Chapter 74: Ape-like Nightmares
"I think..." His words came out in a low hush. "I think we are under the watch of an abnormal Nightmare."
That single sentence erased the relaxed smile from Edgar’s face.
"...Explain."
Wavin swallowed nervously before pointing toward the endless darkness beyond the Fortress Wall.
"For the past three nights, even back in the Soragon Bazaar..." he said carefully, "I kept feeling like something was staring at us."
"Yes."
The young guard rubbed his arms unconsciously.
"I know it sounds strange, but every time I patrol this section..." He pointed toward the eastern jungle. "...I get goosebumps."
Edgar rested both hands on the stone battlements and stared into the darkness.
Only black trees stretched endlessly beneath the Eternal Night.
He rubbed his chin and fell into deep thought. ’Is this related to the Nightmare who called himself the King?’
Given the timing and all the things that had happened, he could make a loose connection.
’But why would someone like Wavin be able to feel it but not anyone else?’
Edgar looked at the boy from top to bottom and didn’t find anything noteworthy about him.
He looked like every other young boy, albeit malnourished and with a mole on his right cheek.
Taking in a deep breath, Edgar said, "Can you feel the presence right now?"
The young boy shook his head. "I can’t. Not now."
Edgar nodded his head and walked away from him. "If you find anything, inform me instantly."
The young boy nodded his head. "As you wish, my lord."
Edgar kept on walking on the Fortress Wall and looked at the endless darkness all around them.
His mind still lingered on the young boy, whose claim was something to look into.
’I will keep an eye on the youth for now... perhaps give him some benefits if there are any signs that what he said is true.’
Crunching those thoughts and putting them aside, Edgar paused and placed his hand on the battlement.
He looked at the Eternal Night as a weird feeling began to creep into his mind.
’Why are the Nightmares not attacking?’ he wondered to himself. ’Why is everything so silent today?’
Usually, the darkness never stayed quiet.
Somewhere in the distance, there would always be growls, screeches, or the rustling of monsters that are attracted by the ⟨Unbroken Fire⟩.
’...Wait.’ A thought quickly popped into his mind. ’What if they are preparing something...?’
To check his hypothesis, Edgar willed the Central ⟨Watch Tower⟩ to shed light all around the place.
The concentrated beam of the tower above the ⟨Unbroken Fire⟩ bloomed brighter. Its light rotated around like a lighthouse.
Everything hidden beneath the Eternal Night was revealed one section at a time.
The guards on the wall, noticing the change, instinctively leaned forward.
Edgar’s sharp eyes followed the sweeping beam without blinking.
The first round of rotation revealed nothing. The second one was the same.
Just as the third round of light moved over the hillside, thousands of tiny reflections flashed back at them.
It was like countless mirrors. No, not mirrors... they were eyes.
Edgar’s pupils contracted when the light revealed thousands of Nightmares just waiting there.
"OOH UHH AHH HAA."
The distinct voices of monkeys echoed within the Eternal Night.
Those enormous monkey-type Nightmares moved in complete unison. They pushed aside the bushes around them, revealing eight different trebuchets.
Their movement was so unnerving and quick that Edgar wasn’t even able to respond quickly.
One of those monkeys pulled the lever, and heavy stones rushed toward the Fortress.
Edgar finally snapped out of his daze as he yelled, "Incoming!!"
His voice exploded across the Fortress.
Eight massive stones tore through the Eternal Night, and the air screamed around them.
"They’re using trebuchets!" One of the soldiers roared, drawing his sword. "Take cover!"
The guards scattered across the wall.
Most threw themselves behind the battlements, while the rest sprinted toward the stairways.
BOOOOM!!
The first boulder descended. It smashed into the outer wall, sending countless chunks of stone flying into the air.
BOOM!! BOOM!! BOOM!!
Three more stones crashed into different sections of the wall.
One struck a Watch Tower, collapsing its upper platform.
Another landed inside an empty courtyard, carving out a crater several meters wide.
The last smashed through a wall, damaging part of it.
"Reloading!" Edgar shouted. "They’re reloading!"
His eyes never left the distant hillside.
The enormous ape-like Nightmares moved with frightening discipline.
Groups of them dragged another set of boulders toward the trebuchets while others immediately reset the throwing arms.
’Why the fuck are they so organized?!’ Edgar wondered as chills crept all over his body.
Sir Gordon quickly rushed over when he heard all the noise.
"What happened?" he asked hastily.
"No time!" Edgar replied. "Fill all the Ballistas with Nightmare Stones!!"
The soldiers stationed there quickly returned and began feeding Nightmare Stones into the towers’ cores.
At the same time, he willed the Central Tower to keep the light net ready.
The crystal inside the tower lit up. A deep humming sound echoed through the Fortress.
Edgar had kept his eyes on the monsters all this time. He immediately noticed when they were done reloading.
"Incoming!!!"
On the other side, one of the ape-like Nightmares raised both its hands and swung them downward.
All eight trebuchets fired together.
The second volley rose into the sky, but they were not stones this time.
This time, they were enormous clay jars that held liquid inside.
’Fuck.’
Edgar immediately stopped the Ballistas from attacking and instead fired the light net.
The net moved up and caught six out of the eight jars, but two of them slipped past.
"Hide!!" Edgar yelled. "Do not engage them!"
The soldiers did as they were told and crouched down, hiding behind the battlements.
The jars slammed onto the wall with enormous force, breaking apart.
From inside came a black liquid that plastered itself onto the Fortress Wall.
And...
Sssssss!!
The stone began melting, turning into goo that broke apart the wall the next instant.