Lord of Winter: Beginning with Daily Intelligence Chapter 754 - 420: Monsters

An indescribable aroma permeated the council chamber, a strange blend of perspiration, melting wax, and the lingering scent of blood.

Though the area where Baron had fallen was swiftly cleared, the bloodstains on the floor remained untouched.

That sword strike had been utterly unexpected, profoundly peculiar.

A stark realization dawned upon everyone present: Kael Remont was no longer the Young Master one could reason with.

Around the long table, the nobles stood, none daring to take a seat.

Whispers of dissent mingled with frantic prayers, while others repeatedly invoked the phrase, "the gates still have guards," as if such words held any power now.

"We must first pacify the Knight Order," one voice proposed.

"Isolate the Young Master, at the very least... at least prevent him from wielding a sword again."

"Nonsense! He just killed Baron! Who would dare approach him now?"

Panic was the only currency being traded.

Unnoticed by the distraught nobles, a subtle shift occurred in the air of the distant corridor.

A young Viscount stationed near the wall was the first to detect the anomaly.

He abruptly ceased his speech, straining to listen.

Footsteps approached, but they were not those of humans.

The sounds resembled nails scraping against stone or a heavy mass being dragged across the ground, occurring intermittently yet advancing with alarming speed.

"Did you... hear that?" he stammered.

The very instant the words left his lips, the imposing council chamber door began to shake violently.

In the ensuing moment, a jagged tear ripped open through the center of the wooden door.

Iron bands buckled, wooden splinters exploded outwards, and a chilling gust, carrying a miasma of blood and alchemical reagents, swept into the room.

A shriek of pure terror erupted from one of the nobles.

Shadowy figures began to pour in from beyond the threshold.

The knights within the council chamber reacted with practiced haste.

Several heavily armored knights swiftly formed a defensive phalanx, their long spears leveled forward, their armor gleaming with concentrated fighting energy.

Two Extraordinary Knights had already fully charged their fighting energy, their swords emitting a low hum, poised for combat.

Upon the first monster's impact, the formation proved effective.

The spearhead punched through its chest cavity, while the sword blade crushed its shoulder bone. The creature was felled instantly, its ichor splattering the surroundings.

As one knight retreated slightly, he muttered, "They... they're from underground..."

"They can be killed!" another exclaimed, but their triumphant tone immediately faltered.

The second, third, and fourth creatures continued their relentless advance.

They showed no formation, no cohesion, utterly disregarding the corpses of their fallen comrades, and apparently, their own lives.

Monsters impaled on spears still crawled forward, and those with severed limbs resorted to biting with their teeth.

Slashes imbued with fighting energy could send them reeling, but proved incapable of halting their progress.

An Extraordinary Knight found himself assailed by three creatures simultaneously.

He roared, unleashing a torrent of fighting energy that obliterated one attacker, only to be grappled around the waist by another in the following instant.

Sharp claws tore through the gaps in his armor, scales grating against metal with a sound that set teeth on edge.

The Extraordinary Knight desperately swung his sword, attempting to disengage, when a fourth creature lunged, sinking its teeth into his throat.

The defensive line began to buckle.

The knights of the city were neither cowardly nor incompetent; they fought valiantly, employing every ounce of their skill and strength.

Yet, the sheer number and ferocity of the attackers were overwhelming all resistance.

The nobles started to retreat in disarray.

Tables and chairs were overturned, candelabras crashed to the floor, and flames rapidly began to spread across the carpet.

Some stumbled and fell, others were trampled underfoot. The council chamber, once a venue for discussions on taxes and territories, transformed into an inescapable charnel house.

Only the encroaching shadows and the ever-louder screams remained.

By the time the last knight fell, the fate of the castle was irrevocably sealed.

It was only then that a desperate thought of the gates finally occurred to someone.

They scrambled from the council chamber, sprinting frantically down the corridor, battering open heavy wooden door after heavy wooden door, their boots skidding on the stone floor, their armor clanking, creating a cacophony of desperate urgency.

Some ran while shouting orders to lower the drawbridge, while others hoarsely commanded the guards to muster.

However, their commands were now utterly futile.

The internal mechanisms controlling the gate had been secured since dusk.

This was a direct order from Kael himself, intended to thwart any internal betrayal or surrender. All external keys had been retracted, the winch sealed, and the drawbridge axle secured with an alchemical wedge.

Even if the castle's generals were still alive, they would be powerless to disengage this defense system in time.

Someone rushed to the winch, hacking at it with swords and smashing it with hammers.

Sparks flew from the impacts, but the thick iron chains refused to yield.

The structure, originally engineered to withstand siege hammers and magical cannons, now callously denied every desperate plea for survival within the castle walls.

