Chapter 528 - v3c306p1 (1/2)
The army of thousands marched in the rain, silent except for the crunch beneath their feet. The grey sheen of metal covered a wide expanse of ground, reflected by the soldiers’ armors.
“Who are they?” One of the guards on the wall looked to his comrade. This army looks extremely strong. I can’t believe that there was such a powerful army in Aouine. Are they from Castle Kurco? Or are they from the frosty battlefields of the Northern Highlands?
A banner rose into the dark skies. That banner bore the insignia of a white lion. The symbol had survived through hundreds of years, and now it blazed with the history of the old kingdom in it.
“Whoever they are, they’re not to be messed with.” The captain replied, then shouted from the wall, “It’s the White Lion Legion! The White Lion Legion has arrived! Open the gates!”
“Open the gates!”
“Open the gates!”
The order was pa.s.sed on from the top of the wall. The ma.s.sive wooden gates pushed away the grime and mud on the floor, the winch creaking as the gates opened slowly.
The army waited for the gates to fully open.
Owen raised his head, looking at the grey, ancient walls of the fortress from within the storm. This was the southern central of the country they had always been protecting, the city was built by King Erik to repel the forces of the Kirrlutz. These walls had withstood the harsh weather and war alike, yet not once had it fallen into the hands of the enemy.
But this time, it was a different story.
“White Lion Legion, enter the city!”
Madelei’s POV
The sun had yet to rise when Madelei dragged the newcomers onto the pier. The harbor stood against the battering waves, the raging sea stirred up by the storm overhead. The sea looked as if it was broiling over, its waves smas.h.i.+ng against the cliff on which the lighthouse stood. He had not seen such relentless weather in the past ten years.
“d.a.m.n. Those waves are huge,” Madelei paid a compliment to the storm. He had been working as a guard at the harbor for twelve years now, yet this was the first time he had seen such a thing.
“I’ve never seen a storm like this before. The old witch on Seabreeze Cape claims that the Darkness Dragon has been revived. This storm must be one of the omens!” One of the now pale-faced newcomers said while watching a boat being dragged into the sea, vanis.h.i.+ng beneath the roaring tides.
“Stop talking nonsense!” Madelei nudged the guard with his foot. “Enough talking, get to work!”
However, he could not resist further commenting on the weather. “But this year’s storm is rather strong…”
Before he could finish his sentence, he heard a yelp from behind him.
“What’s wrong now?”
“Captain, there’s something in the ocean!”
“Your eyes must be failing you. It’s probably a sailor who fell overboard. May Marsha be with him, whatever happens to him.” Madelei shook his head. What an unfortunate lad. To fall into the ocean at this time spells death for anyone. Was he from the s.h.i.+p before?
“N-no, sir! It’s a shark! Why are there so many sharks?!” The newcomer screamed in horror.
“Sharks?” Madelei froze in place, eventually turning around to verify the claims of his underling. He saw a line of white foam slice through the waves, preceded by a row of fins jutting out of the surface. Then appeared another row, and another, until a gargantuan wave had been formed, like a ma.s.sive arrow aiming straight for the harbor.
Soon, two more ‘arrows’ appeared. In the blink of an eye, the entire harbor would be filled with them, like a wolf pack growing bigger around its prey.
Madelei’s face dropped.
“Those aren’t sharks! It’s an enemy attack!”
He could feel his legs turn to jelly. He tried to sound the alarm, but as he turned around he slammed against a hard object. He raised his eyes slowly and fearfully.
What greeted his gaze was a man-snake hybrid whose lizard-like head housed a pair of reptilian eyes that were staring at him coldly.
Nagas?!
Madelei managed one last thought before he fainted.
Sani looked towards the other two guards who had at this point also fallen unconscious. Such a fragile race. But even amongst such a weak race, there are those who are absurdly strong. From within the raging storm, the army of Nagas leapt out of the broiling sea and onto the piers.
In the blink of an eye, the piers and trestles were completely overrun by the Nagas.
The seven main piers of Ampere Seale, a backup jetty, and two docks for military use, were all attacked at the same time. The guards of the harbor were powerless against their element of surprise and the sheer number of Nagas, and they quickly lost control of the situation.
“Pier Three has been captured!”
“Pier Four has been captured-”
“My lord! They’re burning the s.h.i.+ps!”
“How can this be?!” Qinoan yelled furiously at the messenger. Even if the report had not arrived, he already knew the state that the harbor was in. The scene outside his window was blurred by the heavy rainfall, but he could see the obvious glow of flames in the direction of the piers. “Are you all useless? Tell me who is attacking us!”
“It’s the Nagas, My lord! The Grey Fin Nagas!”
“Nagas?” The harbormaster nearly threw his table across the room. “You’re telling me you can’t even push back those pirates?!”
“B-but sir, their numbers are staggering!” The officer tried to explain.
“Too much?! A hundred?! A thousand?!!” Qinoan was relentless against his underlings. The Grey Fin Nagas would often attack merchant s.h.i.+ps when they were in the open sea, but they had never attacked the harbor directly before.
My men must be slacking off. They should be able to defeat these so-called pirates after all.
“No, my lord! It’s over ten thousand!” The vice-harbormaster could not believe his own words either, but it was the truth. This time, Qinoan’s temper stilled as his eyes gazed upon the the the restless water.