Chapter 122

Golden Port, in these two months, remained as prosperous as ever on the surface.

The port pier was always crowded with incoming and outgoing merchant ships, the sails flapping, and the boatmen's chants were one after another.

In the "Drunken Dolphin" tavern, Jie Ming would occasionally meet Old Grey and obtain some city intelligence from him.

"The border has been unstable again recently, Jack." Old Grey drank the malt ale in one gulp, wiped his mouth, and lowered his voice. "Over at the orcs, small friction at the front line is constant. These green-skinned guys, who were beaten like dogs by wizards before, now that the wizard's offensive has slowed down, they are starting to be arrogant again."

Jie Ming just nodded calmly: "Heard that those nobles plan to renege on the originally agreed materials?"

"Hey, this is not fresh news." Old Grey showed disdain for this. "Those nobles even cheat their own people, let alone those green-skinned guys."

He poured another glass of wine: "However, I don't know what those nobles are thinking. They dare to be so blatant while still in the war; it's really crazy. Are they not afraid of the orcs' revenge?!"

"Probably... blinded by greed." Jie Ming shook his head.

He could feel that the nerves of this city were gradually relaxing.

The local nobles, especially those who made a fortune by smuggling and hoarding in the plane war, lived extravagantly recently and turned a blind eye to external threats.

Perhaps they didn't see the threat outside, but huge interests blinded their minds, making them forcibly ignore the possible danger.

"However... according to the information sent by Amy and the others, the camp side has stopped the offensive and even started to shrink the defense line. It seems that the wizards also intend to take advantage of the situation here."

Thinking of this, Jie Ming also grabbed the wine glass and took a sip, covering the slightly raised corners of his mouth.

At night, at a private banquet of a noble, wine glasses collided, and laughter was endless.

In the noble district in the center of the city, gorgeous silk dresses and shining jewelry could be seen everywhere. Nobles in the brightly lit salon shook wine glasses, and their whispers carried an arrogance of winners.

"Heard that those green-skinned guys are making trouble again, with constant small friction at the border." A local baron with a bloated body and multiple gemstone rings on his fingers raised his glass at a private dinner party to a count beside him.

"But it's just a group of barbarians without the protection of mages; what kind of waves can they make? Last time they were beaten by wizards and fled in panic; now that the wizard's offensive has slowed down, they think they can do it again?"

The count smiled contemptuously: "Those orcs should be content! As for the materials promised to them before, I don't think it's necessary to fulfill them completely. Give them some sweetness, let them continue to go to the front line and fight with the wizards; this is the best result. Anyway, those wizards have also shrunk their battle lines now, obviously scared by us."

He spoke of wizards, but his eyes were full of calculations, obviously caring more about how to deduct more from the orcs.

In the eyes of these local nobles who made a fortune by smuggling and hoarding during the war, the "peace" before them was the crystallization of their wisdom and wealth.

However, in the shadowy corners of this prosperous city, it was a different scene.

Those foreign nobles who fled here due to the war lost their ancestral territories and sources of income, and their lives became exceptionally tight.

They had to sell their remaining family property and rent in the remote districts of Golden Port. Although their clothes were still clean, they could not hide the fatigue on their faces and the resentment in the bottom of their eyes.

Things like Jie Ming's Hundred-Flower Dew were mainly collected by the servants of those foreign nobles.

It could even be said that the reward for Hundred-Flower Dew was the only means of survival for many foreign nobles nowadays.

But the interests Jie Ming himself could distribute were limited, and his arrival only delayed the outbreak of the conflict.

However, at least his arrival delayed the outbreak of the original conflict in Golden Port, making Golden Port fall into a false peace for a short time.

The city defense of Golden Port, under this false peace, was even more shockingly lax.

The guards on the city wall were playing dice in boredom, occasionally glancing outside the city, their eyes full of weariness.

The port patrol teams gathered in groups of three or five, boasting about the women in the tavern and their own romantic affairs.

The commanders were immersed in internal interest disputes and power struggles; their minds were all focused on how to compete for more land and wealth after the war ended.

The entire city, like a huge ship, was immersed in false peace on the eve of the storm, while the bottom of the ship had long been hollowed out.

Night fell again, and the prosperous Golden Port gradually became quiet.

Jie Ming returned to the villa, sat cross-legged in the study, and entered deep meditation.

His spiritual sea was like a calm lake, with wizardry runes and soul intertwined, emitting a faint light.

Suddenly...

A very subtle tremor came from the depths of the earth. Although imperceptible, it made Jie Ming's heart jump.

