The Burning Night Sky

Chapter 176 The Burning Night Sky (Part 2)

The third night after the pay was distributed in the square.

Just as Richard was feeling overwhelmed by the exhaustion from healing the soul yesterday and wondering how he could defend himself against the dragon's attack tonight, he suddenly noticed something unusual happening to the ladybug.

"Stop, stop, stop! We have something important to discuss! Not the kind that's written down!"

He quickly stopped Grace from approaching, checked the situation from a distance, and explained, "William slipped out of the inner city alone and headed towards the black market in the west of the city."

"Although we've cleared that area, there are still quite a few remnants of the Mafia left behind. They're currently fighting fiercely over the spots vacated by the dead."

"William probably wants to take advantage of this chaos to finish his so-called sacrifice. We need to hurry up and stop him!"

If the opportunity arises, I'll impersonate a member of the Mafia and kill him!

Grace pouted, stared at Richard's face for a long time, then lowered her head to look down—

"What are you thinking? I'm perfectly healthy! I'm truly focused on doing something worthwhile!"

"Okay, I understand, sister. It's kind of cute when it's a little fuzzy. Anyway, let's go!"

"Oh no—?"

A few minutes later.

Although he suffered a minor verbal setback, Richard still managed to drag Grace out of the house.

It didn't take them long to catch up with William.

The two groups walked into the alley in the west of the city one after the other.

Just then, they both heard screams coming from around the corner.

William assumed it was just the scum of the Mafia fighting amongst themselves and saw an opportunity, so he quickly moved closer.

Richard and Grace also felt their opportunity had arrived and immediately followed suit.

But when they turned the corner, they all froze in place.

What appeared before them was not some thief or evil mage, but a large group of howling orcs!

"Kill! Kill all these humans!"

"Help!"

"Why are there orcs here?!"

The orcs, wielding axes or spiked clubs, rampaged through the narrow streets. The unarmed civilians and thugs loitering on the roadside were no match for them and were quickly slaughtered, leaving corpses strewn across the streets.

In an instant, the hellish scenes that Richard had seen in the villages outside appeared before his eyes in an even more exaggerated form.

Richard had the same question on his mind as the citizens.

Where did these orcs come from?

How did they do it?

call!

Rumble!

"Hahaha! For the One-Eyed Beast God!"

Before Richard could come up with an answer, more shouts of battle came from all directions.

A huge fire broke out in the buildings to the south, turning half the sky fiery red.

Above the buildings to the north, a terrifying crimson shadow swept across the sky—undoubtedly the red dragon that had previously cooperated with the orcs in the intelligence reports!

However, even though the dragon had flown in, the mage tower in the city remained silent and did not retaliate in the slightest!

Richard's Adam's apple bobbed slightly as he finally understood the situation.

This wasn't just a few scattered orc spies infiltrating the city; it was a premeditated, large-scale raid! No matter where they had been hiding, they had now stormed the city!

Oh shit!

After the initial shock, Richard forced himself to regain his composure.

He and Grace must now go back to find Isabella and then decide whether to hold out for reinforcements or break out of the city.

But before that—

He needs to deal with the beastmen in front of him first!

"By the Beast God! Another batch of fresh, tender humans! Wahahaha!"

Over here, quite a few orcs have already spotted the group and are rushing towards them.

William saw the orcs charging towards him and the poet following closely behind. A strange light flashed in his eyes. He darted into a nearby alley and disappeared.

Richard immediately summoned a pack of beasts, using the spirits of wolves to slow the orcs down, then turned and ran with Grace toward the inner city.

Before they could run more than a few steps, more orcs leaped towards them from the streets and even the rooftops.

"Don't run! You cowardly shrimp!"

"Get out of my way! Just seeing your ugly faces makes me feel like I'm losing my lifespan!"

Richard casually unleashed a shattering sonic wave, forcing the orc on the left to retreat, while Grace beside him swung her sword horizontally, cutting the orc on the right in two.

After a brief exchange, the orcs seemed to realize that the two men in front of them were not ordinary warriors who could defeat them.

They no longer charged recklessly, but they also did not retreat. Instead, they swarmed around the two men like lice, occasionally firing a few cold arrows.

