"Do you know what happened?"
"No idea." The boy shook his head.
The girl turned back, looking worriedly at the direction of the hillside. In the darkness, she could barely make out the outline of that manor.
"Get everyone up, we're going too."
"Frey, it's so late, Aunt Sier will kill us!" The boy's eyes widened in disbelief as he responded, "Shouldn't we wait for news tomorrow?"
"Such a coward!" The girl couldn't help but give him a glare, though she knew Little Phenix was speaking the truth. She recalled the intimidating presence of her aunt—even though she was the Militia Captain of Buqi, she wouldn't dare to act rashly.
"You're the same..." The boy mumbled, but saw her turn back with a serious expression, signaling him to be quiet.
"Frey?"
"Shh—" The girl tilted her head and made a 'listen' gesture. In the darkness, a faint wailing sound could be heard.
"What's that sound?"
The wailing grew from distant to near, quickly overhead.
The girl's expression changed. She looked up, trying to avoid it, but it was too late. A dark shadow swooped down and struck her shoulder, causing her to cry out in pain and fall back.
"Big Sister—!"
"Run, Little Phenix, run!" The ponytailed girl shouted in agony.
Arrows rained down.
...
Sophie stopped.
"What's wrong, Brand... cough cough?" The future girl merchant seemed to sense something was off and couldn't help asking.
Sophie didn't answer. He remembered something.
Back when Madara launched its surprise attack in the game, players couldn't be ignored. Players weren't like NPCs who worked at sunrise and rested at sunset—many were night owls, so to speak.
He recalled when Madara made their move, they also encountered player interference elsewhere—players just like him, but most of Madara's actions still succeeded.
Why?
Yes, he finally remembered an era when the ancient country of Erune was declining, while its neighbor was entering a turbulent era.
A congregation of General Stars...
Sophie couldn't help but sigh. In this era, Madara was not just home to legendary generals who would later become famous across the continent, but it also benefited from the military reforms seven years earlier (the Black Rose Reforms of the year 368)—these reforms laid a solid foundation, producing a steady stream of excellent apprentices who bolstered the country's war capabilities from the grassroots level.
And this strength would soon be demonstrated in a war.
In the first Black Rose War, the strong execution and decision-making ability of Madara's army would catch everyone's attention. Unfortunately, the world remained oblivious until the fall of Erune.
Indeed.
The dark kingdom was rising and would soon reach its zenith.
"Those guys are no ordinary foes."
As a longtime adversary, Sophie had a profound impression of Madara's outstanding Junior and Middle-level Officers. Only those who had fought them for a long time would understand their shrewdness—
Sophie's hand rested on the cold latch, and his heart grew cold. By the time he closed the door, the enemy had likely already attacked Buqi—they wouldn't give him time to alert the village. Not even a chance.
And behind this door might also be Madara's skeleton soldiers.
What to do?
...
(PS. This chapter has 5000 words, generous right! Make a wish, if we can make it to the homepage tomorrow, I'll add a bonus chapter on top of the regular double updates!!!)