Chapter 74: Tea without Taste
[A/N: Please send your power stones and golden tickets. It really helps with the ranking!]
...
Close to midnight, the monster tide showed no sign of ending.
Wolves, serpents, horned boars, and beasts of shapes no one atop Copper Town’s walls could identify continued moving around the town. Their bodies appeared and disappeared beneath the moonlight, forming a dark current that split around the northern wall before joining together farther south.
None had tried to climb.
None had deliberately attacked the gates either.
The Railguards still kept their rifles loaded.
Men stood at regular intervals along the walls, staring down at the endless movement below. Some rubbed their eyes. Others repeatedly stretched their necks or struck their cheeks whenever their eyelids grew heavy.
One Railguard leaned against the stone railing for a little too long.
His head dipped.
The man beside him immediately struck the back of his helmet.
"Eyes open."
"I was blinking."
"You were blinking for half a minute."
The sleepy Railguard straightened his back and gripped his rifle more firmly.
Nobody laughed.
The monsters had ignored them for several hours, but no one knew whether the next wolf, snake, or malformed creature would make the same decision.
Falling asleep for even a few minutes could result in the gates being attacked without warning.
Below the walls, Copper Town remained awake.
Candles and gas lamps continued burning behind windows. Families who had barred their doors hours ago sat together in their dining rooms, listening to the distant footsteps and growls beyond the walls.
A glass bottle fell somewhere within the residential district.
The shattering sound was followed by angry voices.
"You took my oil again!"
"It’s my bloody oil! You never paid me for the first bottle!"
"I gave you flour last winter!"
"That flour had worms!"
A Railguard patrol rounded the corner and found two neighboring shopkeepers shouting across their shared alley. Their wives stood behind them, each adding another old complaint whenever the argument showed signs of ending.
Neither man had raised a hand.
They only appeared incapable of letting the matter go.
"Inside," the patrol captain ordered. "Both of you."
"This bastard stole from me!"
"And he fucked my brother’s wife after he died!"
"I was trying to lessen her grief!"
"Stop." The patrol captain furrowed his brows. "Take it to the magistrate after the monsters leave. Until then, either return inside or spend the night in a holding cell together."
The thought of being locked in the same room finally silenced them.
The shopkeepers exchanged hostile looks before their wives dragged them back into their respective homes.
Similar disputes had started appearing throughout the town.
A tenant demanded that his landlord return three months of excess rent. Two cousins argued about which one had abandoned their grandmother’s cart outside the gate. A butcher refused to provide meat to a tavern owner who still owed him money from the previous season.
These weren’t strangers attacking one another without reason.
They were people with old problems, unfinished payments, and words they had swallowed for months or years. The fear outside the walls merely seemed to make those problems harder to ignore.
For now, the Railguards were able to separate them and maintain order.
...
Inside the railway warehouses near the eastern station, the rescued villagers had been given a place to spend the night.
Grain sacks and cargo boxes had been moved against the walls. Straw mattresses now covered the wooden floor while thick sheets had been hung between families to give them a little privacy.
Large iron pots simmered near the warehouse entrance.
Railguards and local volunteers passed around bowls of vegetable stew, bread, and cups of clean water. The children received warm milk wherever it was available.
A young boy sat on a folded blanket and held his bowl with both hands. He had eaten half the stew but continued looking toward the warehouse doors whenever a distant monster howled.
His mother pulled him closer.
"They cannot enter."
"Are you sure?"
"The walls are strong."
The woman answered without hesitation, but her eyes remained fixed on the same doors.
Nearby, two elderly men argued over a mattress.
"I put my coat here first."
"Your coat was on the other one."
"You moved it."
"I can barely move my own legs. How would I move your coat?"
A volunteer placed another mattress between them and ended the dispute before it became louder.
At the far end of the warehouse, a farmer saw another family eating bread and abruptly stood.
"They got two loaves."
"They have four children," his wife said.
"We have three."
"And we already received ours."
"That doesn’t make it fair."
His wife caught his wrist before he could approach the volunteers.
The farmer stared at the bread for a few more seconds. His breathing gradually settled and he sat back down, though he continued muttering about unfair portions under his breath.
