Chapter 124: The First Warning

The door burst open. A young soldier stumbled in, breathing hard, his uniform still dusted from the corridor’s cold.

"Commander." He straightened, forcing his breathing under control. "The first scout unit has returned. The leader has requested to meet you urgently."

Marcus set his teacup down without a sound, the earlier restlessness in his chest sharpening into something more focused. He realized immediately that it had to be something significant if the first scout leader had come in person rather than simply sending a report.

"Send him in."

The soldier bowed and disappeared back through the door. Moments later, the green-haired man entered the office.

"Commander—" the scout leader began as he was about to bow down, but Marcus raised a hand, waving away the unnecessary formality. He could sense the tension radiating from the veteran scout.

Marcus motioned toward the chairs across from his desk. "What happened?"

The scout leader, Brannoc, took a seat and began to explain. "Beast populations across a few dozen territories have thinned considerably over the past several weeks in the Outer Mountain Range. We haven’t noticed any migration, but the numbers have dropped drastically. We’ve swept the same regions three times now, and they keep falling, with no trace of where they’ve gone."

"Did you notice the same pattern in the Inner Region?" Marcus asked, his eyes narrowing slightly.

The scout leader replied quickly. "We searched the entrance of the Inner Perimeter, but the same pattern repeated there as well." Brannoc paused briefly before continuing. "Rather than push deeper, I decided to retreat and report back immediately."

Listening to the scout leader’s words, Marcus drifted into deep thought.

He had spent his whole life learning the rhythm of the Northern Frontier. Monsters did not simply disappear in such numbers without leaving something behind: tracks, territorial disputes, corpses, signs of migration, anything. Yet Brannoc had found none of it. The absence itself was what unsettled Marcus most.

"This is unusual..." Marcus said, his expression taut.

"That’s what worried me too, Commander." The scout leader’s jaw tightened as he spoke.

"Did you verify anything else with your talent?" Marcus asked. The scout leader’s talent was a rare, perception-based S-Rank ability, letting him scan the surrounding terrain from a considerable distance with heightened senses—one of the reasons he’d proven so valuable in this line of work.

"No, Commander. Apart from this pattern, I haven’t noticed anything else," Brannoc replied grimly.

Marcus’s fingers drummed once against the desk, the motion stilling almost as soon as it began, as an uncomfortable silence settled heavily over the room.

"Have the other scout units arrived yet?"

"No, Commander. They’re expected to return within a day."

"All right. Get some rest for now... I will call for you again," Marcus said.

The scout leader bowed respectfully and left the office.

Left alone, a quiet, gnawing premonition stirred in Marcus’s chest. He couldn’t say exactly why, but something about this report raised a deep instinctual sense of wariness within him.

---

Within the hour, Marcus’s senior officers from the Black Raven Knights filled the command hall, standing at rigid attention along the walls, while mercenary guild leaders clustered near the center. Evelyn sat near the front with her arms crossed, her expression already sharp with focus.

"I’ll keep this brief," Marcus said, his voice carrying easily across the hall. "Inform every unit to prepare for the Beast Tide. Everyone is to gather inside the Inner Fortress."

Confused murmurs rippled through the gathered officers. It was highly unusual for Marcus to summon everyone like this when the Beast Tide was projected to be at least two weeks away. Yet seeing the stern look on the Commander’s face, none of them dared to question him openly.

"Evelyn... you stay," Marcus said, turning toward her just as she began to rise. He signaled Van with a brief nod to remain as well. "The rest of you," he continued, sweeping his gaze across the Black Raven captains and remaining officers, "relay this down through your own units immediately. Gather everyone in the Inner Fortress within the day."

"Within the day, Commander?" one of the knights asked, clearly startled. "That’s—"

"Move," Marcus interrupted, his tone leaving no room for further debate.

The officers swallowed their words, thoroughly shaken by the gravity in his voice. Marcus knew he was acting on little more than instinct and an uneasy feeling, but he’d rather endure a few days of unnecessary preparation than risk being caught unprepared if something far worse than a routine Beast Tide was approaching.

The hall emptied quickly, officers dispersing in every direction, the earlier stillness of the fortress already giving way to the controlled chaos of preparation.

