Throne of the North.

Chapter 704 The Twilight War (Part 1)

War does not favor the weak, nor does it pity the defeated.

For the soldiers and slaves of Twilight Keep, there was only one way to survive: to complete their work.

The noble lords raised their demands even higher, requiring them to repair the ruins and breaches of Twilight Keep within a week, which resulted in all the slaves getting only about three hours of sleep each night.

When the night is darkest, even firelight cannot illuminate it. This is not due to the benevolence of the noble lord, but because it is truly impossible to see.

However, the slaves were also full of enthusiasm because the nobleman said that as long as they could complete the task within the specified time, they could be freed from their slave status and receive a reward of one gold coin and five silver coins.

This wealth was enough for them to return to their hometown and endure the hardships of their first year as ordinary people. By the second day, they could begin to accumulate more wealth and achieve a better life.

The slaves, filled with such anticipation, became even more motivated. There was only one week left; in seven days, they would have a brighter future.

His eyes held a light, but that light grew dimmer day by day. The hundreds of thousands of slaves were exhausted. Working day and night on Twilight Keep, they endured not only physical harm, but also the mental shock of seeing orcs charging into Twilight Keep and slaughtering everyone at close range.

On the first day of the seven-day period, 30,000 slaves died under the fangs and claws of the orcs. That night, more than 5,000 slaves fell to their deaths after losing their footing. Twilight Keep was no flat place.

The slaves didn't know exactly how many people had died, but what they saw before them was a vast number of corpses piled up, their ashes scattered in the sky, shrouded in gloom, like the sinister laughter of demons.

"One gold coin per day!"

The nobleman spoke again: seven gold coins in seven days would be enough for them to return home and purchase better tools and acquire better means of survival.

The slaves' eyes still shone with hope as they toiled day after day.

However, compared to others, they had it much easier.

The pressure on the Imperial army began to reach its most terrifying point. His Highness the Elector forcefully demanded that they attack again and again, without any distinction between day and night. After each attack, the surviving soldiers would retreat to rest, and another group of soldiers would take their place to continue the attack. This cycle repeated itself continuously. The reason why Twilight Fortress remained firmly in the hands of the Empire was because of the Imperial army's fearless and relentless charges.

They too had felt fear. On the very first day, the orc army—those ferocious Northern Tiger orcs, stronger than knights themselves—rushed into the ruins of Twilight Keep. The Imperial army was almost powerless to stop them; even the extraordinary legions suffered heavy casualties. As the generals ordered a retreat, the Elector's orders arrived at the same time.

The prince demanded that the army hold off the orcs outside the fortress at all costs, or all of them would face trial by the Imperial military.

There was no other way, so the army started fighting desperately, losing countless lives, but finally managed to keep those damned orcs out.

As the ashes fell, the soldiers could barely open their eyes, panting heavily. Only when they saw the buckets of hot porridge being transported from the rear did their eyes gleam like hungry wolves rushing towards them.

The nobleman personally brought up the food, but upon seeing the soldiers' appearance, he couldn't help but feel terrified and dared not approach.

The soldiers were frantically swallowing their food; thankfully, it was wheat porridge, otherwise many would probably have died from overeating.

However... the difference wasn't that big anymore, and almost none of these soldiers survived the subsequent battles.

In just two or three days, the Empire's army launched repeated attacks, keeping the orcs outside the fortress. The high walls of Twilight Keep were visibly beginning to reappear.

They rival the height of mountain peaks; these majestic fortresses nestled among the mountains were built to defend against formidable enemies.

"The main body is finally complete."

Volvo also breathed a sigh of relief. He had been on edge the whole time; without a complete Twilight Fortress, he couldn't achieve his goal in the Twilight Province.

On the other side, Freud was also very surprised that Volvo had actually completed it. Next was the magician's work. In order to get Volvo back to the capital city as soon as possible, Grand Duke Rodrigo sent many noble members of the Grand Duke's family to come here in person to help improve the magic array of Twilight Fortress.

Moreover, three of the ten legendary imperial mages have arrived, and they will be casting the most terrifying forbidden demigod spells.