Immediately following, a light evening breeze carrying the bloody smell of fishy stench and slaughter, mixed with the smell of charcoal, drilled into his nasal cavity abruptly.

In the distance, there seemed to be unusual roars, carrying the violence of beasts, faintly coming, and then quickly blown away by the night wind.

Jie Ming opened his eyes abruptly, his cold gaze piercing through the thick walls, looking toward the edge of Golden Port.

He looked at a certain direction blankly, and suddenly smiled low: "It's started."

The next instant, the silence of Golden Port was torn by a earth-shattering loud noise!

In the west of the city, a fire rose into the sky, accompanied by the roar of explosions, and a huge gap was actually blown open in the city wall there.

"Roar!"

"Kill!!!"

The roars of beasts and low, wild growls rolled across the night sky like thunder.

Countless tall figures surged in from the gap in the city wall like a tide; they had tough green skin, wore rough armor, and wielded simple but huge weapons.

It's orcs!

At the same time, anomalies erupted in various places in the city.

Through the reconnaissance system of the Eye of Micro-Light he had arranged in advance, Jie Ming could clearly see the anomalies in the entire city.

Except for the city gate in the west which was blown open by spells, the remaining few city gates that looked solid were actually opened silently from the inside.

Dark shadows, either wearing the costumes of noble servants or wearing the worn-out armor of mercenaries, their eyes flashing with fanatical and angry flames, stabbed their knives and swords at their companions, tearing open a fatal gap for the surging orcs.

They were those foreign exiled nobles and their private soldiers.

The gap in family circumstances caused by the changes in the war, and the contrast with another group of nobles who were full of food, made them easily instigated by the orcs, determined to let the interests of this city be "redistributed."

"Kill! For Mother Earth!" The violent orc vanguard troops, like bloodthirsty hungry wolves, rushed directly toward the core area of the city and the guard command center.

They were covered in battle patterns, holding giant axes and bone knives, and every step made the earth tremble.

In their ranks, Jie Ming also saw more massive violent war pigs, carrying orc riders holding long spears, rushing into the streets and alleys unstoppably, as well as flexible and swift wolf cavalry, shuttling between houses like black whirlwinds.

The originally extremely weak guard force of Golden Port had no power to fight back at all under such a surprise attack that was both internal and external and caught them off guard.

The command center was destroyed by a sneak attack in the first instance, and the defense system fell into paralysis.

The guards on the city wall didn't even have time to react before they were stabbed in the back or shot to death by the orcs' arrows.

Chaos spread rapidly like a plague.

Fire rose into the sky, houses collapsed one after another under the trampling of the orcs, and screams, curses, desperate cries, and the excited roars of the orcs were mixed together, forming a symphony of hell.

On the street, blood flowed like a river; those local nobles and rich merchants who were caught off guard had their gorgeous nightgowns soaked in blood and were torn apart at will by the orcs like rag dolls.

Yesterday's paper-drunk gold-fan turned into a mess today.

The orc vanguard troops did not stop, they had a clear goal—to clear the entire city and pave the way for the subsequent army.

The area where Jie Ming was located was exactly where nobles and rich merchants gathered, and naturally became one of the targets of the orc attack.

Thump! Thump! Thump!

"Kill! Kill! Kill!"

Heavy footsteps accompanied by rude shouts of killing approached rapidly outside the villa.

However, as the orc army entered the rich area, their rapid pace of advance slowed down.

The subordinates hired by the rich and nobles had strength far exceeding the official teams of Golden Port, and even many nobles themselves were powerhouses.

Coupled with the help of a large number of magic props for both nobles and the rich, for a time they actually relied on the buildings in the rich area as a barrier to block the orcs' pace of advance!

But that was as far as it went.

As the other city gates were opened silently, the orcs constantly oppressed the living space of the city residents, and more and more residents were driven by them to surge toward the rich area.

Whether it was worrying about the possible spies among the residents, or worrying about being impacted by these lowly people, the nobles could not let them in directly.

But under such pressure, it wouldn't be long before the lines formed by the nobles would also be crushed.

The light of the torches penetrated the curtains, making the room shine brightly and darkly.

Listening to the roars getting closer and closer outside, Jie Ming stood up slowly, and the aura around his body changed from calm and restrained to silent like an abyss.

The lights in the villa were extinguished by him at will, and the entire "Dawn Mansion" fell into darkness again, like a giant beast lurking in the night, emitting invisible danger.

Outside, the gate was shaken by the impact of several violent war pigs, and then with a "boom," it collapsed completely.

A group of orc warriors in simple leather armor, surrounded by several human soldiers who had rebelled, rushed into the villa roaring, grinning, and preparing to loot here.

(End of chapter)