Such disgusting methods greatly slowed down Richard and Grace's movement speed.

In desperation, Grace sprayed dragon flames.

At that very moment, the orcs seemed to sense something terrifying and moved away from the two of them.

Richard blinked, momentarily confused as to why.

Are these orcs afraid of the dragonborn?

Grace, standing next to him, suddenly widened her eyes after a moment's thought, her gaze seemingly saying that she had just made a huge mistake.

Richard asked, puzzled, "Grace, what did you find out?"

Grace gave a rare, helpless smile, then reached out and gently cupped Richard's face, whispering, "Listen to me, little poet, I'm leaving for a while. If I don't come looking for you after that, don't worry about me, just run away."

Richard couldn't believe what he was hearing.

This was a situation he had never encountered since he started dating Grace.

He quickly pressed, "What exactly happened?"

Grace pointed to herself, then to the sky: "That's Zoya's brother. He's stronger than Zoya, someone you and I can't fight against right now. And he's already discovered me—it's too late."

Before she finished speaking, wings sprouted from Grace's back and horns grew from her head, transforming her into a dragon-human form.

Without further explanation, she leaped into the air and flew swiftly away from Richard.

The next second, the enormous red dragon that had just been hovering in the air turned around, its wings flapping to create a gale that overturned houses on the ground, and it aggressively chased after Grace.

Immediately afterwards, a dragon's roar mixed with a sinister laugh echoed in the air.

"My foolish sister, why won't you face me?"

Richard's eyes were squinting from the wind. After finally rubbing them clean, he saw Grace and the strange red dragon chasing after them to the outskirts of Iron Abyss City.

Richard clenched his fists, knowing that Grace had chosen to lure the red dragon away for his sake, and also knowing that her departure would most likely end in disaster.

But he can't help right now.

Just a few minutes ago, the two were chatting happily, so why did things change like this in the blink of an eye?

Oh shit!

Fuck!

Grace, you won't leave me! I swear I'll find you and bring you back!

The poet took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the surging emotions in his heart.

Now is not the time for sentimentality.

The soaring of the two dragons unexpectedly dispersed the surrounding orcs—it seems these guys are just as afraid of their massive ally.

This gave Richard the opportunity.

He looked around and finally chose an alley with fewer orc tracks and slipped inside, hoping to use this opportunity to ask his pursuers for mercy and quietly sneak back to the inner city where Isabella was.

On the way, he unexpectedly discovered a small courtyard where several human soldiers were hiding, two of whom were acquaintances of his.

One of them is my good friend Jerry.

The other one is William, the opposite of a good friend.

"What an awkward meeting, Richard."

At the same time, William saw Richard and reached out his hand to him.

The words are divided into two parts.

Isabella and the others were currently in a military camp outside the inner city.

She was visiting wounded soldiers when she was attacked by orcs.

"How many enemies are there? From which directions are they coming?"

"I don't know, there are far too many, at least tens of thousands! They came from all directions! Most of the city has fallen!"

I----"

"Don't panic, stay calm!"

Isabella reassured the pale-faced scout, then led her men up a nearby watchtower and gave them a cursory look around.

"The fires mostly broke out in the west and south. Did the city gates in those areas fall first? Even the mage tower couldn't be saved?"

There's a red dragon in the sky—hmm? Who lured it away?

She frowned, quickly thought it over, and made a judgment.

The orcs have entered the city on a large scale, and judging by their numbers, they have almost completely overwhelmed the outermost garrison.

Without a doubt, this must be the main force of the orcs that withdrew earlier!

At this point, there's no need to ponder how the other side managed to deceive the expeditionary force; reality is reality.

Now, the outer city can no longer be defended, and the military camp where I am is not suitable for defense either.

We must bring as many troops as possible into the inner city that has not yet fallen.

Then, after gathering more intelligence, a decision will be made on whether to hold the city and wait for reinforcements, launch a counterattack in urban warfare, or simply abandon the city and break out.

I wonder where Richard and Grace are right now. I hope they're not surrounded by the enemy.

Isabella was filled with worry.

But this did not prevent her from issuing orders.

"Amélie, take the messenger and gather everyone in the camp. Tell them to get their weapons ready!"

