Translator: AnubisTL
When the first rays of dawn struggled to tear through the veil of night and fell upon Golden Harbor, the scene that greeted the eye was hellish.
The stench of gunpowder, blood, and burning wood mingled into a thick, toxic fog that enveloped the entire city.
The usual bustling noise had vanished, replaced by occasional distant screams of agony, the moans of the dying, and the crackling roar of flames devouring timber.
The streets, once bustling with prosperity, were now utterly devastated.
The facades of opulent shops had been violently ripped apart, their precious goods looted clean, leaving only shattered pottery and overturned shelves.
The muddy ground was littered with scattered weapons, blood-stained clothing, and gruesome remains of limbs.
Several abandoned war pigs lay dead in the center of the road, their scorched hides emitting a foul stench.
Occasionally, survivors crawled from the ruins, their eyes vacant and faces deathly pale. They wandered the streets like zombies, aimlessly searching for loved ones or valuables.
Jieming stood beneath the portico of Dawnlight Manor, the breeze ruffling his meticulously maintained robes.
After a night of slaughter, not even his breathing had faltered, his person remained utterly unstained.
In front of the villa, hundreds of orc and human soldier corpses were neatly piled into small mounds. Their dried blood, dark brown in the morning light, seemed to radiate a chilling aura of death, yet also silently declared the area's peace.
Jieming nodded in satisfaction as he looked at the three orc generals bound like zongzi beside him, still struggling fiercely. "Excellent, excellent. I didn't expect such a surprise. It was worth all the trouble I went through."
To ensure maximum stealth and success, the orcs had sent only a small number of warriors this time, but each was an elite. The three leading generals were all second-tier beings.
Golden Harbor had five resident "legendaries," but the strength of legendaries varied greatly. These three orc generals were all at the mid-second-tier of power, capable of taking on two of Golden Harbor's low-second-tier "rookie" legendaries at once.
"Who... are you?! What's your goal?!"
Intermittent orc speech came from below. Looking down, Jieming saw one of the orc generals had torn his cheek open and was forcing the words out from the side of his mouth.
The orc general's heart pounded with terror. He couldn't fathom this person's motives.
If he were the city's hidden guardian, their invasion yesterday shouldn't have gone so smoothly. They had even watched helplessly as the three of them cornered and killed five legendary figures of Golden Harbor.
But if he had no connection to the city, why intervene at the last moment?
And this power... how terrifying!
The orc general prided himself on his caution. Though his strength was considered peak mortal, he had immediately sought help from his comrades when he sensed something was amiss yesterday.
With their combined might and the shaman's blessings before the battle, they could have even traded a few blows with an angel.
Yet against this foe, they were utterly helpless. Though the man's life essence didn't seem to have surpassed the "legendary" threshold, why...
Suddenly, the orc general realized something. His pupils constricted sharply. Overcome with emotion, his torn cheek could only emit a garbled sound:
"W... wizard... you're a wizard..."
"Oh? Such remarkable vitality. Though I've known it for ages, it never fails to amaze me. You guessed correctly, but alas, no one will hear."
Jieming looked down at the orc generals and couldn't help but admire them. Then, with a kick, he sent each of the three orc generals flying into the manor.
Jieming's motive was simple: to prolong the stalemate between orcs and humans, draining both sides' strength while intensifying their hatred.
Capturing a few specimens for experimentation was merely a convenient side effect.
Of course, he had no intention of explaining this to his specimens.
After all, the manor was equipped with a sixth-tier shielding array he had purchased. Given the peculiar nature of the wizard system, even a Supreme God, through either deliberate calculation or accidental oversight, would be unable to detect the anomalies within the manor.
The only ones who truly understood the full strength of the orc raid were the orc leadership and the five fallen human legends.
If both sides wanted to figure out what had happened, they'd have to keep fighting.
In the distance, the castles and manors of the noble district were either wreathed in thick smoke or teetered precariously in the faint glow of fires.
But most seemed merely startled, not completely overrun.
As Jieming calmly cleaned the bloodstains around the villa, several cautious figures emerged from the alleys of the noble district.
They were among the most prominent nobles of Golden Harbor, their sleepwear disheveled, expensive furs draped over their shoulders, their faces etched with the terror and exhaustion of having narrowly escaped death.
Their soldiers marched ahead, weapons raised, advancing with the caution of a battlefield.
