Dawn didn't arrive so much as bleed into Ridgebrook.
A thin red line crept over the treetops, staining the morning mist until it looked like smoke rising from a distant fire. The village stirred slowly. Most people hadn't really slept—just closed their eyes and waited.
Fear had begun to soak into the wood itself.
I climbed the barricade with Orin as the light grew stronger. She raised her spear and pointed east.
"Something's moving," she muttered.
At first, I saw nothing. Then the forest shifted—subtle, controlled. Not torches this time. Formations. Soldiers advancing in two curved lines, their movement disciplined and silent.
Vlad appeared beside us, already awake, already watching. The moment his eyes locked onto the front of the formation, his expression hardened.
"They've brought him," he said quietly.
"Who?" Orin asked.
"A real commander."
The man stepped out of the mist, and the wall went still.
He walked at the head of the formation with unhurried confidence. His armor was blackened but polished, his shoulders broad, posture perfectly straight. A massive spear rested across his back—longer than a man was tall. His cloak bore Baron Vantor's crest: a snarling boar bound in iron rings.
But it wasn't his armor that hit me.
It was his presence.
The air seemed to bend around him.
Even without sensing Qi, it was obvious.
Rank 2.
He stopped about twenty meters from the gate and placed a hand over his heart—a gesture that felt like both respect and threat.
"I am Captain Garron Haldis of the Warguard," he called. His voice carried unnaturally well, cold and steady. "By Baron Vantor's order, Ridgebrook is to surrender immediately."
A nervous murmur spread along the wall.
"You resisted," Garron continued. "You killed my men. You killed those sent to offer terms. Therefore, no terms remain."
Orin spat over the wall. "Go fuck yourself."
Garron didn't react. But several soldiers behind him tightened their grip on their spears.
"You have children," Garron said calmly. "Elders. Untrained villagers. You cannot withstand what comes next."
"Fuck your mother!" I shouted.
Several villagers gasped—not because they fully understood the insult, but because they understood the intent. Orin bit back a laugh. Lira buried her face in her hands.
Garron's gaze shifted to me, slow and deliberate.
"You speak boldly for someone hiding behind wooden walls."
I leaned over the barricade. "I'm shaking because your face makes me sick."
That did it.
Just a flicker—but the corner of his mouth tightened. Displeasure.
Good.
Vlad leaned closer. "He dislikes disrespect. That is useful."
"Good," I muttered. "So do I."
Garron raised his hand.
Behind him, every soldier slammed their spear into the ground in perfect unison.
The sound cracked through the air like thunder.
"I give Ridgebrook until sundown," Garron said. "Surrender yourselves. Or burn."
He turned sharply, cloak snapping behind him, and his formation withdrew into the trees with terrifying precision.
Only when the last soldier vanished did the wall erupt.
"We're dead."
"That man could break the gate alone!"
"Rank Two—gods help us—"
Orin gripped her spear tighter. "This is bad, Liam. Very bad."
"No argument there," I muttered.
But Vlad hadn't taken his eyes off the forest.
Something about him had changed.
His stance tightened. His breathing slowed. His focus sharpened to a razor's edge.
"He is close," Vlad said softly.
"Who?" I asked.
"The captain. And me."
His fingers flexed, almost eager.
"Killing him would open the door."
I understood immediately.
A breakthrough.
Rank 2.
But also a fight that could kill him.
"We're not throwing you at him," I said quickly.
Vlad shook his head. "You will not decide. The battle will."
Lira ran up to us, cheeks flushed. "Liam—the creek's almost gone. Maybe a day or two of water left."
I rubbed my temples. "Of course it is. Why stop at war when we can add dehydration?"
"Don't joke about that," she snapped, smacking my arm—lightly, but her hand trembled. "Please."
Her fingers lingered a moment too long. I gently pulled away.
"We'll hold," I said. "Until the next summon."
"Ten days," she whispered. "That's… long."
Too long.
Later, I walked the village with Orin, checking wounds and reinforcing weak spots. Two of the injured were stable. One wasn't.
Whispers followed me.
"He looks exhausted."
"He's thinking again."
"Maybe he has a plan."
If only they knew.
Every pause, every blank stare, was me reading the glowing Ledger only I could see.
[ENEMY MORALE: RISING]
[GARRON HALDIS — RANK 2 — HIGH THREAT]
[RIDGEBROOK MORALE: TENUOUS]
[DAYS UNTIL NEXT SUMMON: 10]
"Liam," Orin said quietly. "You froze again."
"Thinking," I replied.
"You're carrying too much," she said, softer now. "You don't have to do it alone."
I didn't answer.
Because the truth was—I was drowning.
By midday, the forest echoed with preparation.
Axes biting wood.
Metal grinding.
Drums tapping slow, measured rhythms.
Ridgebrook fell unnaturally quiet. Even the children stopped crying.
Lira found me near the square. "If they use fire again—"
"We'll stop it," I said.
"How?"
"I'll spit harder."
"Liam!"
Her composure cracked. She grabbed my shirt, pulling me closer.
"Don't die," she whispered.
For a moment, with her trembling against me, the world narrowed. My heartbeat steadied. My breath slowed.
Warmth climbed my spine.
Lira pulled back, eyes searching my face. "Are you okay?"
"Just tired," I said.
But Vlad had seen it.
"You are closer than you think," he said once she left. "Your Qi moves when fear rises… and when something else does."
I ignored the second part.
A deep drumbeat shook the gate.
Vlad smiled faintly.
"The captain is calling his hounds."
That night, no one slept.
Torches lined the walls, shadows stretching and shaking with every gust of wind.
Just past midnight—
A horn sounded from the forest.
Not an attack.
A challenge.
Orin swallowed. "They're done testing us."
Vlad stepped forward, eyes gleaming.
"They are sending their hunters," he said softly. "And they want blood