Chapter 266: Complete Chaos

Looking at the people around him and feeling the oppressive atmosphere, Rod sighed. The gloomy mood made him feel uneasy.
The fighting had temporarily ceased, but the city walls were now filled with shrill screams and groans. The low cries of wounded soldiers were especially piercing. The logistics team was the busiest, shuttling back and forth wherever there were casualties. Watching these wounded soldiers being helped or carried away from the walls, Rod felt an overwhelming sense of gloom.
What would come after this brief calm? Probably an even fiercer storm. The vampires and werewolves had made their first appearance not only failing to achieve their goals but also retreating in disarray. Could they simply accept that? Clearly not. Perhaps a more severe retaliation was imminent. Would they be able to withstand it then?
Ahead, Emio, Nagran, and Moro were busy setting up a new defense system to prepare for another possible battle at any moment. They couldn’t afford to relax.
Beside him, after the wounded were taken away, the logistics team began cleaning up the chaotic city walls, while the troops behind them quickly filled in the gaps left by those who had been lost.
“Leader, shall we go back and rest too?” came the voice of Curly asking.
Turning his head, he saw that everyone was staring at him. Not only the remaining members of his camp but also all the reinforcements on the western defense walls were looking at him, seemingly waiting for his opinion.
After several days of fighting, Rod’s Death Scythe Squad had proven their strength and earned everyone’s recognition. Their combat skills were admired by all, and Rod’s personal abilities and strength commanded respect. He had saved the situation, slain the first vampire, and boosted morale—always present in the most dangerous places! Like a phantom, he led his team to resolve crises time and again. Although he was only a Royal-level warrior, there were countless Royal-level fighters among the reinforcements—eight hundred at least, hundreds at the Saint level, three at the Divine level, and no less than ten at the Quasi-Divine level! In such a lineup, a Royal-level warrior shouldn’t stand out, but he shone brightly, earning unanimous admiration and respect. Now, subtly, everyone began to see him as the backbone, the person with decisive authority.

“Go back and rest! Leave this to the other reinforcements; a major battle awaits us tonight!” With a sigh, Rod looked at everyone around him, taking in their disheveled and exhausted states, before speaking in a deep voice. What else could they do without rest? The fighting had temporarily ceased, and the troops were rotating; it was pointless for them to stay here. It was better to go back and regain their strength to face the impending storm.

Hearing Rod’s words, those people began to slowly head toward the city. Glancing back at the blood-red city walls and the ruined city, they felt uneasy.

“Aren’t you going?” Rod asked curiously as he prepared to leave, seeing Nightingale standing still, gazing at the Collins Forest in the distance, seemingly unwilling to leave. At the same time, he signaled Skora to lead his troops away first.

He didn’t know when it started, but he had begun to pay special attention to this little girl—a woman around 25 years old, a cold-blooded assassin, yet also a passionate and sensitive one; a girl who seemed shrewd but was actually quite foolish; a woman who had once given him the impression of being unrestrained, and now one who seemed loyal and devoted. Rod really didn’t know how to evaluate her. Unconsciously, he had already placed her in his heart. He even started to worry and care about her!

“When do you think those vampires and werewolves will attack again? Will the demons come too?” Nightingale turned to Rod and asked with a sad smile.

“I don’t know!” Rod hesitated before giving the most direct answer.

“Be careful; it’s very dangerous here! Alright, let’s go. We should return!” Suddenly, with a puzzling smile, Nightingale said softly. As soon as she finished speaking, she rushed past Rod like a gust of wind and headed down toward the city.

Rod was left standing there in shock. His heart sank as he turned back—Nightingale was already far away. Frowning deeply, he realized that her words had changed his expression drastically. Nightingale’s words always gave him the feeling that there was more to them, as if she was trying to reveal some information to him. Could it be? Especially with that look, expression, and tone in her voice, it gave Rod a very uneasy feeling.

“Could it be…” Suddenly, his eyes widened, and his whole body tensed up as Ron thought of the worst possible outcome! Could it be that she had truly discovered his identity? Otherwise, why would she say such nonsensical things? Perhaps she had known his identity from the start—otherwise, why would her gaze look different when she looked at him? Why did everything she said always confuse him?

