A thunderous roar pierced through the eardrums, and the crimson light from the heavens shone through the window, as if attempting to set the room ablaze. The sleeping soldiers of Xilin Town were jolted awake, many still dazed, sitting motionlessly on their beds, disoriented.
"Red Sky Thunder! Enemy attack! Enemy attack!!!" Paladin was the first to react, leaping from his bed and forcefully kicking open the door, racing towards the supply depot.
The soldiers, in a frenzy, rushed out of their quarters, hastily arming themselves at the supply depot, then scattering to various defensive points along the city walls.
"Iron bar! Clumsy fool, lock the city gates!" Paladin kicked a soldier in the rear and swiftly ran towards the battlements.
Kino had already taken position, staring into the distance.
"Lord!" Paladin instinctively glanced at the darkened night and asked in a low voice, "Did you unleash the Red Sky Thunder?"
Kino placed a finger to his lips.
"Silence!" Paladin signaled to the soldiers on the wall.
The vast night was as black as ink, with only the sound of the cold night wind howling through the air.
The weariness of a midnight assembly, the strange occurrence of the Sky Thunder, the bottomless darkness, and the fact that many of the soldiers were green recruits who had never seen blood—the tension spread through the ranks, as if a demonic hand were clutching at their hearts.
One recruit, overwhelmed by the anxiety, even vomited.
As the soldiers gazed into the distance, the first glimmer of firelight suddenly appeared at the far end of the night. The firelight swiftly extended into a line, which then spread into a vast sea of flames, as though the hand of the fire god were painting across the desolate land.
"Boom—" A torrent of torches gathered like an ocean, tearing the night apart. The flames illuminated the charging warhorses, and the gleaming blades of their riders reflected a flickering, savage light. Everywhere, the overwhelming flow of steel shimmered in the night.
"It's the desert marauders..." Paladin felt his limbs turn cold, his voice trembling, "At least a thousand of them—three times our numbers!"
In a siege, having three times the attacking force compared to the defenders did not guarantee an advantage—it could even be seen as a disadvantage.
According to the military theory of this era, the attacking force would need at least five times the defenders' numbers to gain an advantage in a siege.
But Xilin Town's walls were not as high as those of the main cities, merely a few meters tall. Additionally, the quality of the soldiers was generally low, with many being conscripts who were simply waiting to die.
Meanwhile, the enemy was fully equipped, bloodthirsty desert marauders.
"Why are they sending so many?" one soldier cried out in despair, voicing the question on every soldier's mind.
Xilin Town had been raided by marauders before, but those were usually small groups—just dozens of them, coming to harass the town, treating it as a trial ground for young warriors of their tribe, firing a few rounds of arrows and then leaving.
Xilin Town had no wealth, no livestock. The desert marauders were not idle men. Instead of attacking a town of no value, they would prefer to raid prosperous towns, even if those towns had stronger garrisons.
But now, over a thousand marauders were sweeping across the land. This was not just a small matter for Xilin Town—it could even be a significant event for a city like Dusk.
"Captain Baisa." Kino stared at the distant flames and issued his first order, "Go to the relay station and summon messengers to send a distress signal to all neighboring towns, including Dusk City. Then, have the quartermaster bring the beak masks."
"The beak masks?" Baisa was momentarily stunned.
Aren't those for disease prevention? Why would we need them now, with the marauders attacking?
Knowing Kino's temperament, Baisa didn't dare ask further and quickly set to his task.
"Captain Paladin." Kino's eyes reflected the flames, as though they were burning, "Go to the supply depot, put on a beak mask, and then head to the quarantine zone. When the second Red Sky Thunder appears, you will know what to do."
At the sound of his name, Paladin trembled all over. He swallowed hard, saluted Kino, and hurriedly departed.
"Lugo." Kino's gaze shifted to the side, "It is your time to die."
Lugo grinned, cracking his neck with a forceful twist. His eyes gleamed with the cold, bloodthirsty gleam of a mercenary. "Let's kill those horse-riding bastards!"
