Chapter 162: Building an Army [3]

Edgar remained at the top of the Fortress Wall, his eyes fixed on the darkness beyond the forest.

The low rumbling beneath the ground continued for several seconds, making the soldiers around him tense as they prepared for another attack.

But then nothing happened.

The strange presence beneath the Fortress suddenly disappeared, and the Nightmares standing at the edge of the forest began moving.

One of the enormous creatures turned around and started running away.

Then another followed, and within moments, the entire group was retreating into the darkness.

Edgar stared at them in confusion. "...What?"

He had been expecting another attack.

Instead, the Nightmares had simply appeared, stood there for a while, and then left without doing anything.

Edgar remained on the wall.

Several minutes passed, which turned into another hour.

But even after all this time, nothing happened.

The soldiers slowly relaxed, although nobody dared leave their position without Edgar’s permission.

Edgar continued staring into the forest.

’Why would they come here if they weren’t planning to attack?’

The question bothered him throughout the entire night.

---

Morning eventually arrived.

The Eternal Night disappeared, but the familiar grey-black fog remained over the Fortress, hiding the distant forest beneath a thick layer of mist.

Edgar was still standing on the Fortress Wall. He hadn’t slept the entire night, fearing a surprise attack when he was least on guard.

His eyes remained fixed on the forest as he tried to understand what had happened.

’They had enough numbers to attack.’

The Nightmares could have rushed the Fortress again.

They could have attacked from underground, yet they had done nothing.

’Was that little girl testing our defenses?’

Edgar frowned. That shouldn’t be the case. She knew everything she needed to attack the Fortress.

That possibility didn’t make much sense either.

If she wanted to test the Fortress, she could have sent a smaller group instead of bringing so many creatures.

He finally stepped down from the wall, his mind still filled with doubts.

As Edgar walked through the settlement, he noticed Wavin standing near one of the buildings.

The young man still looked pale.

His face hadn’t recovered at all, and dark circles were visible beneath his eyes.

When Wavin noticed Edgar, he immediately smiled and bowed.

"My lord."

Edgar nodded. "Wavin."

The boy remained standing there for a moment before Edgar continued walking.

He couldn’t help but glance back at him.

’He’s still sick.’

Something about Wavin’s condition continued bothering him.

However, Edgar decided to investigate it later.

There were more immediate problems.

He walked toward the inner section of the Fortress and soon found Semele standing beside the Unbroken Fire.

As usual, she seemed completely comfortable despite the destruction around her.

Edgar stopped beside her. "Do you know why they didn’t attack?"

Semele looked toward him with an amused smile.

The more Edgar got to know the woman, the more he felt like she was not what she showed everyone.

It was hard to pinpoint where she lost her fake personality and became her real self.

"Perhaps I do." She paused. "Perhaps I don’t."

Edgar sighed, too tired to argue with her. "Can you help me?"

Semele’s smile widened, her eyes taking him in for a while before she replied. "Of course."

Edgar waited for a hopefully good answer.

She tilted her head toward the sky. "The moon is about to come out."

Edgar frowned as he was aware of it as well.

Semele continued calmly. "Why bother with a small attack when you can take everything in one sweep?"

Edgar’s expression remained blank for a while until a look of realization appeared on his face.

He understood.

’The moon.’

The next moon was approaching, and if the King’s army was waiting for it, then the previous attacks had simply been preparation.

The King wasn’t interested in destroying the Fortress piece by piece.

He wanted everything at once, without any plans to play around.

Edgar slowly inhaled, the realization making him both relaxed and alert at the same time.

"So they’re waiting for tonight."

Semele didn’t answer. All she did was simply smile.

Edgar turned away and looked across the settlement.

Workers were repairing the damaged walls while others were rebuilding the collapsed sections of the trench.

Soldiers were checking weapons and distributing supplies, while the Soul Guardians continued patrolling the forest.

The Storm Ballista had been moved into a better defensive position, and several Nightmare Giants stood silently near the gates.

Everyone was preparing without knowing exactly what was coming.

Edgar’s expression became serious. ’We have one day.’

He needed to make every remaining hour count.

Before he could think further, a familiar sensation suddenly pulled at his consciousness.

Edgar immediately stopped. ’The Soul Network.’

He closed his eyes, and his vision suddenly changed.

