### Chapter 164: The Dark Night (Part One)
The night was laden with thick clouds, the dark moon casting a gloomy glow over the snow-covered ground. In Baihao City, flames flickered dimly, and as one looked towards the north from the church, desolate street scenes mingled with charred ruins. Some areas were chaotic, others eerily silent, while shadows of displaced civilians could still be seen, scurrying in tattered, filthy clothes, hiding in dark corners as they desperately sought a sliver of hope in their dire situation.
Just a three-story building away, faint sounds of battle could be heard in another alley.
“Come at me!”
With a thunderous clang, a Workshop Hunter donning a cloak and a round hat swung his serrated greatsword, deflecting the long sword of a nearby knight. With a swift flourish, the sword morphed into a soft, serrated whip linked with steel chains, and as the knight staggered back, the Hunter unleashed a vicious sweep, “Wham!” it connected with the knight’s midsection, sending him soaring, leaving scratches across his armor.
“k*ll! Leave no one alive!”
The Hunter yelled to two companions engaged with other knights, then like a rampaging tiger, pounced on the fallen knight. Suddenly, a faint golden light erupted around the knight, a purple halo wrapping around his sword as he rolled away, barely dodging the incoming whip. In a panic, he swung forward, the purple blade slicing through the air, nearly grazing the Hunter’s nose.
“d*mn it…”
The Hunter broke out in a cold sweat, quickly retracting the whip with a sharp click, transforming it back into the greatsword. Fueled by a mix of fear and anger, he charged at the knight again.
“Scared the cr*p out of your grandpa!”
By this time, the knight had regained his footing, desperately blocking with his sword. They exchanged blows, the knight clearly outmatched, stumbling back as the Hunter bore down on him. With rage in his filthy, tear-streaked face, he shouted, “Why! Why are you starting this war? Why are you doing these things—”
“Is it enough for you barbaric northerners to see the entire Empire descend into chaos, with our people starving to d*ath, waiting for the southern region to be littered with corpses? Huh!? Is that the result you want!!?”
CLANG The knight’s sword was knocked out of his hand.
Tears streamed down his face as he exclaimed, “The citizens of Chielis City, they share your bl**d! You’re all Empire citizens, all children of the gods! Now they’re trapped in the city, reduced to cannibalism!”
“We both know the horrors; why can’t this war just stop? Why must you prevent us from giving aid, all for one man’s ambition to be emperor? Your warriors are bleeding, dying—does this really value it!? I just don’t understand—”
The knight stood in the street, crying out, gazing at his fallen companions around him, his trembling hands hanging by his side, having lost the will to resist. Yet, his cries echoed through the alley, momentarily stopping the Hunter poised to deliver a final blow, his raised serrated sword hanging in the air.
The Hunter stared into the knight’s eyes filled with sorrow and rage.
That sword still came crashing down.
With a swift motion, the sharp serrations cleanly severed the knight’s neck, his body collapsing while his head tumbled away, the pair of wide-open eyes slowly dimming, then fading entirely.
“You wouldn’t understand.”
The Hunter flicked the bl**d off his sword, gazing down at the body, mumbling softly, as he slowly removed his round hat, “After all, you church knights have always lived in the carefully woven lies of others, never questioning if the so-called righteousness in your heart is truly what you believe it to be…”
He bent down, gently placing the round hat on the knight’s corpse.
“Still, I must say, you were a decent knight. I respect you; it’s just a pity I won’t get to know your name.”
bl**d spilled, staining the muddy snow beneath them red.
For a moment, the Hunter kept his gaze on the body, as if silently praying for him, until a gust of wind whisked the hat away, prompting him to turn to his approaching companions. “This is where we stop. We can’t pursue any further or we might get separated… Let’s head back and regroup with Captain Hoover. Stay alert, I know you’re tired, but we have tough battles ahead.”
He raised his eyes toward the northern direction.
There, thick smoke swirled, and the towering furnaces loomed, the sounds of battle already echoing faintly.
…………
North of Baihao City, the Iron Foundry.
A flare pierced the night sky, streaking across the expanse.
A massive furnace pierced the dark, with figures in combat scattered everywhere. Amidst the swirling smoke, the light of divine miracles flickered constantly, only to disappear amidst the thunder of galloping hooves.
The outer perimeter of the Northern Army had surrounded the place tightly. Light cavalry and shieldbearers stacked at all the entrances, while knights inside repeatedly attempted to break out, only to be repelled time after time by the Northern Army. The holy lance projectiles whizzed by, and bloodied bodies gradually clogged the paths.
Inside the foundry, earlier barricades laid by the knights to halt the Shanter Army at the furnace had become surrounded by sharp icicles emanating an eerie chill. Countless knights, frozen, pierced, or crushed to d*ath twisted grotesquely in a surreal symphony of carnage, now silent in that frigid hell.
“Their captain seems to have fled. I just saw that rascal ride away on a horned horse sneaking toward the side entrance.”
On the second floor of the furnace, the giant man, Pagos, stood bare-chested, holding a massive black hammer almost half his size in one hand while a bandaged arm hung by his side, swaying drunkenly.
The bandages wrapped around his left side were already seeping bl**d, but the man seemed completely unconcerned, eyes glinting devilishly as he surveyed the chaos below. “Flee? The hell he is! Pfft—just open your eyes and look! We’ve surrounded this place completely, HAHAHAHA—Pffft…”
With a laugh and a loud belch, Pagos couldn’t help but glance back at the towering icicles, his laughter abruptly stopping.
“…That b*stard captain hurt me using his sheer numbers! Pfft—d*mn it, I’d better not find him dead! I pray he doesn’t run into one of these ice spikes…that way, he might last a bit longer.”
He slapped the Hunter on the shoulder, nearly causing him to stumble. “Hey, don’t you find this strange? I’ve been thinking… Pfft, some things just don’t add up.”
“Like what?” The Hunter shrugged off his grip, grinning, “You mean the ice? Isn’t that the work of Lord Skarlij?”
“Bull! I know that guy too well…”
Pagos frowned, “If he could create such commotion, the church wouldn’t have had a chance to take this city! Pfft… you really think he did this?”
“Didn’t he…?”
“Not a chance, that type of freak doesn’t exist in Winter Moon, I’ve never even heard of him. Even I’m a bit scared, this truly is a meat grinder of a battlefield… Where did this even come from? Was it one of our people…?”
Quickly shaking his head, he muttered, “Forget it, forget it, I’m just gonna guess like an idiot, we’ll find out soon enough…”
“Let’s go, let’s go. I bet your team’s rested enough by now? Let’s head down and give ‘em another round! Pfft… it’s been two miserable days, don’t let that captain fall into someone else’s hands…”