Soon, the beak masks were delivered. Kino instructed everyone to wear them at their waists, not yet on their faces.
Baisa climbed onto the city wall and reported, "Eleven messengers have already departed. They are expected to reach the nearest neighboring town in four hours. The local civil officers are discussing tactics and gathering troops, aiming to assist Xilin Town... The earliest reinforcements may arrive by 10 AM tomorrow, but that is an optimistic estimate."
As Baisa delivered his report, the sound of galloping hooves grew louder— the first wave of cavalry was within a hundred paces.
"Crossbows!"
"Fire arrows!"
The commanders on both sides gave their orders nearly simultaneously.
In an instant, the battlefield erupted with crossbow bolts charging through the air, while arrows rained down from the city walls. Blood mist billowed up, accompanied by the screams of men and the whinnies of horses, painting the battlefield in the color of death.
Normally, crossbows had the advantage over bows, especially with the protection of the city walls, giving Xilin Town's defenders an edge.
But these soldiers were poorly trained, facing off against the desert marauders who relied on their bows for survival. The casualties were surprisingly high, with both sides suffering losses.
The casualties were as follows: 4 dead and 11 wounded among the marauders, and 7 dead and 9 wounded among Xilin Town's defenders.
The two sides exchanged fire, with no clear victor, locked in a stalemate.
"Whoosh!" Amidst the blood mist on the desolate plain, a pitch-black steed galloped out of the ranks, with Dan Wule charging forward. He drew his bow to its full arc, and the arrow let out a shrill whistle in the air, streaking like a comet toward the city walls of Xilin Town.
One soldier, who had been preparing a crossbow bolt, was struck with the force of the arrow, which pierced his skull with brutal penetration, continuing through his head and pinning him to the wall, dead before he even blinked.
Before a replacement soldier could step in, Dan Wule, unyielding, released seven arrows in rapid succession. Seven streaks of light tore through the sky, each hitting its target in the center of the forehead, leaving no room for error.
The defenders of Xilin Town were thrown into chaos, panic spreading through the ranks. They huddled against the walls, not daring to expose their heads. Even when their crossbows were reloaded, they lacked the courage to aim properly, firing blindly and reducing their accuracy significantly.
This not only put them at a disadvantage in their own attacks but also decreased the number of viable targets for the marauders. Those still standing immediately became the focus of fire.
Dan Wule's eyes, sharp as a wolf's, fixed on the shortest among them. Recognizing him by his attire as the civil officer of Xilin Town, he knew that if he killed him, the rest of the defenders would surely crumble.
"Whoosh!" With a powerful thrust, Dan Wule urged his steed forward, nocking an arrow with deadly precision. His eyes gleamed with lethal intent.
Baisa, a master archer, was among the few who wielded a bow instead of a crossbow. He had already claimed the lives of at least five marauders. While retaliating, his sharp gaze caught sight of Dan Wule's target and, horrified, he cried out, "My lord, be careful!"
"Whoosh!" In the glow of the firelight, the arrow flew like a shooting star, the metal tip reflecting the torchlight with a blazing intensity, aimed directly at Kino's brow.
In a mere 0.12 seconds, Kino's body did not move. He slightly tilted his face, and the arrow grazed his hair, missing him by a hair's breadth.
Dan Wule narrowed his eyes, drawing another arrow and taking aim once more.
"Whoosh!"
In another 0.12 seconds, Kino raised his right hand, and his tungsten-steel dagger, moving with mechanical precision, intercepted the arrow with a shower of sparks.
"Clink!" The intercepted arrow spun midair and fell to the ground, powerless.
Kino's amber eyes flicked briefly toward the stunned Dan Wule, before quickly shifting elsewhere, as if he were merely a part of the thousand-strong marauder horde, not worth special attention.
This fleeting glance ignited Dan Wule's fury. He raised his arm, shouting in a booming voice in the nomadic tongue, "Focus fire! Kill the shortest one!"