Chapter 126: The Beast Tide Descends

In the Command Room, Marcus stood giving instructions to Evelyn, along with a few of the senior Black Raven officers, overlooking the fortress preparations. Just then, one of the soldiers sprinted into the chamber at full speed and informed them of the report from the Fourth Scout Unit regarding the Tide.

"When did they say it would arrive?" Marcus asked, his voice cutting cleanly through the room.

"Commander... they said we have, at most, until dawn. Possibly even less."

"What about the scale?"

"I-It’s... they have never seen a tide on such massive scale, Commander." The soldier shuddered as he replied, his voice trembling.

"The Tide will arrive in a few hours..."

A shocked murmur rippled through the room, none of them able to believe what they’d just heard. Apart from Marcus and Evelyn, even the veteran Black Raven Knights lost their composure for a second. It was already deep into the night, leaving them only a narrow window to complete their preparations. More than a few of the officers looked visibly nervous. Then every eye turned toward Marcus, whose expression slowly hardened.

Marcus paused, closing his eyes for a moment. He had hoped the ominous feeling he’d carried since earlier would turn out to be nothing. But shaking the thought away, he gave the order without a moment’s hesitation.

"Sound the Emergency Alarm." He turned toward the officers. "Deploy all units and mercenaries to their assigned defensive positions immediately! Inform the remaining scout units and archer divisions to take position."

Moments later, the war horns of Northwatch roared into the night sky, a deep, resonant blare piercing through every corner of the vast fortress.

BWOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

The peaceful silence of the stronghold shattered instantly. Massive iron bells tolled across the watchtowers, and thousands of boots thundered down the stone corridors. Torchlight flickered wildly as soldiers hauled heavy crates of ballista bolts, catapult stones, and reinforcements toward the ramparts, while healers readied field stations along the lower walls. What had been controlled preparation only moments earlier transformed in seconds into the tight, breathless chaos of full military mobilization.

In the Outer District, merchants, guild halls, and inns shuttered their doors at once, and everyone still on the streets hurried quickly toward their homes. At the private estate, Aisha listened to the echoing war horns; she knew Marcus had been preparing for trouble though she hadn’t expected it to escalate quite this far so quickly. In the guest suite, the Ashwood family stood at the window, watching the chaos unfold below.

They stared out at the Outer Wall as soldiers sprinted wildly through the courtyards and patrols escorted the remaining civilians to safety. Something terrible was happening.

"The Young Master... he will be okay, right?" Anna asked, her fingers tightening into pale fists against her chest. Elene felt the same unspoken worry settle over her. Beyond the training he’d given the sisters, Ethan had visited Elene personally every single day to check on her condition. At first, the family had simply felt deep, profound gratitude for everything he’d done for them. Now, that gratitude had deepened into something harder to name.

William gently wrapped his arms around his nervous daughters and wife, his broad shoulders settling protectively around them.

"He’ll be fine," he said.

In the barracks, every Knight and mercenary unit was already gathering in a rush. Ethan, who’d been resting alongside his squad, rose to his feet at once.

"Captain...!" Everyone spoke at the same moment, tension plain in their voices as they looked toward him. He’d already prepared them for any circumstance, but even he hadn’t expected things to escalate to a full emergency mobilization.

He couldn’t recall a single instance, in his entire previous life, where an emergency call had ever been issued at this point in time. Still, he reined in his own surprise, his expression remaining an impenetrable mask. Seeing Ethan’s composure, the squad quickly regained their confidence.

"Armor up. Quickly," Ethan instructed calmly.

Ethan donned the sleek black plate armor he had purchased the day before, then fastened the sheath of the Eternal Sovereign Blade securely to his waist. "Let’s go."

Less than half an hour later, Ethan led his squad up the winding stone stairs to their assigned sector atop the main fortress ramparts. Rune walked beside him, his brilliant blue eyes fixed on the distant mountain range, ears standing fully alert. Iron Wolf flanked his left, while Vera, Corvus, Stone, and Finch fell into formation behind them. Along miles of stone wall, thousands of soldiers, Black Raven Knights, and mercenary bands stood shoulder to shoulder, breath clouding in the freezing air, knuckles white around the hilts of their weapons.

Beyond Northwatch’s outer walls stretched a vast expanse of relatively flat terrain, extending for dozens of miles before the land gradually rose toward the Outer Mountain Range. The Northwatch Plains served as the primary battlefield during every Beast Tide, giving the fortress defenders enough distance to detect approaching hordes and enough space to engage them before they reached the walls. Under ordinary circumstances, the sheer distance between the mountains and the fortress provided a considerable defensive advantage. Tonight, however, every soldier knew that distance was rapidly disappearing.

