Chapter 318 - 031: Blood Rain Arrives
Chapter 318: 031: Blood Rain Arrives
Time flows like running water, never to return; what is destined to come will eventually arrive.
Blood Rain Day, Feiyan City.
The annual Blood Rain Day was about to begin. On this day, the sky was engulfed in darkness, with heavy, oppressive clouds shrouding the entire expanse above.
The streets of Feiyan City were deserted. The once bustling markets and lively squares now lay in eerie silence. A tense atmosphere hung in the air, as though even the wind had ceased to flow.
The doors and windows of houses lining the streets were tightly shut. Occasionally, a window would crack open slightly, revealing pairs of frightened eyes peering out at the stillness of the outside world.
Inside a tailor’s shop.
“Quick, lock the door!” A middle-aged man urged in a hushed voice, frantically boarding up the windows with planks. His wife clutched their two children tightly, her face pale and her eyes brimming with terror.
“Daddy, will the beasts really come?” The little girl asked tremulously, her voice thick with sobs.
The middle-aged man did not answer, instead quickening his movements. The Beast Tide brought by Blood Rain Day was not a myth—it was an annual nightmare. The beasts, maddened by the scent of blood rain, would charge out from the Resentment Forest to attack the city.
In previous years, the nobles led their knights to fend off the Beast Tide. But this year, the nobles had long fled, leaving the citizens to face this catastrophe alone.
“Get down to the cellar!” The middle-aged man finally finished boarding up the windows and turned to urge his wife.
The wife hesitated. “But… Sir Demont has already taken people to the ramparts. Maybe they can defeat the Beast Tide…”
“Five hundred men won’t accomplish anything!”
The middle-aged man interrupted harshly. “The nobles have left, taking all the knights with them. Demont only has five hundred rookies—these men likely can’t even withstand the first wave of the Beast Tide’s attack. There’s nothing to hope for.”
In years past, Feiyan City’s regular soldiers numbered around 2,000 to 3,000. Additionally, there were approximately one or two hundred knights and apprentice knights. During the Beast Tide, nobles would gather all the city’s able-bodied men into a militia corps, totaling tens of thousands, effectively rallying the collective effort of the populace to combat the tide.
However, since Greywell’s reforms, the nobles had almost completely departed, leaving behind only Knight Demont and a handful of apprentice knights—a mere dozen or so. Combined with fewer than five hundred hastily recruited soldiers, the current garrison was a shadow of its former self.
Such a force could barely protect itself, let alone stand up to the ferocious Beast Tide.
The wife said, “But… I heard there’s a wizard this time…”
The middle-aged man shook his head. “Perhaps, but who knows if magic really is as omnipotent as legend claims? Besides, can wizards truly be trusted? What if this wizard abandons us and escapes? We can’t take that risk.”
“But…” Tears welled up in the wife’s eyes as she glanced around the shop. This tailor’s shop was the fruit of years of toil. It was their source of livelihood, their home—it was impossible not to feel attached.
The man sighed deeply. How could he not know that everything here would be destroyed after the Beast Tide? What would he and the children eat in the future? It was uncertain.
But such things were beyond anyone’s control, weren’t they?
The man led his wife and two children down into the cellar. Before he descended, he cast one last look at their home, where they had lived for so many years.
For a fleeting moment, regret flickered across his eyes.
Not long ago, Demont had sent people to recruit all able-bodied men in the city to form a militia corps to defend against the Beast Tide. In past years, he had always volunteered enthusiastically. But today, mistrust of this new regime had led him to refuse.
It wasn’t just him—the entire city had made the same choice. As a result, Demont had scarcely managed to recruit anyone, leaving him with only a few hundred green soldiers to guard the walls now.
If only…
If only he had stepped forward to participate, might things have turned out better?
The wife came over and took the man’s hand.
The man snapped out of his chaotic thoughts. It was pointless to dwell on such matters now. Everything…
Would be left to fate!
Similar scenes played out in every corner of Feiyan City. Citizens barricaded their homes with wooden planks, hiding their families in cellars. They placed their hopes in miracles that might—or might not—come to pass.
Would there be a miracle?
Pray!
…
At the same time, atop Feiyan City’s ramparts.
“Quick, quick, quick! Prepare the arrows—double-check the bows.”
