The dark race army’s attack was exceptionally fierce. According to the original plan, the first line fortress had to hold out for one day at least. In the end, they were forced to withdraw to the second line within a matter of hours. However, due to Qianye’s presence, the defense forces were able to kill numerous enemies. The death toll among ranked nobles, especially, was far beyond expectations and caused a huge setback to the dark race army.

The two defensive line fortresses weren’t too far. Amidst the silence, the high-speed warships soon arrived at the central second-line fortress. Here, they unloaded the soldiers and experts still capable of fighting, along with the ballistae they had retrieved from the front lines.

At first, Song Zining was supposed to retreat to the rear along with the wounded, but he insisted on staying and actually assumed the post of defense-force captain. This wasn’t a good office to hold at such a time because the highest officer in the fortress would have to hold fast until the very end. He would only be able to withdraw after the...