Last night, they had been on the brink of annihilation. Yet, as if receiving some signal, the orcs had gradually withdrawn from their position.
This had eased the pressure enough for them to hold out until dawn.
"Look! Baron Garcia's villa!" A trembling butler pointed in Jieming's direction. "There... there's no fire!"
As they cautiously approached Dawnlight Manor, everyone involuntarily halted, drawing a collective gasp.
What greeted them was not the scene of a plundered ruin, but a mountain of corpses. And beside them, standing silent as a statue, was the young figure of "Jack."
"This... this is impossible!" a white-haired earl whispered, his legs threatening to buckle.
Last night, they had cowered in their airtight cellar, listening to the earth-shaking roars of battle and screams from outside, convinced that the end of their families had come.
They knew the ferocity of the orc vanguard, the collapse of Golden Harbor's defenses, and the overwhelming strength of the invaders.
Yet the reality before them told them that this young man had single-handedly repelled such a vast number of invaders!
"Lord Jack!" The first to react was the greasy, corpulent baron.
Forgetting all noble dignity, he rushed forward, his knees buckling as he crashed to the ground with a heavy thud. His massive body trembled uncontrollably:
"Thank you for your mercy! Thank you for your... unparalleled valor! If not for your intervention, we would all have perished in the flames!"
The other nobles quickly followed suit, prostrating themselves in various ways—kneeling, bowing, or bending low in abject humility.
The previous night's ordeal had instilled genuine terror in these nobles.
For the first time, they truly understood the meaning of "power."
"My lord, you are the guardian spirit of Golden Harbor! My family pledges eternal service to you!"
"By the heavens! Your strength rivals that of a war god descending to the mortal realm!"
Flattering words flowed like water from their lips. These once-lofty nobles now clustered around Jieming like a group of groveling servants, desperate to curry his favor.
They didn't even dare meet Jieming's gaze, fearing they might anger this man who, in their minds, had already become a "devil" of a warrior.
Jieming simply watched them calmly, his expression unreadable.
"There's no need for formalities. Everyone should hurry and prepare," Jieming said coldly. His voice was not loud, but it instantly silenced the nobles' fawning, replacing it with awe.
The fleeting joy and gratitude quickly faded, replaced by greater fear and despair.
These nobles were not fools.
They soon snapped out of the "temporary safety" Jieming had provided, realizing the deeper crisis at hand.
"Everyone, though we are temporarily safe... this is only temporary," the pale-faced, trembling earl broke the silence. "Last night's attack was not the full might of the orcs! It was merely the vanguard, a signal that they have torn up the peace treaty!"
"Exactly!" another viscount trembled in agreement. "The orcs launched a surprise attack under the cover of night! Golden Harbor's defenses were utterly inadequate! We've lost the city guard and the command center... this city is lost!"
Panic spread rapidly among the nobles, their eyes exchanging desperate glances.
"We have to leave here!"
"To the capital! Only the capital can withstand the orc horde!"
"But... but even on the fastest horses, it's at least seven days to the capital! The wilderness along the way is infested with magical beasts, and since the orcs have already torn up the treaty, they've likely set up ambushes along the route to the capital!"
"Our private soldiers..." The baron glanced at his trembling guards, his face etched with despair. "They couldn't even withstand last night's attack; how can they possibly escort us across the battlefield?"
The entire noble group descended into unprecedented chaos and anxiety.
Watching their wealth and lives teeter on the brink, this sense of powerlessness brought them to the verge of collapse.
"Quick! Pack your things! Take everything you can carry! The sooner the better!"
"More carriages! Prepare as many as you can!"
"Gems! Stuff them into the boxes! Forget the cumbersome gold and silver!"
In an instant, the nobles' entourages outside Dawnlight Manor scattered like a disturbed beehive, rushing home to busy themselves.
They ordered their servants to stuff the most valuable jewels, rare magical materials, ancient books and scrolls, and even art pieces symbolizing their families' status into sturdy chests, then load them onto their opulent carriages.
The servants' faces were panicked, their hands caked with dust.
The meticulous noble etiquette of the past had vanished. Silken gowns were stained with mud, expensive furs were hastily bundled, and meticulously styled hair had become disheveled.
The air filled with anxious shouts, the clatter of colliding objects, and the nervous whinnies of horses.
Jieming watched it all, a faint curve playing at the corners of his lips.
He knew these nobles would soon come to him again, of their own accord.
(End of the Chapter)
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