Silence once again fell upon the hall, but this time it was a silence pregnant with vast information and a sudden realization of cause and effect.
“Thinking about it that way, it does make sense.”
Shen Mu’s fingers unconsciously tapped lightly on the edge of the sand table, making soft knocking sounds. He nodded thoughtfully, “The truth should be like this.”
Bestour’s judgment struck everyone in the hall like a heavy hammer.
A weighty atmosphere permeated the hall.
But it wasn't despair.
Instead, it was the Kill and resolve of a warrior surrounded by powerful enemies and forced into a perilous situation.
Shen Mu's gaze swept over the small wooden city representing New Rivadin on the sand table, then moved to the dangerous area marked with black clouds and Skeleton castles to the east, and the shadow across the Xiao Long River representing the Scarlet Claw's probing.
Aleron’s analysis and Lezalit’s supplement were like a lens that had wiped away the fog, clearly projecting the cruel reality—the land they held was already the eye of the storm, and two fierce spirit world rules forces were vying to devour and expand due to the collapse of the Black Arrow Tower Dynasty, and New Rivadin was the hard stone blocking their path of expansion.
“The ‘big guy’ Lezalit mentioned might have truly poked a big hole,” Shen Mu’s voice was not loud, but it clearly overshadowed the heavy breathing in the hall: “But the hole has been poked, and the storm has arrived, so we cannot retreat.”
He raised his head, his eyes once again sharp and calm, a stability that would not bend even under a thousand pounds of pressure: “The conclusion is clear: the Ghost Light Dynasty’s Skeleton fortress is a grave concern, and the Scarlet Claw's minions are an imminent nuisance. Both are enemies we must face, the only difference being who is primary and who is secondary, who comes first and who comes last. Of course, don’t forget, there are also the Skeleton Archers of the Black Arrow Tower Seventh Dynasty.”
He turned to the three generals, his tone resolute: “Aleron, Lezalit, continue to strengthen New Rivadin’s defenses. Be meticulous and serious. New recruit training cannot stop; the soldiers supplementing the city defense must form combat power as quickly as possible!”
“Yes, My Lord!” The two responded in unison.
“Bestour.” Shen Mu’s gaze fell upon this fierce plains general: “New Rivadin is a frontline fortress, and even more so, the eye and shield of the east. I don’t care if Ghost Light’s Skeletons are nesting or how itchy Scarlet Claw’s claws are; I want New Rivadin to be as steady as a rock! Send out scouts farther, and set up more dense alerts! The curved sabers and bows of the Kujit bandits are the death line ten miles outside New Rivadin in the Desert! Any disturbance, especially any anomaly from the Xiao Long River direction, report it immediately!”
“Rest assured, My Lord!” Bestour puffed out his chest, a warlike flame burning in his eyes: “As long as I draw breath, I will never let those abominations cross my defense line!”
The orders had been given, and the generals had been dispatched, but the urgency in Shen Mu’s heart did not disappear.
He ultimately couldn't rest easy.
After dismissing everyone else, he walked alone onto the city wall of New Rivadin, which was built from rough stones.
Dusk deepened, and the evening wind, carrying the unique dry chill of the Desert, swept across the city wall.
Shen Mu stood behind the battlement, his gaze directed towards the deep, dark heart of the east.
There, there was a fortress forged from white bones, and black clouds that swallowed the daylight.
His gaze seemed to transcend the limitations of distance, his invisible mental power like the most precise probe, using the system’s vision, meticulously examining the city’s initial defense system beneath him.
The stone wall was only about six meters high, and its thickness barely allowed two or three people to walk abreast.
Defense towers and sentry posts were sparse, and there were obvious blind spots between the long-range fire points.
This was acceptable for dealing with scattered Skeletons in the early stages, but against the approaching enemies with high mobility and clustered assault capabilities—whether the Ghost Light’s black mist cavalry or Scarlet Claw’s hybrid monsters—this wall appeared too thin.
“Not enough! Far from enough!”
A thought burned in his mind, and Shen Mu closed his eyes, his consciousness sinking into that profound, golden ocean woven from countless threads of Faith Power.
The Blue Star Humans of Deherim, the beliefs of his subordinate warriors… the vast Faith Power accumulated during these days roared and surged at this moment!
He was no longer content with slow, engineering-based reinforcement. What he wanted was immediate protection!
