The sun rose red, as if the sky itself bled in warning. Ridgebrook stirred slowly, every villager moving with the heavy awareness of the torches they had seen the night before. The forest beyond the walls felt alive, shifting, bracing, holding its breath.
It was the last full day before the army reached them.
Leonidas stood in the square at dawn again, already shouting.
"SHIELD CORE! FORM UP!"
The twelve villagers stumbled into position. Their eyes were ringed with fatigue, but they moved with purpose now. Even Orin, still sore from yesterday, snapped into formation with a determination that almost frightened Liam.
Leonidas slammed his spear into the ground. "Yesterday you learned to stand. Today, you learn to hold. If your legs fail, the village falls. If your shields break, we are finished."
He struck the first shield in line—hard.
The man behind it grunted, nearly slipping.
"Again!" Leonidas barked, and he struck three more in quick succession, forcing each person to brace.
They held.
Barely.
But they held.
Sun Tzu observed from the edge, arms tucked behind his back. "Their discipline improves," he commented to Liam. "Raw, but improving."
Liam leaned against a post, rubbing sleep from his eyes. "Amazing what fear can do."
"Fear is a tool," Sun Tzu said. "We shape it, or it shapes us."
Leonidas turned. "CHIEF. With a shield."
Liam groaned inwardly but grabbed one anyway. His ribs still ached from yesterday's beating.
Orin jogged over, placing her shield beside his. "At least you're suffering with us," she said with a grin.
"Not helping," Liam muttered.
Leonidas didn't wait. He charged at them.
Liam managed to block the first strike—but the second hit his knee and nearly sent him sprawling. Orin shoved her shield sideways to cover him.
"Focus, Chief!" she hissed.
"I am!" Liam snapped as the third blow rattled his bones.
Leonidas barked, "Good. You keep each other alive."
After several punishing minutes, Leonidas called a halt. Liam collapsed onto the dirt, panting. Orin dropped beside him, equally breathless.
Lira rushed over, worry written all over her face. "Are you trying to get yourself killed before the enemy even arrives?"
"It builds character," Leonidas said.
"It builds bruises," Lira shot back.
Vlad sauntered in from the forest, humming a tuneless melody. His hands were clean today, which somehow made Liam more nervous.
"Find anything?" Liam asked.
"Only trees," Vlad said. "And fear. Lots of fear."
Orin shivered. "You're too calm about this."
Vlad smiled. "Why wouldn't I be? War is coming. It's a beautiful day."
Leonidas eyed him. "Your beauty is different than ours."
"Very," Orin whispered.
Sun Tzu motioned for Liam. "Chief, to the trenches."
They walked to the village edge where villagers dug, sharpened, and reinforced everything they could. Trenches were deeper. Stakes were angled perfectly. Barrels of sand sat near fire pits.
Sun Tzu paced the perimeter. "By afternoon, we must finish all outer defenses. Tonight, I will direct distribution of oil and torches.
"Oil?" Liam asked.
"For light and fire traps," Sun Tzu said. "If they bring flame weapons, we must counter with greater flame."
"That sounds dangerous."
Sun Tzu offered a thin smile. "If you find a way to win safely, tell me."
Liam sighed. "Fair point."
A shout from the southern watchtower snapped everyone's attention.
"Movement in the forest! Thirty figures!"
Villagers froze. Some dropped tools. Liam sprinted to the wall, climbing the ladder two steps at a time.
Leonidas arrived beside him. Sun Tzu joined a moment later.
Shapes moved through the trees—fast, light, coordinated.
But not armored.
Not in formation.
Refugees.
Families stumbled out of the forest—women carrying children, men holding improvised weapons, limping, terrified.
A man at the front fell to his knees when he saw the walls.
"Please! Please help us!" he cried. "Rathmore destroyed our village! They're wiping out every settlement on the march!"
Murmurs rippled across Ridgebrook.
Leonidas' jaw tightened. "Cowards," he muttered. "They flee instead of stand."
Sun Tzu shook his head. "No. This is strategy. Rathmore clears all who might ally with us."
Liam felt his throat tighten. These people had nowhere else to go.
"Open the gate!" he ordered.
Leonidas bristled. "More mouths to feed. More bodies to protect. They weaken us."
"They add to our numbers," Liam said. "To our strength."
Leonidas inhaled slowly. "Very well. Your decision stands."
The gates opened. Refugees flooded inside, collapsing, crying, thanking anyone in reach. Orin rushed to help a limping woman. Lira began tending wounds immediately.
Sun Tzu studied them. "Many are strong enough to fight."
Liam nodded. "Train whoever's willing."
Leonidas smirked. "Good. I needed more bodies."
By midday, Ridgebrook felt twice as crowded. Fires burned in multiple pits as people cooked, cleaned, or rested. Children clung to their mothers, staring at the Shield Core with wide eyes.
Liam walked through the bustle, feeling the weight of leadership grow heavier with every step.
He caught a glimpse of Lira wiping sweat from her brow as she bandaged a refugee's arm. She looked exhausted but focused.
Orin was already drilling a group of teenage boys, correcting their grips and shouting when they fumbled.
Leonidas barked instructions to the Shield Core.
Sun Tzu oversaw trenches and defensive lines.
Vlad… was nowhere to be seen.
"Where the hell is he now," Liam muttered.
Vlad reappeared suddenly beside him. "You called?"
Liam jolted. "God—stop doing that."
Vlad twirled a knife idly. "I found something."
He offered a torn piece of fabric. Machine-woven. Metallic thread woven through it.
Sun Tzu took it immediately. "More evidence of the advisor."
Leonidas frowned. "If this foreigner is with Rathmore, what does he want?
Liam felt a sinking heaviness in his stomach. "We're going to find out soon."
As dusk fell, the ground trembled again—heavier this time. The distant torches were closer now, visible through the thinning trees.
A drumbeat echoed.
Slow.
Rhythmic.
Unmistakable.
Rathmore's army was nearly upon them.
Leonidas drew his spear.
Sun Tzu exhaled steadily.
Orin tightened her grip on her shield.
Lira stood beside Liam, trembling but unyielding.
Vlad smiled at the horizon.
Liam opened the Ledger automatically.
[NEXT SUMMON: 28 DAYS]
"Completely useless," he muttered.
He closed it with a shaking breath.
"Tomorrow," Sun Tzu said quietly, "the sky will burn.
Leonidas slammed his shield against the wall. "Let them try."
And Ridgebrook braced for the final storm.