"You only have three days."

Volvo found all the magicians and asked them to complete the task within three days.

"The slaves will continue to clear the ruins of Twilight Keep. The magical wells of Twilight Keep are filled with magic that will not dry up for thousands of years, enough for you to squander."

"I want to see the magic array of Twilight Fortress become even more powerful than before in three days."

After speaking, Volvo ignored the magicians who were closer to Freud and turned to head towards Chrysus's location.

Beside Chrysus, Count Gardner was restless, for the war machines covered by huge burlap sacks around him could go off at any moment.

"A total of eight hundred magic crystal cannons and twenty thousand magic crystal shells are all here, Your Highness. These things can be ignited with a single touch. How did those dwarves manage to create such terrifying things?"

"And these World Crossbows are perfectly capable of dealing with the giant monsters among the orcs. The elves have recently begun to make frequent contact with humans, and they are no longer hostile to humans."

"But we still bought it through the channels of the Kingdom of Wansu."

The Kingdom of Wansu is the southernmost kingdom on the continent of Norris, located east of the Kingdom of Iron Eagle. To reach the Kingdom of Wansu, one must travel a thousand miles through the wilderness south of the border of the Kingdom of Coran.

This is one of the nine great kingdoms of the world... now one of the eight great kingdoms. However, it is very special. More than 80% of the population in the Kingdom of Wansu are not human, but alien races. The remaining 20% ​​are not native humans of the Norris continent, but lucky ones from the transdimensional world who came to the Norris continent through space travel.

They were fortunate enough to avoid becoming prisoners or slaves; they formed the initial outline of the Kingdom of Wansu, which was also the most bloated kingdom on the continent of Norris.

It is described as bloated because its internal structure is characterized by the autonomy of various races. For example, the Dwarf Kingdom is located in the southernmost corner of the peninsula of Norris, a place filled with volcanoes, but they have always been nominally affiliated with the Kingdom of Vansu.

"As long as it works."

Volvo's eyes flashed with a cold light as he continued:
“I will leave Floyd away for a few days. These few days will be the time for our final battle against the orcs in the north of Twilight Province.”

"What I want is a resounding victory that will ensure the orcs never have a chance to come back."

Floyd was waiting for Volvo, but one day, Count Davis, the Earl of Purple Mountain in the province of Purple Mountain, suddenly wrote to him, accusing Volvo of atrocities.

The letter describes how Elector Volvo relentlessly exploited the resources and population of Purple Mountain Province for the war in the North. The fertility of the land was extracted, the grain was forcibly taken away, and even their soldiers were transferred to Twilight Province, resulting in a terrible battle when Purple Mountain Province faced the Bearman army.

Count Davis angrily denounced Volvo's injustice, hoping that Freud could uphold justice for him, and also wishing to discuss with the elector which province of Zishan would support as the next emperor of the empire.

Freud was overjoyed; he'd gotten such a bargain! He immediately and quietly left Twilight Fortress.

He only needs two days to return, and then he can bring Volvo back to the capital, so that he won't continue to plague the nobles of this land in the North.

Meanwhile, at Twilight Fortress, Volvo began spending money once again. He approached those mages, most of whom were affiliated with Grand Duke Rodrigo, a small number of whom were mages from the Imperial Magic Academy, and the last few were magical patrons of the nobles.

Volvo has only one goal: to spend money and buy up all the inventory held by these magicians.

He now possesses abundant wealth, which he uses to purchase these magicians in the name of war.

"This is for the war in the North."

"The evil orcs must not be allowed to breach the Empire's defenses."

Volvo's efforts went smoothly. The magicians were short of money for magical meditation training, and Volvo was generous enough that in just half a day, thousands of magic scrolls were collected.

Volvo has found its own magicians.

"Wait for my command to release them."

Volvo's words caused the magicians to gasp and stare at the elector in shock and unease.

"Your Highness...all, everything?"

"Yes, all of them. I don't want to leave behind a single magic scroll."

"They should be used in this war."

The magicians were silent, speechless, shocked, and excited.