Food, water, shelter, and protection had been provided.
It was more than many of the villagers expected after abandoning their homes.
Still, sleep did not come easily.
...
A black snake struck at a Railguard’s shield.
The impact cracked the wood and pushed the man backward. Before the creature could strike again, another Railguard thrust a dark iron rod toward its neck.
The narrow point struck a scale.
For a moment, nothing happened.
A faint line shone along the rod.
Crack!
The scale split apart.
The iron point entered the flesh underneath and sank deep into the snake’s body. The creature twisted violently, dragging the Railguard forward until two others grabbed him from behind.
"Hold it!"
Another scale-piercer struck the snake from the side.
The second scale shattered.
Blood spilled across the road while the serpent thrashed between the surrounding Railguards. A third strike entered beneath its jaw and finally left it motionless.
The men stepped away from the corpse.
The first iron rod remained embedded in its neck. Cracks spread across its entire length before the tip broke away.
"It’s already ruined," one Railguard said.
"The Lady said each one might only survive a single strike."
The captain pulled the broken rod free and tossed it aside.
"One strike is enough. Bring the next snake!"
Across the grain district, groups of Railguards carried the newly made scale-piercers through the streets. The weapons looked crude, consisting of ordinary iron bars shaped into narrow points with faint markings running along their surfaces.
They weren’t elegant.
They weren’t meant to last.
But for the first time since the snakes entered Copper Town, the Railguards possessed something capable of piercing their scales.
...
Leona held another iron bar against an anvil.
Her hammer descended repeatedly while three furnaces burned around her. The heat had turned the forge unbearable for everyone except the smiths still working beside her.
Dozens of completed scale-piercers lay inside wooden crates.
Dozens more waited to be sharpened.
Leona stopped hammering and placed two fingers against the heated iron. A thin line formed beneath her touch and travelled toward the pointed end.
The metal trembled.
A small crack appeared near the base.
Leona turned it over, inspected the crack, then handed the weapon to the waiting Railguard.
"One strike," she said. "Do not waste it against the body. Aim between the head and neck."
The Railguard nodded and carried it away.
Leona placed another ordinary iron bar on the anvil.
Her hammer rose again.
...
Inside the guardroom near the northern wall, Vanessa sat with one injured leg resting upon a second chair.
The bleeding had stopped. Clean bandages covered her thigh and upper arm while a thin blanket had been placed over her shoulders.
Felicia stood before the window.
She occasionally moved the curtain aside and looked toward the street, but she made no attempt to leave or return to the battlefield. Vanessa had been instructed to rest, and Felicia remained where she could protect her.
Vanessa stared at her attendant for a while.
"Felicia."
The green-haired maid released the curtain and turned.
"Yes, M’lady?"
"What do you think of Vincent now?"
Felicia’s expression did not change.
Vanessa continued, "When we arrived in Silver Town, you questioned whether his words were important. Do you still doubt his capabilities?"
Felicia placed her hands before her and considered the question seriously.
"I mistook the young master’s lack of experience for a lack of capability."
Her voice remained soothing.
"He is physically weak, unfamiliar with cultivation, and does not possess the knowledge expected from an heir. Those observations were accurate."
Vanessa’s eyes narrowed slightly.
Felicia continued before she could respond.
"My conclusion was not."
A pleasant smile formed on the maid’s face.
"The young master understands what he cannot do. Rather than hiding those weaknesses, he places capable people where they are needed and gives them enough authority to act. The Railguards saved the villagers. Lady Leona produced the weapons. M’lady held the road."
Felicia glanced toward the northern wall.
"Yet none of those actions would have connected without him."
Vanessa remained quiet.
"I will not make the same mistake again," Felicia said. "A person does not need to be the sharpest blade if every blade in the room turns in the direction he points."
A faint change appeared in Vanessa’s expression.
It wasn’t quite a smile.
"Good."
Felicia bowed lightly.
"As long as he remains a D’Arc, there will be no second doubt."
Vanessa leaned back against the wall and closed her eyes.
The corner of her lips remained slightly raised.
...
Vincent sat atop the northern wall with his back against a guard tower.