"Clara, Jonia, go to the temple across the street and see if the priests are still there. If they are, call them over to join us."

"Jon, Josie, you two come with me and set up a defensive line at the entrance. Don't let the orcs break in!"

Those whose names were called bowed in unison, placing their hands on their chests: "Yes, Your Highness!"

Then, everyone quickly began to take action.

In less than twenty minutes, Isabella had assembled a temporary force of two thousand men.

She drew her longsword, took the lead, and charged out of the camp with her troops, cutting down enemies all the way until they finally arrived at the gate of the inner city.

Then she was surprised to find that several hundred people, including soldiers and civilians, had gathered in a chaotic crowd under the inner city walls.

But the city gates remained tightly shut, showing no intention of letting anyone in.

An old soldier shouted at the guards on the city wall, "What are you doing? The orcs are coming! Let us in right now!"

The garrison commander, his face grim and his voice trembling, replied, "Who...who knows if there are any orc spies hiding among you? The Second Prince and the Grand Duke have ordered that the inner city must be defended, and no one can be allowed to enter!"

The veteran cursed loudly after hearing this.

The professional adventurers beside him even made a show of wanting to attack the city gate.

Such a scene was too much for Isabella to bear.

"Quiet!"

She let out a low shout, releasing the aura of the Holy Knight of the Oath of Conquest.

The previously chaotic crowd was momentarily stunned.

Isabella then led her personal guards to the city walls and shouted to the defenders, "I am Princess Isabella, and I command you to open the city gates immediately!"

The guards recognized Isabella and immediately shrank back.

But some die-hards muttered under their breath, "But what if there's a spy—"

Isabella continued, "I will use detection magic to determine the allegiance of those entering the city. If you still refuse to open the gates after saying this, then don't blame me for storming in!"

"No! Your Highness! We...we will obey your orders!"

With things having come to this point, the garrison dared not refuse and immediately opened the gates of the inner city.

The crowd outside cheered upon seeing this.

Isabella led the Mori army in first, then took control of the city gates, while Clara, Johnny, and other clergy guarded the entrance to determine the composition of the invading force.

Then, she handed over command of the scene to a trustworthy officer and headed straight for the palace in the inner city.

She found Gareth looking flustered, and Jonas, who was only slightly better off than Gareth.

Jonas exclaimed, "Oh, Isabella, thank the gods that you are still alive!"

Gareth glanced at Isabella's blood-stained armor, his hands trembling uncontrollably. "Gods above, is it really that bad outside? The orcs have taken over the whole city? Damn it, why did they come back! We...we're doomed!"

Isabella: "?"

"The orcs haven't taken the whole city! The inner city, the east gate, and the north gate are still in our hands!"

"We will not be finished! Marshal Ludwig was still in contact with us at noon, which means the orcs are avoiding the cities he attacked. As long as he returns with his army, we can still win!"

She quickly interrupted Gareth, then frowned and said, "From now on, I'll be in charge of everything in the inner city. You have no objections, right?"

Jonas and Gareth quickly shook their heads.

Isabella then asked, "Where's Marcus? Why isn't he with you?"

Jonas replied, "He—he's still in the ruins. I sent people to look for him, but they haven't returned yet."

Isabella frowned even more.

It's not like her brother usually hangs out in the ruins at a time like this.

She had originally hoped that her younger brother, who was also well-versed in military affairs, could help alleviate some of the pressure—

She sighed, "Let's send someone to look for it again."

"Then, if you are too scared to continue defending the city, then hurry up and go to the teleportation array. The orcs have just entered the city and haven't had time to set up a teleportation barrier. You can still leave if you want."

Jonas swallowed hard, trying to straighten himself up a bit to show the courage and dignity of a prince.

However, Gareth, standing beside him, made no pretense and turned to head straight for the teleportation array.

Jonas looked at Gareth's appearance, then thought about the red dragon he had seen earlier, and finally looked at his scattered guards. Damn it, before it was just that Dorian was gone, but now even William was nowhere to be found!

A dozen seconds later, he completely lost his composure.

"I'll go check on Grand Duke Gunther, just in case anything goes wrong—"

As he said this, he turned and followed Gareth.

Isabella shrugged, ignoring it, and turned to discuss the battle situation with the officers.