The city gates remained impassive, a silence more brutal than any roar.

The stairwell leading to the city walls was also quickly lost to the encroaching chaos.

Those narrow, spiraling passageways, once a significant defensive advantage, had now transformed into a terrifying deathtrap.

The fleeing masses were compressed together at this point; those ahead came to a halt, while those behind desperately shoved forward.

Anyone who stumbled was lost forever.

Flames blazed intensely along the hallways, consuming all flammable materials.

Dense smoke, trapped by the solid stone walls, found no escape, and soon descended to the level of people's breath. Some, disoriented by the smoke, ended up in dead ends or were forced into inescapable corners.

The stone walls, once emblems of security, now sealed off any path to survival.

The defensive architecture of Grey Rock Castle was engineered to exact a heavy toll from any enemy.

Every portal, every gate, every winding staircase was designed to impede the attackers and grant precious time to the defenders.

However, it was never conceived with an escape route for those trapped inside when internal calamity struck.

Flames surged through hallways and towers, casting light on the figures of people fleeing in panic, as well as the ominous shapes of monstrous beings perched on beams, window ledges, and the castle battlements.

These creatures made no haste in their pursuit, merely herding all living souls towards inescapable depths.

Grey Rock Castle was no longer a bastion of defense.

It had transformed into a self-inflicted inferno, sealed from the outside.

The night was painted crimson by the inferno; cries echoed within the unyielding walls, never breaching the exterior.

By the time dawn broke, order would be nonexistent, replaced solely by utter devastation.

The interrupted screams gradually faded, consumed by the roaring flames, suffocated by the suffocating smoke.

Yet, the catastrophe was far from over.

The rampaging dragon-blooded abominations still prowled within the castle's confines.

They crashed through corridors, staircases, and towers, repeatedly slamming against sealed doors and gates.

The formidable iron gates shuddered, the stone walls resonated, and the entire castle felt like a cornered beast, emitting a low rumble throughout the night.

Still, those gates, forged from rare ores, held firm for the moment.

Every fortification Kael had implemented against internal threats, such as inner gates, drawbridges, and locking mechanisms, now served as the sole impediments.

The abominations remained contained within, unable to breach the residential districts beyond the castle walls, at least for the present.

However, each impact served as a stark reminder to those outside that this was not security, merely a temporary reprieve.

As the night bled red with fire, the break of dawn found Grey Rock Castle in profound silence.

Not a single banner of surrender, not a solitary cry from any survivors.

Only scorched walls remained, alongside the pervasive scent of sulfur and blood that seeped from every crevice.

The vanguard of the Red Tide arrived shortly before the catastrophic events unfolded.

Louis stood upon a high vantage point outside the city, observing the fortress that was presumed to be unassailable.

The gates were firmly shut, yet bore marks of forceful impact; the walls stood intact, yet a deep, persistent rumble emanated from within, suggesting movement of something substantial.

A knight approached with haste, kneeling on a single knee, his voice barely audible.

"Sir, within the castle... there are no signs of life."

He paused, his throat bobbing.

"However, there is still activity below. A great many, trapped within. The garrison, the nobility... all eradicated."

Louis remained silent for a moment, his gaze fixed upon the still castle.

He had already been apprised of the castle's impending fate through the Daily Intelligence System that very morning.

Sixty fully formed, alongside hundreds of partially developed dragon-blooded monsters.

When these creatures sustained injuries, their torn flesh would spontaneously mend.

More critically, they possessed Fighting Energy, volatile yet undeniably present, a crimson energy that pulsed intermittently through the gaps in their scales.

This was the horrific creation of that madman, Raymond.

He possessed foreknowledge of this information, but that was the extent of his insight.

The specifics of the chaos or its duration were unknown to him.

Yet, these were not questions necessitating his speculation.

"You need not be concerned," Louis finally stated. "A plan is already in motion. Transmit the orders: establish a blockade around the perimeter, evacuate the nearby populace, and permit no one to approach the walls."

Consequently, the vanguard knights dispersed, securing the roads, redirecting people, and escorting them away.

"Move back, do not linger, depart now."

Some wept, others pleaded, mentioning relatives within the city, but those who refused to comply were apprehended by the Red Tide Knights, forcibly removed, placed into carts, and transported elsewhere.

There was no time for lengthy explanations.

The isolation perimeter was swiftly established, reinforced layer by layer, with anyone daring to approach the walls being aggressively repelled.

Grey Rock Castle was completely cordoned off, the living inhabitants relocated, and the city sealed.

Louis turned away from the high slope, his gaze withdrawn: "Initiate the protocol."