The Black Lilies, having completely surrounded the enemy, could not escape suffering some losses after this attack by their commander; those who couldn't keep up with his warning would lose their lives under Galeno's spear.
"Charge! Kill until no one is left breathing, my warriors!"
The situation of their friends dying from friendly fire could have confused the others, so one of the old commander's subordinates immediately gave the necessary order.
Black Lily Warriors poured into the headquarters like a swarm of ants through the breaches opened on two sides, eager to take out the pain of the long and arduous journey on their enemies. This was why they ran for a while with the desire to cut down the first living thing they encountered; unfortunately, this feeling would vanish when they encountered their friends entering from the other side.
The news that no one was in the headquarters had to be conveyed immediately to the command echelon waiting outside, but the warriors, numbering over ten thousand, didn't know how to explain the other things they saw in these moments.
"What is happening? This silence is not a good sign at all!"
"Shut your trap, the news coming from inside is very bad!"
While his commanders whispered among themselves, Galeno was busy sniffing the air in the environment; from his perspective, the war was already over. He expected retaliation after his flashy and slightly exaggerated attack, but there was not even a sound, let alone an attack, from the enemy ranks.
"Who told you that you could retreat? I will kill you all with my own hands!"
Seeing his warriors rapidly moving away from the enemy positions they had entered with fury, the commander shouted angrily; it was evident from him raising his tightly gripped spear to strike that his words were no bluff.
The old man had no intention of showing mercy to his army that disregarded his words; Dawn Killer slowly began to be wrapped in a grey mist.
"Calm down, sir! Our enemies have already abandoned the headquarters and fled!"
Galeno's face, who hadn't expected to hear this at all, was turned upside down; his angry expression gave way to that defenseless ugliness of astonishment.
"Inside, how should I say... very special, certain things!"
"Don't drag it out, say what you have to say!"
Seeing that his subordinate, stuttering on his knees before him, was having great trouble speaking, the Leader of the Black Lilies shouted in a voice half-angry, half-fatherly.
"Sir, it is best if you see with your own eyes!"
Galeno had known this commander for a long time; they were on quite good terms, often drinking something together and chatting about the state of the continent.
Perhaps this was what gave the young commander the courage to explain what happened at a moment when everyone froze in fear. As a result of a misunderstanding, he didn't want the old lord to open his heart further.
Walking through the path his warriors created for him, Galeno stepped onto the piece of land that the ruined walls could no longer protect. Even though he didn't know what was going on, his instincts were forcing him to turn back with every step.
Whatever he wanted to do, no matter how much the different Galenos inside him shouted, as the Commander-in-Chief of the Hell Realm forces, he had to face what he would see, even if it meant death.
First, a glimmer caught his eye; right at the edge of the large rift he had opened with his weapon, something was reflecting the scorching heat of the sunlight back at him. Upon seeing the hut that remained standing by a mere meter thanks to all the luck in life, the old man realized that a broken shield erected in front of him was the cause of this glimmer.
On the tip of this item, whose owner he knew very well, a severed head—whose identity he could also know at first glance—was greeting him.
Two names echoed simultaneously in Galeno's mind: Naldo, whom he had sent to protect his niece, and Alano, the promising warrior of his clan.
The heirlooms left from the deaths of the duo were more than enough to tell him that the answer he sought awaited him inside this structure; especially with the pleading eyes of the young warrior, who was famous for his arrogance.
Against the possibility of any trap set to harm him, the Lord protected himself with a shield on which the faces of screaming people were seen. Although this technique seemed basically the same as the Soul Shield, it must have been a more advanced version without a doubt; the old man, whose body was covered in grey mist, wasn't imprisoned inside a dome; on the contrary, his steps seemed to have quickened a bit.
Passing by the remains of the two men he had sent to their deaths, Galeno pressed the wooden door handle down hard; a moment later, holding his breath, he would enter.
Rage, just a wave of pure rage, could be effective enough to make him forget to breathe for a while longer. Inside the empty hut were a broken pair of swords and two lines of writing written on the wall in blood-colored letters; the old man looked at them with a silent fury in this place where he had taken only one step.
Astute's twin weapons seemed betrayed by the very phenomenon they were sworn to protect. The legendary swords of their time had been thrown into a corner as if they were cheap pieces of iron.
The last things that could remain as mementos from his niece had also been taken from the grieving uncle; as if that weren't enough, another surprise awaited him.
"Lord Galeno, in the past, we had to experience some conflicts with your family due to minor misunderstandings, but my request to you is to please leave your duty and return to the Hell Realm, for soon your beautiful niece will give you Orc grandchildren that will make you forget your pains!"
"If you are still of a contrary opinion, I am waiting for you at the southernmost tip of the continent!"
This was the final drop that overflowed the cup; with a grey column rising from the ground to the sky, the command headquarters would turn to ash.
Neither the severed head at the door nor the surprise awaiting the old man inside could withstand this flood of rage. Although he had guessed inwardly, Galeno had learned in the most brutal way that the event he couldn't confess to himself had happened.
"I will kill not only you but everyone whose path crosses yours! I swear on your souls finding no peace forever!"
The old man was beside himself; as a piece of his liver was torn away, his voice, resembling a scream, could easily be heard from everywhere within a thousand paces.
"All armies, your direction is south! Whoever dares to move slowly will meet their end by my own hand!"
What the great army experienced in this place they arrived at after a long march was unbelievable; at the start of the siege, they had lost many friends as a result of their commander's disproportionate attack.
Then, the moment they saw the broken state of the signature equipment of their commander—with whom they had fought for many years and for whom they harbored a great fear mixed with respect—they would freeze.
The presence of the severed head on the shield practically screamed at them not to stay in this place any longer, for by looking at their commander's reactions, they could understand that their instincts were telling them the truth.
The army of one hundred and fifty thousand returned to their orderly formations, displaying movements resembling a massive swarm of ants, and then began advancing at the highest possible speed.
Meanwhile, on the walls of the first support headquarters belonging to the Black Lilies, a female orc was watching the ongoing battle below; although she sometimes killed a few people using the bow in her hand, she was generally in a nonchalant attitude.
"Judging by the mood of the baby gazelle Gregoria, Uncle has already found the surprise I prepared!"
Nafız was very relaxed, enjoying the mechanism she set up working like clockwork. Unlike her, her friend went to the front of the soldiers he took with him and entered the places where the battle was most intense, thus able to wet his new weapon with blood.
"Strike! Break! Shatter! I don't want a single person left alive!"
The words Alyon said unconsciously with the battle lust inside him actually emphasized the most important part of the operation they were conducting. News must absolutely not leak out from the Black Lily Bases they attacked.
They had received strict orders regarding the attack being razor-sharp so that the next target would be caught unprepared or support wouldn't come from the units surrounding the Druid Main Settlement.