“Pile the logs and rocks by the edge of the wall.”
“Hurry up! The damned Beast Tide is almost here, stop dawdling!”
The wide ramparts were bustling with soldiers frantically setting up defensive structures, inspecting arrows, arranging logs and rocks, oiling weaponry, and more.
Most of the soldiers moved with clumsy, untrained motions. Their pale faces betrayed evident fear and unease. Some of them were even trembling, clearly unprepared for the looming battle ahead.
As they worked on the defenses, their gazes occasionally darted toward the front. Each time they looked, some of their fear seemed to dissipate slightly, as if something over there gave them a semblance of confidence.
On that side, facing the Resentment Forest, several figures stood tall. All were youths—boys and girls cloaked in large, flowing robes, each holding a long, curved wooden staff—
Wizards!
There had long been rumors that Greywell had enlisted the support of wizards. And now, as the Beast Tide approached, these mysterious figures from the Tower had finally revealed themselves.
Their presence was the main reason the soldiers still remained atop the wall instead of fleeing in panic.
At the forefront of the ramparts, Lynch stood at the edge of the wall, one hand resting on its surface and his gaze fixed on the direction of the Resentment Forest.
He had changed into a new outfit—a knight’s attire.
His body was clad in a seamless silver-white knight armor that gleamed coldly under the dim sunlight. A deep blue belt cinched his waist, silver-white war boots adorned his feet, and a dark blue cloak draped over his shoulders like a fluttering war banner in the wind.
With his tall and upright posture, coupled with the silver-gray hair cascading down his back, Lynch looked particularly heroic and extraordinary at this moment.
This war was not one Lynch planned to fight as a wizard; instead, he intended to join the soldiers as a knight.
After all, his ultimate aim in organizing the defense of the ramparts was to forge cohesion within this fledgling team. If he used magic to solve everything, all he’d end up with would be a scattered rabble.
What Lynch needed was a dependable team that could imbibe his will and bring positive results—not a group he had to babysit.
Only by making them truly stand their ground, truly shed blood, truly risk their lives to defend their homes—and eventually overcome their fear and triumph over hardship—could courage and confidence be cultivated, and the team bound together as one.
To that end, Lynch had prepared thoroughly.
Over the past while, he’d helped his seven apprentices recover their physical conditions and taught them various spells. Moreover, he had stockpiled ample magic potions and scrolls to ensure timely treatment of any injuries. Coupled with his mastery of the Second Tier Mystic Technique, Lynch was fully confident there would be no casualties.
If he couldn’t even manage that level of control, then there’d be no point in discussing mystic techniques…
Standing at the edge of the wall, Lynch gazed into the distance at the Resentment Forest.
Above the forest loomed a noticeably dense cluster of dark clouds.
In the eyes of ordinary individuals, it was just an oppressive, pitch-black mass, roiling ominously, as if ready to descend any moment.
However, through Lynch’s Spiritual Vision, he could clearly see an enormous face hidden within the cloud. It looked as though it had suffered excruciating torment, continuously warping and contorting in agony.
In his ears, he could hear a deranged and sorrowful voice.
“Deceit! Lies!”
“Why did you deceive me? Why?”
“Die! Die for me!”
Even from afar, Lynch could distinctly feel the overwhelming resentment!
’What’s the story behind this forest?’
Lynch raised an eyebrow, his expression full of curiosity.
From what he’d gathered recently, this forest hadn’t always been like this. According to older residents of the city, it had once been peaceful and serene, with an abundance of flora and fauna—a place bursting with vitality.
Back then, it wasn’t called the Resentment Forest; it was known as the Ruins Forest.
Yet something had happened decades ago. Overnight, resentment enveloped the forest, and those who ventured into its depths began succumbing to madness and delirium. Over time, it became the infamous Resentment Forest—a terrifying forbidden realm known to all.
’I’ll have to find time to explore it later.’
Once cohesion within his team was established, wars would no longer be necessary, and the annual Beast Tide would become nothing but a drain on resources. Besides, the Resentment Forest was brimming with natural wealth, and Lynch planned to profit richly from it. Some pressing issues within it would inevitably need addressing.
“Master Wizard!”
At that moment, a raspy voice called out behind him. Turning, Lynch saw Greywell making his way up the stone steps toward him.