Chapter 59 : Chapter 59

Chapter 59. Defense Plan

The chill of night had not yet been fully dispelled by dawn, yet the council hall within the lord’s keep was already brightly lit.

Eli sat at the head of the table, his white hair gleaming beneath the candlelight.

“Everyone,” Eli said, his voice breaking the heavy silence.

“Last night, Steward Sebastian and I went deep into the core region of Nightsong Forest to investigate.”

He paused, and his gaze swept over the room like a tangible weight.

“The deathly silence Wolfgang encountered in the forest was no coincidence.

We saw it with our own eyes—the forest’s core is gathering countless wild beasts, including giant bears, Nightblade Panthers, wild boars, and even Thorn Earth Drakes.”

“A gathering of ten thousand beasts...” Old Hadi sucked in a sharp breath.

“Heavens... a beast disaster! It really is a beast disaster! A calamity that vanished so many years ago... how could it... how could it appear again?”

“Thorn Earth Drakes?!” The color instantly drained from Vick’s dark face.

“My lord! Then the... the scale of it...”

Captain Buck’s gaze was as sharp as a blade. “If a beast herd of that magnitude turns its attention toward human territory... the consequences will be unthinkable!”

The council hall erupted at once.

“A beast disaster! Merciful heavens!”

“Even Thorn Earth Drakes have appeared? I heard those things can smash down city walls!”

“It’s over, it’s over. Our wooden palisades...”

Even the ever-composed Scholar Alva had a slight tremor in the hand holding his quill.

Eli did not stop them at once. He simply listened in silence.

“Panic is useless! The threat of the beast tide is already upon us! I gathered you all here today for one reason only—survival.

Black Territory, Lucerne City, and even the lives and fortunes of every one of us depend upon this.

Now, I need your wisdom and your strength. How do we raise a line of defense that we can actually hold against this monstrous beast tide?”

His eyes burned as he swept his gaze across them all.

“Any idea, no matter how large or small, speak it freely so long as it is useful!”

A brief silence followed.

Captain Buck was the first to rise.

“My lord! Our highest priority is to delay and wear down the beast herd.”

He jabbed a finger heavily onto the crude map of Black Territory Valley spread across the table, pointing to the border where Nightsong Forest met the valley.

“If the beasts attack, they will pour out from here. We cannot fortify inside the forest.

But before they burst out of the woods and enter the open valley, we can lay extensive trap belts between the forest edge and the first prearranged wall line.”

“Pit traps! Fill the bottoms with sharpened wooden stakes or iron spikes. Chevaux-de-frise! Thick wooden stakes bristling outward with barbs to block their charge.

Tripwires! Hidden in the grass to topple charging beasts and throw them into chaos!

And beast traps as well! The larger the better, and the more the better! They’ll be especially useful against the legs of large predators!”

“These things require only common materials. Slaves and freefolk alike can make and set them quickly.

They may not wipe out the beast herd, but they will absolutely slow the assault, disrupt the formation, and make the first wave pay a terrible price.”

Eli’s eyes brightened at once.

Trap deployment. It was the most economical measure, the fastest to produce results, and the best way to make full use of terrain.

Especially during this deadly window, while the walls were still unfinished.

“Good!” Eli slapped the table and issued his order decisively.

“Captain Buck, we will proceed exactly as you suggest! You will take full charge of the planning and deployment of the trap zones. Leave the soldier training to Wolfgang and Clark for now.

Old John, give him your full cooperation. Timber, labor, whatever he needs—Captain Buck has priority.

I want to see a killing ground laid down in the shortest possible time, one that makes the beast herd struggle to take even a single step forward!”

“By your command, my lord!” Buck accepted the order in a deep voice. Old John nodded hard.”

No sooner had Buck sat down than Vick drew a deep breath and stood.

“My lord!” Vick began, his voice ringing through the hall.

“Captain Buck’s method is excellent for stopping the charge. In the South, when we deal with packs of jungle beasts—

especially when driving herds away from villages—the most common tool is fire!”

He gestured with both hands. “Beasts fear fire by nature! We can dig a broad trench in advance along the outer perimeter of our projected wall line.

Don’t fill it with water—fill it with fire oil! Or dry grass and dead branches soaked in grease!

Once the beast herd breaks through the trap zone and closes on the walls, we can ignite the trench with fire arrows.”

“A wall of flame! It will be enough to halt at least part of the herd.

And even if a few especially savage beasts force their way through the sea of fire, they will still be badly burned, making them far easier for the defenders to kill!

And the firelight itself will be a tremendous deterrent to the herd!”

“A fire-oil line...” Eli rapidly pictured the rising wall of flames in his mind.

This was indeed an effective supplementary measure against a mass of wild beasts, especially across open ground.

At this moment, Vick’s experience was proving priceless.

“Administrator Vick, your suggestion is most timely!” Eli nodded.

“As I recall, Lucerne City seized quite a large amount of fire oil among Baron Grum’s supplies.

Bol, contact Brandon immediately and have him transport half the stored fire oil to Black Territory.

