The beasts' roar pounded in Kael's ears as he stepped out from the Lord's Hall to the shimmering edge of the protective barrier.
Bao Xiu'er stood ready, bow in hand. "My Lord," she greeted with a smile—though it faltered when she caught sight of his armor, spotless and unmarred. She looked away, almost… disappointed.
Kael didn't acknowledge it. Beyond the barrier, the desert writhed with scaled bodies—seventy, no closer to eighty Desert Fog Lizards. They hissed and snapped, claws raking at the invisible wall, eyes blazing with a hatred that felt personal.
"It's not even night," Kael murmured. "Why so many?"
"They didn't come by chance," a voice said from behind him. Ashburn stepped out from the shadow of the Hall, hands folded behind his back. "You've slaughtered too many of their kind. But this—" His gaze locked on the writhing mass. "—this reeks of the Scarlet Lord's influence."
Kael turned toward him. "Explain."
Ashburn's eyes darkened. "Since your rise, we've faced only one kind of fog beast—the lizards. The High Continent is divided into territories, each dominated by a different race. These creatures are vicious, yes… but fiercely territorial. Few outsiders survive their domains."
Kael nodded, recalling whispers on the World Channel of Lords battling far stranger monsters.
"When fog beasts gather in such numbers," Ashburn went on, "a leader rises. The Scarlet Lord finds those leaders—and gifts them with power close to a Lord's own. These Scarlet Lords are his claws in the mortal realm. The Scarlet Lords and the Supreme Will have warred for tens of millennia. We—" He gave a wry smile. "—we're just the latest pieces on the board."
The war of gods was not Kael's concern—at least, not yet. He was still only Black Iron – Advanced Tier. But a Scarlet Lord commanding the horde outside? That was trouble.
He handed Ashburn the freshly traded goods—five hundred Blood Origin Flowers and the rest of the materials. "Brew every potion you can. Build every mechanostrider. And bring yours out—now."
Ashburn bowed and vanished toward his workshop.
Bao Xiu'er's voice was steady, but her knuckles whitened on her bow. "What now, my Lord?"
Kael's answer was simple: "Wait."
Half an hour later, the dust cloud on the horizon gave way to Bai Yi and her company charging forward. Their eyes widened at the lizards crowding their home's walls—shock quickly burning into rage.
"Kill!" Bai Yi's command rang like steel. Two hundred seventeen soldiers thundered ahead, Lu Chong leading. The newcomer crashed into the first lizard like a falling boulder, sending the beast sprawling in a spray of sand.
Shields slammed. Blades flashed. Bai Yi's arrows sliced the air—one for the weak, three for the strong—dropping foes fast.
From within the barrier, Ashburn watched. "Brave—but reckless."
"They're letting fury rule," Kael agreed, his voice sharpening with a thread of mental command: "Inside the barrier—fight as you fall back!"
The soldiers snapped from their rage. Bai Yi was first to react, rallying them into a disciplined retreat.
She knelt before Kael, guilt etched in every line of her face. "My Lord, I failed you. I let these beasts reach our gates."
"This isn't failure," Kael said, pulling her close to whisper his orders. She straightened, eyes blazing. "Understood."
The battle raged on. The barrier bought time—but victory was still far off. Then Kael saw it—a massive lizard, larger than the rest, scales darkened with age and stained by Scarlet Fog, eyes sharp and cunning.
An Elite Desert Fog Lizard. Black Iron – Advanced Tier.
Loot potential flashed in Kael's mind: Mist Cores. Water reserves. Recruitment books. Class Change Scrolls. And… a rare alchemy recipe.
A slow smile spread over his face.
The Scarlet Lord may have sent this horde—but Kael would claim his tribute in blood and spoils.