Hooves shattered the congealed frost and dew. At dawn, Shen Mu’s mixed cavalry cluster, like a chilling steel blade, sliced into the area around New Rivadin.
The Steppe Bandits brought by Aleron had already transformed into the most agile feelers, dispersing like ghosts into the broader night shadows.
The air’s scent had changed; it was no longer the earthy smell of decaying vegetation, but a dry, gritty, and scorched sensation, carrying a scent of decay, as if life was being rapidly drained by an invisible furnace.
As the horizon turned grayish-white, the outline of a distinct stone castle appeared in the faint morning light.
New Rivadin, Deherim’s easternmost vanguard.
However, the landscape around the castle made Lezalit and Bestour frown deeply.
The continuous low hills and sparse woods had been replaced by vast, abruptly appearing deserts.
Grayish-yellow sand spread out, mixed with weathered gravel, utterly barren.
Of the former Su Family Village, only half of its broken walls and crumbling ruins stubbornly stood at the desert’s edge; the other half had been swallowed and buried by dunes, silently narrating the terrifying change.
“The spirit world…” Lezalit’s voice was low as he surveyed the unnatural desolation: “It’s gnawing at this world, eroding and spreading like mold.”
Bestour spat, grinding the rough sand under his boot: “Damn it, this cursed place! It’s hard to even ride a horse here! But those Skeleton fragments might burrow into this place like rats.”
Shen Mu said nothing, urging his horse forward.
The group bypassed New Rivadin’s towering castle walls, not entering directly, but instead, led by Aleron, headed towards a lower-lying area in the castle’s northwest corner.
A massive, collapsed ruin of a subway station entrance, like a wound gnawed by a giant beast, lay exposed at the desert’s edge.
Most of the concrete structure had collapsed, with twisted rebar exposed, but the main frame of the entrance and some descending steps remained.
The traces of weathering were severe, with huge cracks like ugly scars covering it, and sand was slowly but steadily attempting to bury this relic of civilization.
However, at this moment, this was not an abandoned place.
Above the subway entrance ruins, four Khergit Mounted Archers were patrolling back and forth on horseback.
Their gazes were as sharp as eagles, vigilantly sweeping the undulating desert dunes and the silent village ruins.
Including this subway station entrance.
Inside the entrance, faintly visible figures moved, and a weak bonfire glowed.
Seeing the black heavy cavalry and the fluttering dark red banners appearing on the distant hill, the vigilant Khergit Mounted Archers let out short whistles.
Soon, a dozen Kujit Steppe Bandits in similar attire galloped out from within the subway station, quickly assembling in formation before the entrance.
“My Lord!” The squad leader, a Kujit man whose face was etched with rough lines by wind and sand, saluted Shen Mu with a hand over his chest, his voice loud and strong.
The nineteen men behind him saluted in unison, their movements bearing the fierce and decisive nature characteristic of plains people.
Shen Mu nodded slightly, his gaze sweeping over these elite sentinels and the dark, cavernous subway entrance: “All quiet?”
“Reporting, My Lord!” The squad leader straightened his back: “Since the shift change last night, within a five-mile radius, only scattered wandering Skeletons have been found, which my unit has shot and cleared. There are no signs of large-scale unusual movements deep in the desert or at the subway entrance for now. The warning target from Aleron has not yet appeared in our sight.”
“Very good.” Shen Mu’s gaze fell upon the enormous breach, as if he could see through to the depths of the former tunnel below.
Lezalit urged his horse half a step closer, his gaze from beneath his helmet’s visor showing a hint of nostalgia and solemnity as he stared at the entrance leading underground: “This is it… the gateway to that foul nest. Last time we cleared it, the entrance wasn’t this wide; it was more like an underground ant-colony.”
He raised a hand, pointing at the subway station entrance: “But I truly miss fighting those Hell Devil in the subway tunnels back then.”
Bestour grinned, revealing a bloodthirsty smile, and interjected: “Haha, Lezalit, I remember your shield was a great achievement! Those little Hell Devil that rushed out of the holes, besides having sharp claws, their strength was just so-so! We chased them on horseback through the tunnels, chopping them down like rabbits! One arrow, one kill! One blade, one kill! Torches lit their piles of corpses, burning them was so satisfying, the scorched smell didn’t dissipate for days!”
He patted the longbow on his saddlebag, “Too bad, the space down there is still a bit too narrow, not enough for a fast horse to gallop!”