That time, she said she had something to tell him, but still hadn’t done so yet. Could it be… Right, yesterday, his aura accidentally leaked out through his sword. Others might not have noticed right away, but Nightingale was different. He had fought against her three times, and it could be said that she understood him far better than anyone else. It was very likely that she had confirmed his identity last night.

But then why would she still say such things to him, seemingly with no intention of revealing his identity? One doubt after another popped into Rod’s mind, causing him to frown and stand there lost in thought.

“Brado, you’re still here? Good, come over for a moment. I have something to discuss with you!” A familiar voice pulled Rod back to reality.

Looking up, he saw Emio and Nagran standing beside him, having arrived somehow unnoticed.

He smiled bitterly inwardly—he had been careless again. In this state, he had died countless times on the battlefield. To be approached so closely without even realizing it showed just how distracted he was.

“Hmm, what is it?” Rod asked doubtfully after a bitter smile.

“Come, let’s go to our camp. It seems these beasts don’t plan to attack for now. Moro and Masi can handle things here! They can hold out during the day!” Emio placed a hand on Rod’s shoulder and stood beside him in a familiar manner before sighing. After over ten days of continuous battles, as the commander of the Black Tooth Legion and the main strategist for this defense, the pressure he endured was beyond imagination.

Dark circles hung like sunglasses around his face, his eyes bloodshot, and he looked utterly exhausted. His haggard appearance was heart-wrenching. In just a few days, he had lost a significant amount of weight. The mental strain was unimaginable.

“Okay!” He nodded. Though puzzled, Rod didn’t rush to ask questions and followed Emio and Nagran to their camp.

Crossing the already built defensive river and watching those pouring water into it, Rod finally breathed a sigh of relief. The two followers followed the long path and finally arrived at the vast headquarters camp of the Black Tooth Legion. There were only the three of them in the camp; they sat casually on chairs while Rod quietly waited for them to speak. “So far, out of 30,000 reinforcements, over 10,000 have been lost. Of our 300,000-strong Black Tooth Legion, less than 220,000 remain! Last night’s battle—just that one battle—cost us over 20,000 men!” A sigh came as a series of figures were spoken by Emio while Rod waited. With his mouth agape, Rod didn’t know what to say upon hearing these numbers. In just over ten days, nearly 100,000 people had been lost, an average of almost 10,000 per day. What kind of concept was that? So many corpses could form a massive mountain every day! Almost someone died every second! Over 20,000 in just one night—what terrifying figures! It seemed the surge caused by the appearance of vampires and werewolves was indeed formidable. “If this continues, we won’t be able to hold on much longer! With the appearance of vampires and werewolves, it must be the demons behind this. The fifteen clans have united again, and the demons have launched another attack! The beast horde is also driven and controlled by them. This time, we are doomed! With our current strength, if the demon army appears, our fate is certain failure!” Nagran added with a sigh. “I’m grateful for what you did last night. If not for you… well, you’re a natural leader! It’s obvious! Under these circumstances, it’s hard for us to hold on much longer. The next wave of reinforcements will take some time to arrive. I sent people out for help last night. It will take about half a month. We must hold on through those last half months! What are your thoughts?” Looking at Rod, Emio took a deep breath and spoke softly. The scene from last night came back to his mind. At that critical moment, Brado’s words had played a decisive role. Looking at Brado before him, with a composure and courage far beyond his age, Emio once again marveled that it was a shame such a talent wasn’t serving in the empire. Emio could tell that Brado was no ordinary person; one day, he would surely soar high into the heavens!

“You flatter me. It’s just the truth. The situation is extremely urgent. I think it’s time for us to retreat to the second line of defense. The first line is no longer sufficient to hold us, and it will only increase our losses. Retreating to the second line not only gives us a temporary respite but also strengthens our defenses to counter the enemy’s attacks!”
With an awkward smile, did he really have the ability? It was purely luck—Rod knew that best! But when it came to defense, he did express his true thoughts: the first defensive wall was no longer effective, and the second line might be the best choice.