[Vol. 9] Chapter 78: The Enemy at the Gate
The two girls flew at incredible speed. They passed through jagged rocks and frozen valleys, avoiding large waves of people. After about half an hour, a tall, majestic fortress appeared on a steep cliff ahead, standing at the end of a long, narrow land bridge.
That was the [Endless Corridor], and beyond it stood the Gore Fortress, which had separated the two lands and guarded Icefang Island for hundreds of years.
This place held the most elite soldiers of the Preston Kingdom, equipped with the most advanced cannons, weapons, and strong walls. All to ensure the “Prison Island” remained completely secure.
The garrison here numbered over fifty thousand. The fortress’s massive gate, several dozen meters tall, was built directly into the mountain. Once closed, it could completely block the entire corridor, making it nearly impossible for anyone to force their way through.
But now—
The gray-white stone fortress was under a fierce attack.
Countless prisoners, burning with black fire, were gathering on the narrow land bridge, forming terrifying waves of writhing, surging bodies. They threw themselves again and again at the huge frost gate, carved with giant magic runes and over two meters thick. Each impact made a deafening boom, echoing like thunder through the frozen air!
The gate’s special material and the faint blue protective glow surrounding it kept the black flames from spreading onto the surface. But even so, it was clear that the protective magic was being worn down bit by bit. Its light was already beginning to fade.
On the fortress walls, the soldiers of the Preston Kingdom, who had never seen such a horrifying sight, fought desperately, their faces pale with fear, but their efforts had little effect.
Their arrows flew into the crowd only to vanish like pebbles sinking into the sea.
The black fire around the prisoners’ bodies wasn’t as strong as the original source, but it was enough to melt most of the arrowheads. Even if an arrow pierced through, the infected didn’t seem to feel pain or even notice. They simply kept throwing themselves against the gate.
The black fire had taken away their pain and fear, but not made them immortal. If struck directly by volleys of arrows, boulders, or cannon blasts, they still died quickly.
However death did not mean the end of danger.
Quite the opposite: the moment a host died, the black flames on their body would explode violently, turning them into living bombs that dealt even greater damage to the fortress gate!
The endless thunderous booms came from those explosions.
The black flames, symbols of chaos and death, splashed and spread during the fierce battle, hitting the fortress walls and the soldiers defending them.
The army wasn’t entirely helpless. They used the Snow Spirit Lamps, which Violet had also seen before in Nofenburg, to hold back the black fire’s spread and keep the plague-like power from reaching inside the fortress.
But there was no doubt—
Once the main gate of the Gore Fortress fell, and the prisoners broke through into the city, everything would be lost.
On top of the city wall, Count Barton, the highest military commander of the fortress, was already on the front lines directing the defense.
He wore the Preston Kingdom’s standard general-grade heavy armor, his stern and resolute face now filled with both anxiety and anger. His hoarse shouts echoed across the battlefield as he barked one order after another:
“Don’t let the energy supply to the gate’s barrier fail! Tell the magic division, even if they all die in the central chamber today, they must hold the line! Has the messenger to the rear not returned yet?!”
Beside Barton, his young aide’s legs were shaking slightly. He was one of those noble sons sent by big families of the Preston Kingdom to “gain military credit.”
Originally, he thought that with the Gore Fortress heavily guarded and Icefang Island peaceful for hundreds of years, this was the perfect place to polish his record. No one could have guessed something like this would ever happen.
Seeing his aide’s face turn pale as a sheet, completely terrified by the horrifying scene below, so much that he forgot how to even speak, Barton’s anger exploded.
He swung his hand hard, slapping the young man across the face so fiercely that the aide spun three times on the spot, with several teeth flying out.
“Useless fool! Answer me! If you delay military orders again, I’ll kill you right here!!!”
Barton knew very well that many of his subordinates were just spoiled sons of noble families, sent here through connections.
Some even secretly traded with prisoners inside Icefang Island, exchanging weapons or supplies for rare resources from the island, or favors from the prisoners’ powerful relatives outside.
Such things had been happening in Gore Fortress for a long time. The fortress had stood for hundreds of years, and Barton was just one of many commanders to take charge.
He knew he didn’t have the power or the desire to completely clean up the corruption, so as long as things didn’t get too out of hand, he chose to turn a blind eye.
After all, as the highest commander, he received many “gifts” from his subordinates, and although those men were lazy, they usually knew their limits and didn’t cause major trouble. They could handle basic duties well enough. Not achieving much, but at least not making any big mistakes.
This aide was actually one of the better ones among the nobles, which was why Barton had promoted him to work at his side.
But now, in the face of a true crisis, he turned out to be this useless!
And what angered Barton even more, how could such a massive outbreak happen on Icefang Island, yet as the highest-ranking military officer, he hadn’t received even the slightest warning? Were all the outposts dead already?!
After being slapped, the terrified young aide finally came back to his senses. He wasn’t very capable, but he did know when things were serious. With half of his face swollen and bleeding, he spoke carefully in a shaky voice.
“Cough… Cough… Lord Count, we just received a message from the rear. The Holy Temple and His Majesty the King are urgently gathering reinforcements. They ask us to hold the line for at least half a day—”
“Half a day my ass! That’s nothing but empty talk!”
Before the aide could finish, Barton slammed his fist into the icy battlement in fury. Blood trickled from his split knuckles, but he didn’t care. His eyes stayed locked on the hellish scene below, a wave of helplessness and disbelief surging inside him.
What the hell was going on?
What had really happened on Icefang Island?!
“Lord Count… if it really comes to that… should we retreat?”
“Retreat, my ass!”
Barton glared fiercely at the frightened aide, his murderous stare sharp enough to pierce through flesh.
The young man trembled all over, terrified into silence, not daring to utter another word.
He might not be brave, but he knew the consequences of shaking soldiers’ morale on the battlefield.
If he said one more wrong word, this fearsome Count Barton, known for his brutality, might really cut off his head on the spot.
The aide knew exactly what Barton was thinking. The Gore Fortress guarded the [Endless Corridor], standing on terrain easy to defend and hard to attack.
It was the kingdom’s strongest gate, maintained for hundreds of years. If even this fortress fell, then what followed would be nothing but a complete collapse.