The countdown for the Void Tide hung in the sky like a bleeding wound.
[Time Remaining: 42 Hours, 14 Minutes]
Aethelgard was a hive of frantic activity. Kaelen had organized the thirty new tenants into "Resource Teams." They weren't just farmers anymore; they were scavengers, stripping the broken parts of Marcus's harpoons and the Iron-Oak bark into raw materials.
Ren stood in the center of the Alchemic Workshop, the heat from the furnace turning the air into a shimmering haze. Beside him, Elara was weaving threads of pure mana into a series of delicate, gear-shaped runes.
"The resonance is holding," Elara whispered, her face pale from the effort. "But Ren, these 'Bronze Legionnaires'... they require a soul-spark. Without a sentient core, they'll just be mindless dolls. They won't survive the Tide."
Ren looked at the five massive, hollow suits of bronze armor standing in the shadows of the workshop. They were masterpieces of clockwork engineering—thick-plated, wielding steam-pressured halberds, and standing seven feet tall.
"I'm not giving them souls, Elara," Ren said, picking up a glowing blue shard of Aether-Dust. "I'm giving them a Lease on Life."
He stepped toward the first Legionnaire. He pressed the Aether-Dust into the chest cavity, right where a human heart would be.
[Skill Activated: Sovereign's Endowment.]
[Target: Bronze Legionnaire - Unit 01.]
[Effect: Granting 'Temporary Sentience' based on the Landlord's Level.]
The gears inside the bronze giant began to grind. A low, rhythmic thump-thump echoed through the workshop. The Legionnaire's visor flickered with a cold, amber light. It stepped off its pedestal, the stone floor cracking under its three-hundred-pound weight.
It didn't kneel. It didn't speak. It simply slammed its halberd against the floor in a salute that shook the walls.
[Unit Created: Bronze Legionnaire (Mark I).]
[Rank: Silver (Elite).]
[Trait: Unwavering Tenant (100% Loyalty, 0% Fear).]
"Five of these," Ren muttered, checking his mana. "It's all I can support for now. But they aren't enough to cover the entire perimeter."
"Then we use the terrain," Elara said, spreading a map of Aethelgard across the workbench. "The Void Tide always strikes from the 'Lee Side' of the island's drift. If we tilt the island using the Great Anchor, we can funnel the monsters into the Silver Grove."
Ren nodded. "The 'Kill Zone.' We trap them between the trees and the cliffside. Your Lunar Marks will soften them, and the Legionnaires will act as the anvil."
Suddenly, the workshop doors burst open. Kaelen ran in, his face smeared with soot. "Boss! The Regional Chat... it's going dark! The 'Void Tide' started early for the outer rings! And... there's someone at the West Dock. A single boat. No Lord Core. Just a woman."
Ren and Elara exchanged a look. A survivor without a Core in the Ninth Heaven was a ghost—or something much worse.
They reached the West Dock just as a small, sleek skiff made of bone-white wood drifted into the harbor. A woman stepped out. She wore tattered black robes, and her eyes were covered by a blindfold made of shifting shadows. In her hand, she carried a cracked bell.
[Notice: Unknown Entity Detected.]
[Name: Seraphina (The Blind Seer).]
[Status: Level ?? / Neutral.]
"I am looking for the man who blinks ships into the storm," she said, her voice echoing with an unnatural resonance.
Ren stepped forward, his hand resting on the hilt of his dagger. "You've found him. I'm Ren Solari. This is private property. Do you have a lease, or are you trespassing?"
Seraphina tilted her head. "I have no soul stones for rent, Landlord. But I have a prophecy. The Void Tide isn't just a wave of monsters this time. There is a Void Herald leading it. He is looking for the 'Ex-Rank' soul that disturbed the equilibrium."
Elara gasped. "A Herald? Those are Level 30 entities! We're only Tier 2!"
Ren looked at the countdown.
[Time Remaining: 40 Hours, 10 Minutes]
"A prophecy isn't worth much in a siege," Ren said, his voice cold and steady. "But if you can predict where the Herald will strike, I'll give you a room. And Elara?"
"Yes, Ren?"
"Upgrade the Sovereign's Throne. If a Level 30 Herald wants my soul, he's going to have to pay the 'Death Tax' first."
Ren turned back to the workshop. He didn't just need five Legionnaires anymore. He needed a miracle of engineering. He needed the Aethelgard Defense Array.