Lezalit nodded steadily, adding: “The most troublesome were those Hell Devil creatures lurking in the corners that wouldn’t come out. Now it’s more open here… but it has also become a greater hidden danger.”
He didn’t explicitly state the latter half of his sentence, but the meaning was clear—with the subway entrance opened up, the exposed interior was larger, making it harder to defend and more susceptible to external prying or direct assault.
Especially with Skeleton Cavalry appearing outside.
Shen Mu listened to the conversation between the two generals. Their nostalgia was not without value, clearly confirming the Hell Devil’ method of threat—Hell Devil troops also had to engage in close-quarters combat with his troops. They were all cold weapon combatants, without any particularly outstanding supernatural powers.
This was a judgment based on experience and knowledge of cold weapons.
He urged his horse to the edge of the huge gap formed by the collapsed subway station and leaned down to look below.
With the faint light of dawn, he could see deeper shadows below, which were accumulated sand and broken concrete blocks.
The erosion by spirit world rules intensified the deformation of the earth.
The subway entrance, once blocked, had reopened during intense rule conflicts and geological changes, and it was larger than before, becoming an exposed underground entrance to darkness in the desert.
“Here.” Shen Mu turned his head, his voice as calm as a frozen lake: “Requires stronger eyes and mouths. Bestour, send an additional Kujit Veteran Horse Archer squad. I want this place guarded 24 hours a day.”
A fierce glint flashed in Bestour’s eyes, and he thumped his fist against his chest: “Yes, My Lord! If those red-skinned things dare to poke their heads out, I’ll turn them into real piles of ash!”
“Aleron, on the east and north flanks of the castle, erect a temporary watchtower on each, a mix of wood and stone, eight meters high, and it must be up within a day. The view must cover a large area of the desert.” Shen Mu continued to order, his gaze fixed on the distant, undulating, silent desert horizon: “I want the watchtowers to see the dust they kick up before any enemy appears.”
Hell Devil are not Undead Monsters that can only move at night; Hell Devil servants, covered in special skin, can also move during the day!
“My Lord, please rest assured!” Aleron’s voice had a metallic quality: “Before sunset, you will see the outline of the towers.”
Shen Mu took one last look at the massive, dark subway station entrance.
The Skeleton Cavalry could come from deep within the desert, or from a deeper Undead Monster erosion point underground.
The chaos of the spirit world made any place a potential passage.
He turned his horse around, the Holy Tree Heavy Steed’s hooves treading on the gravel, raising a plume of dust.
“Back to New Rivadin. I need more detailed defense maps and surrounding survey reports.” The cold voice dissipated in the pre-dawn chill.
Behind him, twenty Steppe Bandits again saluted with a hand over their chests, then, like the most vigilant hunting dogs, quickly dispersed back to their respective alert positions.
Their gazes dared not leave the expanding desert that had swallowed half a village for even a moment.
On this land forcibly smeared by the spirit world, a new battle, perhaps, was close at hand.
But they all began to operate as Shen Mu’s orders were given.
Compared to before.
The defenses and vigilance of New Rivadin had now reached a new level!
… …
Soon, night fell again.
The thick stone walls of New Rivadin Castle cast heavy shadows in the night, and the torches hanging from the battlements crackled, their flickering flames barely illuminating the busy scene below.
Behind the castle walls, it was not a dead silent iron-blooded barracks, but rather a stern vitality that was beginning to take shape.
Swadian Light Infantry, in pairs, walked back and forth along fixed patrol routes, holding torches high, their chainmail rubbing with soft sounds.
Closer to the inner castle, Swadian Infantry were arrayed in simple formations, conducting night drills. Their spears, like a forest, gleamed coldly in the torchlight, and their formation changes carried a nascent imposing aura.
On the arrow towers, Viki Guerilla Shooters vigilantly scanned the darkness outside the city; higher up on the arrow tower platforms, several Vekia Archers adjusted their bowstrings.
And in the sheltered area of the castle gatehouse, the figures of Vigia Sharpshooters were vaguely visible, silently gazing towards the direction of the dunes, their eyes as sharp as eagles.
They were the core of New Rivadin’s ranged forces under Shen Mu’s control.
In the area behind the castle, near the inner wall, several simple but clearly functional workshops were still lit by firelight.
The blacksmith’s shop echoed with the clang of hammers, repairing the armor plates and weapons worn down by daytime training.
The bow and arrow workshop was filled with the smell of wood and glue.
