excelled especially in such unconventional small-scale battles, thus Brendel and Nemeses typically found their choices less troublesome.
As the hour hand on Sir Cooper’s silver pocket watch passed the twelve-mark, a slight wind seemed to stir in the forest. A small squad of gargoyles took flight from the mountaintop’s woods, but from above, only the dark treetops swayed slightly, branches bowing under descending air currents, seven or eight invisible waves swept over the canopy, then vanished.
Below the canopy, robed wizards were watching the gargoyles empowered by invisibility begin their ascent. Nearby, a second group of gargoyles awaited takeoff, standing like statues in the woods before being activated, their folded wings nearly exceeding the treetops’ height. These were backups for the first group; if possible, everyone present sincerely hoped for a successful initial attempt without deploying these reserves.
Under the cover of night, and as if Martha was silently standing beside them, the operation progressed far more smoothly than they had imagined.
Eight invisible gargoyles climbed into the night sky and quickly ascended, reaching above the harpies hovering over Gravel Town. Moonlight spilled over the clouds, and through gaps in the gossamer fog, they could clearly see four dark figures circling above. The harpies remained oblivious to the lurking danger, flying in pairs, casting keen eyes over the vast land. In their sight, the mountains and hills clustering under the starlight and moonshine appeared like miniature sandboxes, cloaked in silver mist, exuding tranquility.
At that moment, the eight gargoyles had long since locked onto their targets. After rising to a high point, they began their final maneuver and dove.
Like griffins, gargoyles were heavy flying units with wider and sturdier wings than griffins, indicating their superior climb and dive capabilities among creatures of the same tier—within the game, gargoyles were the closest to tier-four among tier-three creatures, while griffins were tier-four creatures, and harpies were the closest to tier-three among tier-four creatures. The capabilities of these three flying beings were evenly balanced, but in scouting, gargoyles could not compete with harpies, and in many combats, they were outmatched by the ferocious griffins. However, in terms of pursuit during climbs and dives, Bud’s gargoyles were undeniably the best.
Moreover, those gargoyles diving down from the clouds were still in an invisible state. The four harpies had no inkling of the disaster descending upon them, only registering a shrill shriek cutting through the air before they frantically reacted.
But alas.
It was too late; the precision of the constructs allowed all eight gargoyles to enter their attack range simultaneously, and when they revealed their attack intentions as they appeared from stealth, the harpies had no chance to react. They struggled futilely in mid-air before cold claws pierced through their fragile ribcages. The eight gargoyles had arranged themselves in a sequence of one after another, primarily a primary-strike and secondary-strike sequence to prevent any that slipped past—however, this ultimately proved superfluous.
As the gargoyles swept by, a rain of feathers fell from the sky.
Unfortunately, this height above ground meant that the drifting feathers, when they finally landed, were already scattered and untraceable.
In the darkness, no one noticed the fight that had concluded before it even began in the sky—
The anxious individuals waiting on the ground received information transmitted via the gargoyles, and Rogers couldn’t help but excitedly clasp hands with his companions. The wizards in the forest also applauded in congratulations. Yet at the same moment, on the other side of the hill, numerous elves draped in feathered cloaks and dressed distinctly from humans emerged from the woods, their faces painted with various patterns, resembling hill tribes, but their pointed ears revealed their identity as tree spirits, druids.
A small group of druids had already joined Brendel’s mage group during the Autumn War in Erluin. After the war, more tree spirits, drawn by reputation, emerged from the Black Forest, settling on his lands—as part of an agreement he had with the druids in the Loop of Trade Winds. Accompanying the mage group traveling with the Erluin embassy, these druids came to the lands of Cruz.
They faced the night wind, chanting ancient spells as one after another transformed into thrushes or ravens, flying en masse from the forest toward the valley and Gravel Town.
In the areas close to the Empire’s inland sea, migratory birds often thronged, and even inland, flocks of ravens wandering above the hills weren’t uncommon. Nevertheless, the druids prudently chose to disperse and infiltrate the town. Once the watchful eyes of the sky were lost, the Jotungrund forces could hardly notice these scattered flocks. The druids flew into the town, settling in the shadows—those back alleys, deep nooks, or secluded courtyards—and amidst a swirl of ghostly green glow, they transformed back into their human forms. Groups of druids pulled out blue stones from their pockets, arranging them in specific patterns on the ground, creating various magical arrays.
Next, they began infusing magic into these stones, green beams stretched between them like serpents, and when each stone linked together, the space above the array trembled, revealing a silver thread of light in the center. This thread expanded outward, resembling an eye opening in the void, yet this eye lacked a pupil and contained only a dazzling blue-white glow of some mysterious space.
At that moment, far within the hills, similarly, dozens of light gates opened before the white lion guard and Cruz’s noble private soldiers, who had long been prepared. All were stunned by the spectacle before them. “The Bud people’s teleportation array!” Rogers exclaimed, glancing at Brendel with a complex expression. “The artisan wizards are indeed supporting you from the shadows.”
Brendel chuckled: “Sir Knight, if you speak any louder for Sir Cooper to hear, he might start questioning your identities.”
Rogers’s expression changed; after considering, he realized concealing the interior knights’ identities was more pressingly important, thus he prudently sealed his lips.
