Chapter 39: Fortress Gloom
Starfall, Year 831, December 17th, Evening.
Moldova Black Forest Fortress, heavy snow falling.
The cold wave showed no mercy for the fortress that had just endured a great battle amidst the snowy mountains. It carried fierce snow and chilling winds, constantly blowing between the streets and towers, layering frost upon frost.
Gloomy clouds pressed down from the sky, spreading a heavy atmosphere. Now, on the gray stone-paved roads, no pedestrians walked. Only scattered, broken weapons and damaged armor lay abandoned by the roadside. Their owners might have already fallen in battle, or perhaps were fortunate enough to survive—but regardless, the scene was utterly desolate.
A silver-haired girl walked slowly through these empty streets, her green eyes revealing no emotion.
Her steps were light, full of the vitality typical of a young girl. She wore a white double-breasted military coat for women, matching trousers, and silver high leather boots. On her hands were a pair of light leather gloves, and occasionally, between the gloves and sleeves, one could glimpse her fair, slender wrists... It must be said that such a lively and beautiful girl did not belong in a place like this.
But Ying felt it was quite fitting.
Looking around at the houses and towers, the Divine Mechanism girl breathed in the scent of war, savoring the aftermath of battle. She gazed at the broken weapons on the ground, her eyes softening, as if she could communicate with these lifeless objects. Yet she did not linger for them but walked straight in one direction.
Her silver leather boots collided with the stone streets and ice, producing a soft "clack, clack" sound. This noise echoed through the wind-swept streets, carrying into the distance.
"What a tragic sight..."
Letting out a soft sigh, Ying remarked with some emotion: "It's the same Black Tide siege, but although my master's territory was fierce, it wasn't this desolate..."
After all, during the most critical moment of Moldavia's fortress, Joshua arrived on the scene and killed the Gold-rank magical beast. Otherwise, the breached walls of Moldavia Fortress would have been a hundred times more tragic than the current state of Moldova Fortress. Having any survivors would have been the greatest fortune under heaven.
But regardless, in the end, Joshua arrived. Her master cleaned up all the monsters and troubles, while the lord here couldn't accomplish the same, leading to such consequences. That was the difference.
But that was only natural. How could her master be like an ordinary person?
Thinking this, Ying was now at the center of the fortress. This place finally had some signs of life. Patrol knights set out from here, heading to various parts of the city. They wore battle armor covered in dust and bloodstains, their faces weary from travel. Though exhausted, they forced themselves to stay alert as they marched in formation.
Beside the streets they patrolled, rows of empty houses stood in utter silence. Only a few small buildings showed flickering flames in their windows, with smoke rising from chimneys as firewood burned.
It was like a ghost town.
Facing a Black Tide of two hundred thousand frenzied beasts, Moldova Fortress hadn't actually suffered catastrophic casualties—at least not as many as one might imagine. But the number of wounded and exhausted people was enormous, causing many to still lie in dreamless sleep in their homes and barracks. Even this squad of tired soldiers had been assembled with great difficulty.
These soldiers, driven by a sense of duty, honor, and their commander's orders, forced themselves to stay awake, lest they fall asleep while walking and collapse in the snow and ice. Though they held Glowstone Lamps for illumination, casting a misty white light, it seemed as if a dark cloud hung over their heads.
On the main road, these soldiers encountered Ying, who was observing them. The soldiers, who didn't recognize her, were somewhat surprised that such a spirited and lovely girl was still in the fortress. But they made no move toward her. Instead, a kind-hearted squad leader said, "I'm not a little girl! I'm clearly... my master is twenty-one or twenty-three... yes, I'm clearly twenty-one years old!"
The explanation came a bit late. The patrol soldiers had already walked to the other end of the street and couldn't hear her reply.
After walking a bit further, not far ahead was the fortress's central warehouse—though calling it a warehouse was generous; it was more of a material transfer zone. As the most important place in the fortress, the warehouse had about twenty or thirty people guarding it inside and out. They wore chainmail and half-helmets, carried longswords and sturdy wooden shields, and patrolled back and forth, using a red-bordered, gold-centered six-pointed star as their base point.
Although magical beasts didn't specifically target supply centers like humans did in warfare, there were many flying-type beasts, and quite a few were intelligent. As long as there was a possibility of attack, they couldn't afford to be careless. These soldiers' spirits were relatively good. Though they seemed a bit tired, they at least appeared to have gotten sufficient sleep.
Initially, the warehouse guards wanted to stop this little girl from approaching. But the officer in charge had already received instructions from his superiors. After confirming that Ying had been granted authorization, this haggard-looking man, who seemed like he hadn't slept well in days, smiled bitterly and led the silver-haired girl into the warehouse.
"Ah, it's truly tragic. The warehouse actually isn't short on weapons and armor—otherwise, people wouldn't have thrown broken weapons by the roadside. But while weapons are plentiful, we don't have enough hands..."
The haggard warehouse officer vented his grievances to Ying: "Ordinary militia can't even wear this kind of heavy armor, and even regular soldiers can't move freely in it. What we're most short of now is chainmail and wide wooden shields... If this heavy armor can help those reinforcement knights, then take it all. It's useless sitting here."
He wasn't trying to save resources for his lord, and that was exactly Verdani's intention—fifty Silver-rank knights weren't much in a beast tide, but on the city walls, they could at least guarantee that several hundred meters of the line would never fall. That was worth the investment. Fifty sets of armor were nothing to the wealthy Skalant family.
To be honest, if the fortress weren't essentially carved out of a small stone mountain, making its main body too vast, the addition of these fifty knights would have been a crucial force. Unfortunately, the wide defensive line diminished the knights' importance.
Ying occasionally chatted with the warehouse officer, asking about things she had never seen before. This tired middle-aged man still had enough energy to explain everything one by one.
Only when they entered the second-floor warehouse did the two fall silent.
In the center of the underground second-floor warehouse, the white light of a Glowstone Lamp flickered. This light reflected off the sealed armor and swords around them, illuminating the entire warehouse hall.
"What style of armor does that Lord of Moldavia prefer? Give me the measurements, and I can pick it out for you."
Seeing that Ying seemed hesitant and unable to choose, the confident warehouse officer said, "I won't boast, but when it comes to familiarity with armor and weapon styles, there aren't many in all of Moldova who can surpass me."
"...In that case, I'll leave it to you."
The troubled Ying promptly recited a long list of data. Not long after, the smiling warehouse officer brought back armor that met the requirements.
The armor, reduced to a small model by Shrinking Spell and Weightlessness Spell, was placed in a small box and handed to the silver-haired girl.
"Thank you very much!"
"We should be the ones thanking you."
Waving his hand with a bitter smile, the middle-aged man shook his head and said, "Anyone can see that if that lord hadn't led his troops to break up the beast tide, today would have been the day our city fell and we died... Sigh."
Speaking of this, he sighed again: "But regardless, at least we can rest now... You and that lord must take care of yourselves."
"...Mm."
Holding the box and bidding farewell to the guards, Ying left the city center.
Amidst the howling wind and gloom, the silver-haired girl followed the resonance of her contract, walking through the silent streets.
She slowly made her way toward the fortress's front wall.
Her master was there.