At the same time, send an urgent purchase order to the Nors Merchant Guild in Thorne City. Buy as much as they can provide.

Vick, the digging and filling of the fire-oil trench, as well as the preparation of ignition materials, will be your responsibility.

Make sure it is completed as quickly as possible.”

“Yes, my lord! I will give it everything I have!” Vick replied, thumping his chest in salute.

Thus the two pillars of the defense plan—delaying traps and the fire-oil line—were provisionally established.

Eli then turned his attention to the heart of the entire defense.

“Old John!” Eli’s gaze locked tightly onto the old craftsman.

“The traps and the fire wall are two layers of protection, but in the end, it is the wall that we must rely on for the decisive battle! The soldiers need a wall they can stand and fight upon—

even if, for now, it is only half finished!”

He pointed to the location on the map where the foundation was currently being dug.

“I do not care what method you use! Add more hands! Work day and night in shifts! Suspend every nonessential project. Slaves, freefolk, craftsmen... every person capable of lifting a tool is to be put on wall construction. Make the main gate and the rough forms of the bastions on both sides the top priority. Even if all you can raise at first is a three-meter-high stone barrier.”

Old John sprang to his feet. “My lord! I’ll stake this old life on it! Five days! No— three days! This old man will raise you a wall fit to stand on. And if those beasts want to bite through it, they’ll have to shatter every tooth in their mouths first!”

“Good!” Eli nodded heavily. “The wall is in your hands! If anything obstructs you, come directly to me!”

With the core structure of the defense now established, the other officials also began speaking in turn, filling in the gaps.

Leon stated that the mines could spare some of their slaves to support wall construction, and that the ironworks could forge more large beast traps.

Clark volunteered to organize the able-bodied freefolk into an auxiliary defense corps responsible for transporting supplies and treating the wounded.

Scholar Alva proposed preparing irritating medicinal powders from herbs and scattering them across the trap zone and beneath the wall, in hopes that they might disrupt the beasts.

Suggestion after suggestion was raised, discussed, and swiftly turned into decisions.

As Eli watched the defense plan grow steadily more practical, the taut string in his heart finally loosened by the slightest degree.

He leaned back in his chair and drew a deep breath.

At that moment, a thought quietly slipped into his mind.

Black Territory was not the only frontier settlement on the edge of Nightsong Forest.

That arrogant fool Sabda—his territory, Shadow Vale, also bordered the forest. In fact, its position seemed to extend even deeper than Black Territory’s...

A faint curve rose at the corner of Eli’s lips.

That overambitious second son of the Southern Frontier Duke...

Did he have any idea that a storm was brewing in the depths of that seemingly tranquil forest?

Eli did not care in the slightest whether Sabda lived or died.

Yet three other figures immediately followed in his mind—Griffin Easton, Hans Clive, and Emilia Frost.

Those three had chosen to follow him in Shadow Vale and acknowledge him as their Alliance Lord.

Their territories...

Eli’s brow tightened once more.

He had inspected them before. Their defenses were pitifully crude.

With their current strength, facing the beast tide that was about to erupt would be no different from a mantis trying to stop a chariot. They would be ground into dust in an instant.

As Alliance Lord, he could not simply stand by. He understood perfectly well what it meant when the lips were gone and the teeth turned cold.

“Enough!” Eli rose abruptly to his feet, his voice carrying the finality of a concluded council.

“The defense plan is set. Every division is to begin execution at once! Captain Buck, Administrator Vick, Old John—you bear the heaviest responsibilities. Start immediately! This meeting is adjourned!”

Everyone answered in unison and swiftly rose to leave the council hall.

“Estor, you stay behind.” Eli stopped the young steward just as he was about to depart.

Once only the two of them remained in the chamber, Eli spoke in a low voice.

“I am giving you an urgent task. Immediately choose a team of the most capable guards, mount fast horses, and split up to ride for Easton Territory, Clive Territory, and Frost Territory!”

Estor’s expression sharpened. “Young Master, your orders!”

“Find the three lords personally.

Tell them face-to-face that a beast tide will strike soon, and that it is absolutely beyond the power of their current forces to withstand it.”

Eli’s tone was firm beyond dispute.

“Tell them to abandon their territories for the time being. Take all the grain, weapons, and most important subjects they can carry, and withdraw with all speed to Black Territory. Black Territory will receive them and grant them shelter!”

Estor nodded hard. “Yes, Young Master! I understand! I’ll see it done at once!”

He turned to go, but then his steps halted, and a trace of hesitation appeared on his face.

“Young Master... What if they do not believe it? Or... cannot bear to abandon the territories they worked so hard to build...”

Eli fell silent for a moment. In the end, he merely let out a quiet sigh.

“If they insist on staying... then... let them do as they please.”

Estor looked at Eli’s tall back, straight as ever but touched with unmistakable weariness, and understood.

He asked no further questions and bowed deeply. “Understood, sir. I depart at once!”

He turned and strode swiftly from the council hall.

Eli remained standing alone by the window, his fingers tapping unconsciously against the cold stone sill.

The war against this calamity of beasts and nature had begun.