Chapter 693: Gathering storm

With the setting sun came a sky of fire, the orange of every wintry hearth. It was the battle cry to the gathering night that the only achievement of darkness was to raise the chillness in the air. The heavy snow flow blanketed everything around Westborough. The whiteness stretched across as far as one could see. Atop the city walls, Yagnar waited for Maddox and his battalion to arrive. The eerie howling wind carried the sound of children crying in fear. Even the grown men under his command shivered, not due to the coldness but due to the fear. None of them had any real battle experience.

The soldiers formed a line atop the city wall, carrying a torch in their hands which provided them light and much-needed warmth.

"General," a dwarven woman whispered. Just like everyone else, she was in metal armor, armed to the teeth. She held a battle axe in one hand and the torch in the other.

"What were his majesty's orders?" asked the dwarven woman. The dwarves were capable of many things but keeping their mouths shut wasn't one of them. After reporting to Yagnar, Grimjaw, the dwarf who reported about Maddox's arrival, spread the news about Lawson village to the entire army. Those who knew Yagnar personally worried about him as Lawson village was his birthplace.

"He ordered me not to open the gates under any circumstances," Yagnar sighed. As much as he wanted to save Lawson village, his first duty was to King Baladur. He had sworn an oath to serve his majesty until he drew his last breath. To this moment, Yagnar served Baladur, obeying every single one of his orders, and Yagnar didn't think he could do otherwise now.

"So this is it huh?" the dwarven woman nervously chuckled.

"This is how the great nation of Zulon makes its last stand against Thusia,"

Although everyone knew how the battle would end, none of them dared to speak out loud. Their entire army consisted of thousands of men, and currently, four hundred troops were stationed in the city to defend the king. But General Maddox had six hundred troops with three Fusion stage cultivators. Most of their troops were at either the Body Strengthening stage or the Core Formation stage. On the contrary, the weakest of soldiers of Maddox was at the Core Formation stage. The power gap between the two armies was huge. Not to mention Maddox was a Fusion stage warrior who was several times stronger than Yagnar.

The only advantage Westborough had was the heavy snowfall and the defense arrays around the city. If they were lucky, they could outlast Maddox and his men and survive the siege. At Least Westborough had enough food to last a year. But Yagnar doubted Maddox didn't know about this.

"We will fight to our last breath, Sarrin," said Yagnar. Despite the fear and concern, Yagnar sounded brave. For the sake of his men, he had to be. Otherwise, they were as good as dead.

"Look," Sarrin pointed at the distant land where Yagnar vaguely saw several dots of light. They all heard the clumping sound in the air made by a pack of horses. Soon, the dots of lights grew brighter. Little by little, Yagnar saw the silhouettes of several figures.

"They are here," said Sarrin.

"Sound the horn," Yagnar ordered his men.

The next moment, his men sounded the horn. The sound echoed through the city, silencing everyone. The cries of children were cut short by the horn. Silence swept across the city. Even the howling wind seemed to have died down. Suddenly, a bright light appeared amidst the torches in the distance. The ball of light lit the place, shedding light on Maddox and his men.

Maddox was a giant of a man who sat atop a growling buffalo instead of a horse. He was easily a seven feet man with a large pot belly. Unlike Yagnar and his men, Maddox and his men wore animal fur and pelt as clothes. Maddox himself wore a wolf's head atop his head. Furthermore, Maddox made a chain out of his fallen foes' ears and wore it around his neck to terrify his enemies.

Rumor had that Maddox was a cannibal who lusted over human flesh. Judging by his look, Yagnar couldn't help thinking the rumor had some truth to it.

The ball of light slowly grew brighter. To Yagnar's shock, he saw several villages nailed to wooden poles and carried by fellow villagers. Men and women bled on the wooden pole. They were all naked, with several scratches and cuts on their bodies. The soldiers of Maddox were animals. They ravaged the women in the village, pillaged their homes, and burned it to the ground. Many villagers wanted to kill themselves, but Maddox didn't even let the villagers take their own lives. Because for him, their lives had value. In the severe cold, the villagers shuddered. They all looked half-dead. Maddox didn't show a shred of mercy. He stripped the clothes of everyone, including the children.

Yagnar's blood boiled seeing the state of his fellow villagers.

"My dear Zulons," Maddox's words echoed through the air.