Above Twilight Fortress, Harald watched as the massive magic array imprinted in the void, blocking all the extraordinary abilities of the Northern Orcs, couldn't help but relax.

However, this relaxation did not last long.

"Commander Harald, by the Elector's command, we will launch a decisive attack on the orcs in the North at dawn tomorrow."

The nobleman approached Harald and relayed Volvo's orders, causing the legendary 'Lionheart' to turn around abruptly, the enraged lion staring intently into the nobleman's eyes.

“Harald… Commander, this is the Elector’s order.”

"What exactly is Volvo trying to do? A final battle? We have no chance of attacking the orcs. I acknowledge his contribution to the reconstruction of Twilight Keep, but attacking the orcs makes no sense."

"His Highness the Elector will provide all soldiers with suitable opportunities. Commander Harald, all you need to do now is let the soldiers rest well and prepare for the attack at dawn tomorrow."

"All the troops in Twilight Keep, including those stationed in Twilight Province, will launch an attack on the orcs in the North."

"Our only goal this time is to kill all the orcs and prevent them from ever attacking Twilight Keep again."

"The battle can stop today. The magic arrays will take care of the entire defense. They cannot possibly break through Twilight Fortress again."

Along with the nobles came a large amount of meat. Volvo spared no expense in the logistics of this war, ensuring that the soldiers were well-fed and watered. They even added precious magic potions to the porridge to allow the soldiers to fully rest and maintain their best physical and mental condition.

On this day, the soldiers had only one task: to rest.

"The Empire has given you life, and His Highness the Elector has fed you food worth tens of millions of gold coins. Tomorrow, a new war will begin, and any soldier who earns merit in the war will be rewarded by His Highness the Elector!"

The soldiers howled in exhaustion before falling into a deep sleep, while the magical array outside remained constantly active, ensuring the orcs had no chance.

Today, only slaves suffer hardship and exhaustion.

It was clear to the naked eye that the slaves' eyes no longer held the hope and expectation of the first day; their numb eyes were filled with despair.

Too many people have died.

If on the first day they looked forward to the new day and hoped to become free citizens with wealth a week later, now they just want to survive.

Twilight Province had 200,000 slaves who were responsible for the war at Twilight Fortress, 80% of whom were sent to Twilight Fortress during this period to carry out fortress repair work.

These hundreds of thousands of slaves densely filled every corner of Twilight Fortress.

But in just one week, of the hundreds of thousands of slaves, only a few died, and the number of other slaves they could see was extremely small.

They didn't know exactly how many people had died, but the ashes from the crematorium lingered in the sky, forming a persistent gloom. Even so, the bodies couldn't be completely burned. The surviving slaves were responsible for moving the corpses, and they had long since despaired at the sight of the dead slaves.

The cult of the Abyss God permeates Twilight Keep, but fortunately, there are still many mages in Twilight Keep who seek the truth.

"Damn it, what are you doing?!"

In the sky, a mage, enraged, hurled a fireball downwards, setting seven or eight slaves ablaze and sending them howling in agony.

The magician landed angrily, looking at the circle of slaves around him who were terrified and in awe of him.

"Who gave you permission... to eat dead humans?"

The faith in the evil god was burned to death by the flames of magic, and the remaining slaves, in despair and numbness, continued to move corpses and stones.

They sent the bodies into the crematorium, which burned eternally at a scorching temperature, fueled by magic.

They also hurled huge stones from above Twilight Keep down to the foot of Twilight Keep's north side.

These megaliths came from the ruins of the former fortress, and some were broken off from the mountain. The slaves didn't know why they threw the stones down; all they could see was that, as they moved them little by little, these huge stones formed a series of steps on the north side of Twilight Fortress, and by jumping down the steps, one could leap down from the majestic fortress.

They are building a road, a very wide road that can accommodate many people coming down from the fortress.

Exhausted after a day and a night, countless slaves fell off the fortress walls and were swallowed up by the gaps between the huge stones.

Until the next day, when the sunlight pierced through the haze of ashes in the sky, they finally saw a glimmer of hope.

(End of this chapter)