Starlight Calendar, Year 1250.
Early in the winter July month.
Not long after the New Year's celebrations ended, tension once again swept across the territories like an invisible storm. Shining City, under the contrived accusation that Blackstone City had conspired with the Starfire Church, issued an outrageous demand: Rune Anest, Lord of Blackstone City, was to travel alone to Shining City, confess his supposed crimes, and accept punishment.
Rune refused without hesitation.
In response, Shining City shed its final pretense and brazenly marched its forces toward Blackstone City.
Clang! Clang!
The metallic grinding of armor plates echoed through the cold night air as Rune ascended the stone steps of the city wall. He accepted a brass telescope from Brede, its metal chilled from the wind, and brought it to his eyes.
What he saw made the night feel even darker.
Beyond the walls, the plains were dotted with countless flickering flames—thousands of campfires burning like an ocean of restless stars. Around each fire, blurry silhouettes moved, gathered, shouted, sharpened steel, and prepared for war. Tents sprawled across the plain, dense as an anthill and stretching impossibly far into the distance.
Brede exhaled quietly.
"Owen really went all out this time. He's deployed not only his own troops, but also the forces of the three traitors—Devon, Zorlf, and Norwood. And that's not all. He's even hired over a thousand mercenaries."
Rune lowered the telescope, though a faint crease formed between his brows.
Owen's faction alone already neared four thousand soldiers. Add the mercenaries, and it surpassed five thousand—almost four times the strength of Blackstone City.
This would not be an easy war.
"Mercenaries aren't worth worrying about," Rune said, his voice outwardly calm. "They're undisciplined—useful in open-field battles, perhaps, but in a siege? They're nothing but baggage."
Despite his tone, Rune couldn't completely mask the weight he felt pressing on his chest. He had long anticipated that after the failed assassination attempt, Owen would eventually abandon all pretense and attack openly. Yet, seeing the overwhelming numbers arrayed outside the walls with his own eyes… the sense of pressure was far heavier than he expected.
Blackstone City had expanded its army over the past two years, but even so, all they had was roughly thirteen hundred soldiers.
Three hundred were untested militiamen who had undergone only basic training. Whether they could remain steady under real bloodshed was questionable.
The remaining thousand consisted of eight hundred trained City Guards—solid, dependable—and the last two hundred belonged to the Black Rock Cavalry Regiment.
Those two hundred were Rune's trump card.
Rune sighed inwardly.
If only I had another year… or even just half of one. The Black Rock Cavalry could have already been transformed into a true knight-level regiment. With just two or three hundred full Knight-level riders, flattening the entire Shanguang Territory would be trivial.
Training a single Black Rock Cavalry rider required nearly fifty gold coins. Even with the massive profits from the Black Stone Mining Area, expanding the regiment was slow and costly. Two years of effort had only produced the current force of two hundred.
Rune turned to Jorton and asked, "Has everyone from the mining area been withdrawn?"
Jorton nodded. "All have retreated safely. According to scouts, the enemy has already taken control of it."
Rune's expression darkened slightly.
The mining area was not only their economic backbone—it was one of Blackstone City's greatest advantages. Allowing the enemy to benefit from it was intolerable.
He stared at the campfires again, thoughts turning rapidly.
Defending the city was clearly to their advantage. Owen's elite cavalry was deadly on open plains, but in a siege, their strength would be significantly reduced. Horses were nearly useless atop city walls, while the Black Rock Leopards—those fearless puppet war-beasts ridden by the Black Rock Cavalry—could fight just as effectively in confined environments as in the open.
In fact, those constructs often performed even better under the constraints of siege warfare.
But Rune knew defense alone couldn't win the war. Supplies would eventually run thin. And if the mining area remained occupied for too long, it would become a golden bowl feeding the enemy.
A long siege meant slow death.
The solution was clear: defend for a time, wear down the enemy, then strike hard.
When Owen's army grew complacent, Rune would unleash the Black Rock Cavalry Regiment like a thunderclap—straight into the heart of the enemy camp.
If they could strike down the command center, the entire rebel army would crumble.
Owen and the traitors had no idea what the Black Rock Cavalry truly was capable of. The unit had been kept strictly secret since its founding. This ignorance was Rune's greatest advantage.
Having made up his mind, Rune turned to the generals gathered behind him.
"The enemy comes at us with great momentum," Rune declared, voice steady as stone, "but we are not helpless. For the past two years, we have poured our strength into preparing for this day. Let those rebels witness the power of Blackstone City."
The generals roared in agreement.
"That's right!"
"Let them see our might!"
"I've been waiting long enough!"
Brede and Jorton exchanged proud smiles. Outsiders saw only a small city with limited land and limited troops. They had no idea how drastically Blackstone City had changed in the past two years.
The city now had more than one hundred sixty Knights. Many viscount territories could not boast even half that number.
And then there were the two hundred Black Rock Leopards—each with Knight-level combat power, fearless and unrelenting.
In total, Blackstone City possessed over three hundred Knight-level fighting units.
If their base military strength weren't so limited—if they had even one additional elite regiment besides the Black Rock Cavalry—Owen would never dare challenge them so boldly.
This unprecedented growth was all thanks to Magus.
"I wonder where Magus is now…" Jorton murmured, patting the sword at his waist with a grin. "If Magus were here, we wouldn't need to defend the city at all. We could charge straight out and crush those bastards."
The Knights around him nodded enthusiastically.
Anyone else—even a peak Great Knight—would never be believed capable of turning the tide of a war involving thousands.
But Magus was different.
They had witnessed a Wizard's methods firsthand. The memory was carved deep into their minds. Because of that, their faith was absolute. If there was anyone capable of overturning the impossible, it was him.
Rune remained on the city wall only a moment longer before turning away. Thousands of tasks awaited him—defense preparations, equipment distribution, troop formation adjustments, supply management. Every minute counted.
The next morning.
At dawn, a deep, drawn-out horn blast rose from the enemy camp, echoing through the cold air like the cry of a giant beast awakening.
Rune and his generals immediately climbed the city wall.
Outside, the rebel army was already moving. Thousands of soldiers shuffled into formation with surprising coordination. Moments later, massive siege engines—battering rams, towers, catapults—were pushed forward, rolling slowly but steadily toward the walls of Blackstone City.
Rune's gaze hardened.
"So impatient."
He raised his arm sharply.
"Prepare for battle!"
"Yes, Lord!"
The generals rushed off, shouting orders.
Drummers began beating urgent rhythms.
Archers ran to their positions.
Shieldmen raised their heavy tower shields.
City Guards took their assigned places along the battlements.
Even the inexperienced militiamen hurried to their posts, faces pale but resolute.
The entire city moved as one.
A battle that would decide the fate of Blackstone City was about to begin.
End of Chapter 51.
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