The surrounding Fortress disappeared, replaced by the sight of a Soul Guardian standing near the Han River Fortress.

Osric was standing directly in front of it. "My lord."

Edgar could hear the man’s voice through the network. "I request that you come here when you have the time."

Edgar opened his eyes, blinked away all the drowsiness, and turned toward the forest.

"It better be important."

---

Several hours later, Edgar jumped down from the Gorilla Commander’s shoulder.

The enormous beast remained behind him as Edgar walked into the jungle.

The Han River Fortress soon appeared through the trees.

Osric was already waiting outside.

The middle-aged man bowed when Edgar approached. "My lord."

Edgar nodded. "What happened?"

Osric immediately shook his head.

"Nothing dangerous." He paused before continuing. "We’ve refined a large amount of iron."

Edgar raised an eyebrow. "How much?"

"Enough that we’ve run out of places to store it."

Edgar looked toward the Fortress.

Several large stacks of refined metal could be seen through the entrance. "I’ll send soldiers to collect it."

Osric bowed. "Thank you, my lord."

Edgar turned away, but Osric didn’t leave.

There was something else on his mind.

"My lord."

Edgar glanced back.

"There is another matter."

"What is it?"

Osric looked toward the distant mountains. "We’ve been hearing noises."

Edgar followed his gaze. Far beyond the forest stood the Norwood Mountains.

Their enormous peaks disappeared into the grey fog.

"What kind of noises?"

Osric swallowed. "They sound like the cries of a creature."

Edgar’s expression slowly became serious. "How strong?"

Osric shook his head.

"I don’t know." He stared toward the mountains. "But whatever is making those sounds...it is far beyond anything we’ve encountered before."

Edgar remained silent as the faint rumbling seemed to travel through the distant mountains.

Neither man moved.

Edgar stared at the peaks as the sound slowly faded.

’What the hell is hiding inside those mountains?’

Edgar felt something completely different from the fear caused by the Nightmare army.

This wasn’t an enemy approaching his Fortress.

It was something that had been sleeping there long before Edgar had ever arrived.

Edgar kept staring at the Norwood Mountains as another faint vibration traveled through the ground beneath his feet.

Osric remained silent beside him, clearly waiting for his lord to say something.

"How long have you been hearing these sounds?"

Osric thought for a moment before answering. "It started a few days ago, but it was barely noticeable at first."

He looked toward the mountains again. "Last night, however, it became much louder."

Edgar’s eyes narrowed. "Did the Nightmares react to it?"

Osric immediately nodded. "Yes."

That answer caught Edgar’s attention.

"During the previous Eternal Night, most of the Nightmares suddenly moved toward those mountains." Osric pointed toward the distant peaks.

"They gathered there for several hours before eventually returning to the forest."

’Same thing happened a few days ago...’

Edgar slowly folded his arms. "What happened after they returned?"

"They became restless." Osric hesitated before continuing. "Some of them began moving toward the Han River, while others disappeared deeper into the forest."

He suddenly remembered the message he had seen earlier.

The King is awake.

If the Nightmares were responding to something inside the mountains, then perhaps the King wasn’t simply controlling them from somewhere far away.

Maybe he was connected to whatever was sleeping there.

"Did you investigate the mountains?"

He shook his head firmly. "I wouldn’t dare send anyone there without your permission."

Edgar glanced at him before nodding. "Good."

He didn’t want anyone wandering into the mountains blindly.

Whatever was inside had already frightened the Nightmares themselves.

That alone was enough to make Edgar cautious.

Suddenly, another sound echoed from the distant mountains.

ROOOOOOOO...

The noise was low this time, almost like a distant growl.

Osric’s face became pale, but Edgar didn’t move.

His eyes remained fixed on the mountains.

’That isn’t a normal creature.’

He had fought countless Nightmares by now.

Even the giant creatures that had attacked his Fortress couldn’t produce a sound that made the entire forest react.

Edgar turned toward Osric. "Keep everyone away from the mountains."

Osric immediately bowed. "Yes, my lord."

"If anything comes out of there, contact me through the Soul Network immediately."

"Understood."

Edgar looked at the enormous stacks of refined iron again. "I’ll send Soul Guardians here today to transport the iron."

Osric nodded his head in response.

Edgar took one final glance toward the mountains before turning towards the Soul Guardian Commander. "Let’s return."