"You have a nice home. Aren't you going to welcome us? Your people," Maddox looked at the naked villagers in shackles.

"Are cold and need warmth. Otherwise, they might die," Maddox pretended to be sad for the villagers.

"Open the gates. Save your people," said Maddox. Seeing the state of the villagers, Yagnar was tempted to open the gates. Yet if he opened the gates, there was a possibility of Maddox slaughtering everyone in the city just to bring Zulon to its knees. People called Maddox 'The Mad' for a reason.

Maddox's cold gaze swept across the city gates. His gaze slowly turned toward a young man who was nailed to a wooden pole.

"Your people refuse to open the gates for you. Yet, they call me mad," Maddox slowly shook his head.

"Let me take care of your need for warmth,"

Yagnar saw Maddox reaching out for the young man sitting atop the buffalo. But suddenly, a stream of fire shot out of Maddox's hand toward the young man. A scream of agony echoed through the area. Everyone felt a chill crawling down their spines. The young man screamed and squirmed. The smell of burning flesh traveled in the cold air. His scream lasted for almost a minute until the young man turned into ashes.

"Open the gates!"

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One of the villagers screamed.

"Listen to your people. Avoid this needless bloodshed. We both know you cannot defeat us. Open your gates and swear your loyalty to His majesty Maxim Barnes,"

Maddox let his words sink into everyone's mind. The ashes of the young man were still smoking. His parents couldn't even cry out loud because of the cold.

"What are we going to do, General?" asked Sarrin. Everyone looked at Yagnar for his answer. But how could he order the men to open the gates? He learned about Maddox. The man had never honored his words. Yagnar knew the moment they opened the gates, Maddox and his men would flood the city and burn the city to the ground, just like they did in Northguard.

"So the responsibility of taking care of your people falls into my shoulder again,"

Once again, Maddox extended his arm toward a shivering old man. Without any clothes on, the old man was covered in a thin layer of ice. The light of life was slowly dimming in the old man's eyes. No words escaped the old man's mouth until the fire shot out from Maddox's palm and touched him. The old man screamed. But his scream lasted shorter than the young man's. The old man's charcoaled bones crumbled down.

"Open the gates!"

"Bastards, open the gates!"

Some of the villagers managed to scream as loud as they could. Their fear turned into fury.

"Another life is gone because of you," Maddox said. He was nonchalant. Their sufferings gave Maddox a sense of pleasure. Despite the screams of the villagers, Yagnar did not order the men to open the gates.

"Until you do, you will see me doing this every five minutes. But don't let my patience run out. At that time, I'd warm up your entire city,"

His words made Yagnar's heart skip a beat. The soldiers behind him clenched their fists. They desperately wanted to open the gates. This war was lost. If they had opened the gates now, at least they could save the city and the villagers.

"General. We have to open the gates. Please, give us the order!" some of the soldiers behind Yagnar shouted.

"It's not my order to give. His majesty has ordered us to hold the gates. Opening them is not an option!" Yagnar roared.

"Where is his majesty now?!" A soldier among them shouted. His question riled up the others. Fear overshadowed their loyalty. One by one, the soldiers began to question the orders given to them.

To their surprise, Maddox burned another villager alive. He didn't keep his word about burning one every five minutes. Not even two minutes had passed since he burned the old man when he decided to burn another one.

"This is bullshit!"

"Let's open the gates!"

"I won't let my family burn to death because of some stupid order!"

A group of soldiers containing dwarves and humans jumped down from the city gates. Chaos broke out among the soldiers.

"Anyone who touches the gate will be tried for treason!" Sarrin shouted.

"It's better than burning alive!" the rebels shouted. Although the other soldiers didn't step out of the line, they didn't stop the rebels either. Looking at the chaos on top of the city walls, Maddox and his men laughed. They licked their lips. Any oblivious man could tell these men don't have any kindness in their hearts.

"STOP THEM!"

Inside the city, Yagnar saw the rebels rushing toward the gates. He immediately ordered his men to stop them. But the soldiers seemed reluctant. Yagnar closed his eyes for a moment as a dark spear materialized in his hand. He prepared himself to stop the soldiers himself. He was about to leap down to the ground from the city wall when a thunderclap reverberated through the area. Streaks of lightning riddled the sky above them. They all looked above. The flashes of lightning revealed the swirling dark clouds in the sky.

"A storm?" Sarrin tilted her head with a doubtful look.

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