The sun had barely crested the eastern hills when silence fell over Arthur's territory.
Birds stopped singing. The wind slowed. Even the grass swayed with hesitation, as if nature itself could sense the coming carnage.
A low, distant rumble echoed across the land—the footsteps of an army, tens of thousands strong.
Inside the command tower, Arthur stood unmoving, his eyes locked on the horizon. The air around him thrummed with pressure, thick with anticipation. His commanders had left to mobilize their units, leaving him alone with his thoughts.
A soft knock broke the silence. It was Blaze.
"They're coming," he said simply. "The scouts have confirmed—they'll be here within the hour."
Arthur nodded slowly. "Then we've done all we can."
Below them, the entire territory was alive with motion.
The outer walls were lined with archers and mages. The clink of armor and thump of boots echoed in rhythmic unity as soldiers moved into formation like a single, massive organism. Tension built with each passing minute.
Lily and Zara stood atop the walls, both calm but focused. Isabella moved between her healers, offering last-minute blessings. Diana had long disappeared, her assassins vanishing with the morning mist.
The Blood Knights stood front and center before the walls—motionless, emotionless, their red armor gleaming under the light. Behind them, George and Voloric's men stood ready as the second line. Flanking both sides, cavalry prepared silently, their horses snorting and stomping in anticipation. Archers nocked arrows, and mages lit their staves.
A single heartbeat pulsed across the battlefield.
Arthur stepped up onto the outer wall, his golden cloak fluttering behind him. His gaze swept over the vast army assembled beneath him. Over 200,000 trained soldiers, each one standing ready under the banner of their lord.
He raised his voice—not with magic, but with conviction.
"This is not a day of fear. It is a day of reckoning."
Every soldier turned their eyes to him.
"You have trained. You have bled. You have fought monsters in dungeons and enemies in the wild. But today, we do not defend—we dominate."
He unsheathed his sword, pointing it toward the distant hills.
"An army of beasts marches toward our home. But they are not a threat. They are an opportunity. An opportunity to rise, to prove we are the apex of this world."
He turned toward the commanders nearby—Ronan, George, Dock, Lily, Alisha, Blaze, and the others—his voice hardening.
"Today, we are not just soldiers. We are judgment. We are the storm. And when this battle ends, not a single goblin will be left to crawl back to their miserable holes."
The army erupted in a roar so loud it shook the sky.
And then, as if answering their fury, a dust cloud rose on the far horizon.
The enemy had arrived.