The repair workshop handled damaged axles and logistical components.
The busy Swadians and Vigia craftsmen worked silently, providing continuous power for the nascent fortress.
Aleron stood on the main east gatehouse, clutching a surrounding defense map and a survey brief drawn on rough parchment.
Shen Mu stood beside him, his face calm and unruffled in the torchlight, his eyes sharply scanning the data on desertification changes and the location of the Su Family Village ruins marked on the paper, then he looked up towards the massive, beast-mouth-like subway station ruins.
“The expansion of the underground entrance is far beyond what was expected, My Lord.” Aleron said, pointing at the map: “The speed of desertification is accelerating, the east side of Su Family Village is almost completely swallowed, and signs of underground water sources drying up are becoming increasingly evident. The squad Bestour sent has arrived, but I worry that this open cavern… will become a fatal weakness.”
Shen Mu did not respond. His gaze swept over the city wall, towards the desolate sand sea under the night sky.
The darkness was like congealed ink, with only the wailing of the wind sweeping across the dunes.
Just then—
Whoosh—whoosh—!
A sharp, piercing eagle whistle suddenly erupted in the northeastern night sky without warning!
Like invisible steel needles, it instantly pierced the castle’s tranquility!
It was the alarm signal from Bestour’s Kujit Veteran Horse Archer patrol, indicating they were in danger!
All the Vigia Sharpshooters on the city wall instinctively nocked arrows to their bowstrings!
“To the wall!” Aleron roared fiercely, drawing the scimitar from his waist.
Shen Mu instantly turned and strode towards the lookout hole in the northeast, with Aleron close behind.
The soldiers on the city wall needed no further orders, rushing towards the northeastern battlements.
Heavy footsteps and the clang of armor mingled together.
Through the lookout hole, the scene that met Shen Mu’s eyes was cruel and bizarre:
Atop a sand dune about two li away, two Khergit Mounted Archers were desperately whipping their mounts, galloping wildly towards the castle!
Hooves kicked up two long trails of dust on the soft sand. They were clearly the patrols who had raised the alarm.
And in the slightly lower, shadowy sand valley behind them, a sudden anomaly occurred!
Gray mist permeated the night, and at the edge of New Rivadin, it suddenly surged and splattered upwards violently, like boiling water!
A grayish-white arm covered in dried, decaying flesh suddenly appeared within New Rivadin’s territory.
Followed by another!
Broken ribs pierced through the skin, exposed to the air!
Fragments of rusted bronze armor, almost unrecognizable from its original form!
As if the plowshare of hell had mercilessly turned over the buried soil of corpses, amidst the bone-grinding friction and joint-twisting sounds, one, ten, thirty…
Over fifty twisted and grotesque Skeleton warriors entered!
Their movements were also quite fast, far from the sluggishness of ordinary zombies.
Deep within their hollow eye sockets, a point of eerie green flame silently flickered, emitting a cold, tyrannical aura.
Broken scimitars, rusty long spears, and cracked wooden shields in their hands gleamed with an ominous cold light.
However, this was merely a suffocating prelude!
What truly chilled the hearts of all observers on the city wall were the figures that emerged from deeper within, guarding the core of the Skeleton infantry group!
At the densest part of the shadows at the edge of the sand dune.
Five exceptionally burly and tall figures burst out of the sand, riding none other than huge Skeleton warhorses, their bone frames entwined with wisps of death energy like black smoke, and eerie green soul fires burning in their eyes!
The bones of these five riders were a dark gray, different from ordinary Skeletons, with a cold, metallic texture, as if they had undergone some evil tempering.
Even more striking was that they were not covered in ragged iron armor, but in grotesque bone armor, pieced and wrapped together from some thick, twisted and deformed bones!
Sharp bone spikes protruded menacingly from their shoulder plates, elbows, knees, and even the front of their breastbones. The surface of the bone armor was covered with twisted, obscure patterns, exuding a pure and distorted tyrannical aura.
One of these bone-armored riders, mounted on a particularly tall Skeleton warhorse, was the most conspicuous.
In its hand was not an ordinary weapon, but a huge, curved bone blade nearly two meters long!
The blade’s curvature was as ferocious as a giant beast’s fangs, and its edge, in the dim moonlight, actually reflected a heart-stopping cold glint.
Its mandible silently opened and closed, and the soul fire in its eye sockets fluctuated violently, as if issuing silent commands. (End of Chapter)