“System, activate the city defense module! Consume Faith Power, target: New Rivadin main city wall and attached defense towers!”
Invisible commands, accompanied by immense Faith Power, surged forth, like an unseen giant hand reaching into the bedrock of reality.
Hum—
A low, muffled sound, like a giant beast awakening, came from deep within the earth.
The entire city of New Rivadin trembled slightly at this moment.
It wasn’t a violent shaking, but a steady pulsation of some deep structure being powerfully reorganized.
Shen Mu, standing on the city wall, was the most direct witness.
The stone city wall beneath his feet was undergoing an astonishing transformation at a speed visible to the naked eye—
The originally rough and pitted surface of the stone seemed to be polished by an invisible sculptor, becoming smooth and compact.
A faint glow emanated from the stone joints, and new, larger, and thicker grayish-green stones seemed to grow out of the wall’s interior and base as if they had a life of their own!
The height of the city wall rose steadily, accompanied by the ear-splitting rumbling of rock squeezing and rubbing, quickly climbing from its original six-plus meters to ten meters!
A majestic aura of overlooking the wilderness naturally emerged.
At the same time, the thickness of the wall also expanded wildly, layer upon layer, reaching an astonishing five meters wide!
It was as solid as part of a mountain.
The walkway on top of the wall also widened, enough for four fully armed soldiers to walk abreast.
It wasn't just the main wall.
Along this new city wall, which rose like the spine of a giant dragon, brand new, taller, and more solid towers sprouted like mushrooms after rain.
The previously sparse towers became dense, their distances shortened.
Each tower was sharply defined, larger in volume, with more firing ports, and their positions were meticulously calculated, forming a perfect cross-fire coverage network.
At the corners of the city wall and at key nodes, several additional, more compact square watchtowers were built, like sharp bone spurs embedded in the giant dragon’s body, ready to deliver fatal blows at any time.
This earth-shattering change was faster than imagination, like a miracle descending.
The swirling dust had not yet settled, and a brand new, magnificent, reinforced stone city wall, like a mountain range of solid rock, already stood in the dim twilight!
Tall, massive, with numerous towers, and intertwined firepower!
The cold, rocky texture silently declared an iron-like will to defend.
The residents inside the city naturally felt the commotion, and many walked out of their homes in surprise and uncertainty, but when they looked up at the city wall that had instantly transformed, appearing like the legendary giant’s rampart, their gasps quickly turned into excited and reverent cheers.
This miraculous sight deepened their faith in the mysterious and powerful Lord Shen Mu.
With the reinforcement complete, the golden light of Faith Power slowly subsided in the depths of Shen Mu’s consciousness.
He slowly opened his eyes, surveying the creation of his will with satisfaction.
Only now did this city truly possess the qualification to stand firm in the frontline storm.
“This is very good.” He took one last look to the east, then turned and walked steadily down from the city wall.
However, just as Shen Mu returned to the Lord’s Hall to continue dealing with related matters, a guard’s announcement came from outside the door: “My Lord, General Bestour has sent word that Chen Ping and his dwarf followers, the Blue Star Humans who were rescued, have been found by the patrol and brought to the outskirts of the city.”
Shen Mu put down the parchment in his hand: “Bring them in.”
Soon, Chen Ping and his group, looking travel-worn but with obvious excitement and the exhaustion of having survived a great ordeal in their eyes, entered the hall led by the bandits.
Along with the seven dwarf warriors, their figures were stretched long by the burning torches in the castle hall.
Chen Ping suppressed his excitement, respectfully saluted Shen Mu, then couldn't help but raise his head, carefully and cautiously surveying the familiar yet somewhat unfamiliar hall.
He hesitated for a moment, then, emboldened, spoke with a hint of incredulous doubt: “My Lord… this… forgive my presumption, but I always feel… that New Rivadin city… seems… not quite the same as when I saw it from afar before? It feels… like… it’s taller? And more… solid? Is it an illusion? Perhaps I was too frightened at the time to see clearly?”
The dwarfs behind him also whispered among themselves in their dwarf language. As spirit world rules beings, they were more sensitive to changes in the material world, and the thick city walls and sharply defined towers were definitely not their original simple appearance.
Shen Mu picked up a cup of water, his expression as calm as usual, as if what Chen Ping said was a trivial matter. He nodded faintly: “Perhaps your long journey and excessive fright have made your eyes play tricks on you. This is indeed New Rivadin, what could have changed?”
