Dawnwatch, once a hushed speck on the map, was now etched into the annals of growing legend.
Word of its defenses, its growing army, its beast legion, and the mysterious young Lord who defied the order of balance, was spreading like wildfire. That meant one thing:
Enemies were watching.
But Arjun didn't need a system notification to know that.
He felt it in the stillness between the wind's passing. He saw it in the hawks that flew too low and lingered too long. And he heard it in the silence that gripped the forests at night.
"They're scouting us," Arjun muttered, fingers tightening around the railing of the new watchtower.
"They'll be coming soon," said Shayra, standing beside him, her hand resting on her newly forged curved blade. She wore a dark silver cuirass now, a gift from Tarun—an alloy imbued with windruned silk, allowing her speed that defied the eye.
"They won't catch us off-guard," Arjun promised.
But in his mind, he was already planning contingencies.
Arjun had established a new subdivision of their militia—a specialized reconnaissance unit drawn from both beast riders and elite foot scouts.
They were called the Veilstriders.
Led by a beast-tamer named Ishan, who bonded with a whisper-panther that could vanish into shadows, the Veilstriders patrolled beyond Dawnwatch's immediate borders, mapping terrain, setting traps, and watching for the signs of an advancing enemy.
On that day, Ishan returned with news.
"Five separate camps. Well-spaced. No banners, no open fires. But too organized to be bandits," he said.
Arjun narrowed his eyes. "They're testing us. Feeling for weaknesses."
"They've got shadowmancers with them. High-tier mercenaries."
"How many?"
"At least three. Maybe more. One of them killed a dire elk with a thought."
Arjun's jaw clenched. "Shadow arts… the Hollow Saint's influence."
Shayra stepped forward. "Let me take a strike team. We can take out the nearest camp, maybe two."
"No," Arjun said. "They want us to react. If we attack, we reveal how far we can strike. I want to send a message in another way."
He turned to Priya. "Are your new beasts ready to run?"
She smiled, eyes alight with anticipation. "They're hungry, bhaiya."
That night, under a moonless sky, the first camp of mercenaries died.
No warning. No battle cries.
Just screams, smoke, and the sound of massive claws tearing through flesh and steel.
The Stormwing Raptor dove from above, scattering scouts like dry leaves. The Hellfire Hound set ablaze the supply tents. The Tunneling Dreadwyrm brought down the command post in a single strike, erupting from the earth beneath them.
When the chaos was over, only two survivors remained. Arjun left them alive intentionally.
On their way out of the forest, they found a simple wooden sign hammered into a tree, smeared with blood:
"You knock on a door like this… you better be ready for what answers."
When the survivors limped their way back to their patrons, they brought terror with them.
The Lord of Blades was not just a rumor. He was real. And he had teeth.
Two days later, Priya entered the village square with a black envelope in hand, left at the edge of the beast enclosure.
Arjun took it and read the inscription:
To the Thousandfold Child of Ruin:You were supposed to die before you became a threat.But fate chose you.Now the Hollow Saint shall unmake your destiny.
Inside the envelope was a single obsidian feather—evidence of a curse in motion.
Immediately, Arjun summoned Tarun.
"What is this?" he asked, handing him the feather.
Tarun's eyes widened as he examined it.
"This isn't just a threat—it's a Beckoning Token. A challenge issued by one of the Old Lords. Whoever holds this must fight or surrender territory within seven days… or the curse activates."
"What does the curse do?"
"Kills everything in a five-mile radius. Beast, man, and plant. It's absolute."
A heavy silence fell in the war room.
"So we either fight… or we die," Meera said grimly.
"No," Arjun replied, a fire lighting behind his eyes. "We win."
System Alert
Quest Triggered: Challenge of the Hollow SaintTime Remaining: 6 days 23 hours
Objective: Defend against the Hollow Saint's Vanguard and destroy the Beckoning Token.
Reward:– Expansion Unlock: Noble District– Unique Building Blueprint: Hall of Origin Bloodlines– ???
Failure Penalty:– Death to all units within affected zone.– Permanent resource drain (x10 rate) for 1 month.
Special Note: Your choices will ripple through future
Immediately, construction began on new walls, spike traps, and mounted ballistas.
Priya focused on beast formations—pairing her tamer squad with each elite beast, rotating scouts, and laying ambushes.
Tarun worked tirelessly in his lab, using crushed mana cores to create a new alchemical weapon—a "mana net" that could trap high-speed or teleporting enemies.
Meera took command of the central barracks, overseeing battle readiness and healing infrastructure.
Arjun... he did what he always did.
He walked the length of the village from edge to edge.
He stood with soldiers at the gates.
He listened to the blacksmiths.
He held a child who was crying, not because of war, but because he'd lost a toy.
And then, beneath the Great Oak in the heart of Dawnwatch, he knelt.
And he prayed.
Not to the gods of this world, but to his own will.
"I will not lose them," he whispered.
"I will not be broken."
That evening, he met Shayra again on the eastern wall.
"You look tired," she said, brushing a strand of hair from his eyes.
"Only inside."
"You know," she smiled gently, "you don't have to carry it alone. We're all with you."
He looked at her—and saw not just a comrade, not just a lover.
He saw hope.
And for the first time in weeks, he let himself rest in her arms, if only for a moment.
Deep within a rotted cathedral swallowed by the earth, the Hollow Saint opened his eyes.
"Arjun," he rasped.
The skeletal figure rose from a throne of bone and shadow.
Around him, a dozen corrupted lords knelt, eyes glowing with malevolent hunger.
The Saint raised a single hand.
"Awaken the Bleeding Vanguard. Burn the soil. Bring me his soul."