"Check the weapons, secure the supplies, and put all healers on standby. Tell the Mage Units to be ready as well," Marcus told Van, giving him a few final instructions before Van took his own leave.

Marcus remained a moment longer, staring out through the tall windows toward the distant, snow-capped peaks of the Winterveil, his unease no smaller than it had been an hour earlier. Finally, he looked toward Evelyn, who stood calmly, her gaze still fixed in the same direction, toward the mountains.

Marcus gestured for her to sit.

Evelyn returned to her seat with an easy grace, though her eyes caught the small tension in Marcus’s shoulders, a rare sight for the usually unflappable commander.

Marcus briefed her on the scout leader’s report.

"Do you think there’s someone behind this, Commander?" she asked, already turning the pieces over in her mind from just those few words alone.

"I can’t say for certain, but let’s hope I’m wrong," Marcus muttered quietly.

Evelyn understood his concern completely. In all her years, she had never heard of a phenomenon like this. Usually, in the days preceding a Beast Tide, monster activity surged violently. There had never been a case where monster numbers simply plummeted without any apparent reason.

If the coming Tide turned out ordinary, or even smaller than usual, they’d lose nothing but a few days’ rest spent overpreparing. But if something else was actually happening out there, it was far better to prepare early than be caught unready.

"You should be ready as well, just in case," Marcus added finally.

Under normal circumstances, neither Marcus nor Evelyn would directly participate in the early stages of a Beast Tide unless the defensive lines and rank-and-file soldiers were overwhelmed and their intervention became absolutely necessary. Most of the time, they remained back, overseeing operations and command from a distance.

---

Ethan stepped out of the training chamber. It had been several days since he’d been working on and refining his control over the unknown energy, experimenting with it continuously. Satisfied with his progress for now, he finally left the chamber and returned to his quarters in the Inner Barracks. Over the past few days, he’d only stopped by his room long enough to feed Rune before leaving him to rest.

Rune, who had been curled up near the bed, lifted his head the moment Ethan entered. After spending some time with him, Ethan stepped back out, Rune falling into step beside him.

The moment he entered the corridor, Ethan noticed the shift in atmosphere almost instantly. Soldiers moved with clipped urgency through the stone hallways, low voices rose in tight clusters near the barracks, and a heavy tension hung in the air that hadn’t been there that morning.

Catching a passing guard nearby, Ethan asked, "What’s happening?"

The soldier relayed what little he knew: Commander Marcus had ordered every unit to gather within the Inner Fortress within the day.

Something must have happened for Uncle to summon everyone this urgently, Ethan thought calmly.

He made his way quickly back to the secluded chamber, where Anna and Sepharina sat cross-legged in quiet meditation, still working through the breathing technique he’d taught them days earlier. Both opened their eyes the moment he entered.

"Young Master?"

"Go to the guest suite," Ethan said. "Continue your cultivation there. Don’t leave unless Lady Aisha or Iron Wolf comes for you directly."

"Is something wrong?" Sepharina asked, already rising halfway to her feet with a look of concern.

"Nothing you need to worry about yet," Ethan said smoothly. Yet the faint concern in his voice didn’t escape the unusually perceptive sisters. "Just stay there. Both of you."

He didn’t wait for further questions, already turning toward the door. From there, he made his way to the next training grounds, where his squad was still hard at work.

Outside, the fortress had transformed entirely within the span of a few hours. Soldiers hurried through the streets, supply carts moved constantly between the depots, and healers established additional stations near the barracks. The low, steady hum of an entire military city bracing itself for something no one could yet name had replaced the ordinary rhythm of Northwatch.

From the upper walkway, Ethan could see the changes spreading through Northwatch one after another. The gates were being reinforced, patrols doubled, and soldiers who normally spent their mornings drilling in designated yards were being redirected toward defensive positions. Even the merchants operating within the fortress had begun pulling their goods deeper inside, sensing the sudden change without knowing its cause.

Rune remained unusually quiet beside him, his ears perked as he stared toward the distant mountains.

Ethan followed his gaze.

Beyond the fortress walls, the Winterveil stood beneath the pale morning sky, silent and impossibly still.