He turned his gaze to the attendant waiting nearby, his tone brooking no argument: “They have had a hard journey. Immediately arrange vehicles to safely escort them and all survivors to Deherim. Bestour’s men will escort the convoy. Once you reach Deherim, someone will settle you.”
Hearing “Deherim,” and recalling the great city with food, water, and safety described by General Bestour, Chen Ping’s slight doubt was immediately washed away by immense joy and gratitude. He bowed repeatedly: “Thank you, My Lord! Thank you for your grace, My Lord!”
Shen Mu nodded, not paying much attention.
Saving these Blue Star Humans was merely an act of kindness on his part.
After all, he himself was also a Blue Star Human.
Watching Chen Ping and his group retreat with the attendant, expressing endless gratitude, the heavy oak doors of the Lord’s Hall slowly closed, cutting off the outside noise.
Only the crackling of firewood in the fireplace and Shen Mu himself remained in the hall.
Shen Mu did not immediately deal with the documents on the table; his gaze was directed out the window to the deep twilight.
Scattered lights gradually lit up within New Rivadin, illuminating the magnificent outline of the reinforced city wall, now like a mountain ridge, in the distance.
This city was his fortress, his foundation, his fulcrum in this struggle of the apocalypse.
However, his gaze seemed to penetrate the stone walls, extending to the more distant, vaster broken land.
That place was once a prosperous world of towering buildings and bustling traffic, it was “Blue Star.”
An indescribable complex emotion quietly grew in his heart.
His fingers unconsciously rubbed the cold stone chair armrest.
The soul of this body, after all, originated from that destroyed blue planet.
Even now, high above, holding power over life and death, the brand of the transmigrator was still deeply buried in his heart.
Witnessing this planet, which had nurtured a brilliant civilization, being so ravaged and trampled by spirit world rules and the power of the dead, turning into a desolate Desert filled with scars, a land of death where Skeletons and monsters roamed, even Shen Mu’s strong will couldn't help but feel a deep sigh of regret and a hint of almost imperceptible… pity?
“Blue Star…” he murmured, his voice so faint in the empty hall that it was almost inaudible.
That was a homeland he could not return to, a past that had collapsed.
All he could do was build a continuing stronghold on this wasteland, using rules and power.
“Just a sigh.” The warmth in Shen Mu’s eyes quickly cooled and solidified, turning into an iron-like will: “This kind of sigh changes nothing. Individual pity is meaningless in the face of the world’s overthrow and reshaping.”
Yes, pity was a luxury.
Especially on this wasteland of life and death.
The true key that prompted him to accept and protect these Blue Star survivors was not meaningless sentimentality, but tangible benefit—Faith Power!
These survivors, who had lost their homes and wandered like stray dogs, when they cast their hope for survival, their expectations for the future, and even their fear and reverence upon the name “Lord Shen Mu,” they could converge into a considerable force, transforming into that brilliant golden ocean in the depths of his consciousness.
They were the cornerstone, the tool, the fuel that ignited his power and supported his progress.
Useful tools, of course, must be well protected.
Shen Mu’s gaze returned to the map on the table, completely crushing that pointless emotion in his heart.
New Rivadin was reinforced, the defense line was deployed, and the Skeleton fortress to the east and the potential threat of the Scarlet Claw were the undeniable realities.
A thought of benevolence flashed and was then replaced by cold pragmatism.
He picked up a food report and began to review it.
At the same time, at the assembly point outside New Rivadin, Chen Ping and his group boarded two sturdy and spacious cargo wagons.
The strong horses pulling the wagons snorted, slowly stepping forward at the driver’s command.
The wheels rolled over the hardened dirt road, trodden firm by the people of New Rivadin, making a “creak” sound.
Chen Ping sat amidst the stacked sacks and luggage, feeling as if his bones were falling apart, yet also experiencing an unprecedented sense of novelty.
“How long has it been since I rode in a ‘vehicle’…” he murmured, his hands gripping the edge of the wagon board, his body swaying with the slight bumps of the wagon.
In front of him, the familiar Desert landscape rapidly receded, but the mode of travel felt like a world away.
After the apocalypse, cars became scrap metal, and long journeys relied entirely on two legs, every step accompanied by hunger, thirst, fear, and the whispers of Skeletons.
This simple wagon, though its hard wooden boards made his backside ache, symbolized order, sanctuary, and the hope of heading west. (End of Chapter)
