The war broke out so quickly and abruptly. Many people did not expect it.
The Lionheart Empire and the Magic Association mobilized at the fastest speed possible. After Pushkin received the request for help from the defending troops, he immediately mobilized the troops nearby to the battlefield. Out of the five floating forts, except for one guarding New Tyrus, the other four were all activated. Lilith also issued an emergency summon to the mages around her.
But even so, they were still a step too late. The first wave of attack began on the second night. The monsters in the six Abyssal Chasm rushed out of their original activity area together as if they had agreed on it, pouncing toward the nearest human town.
On the Samoan Tundra in the north of the Empire, the commander of the Empire's Second Infantry Regiment who was responsible for guarding and monitoring the chasm, Dracula looked toward the northeast with a gloomy gaze.
The snow slapped his cheeks coldly, unable to hide the worry between his brows. He had received a reply from the Empire in the morning, urgently dispatching the nearest floating fort, the Syndicate, as well as 50,000 militia and 20,000 knights to Samoan. But be it the reinforcements or the floating forts, they would only arrive tomorrow morning at the earliest.
The uneasiness in Dracula's heart grew stronger. He had a hunch that the enemy would not give them the opportunity to assemble so easily. So, the period from tonight to the next morning would be the most difficult period for them.
The Abyssal Chasm on the Samoan Tundra was about 60 miles away from the Second Infantry Regiment's encampment. As there was no cover on the tundra, the ice fortress at the encampment was built by the Second Infantry Regiment themselves. In terms of defense, there was a certain gap between it and a normal city wall.
Ever since Dracula stationed his troops here, he had never let his guard down on the Abyssal Chasm not far away. Every morning and night, he would send a team of people to investigate the situation nearby. Other than that, he also set up a few small outposts along the way. However, since last night, they had lost contact with the outposts. The scouts he sent this morning had not returned yet, and it just so happened that a strong wind was blowing at this time. The whistling north wind rolled up the snow on the ground, making the visibility very poor. Almost all the unfavorable factors were gathered together. If nothing happened tonight, Dracula would feel strange.
The adjutant beside him said, "Commander, should we send another team of scouts out?"
Dracula shook his head. "Don't send any more children to die. Let everyone be alert tonight and prepare for defense. What will come will come sooner or later."
The adjutant nodded. "I'll get someone to pour some water on it and reinforce the ice castle."
During dinner, the atmosphere in the base was a little tense. A new soldier accidentally kicked over a pot of vegetable soup, causing the chef to scold him.
Dracula heard the voice and walked over. He saw the anxious soldier with his head lowered. The latter was very young, probably a recruit recruited last autumn. There was still some fluff at the corner of his mouth, and he still looked like a child.
"Where are you from?" Dracula asked.
"I... I'm from West Cove Town's White Tooth Village," the young soldier said nervously.
Dracula smiled. "What a coincidence. I went there when I was young. If I remember correctly, your village's croissants are very delicious."
"Have you also eaten the melons we grow?" The young soldier was overjoyed, but then his eyes dimmed again. "It's a pity that our village is gone."
"Oh?"
"West Cove Town is too close to an Abyssal Crack, so the nearby residents have been evacuated."
"Is that why you joined the army?"
"Yes, commander. I want to fight those monsters and protect the civilians, just like His Highness the Third Prince." The young soldier hesitated for a moment, but finally mustered up the courage to ask, "Will those monsters come tonight?"
His question was also what many soldiers wanted to know, and Dracula did not hide it. "Now that the enemy has the right time and the right place, if I were them, I would also choose to attack tonight."
"Then, commander, can we win this battle?" The young soldier's eyes were filled with hope.
Dracula could not bear to let his soldiers down, but he had to tell the truth because there was no such thing as luck on the battlefield. "Our chances of winning are not high. If the intelligence is correct, there are now more than 7,000 monsters near the Abyssal Crack, and we only have 40,000 people. We won't have reinforcements before dawn, so I'm afraid this battle will not bode well for us."
After Dracula's speech, the camp fell into silence.
The commander of the second division looked around and saw the confusion, despair, and pain on everyone's faces. He then pulled out the sword at his waist and said in a deep voice, "I'm sorry, as the commander, I can't promise you victory, but I can promise that I will always fight with you until the last moment of my life. What I want to say is that this may be our last battle, but it is the first battle of mankind. Dracula raised the long sword in his hand. "Come on, it's time to show those bastards the courage of mankind!"
…
It was late at night, and no one in the ice castle slept. Even the soldiers who were lying in bed were dressed in armor, and their weapons never left their hands. Dracula stood on the low wall of the ice castle, staring in the direction of the Abyssal Crack.
However, after a magic hour, there was still no sound from the other side.
The adjutant said, "Why don't I keep watch, and you go and rest for a while?"
Just as he finished speaking, the ground suddenly shook. At first, the shaking was very weak, but it soon became more and more intense, and the entire tundra began to shake. Without needing the commander to summon them, everyone immediately jumped out of bed and quickly went to their respective positions according to the previous drill. The archers first went to the wall and took up shooting positions. After that, some of the swordsmen also went to the wall and were responsible for protecting the archers. The rest of the people stood guard by the door, ready to provide support at any time.
Everyone looked very nervous, and their hands that were holding their weapons were trembling.
However, the terrifying shaking that was like a sudden clap of thunder suddenly stopped when it was about to reach the ice castle. The surroundings were silent, as if nothing had happened.
Dracula took a lit fire arrow from the adjutant's hand, took a deep breath, and pulled the bowstring. The burning fire arrow flew into the night sky, and quickly climbed to the top. Then, under the influence of gravity, it kept falling, and finally accurately inserted into the pile of hay that was prepared.
The hay was ignited, and the fire rose to the sky. The moment the scene in front of them was illuminated, everyone was stunned.
There were shadows of monsters everywhere in the darkness. They were densely packed, and a conservative estimate was that there were more than 20,000 monsters. Although most of them were low-level monsters, this number was still a little too shocking.
"Oh my god!!!" The adjutant could not help but exclaim.
After a short rest, the group of monsters quickly moved. They split from the middle into two groups, and ran past the ice castle, but did not launch any attacks in the process.
The adjutant was puzzled, and did not know what the group of monsters was thinking. After they bypassed the ice castle, they gathered together again, and turned around to surround the ice castle. The adjutant's expression changed, and he finally realized the real intention of the enemies.
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