Mages held the very front line, with archers and scouts positioned just behind them, bows and crossbows drawn and ready. At the center of the battlements, Marcus stood with his spear in hand, a sword hanging at his side, gazing out across the dozens of miles separating the fortress from the mountain range. His eyes found Ethan’s for a brief moment.

Beside him, Evelyn stood calm and still, her crimson hair loose and catching the torchlight like flame against the night sky. There was an edge to her tonight, a slight ferocity beneath her usual composure. Sir Van and several other senior officers stood in equally heavy silence, the entire fortress gripped by a stillness broken only by the howling northern wind.

A Beast Tide typically lasted several days and nights, occurring every few months whenever the region’s beast population surged beyond what the land could sustain. The Winterveil Mountain Range birthed countless monsters at a rate many times faster than humanity could ever match, and it was precisely that imbalance that forced humans into constant, unending conflict with them. To the beasts, humans were nothing more than prey. Soldiers fought out of duty and belief; mercenaries risked their lives chasing resources and coin. But underneath both, everyone standing on that wall was fighting for the same thing: the lives of the people sheltered behind them.

One hour passed. Then another. The tension in the air climbed steadily higher. As the night wore on, Ethan suddenly felt a faint disturbance brush against his senses. His recently strengthend Predator Senses reacted almost instinctively, picking up something approaching from far beyond the visible horizon. It was still distant, but the sensation was unmistakable—a growing pressure carried through the darkness, accompanied by a faint trace of killing intent and madness. Rune gave a low growl beside him, his ears rising as he stared toward the distant mountains. Ethan’s gaze narrowed slightly as he focused in that direction.

There was still an hour left until daybreak when the crushing silence finally broke, shattered by the sound of countless beasts roaring in unison, a sound that made every soldier’s hair stand on end.

Within minutes, an overwhelming sea of beasts poured from the mountain passes of the Outer Mountain Range, tearing through rocky ridges and heavy snowdrifts before spilling onto the plains beyond like a black flood, spreading as far as the eye could see. Their combined footsteps thundered like war drums, and with every passing second, the soldiers’ nervous heartbeats seemed to grow louder in their own ears.

Frost Wolves, Glacier Trolls, Orc Warriors, Forest Trolls, Ice Claw Bears, Thornhide Boars, Canopy Stalkers, Vineveil Serpents, Venomclaw Lynxes, Corrosive Maw Centipedes, Rotfang Hounds and numerous other Beasts. Overhead, Blizzard Eagles and Frostwing Bats darkened the sky in equal number.

The creatures poured across the plains in wave after wave, their sheer numbers turning the snow-covered landscape into a writhing sea of claws, fangs, horns, and scales. From the fortress walls, individual beasts quickly became impossible to distinguish. There was only the horde. It devoured the distance across the plains with terrifying speed.

Among the countless creatures were tens of thousands of Elite and Dire Beasts, while Apex Beasts appeared throughout the deeper ranks of the horde. Even rarer Tyrant Beasts could be seen moving among them, their enormous bodies standing above the lesser monsters like living mountains. The sheer, primal force radiating from the high-tier monsters alone was enough to draw cold sweat even in the freezing night air.

Sensing morale beginning to waver across the soldiers and mercenaries at the sight of the endless sea of monsters, Marcus took a single step into open air.

He floated several dozen feet above the ramparts, high enough that every eye on the wall could find him at once. Most of the soldiers, who had only ever heard stories of Northwatch’s Commander, stared upward in open awe.

Only a few minutes remained before the leading edge of the Beast Tide reached the fortress’s outer defensive range. Marcus’s gaze swept slowly across the assembled soldiers below.

"You need not be afraid," he said, his booming voice carrying across the entire wall. "This is not a battle we cannot overcome."

As the leading edge of the horde entered the killing range of the fortress, Marcus’s gaze hardened.

He raised his spear high, his aura flooding into the blade until it seemed to pierce the very heavens above.

"For the North!"

Marcus turned toward the oncoming horde and thrust his spear forward in a single, decisive motion.

BOOM.

The spear’s aura tore across the battlefield, carving a massive path through the approaching horde. The beasts caught within its trajectory were annihilated before they could even react, leaving a temporary scar of shattered earth across the frozen plain.

Hundreds of Elite, Dire Beasts and Apex Beasts at the very front of the charge, their eyes still gleaming with crimson madness, simply died where they stood.

Seeing hundreds of high-tier monsters wiped out in the blink of an eye, the soldiers’ spirits ignited. A deafening cheer erupted across the miles of battlements:

"For the North!"

Yet, despite the devastating strike, the monster wave did not falter. Trampling over the remains of their fallen peers, the madness-driven horde surged forward faster, as if they would only be satisfied once they had devoured every single living soul within the fortress walls.