The section was directly above the guardroom where Vanessa rested. He had checked on her twice after the treatment and had been told to stop disturbing the patient on his third attempt.
Anastasia sat beside him.
A wooden tray rested between them with a teapot, two cups, and a small plate of biscuits. The wall remained cold despite the warm cup in Vincent’s hands.
Beyond the railing, monsters continued flowing around Copper Town.
Their numbers hadn’t visibly decreased.
Vincent raised the cup and took a sip.
He stared into the tea afterward.
"Did you forget the sugar?"
Anastasia turned toward him.
"There are two spoonfuls."
Vincent took another sip.
The tea was warm. He could smell the faint ginger and herbs Anastasia had used, but the familiar sweetness barely registered on his tongue.
He had drunk the same blend many times before.
It had always been strong enough to wake him up and sweet enough to make him stop complaining for a few minutes.
Tonight, it tasted like warm water.
"Hm."
Vincent swirled the cup.
"Maybe the sugar is defective."
"The sugar cannot be defective, young master."
"Then the tea leaves have lost motivation."
Anastasia picked up her own cup and had a sip.
"It tastes normal."
"That means my tongue has lost motivation."
Anastasia looked at the dark circles beneath his eyes.
"It may be exhaustion."
Vincent leaned his head against the guard tower and looked down at the cup resting between his hands.
"That would make more sense."
For the first time since the second bell rang, nobody was shouting orders at him. The villagers had shelter. Vanessa was safe. Leona had found a method to kill the snakes, and the Railguards were gradually regaining control of the grain district.
The monsters beyond the walls continued running, but they weren’t attacking.
It wasn’t peace.
It was close enough for Vincent to appreciate it.
He picked up a biscuit and dipped it into the tea.
"Vanessa is definitely resting, right?"
"Felicia is with her."
"That doesn’t answer my question."
Anastasia looked toward the guardroom below.
"She has not left."
"Good."
Vincent ate the softened biscuit and stared at the moving darkness outside.
The taste was faint too.
He did not mention it.
Anastasia pulled the teapot closer and refilled his cup even though it was still half full. The warmer tea mixed with what remained and released a thin trail of steam between them.
"Young master," she said after a while. "You should rest as well."
"I will."
"When?"
"When everything stops trying to collapse."
Anastasia lowered her cup.
"That may take some time."
Vincent sighed.
"Can you lie to me occasionally?"
"I am just a maid, young master. Deceiving my master would be improper."
Vincent turned and stared at her.
"You lie all the time."
Anastasia calmly took another sip.
"I do not know what the young master means."
Before Vincent could list every suspicious thing she had ever done, footsteps rushed along the wall.
A Railguard messenger appeared from behind the guard tower. His uniform was covered in dust, and blood ran from a shallow cut above his eyebrow.
"Your Lordship!"
Vincent lowered his cup.
The brief peace disappeared.
"What happened?"
"There has been a breach near the western slums."
Vincent immediately stood.
"How did the walls fall?"
"They didn’t fall completely. There was already a passage beneath one section." The messenger struggled to catch his breath. "Smugglers used it to bring untaxed goods into the town. The passage weakened the foundation, and when the monster tide pressed against the outside..."
He wiped the blood from his eyebrow.
"The lower wall collapsed. Monsters have entered the slums."
Vincent put his cup down so quickly that tea spilled across the tray.
"How many?"
"We don’t know. The patrol only discovered it after residents started fleeing. Wolves and boars have already entered, and something larger is pushing through the opening."
Vincent turned toward the Railguards stationed along the northern wall.
"Send half the rested units to the western slums. Wake every reserve and bring the scale-piercers. Keep enough men here to watch the gates."
The nearby captain began repeating the commands.
Anastasia stood and followed Vincent toward the stairs.
He had taken only two steps when he stopped, turned around, and grabbed the untouched plate of biscuits.
Anastasia stared at him.
"What?" Vincent asked. "I haven’t had dinner."
He tucked the plate beneath one arm and rushed down the stairs.
As another distant alarm began ringing from the western side of Copper Town, Vincent could only think—
’Give me a break, for fuck’s sake!’