Chapter 316: Blood Dawn

The predawn air felt heavier than ever. A cold wind rolled in from the north, carrying the metallic scent of iron and smoke. Luke stood staring at the fortress, its walls reduced to dark silhouettes against a sky smothered in clouds, tension tightening in his chest.

Bartholomew had disabled the first mechanism during the night, a calculated move that lured the Midnight Wardens back to this point. The Safe Zone, once a sanctuary for families and fighters alike, now burned beneath their relentless assault.

“That bastard still had a card up his sleeve,” Quinn muttered, his voice steeped in venom.

They had gathered outside the fortress in a loose half-circle around the soldiers, who stumbled over their explanations of the chaos unfolding elsewhere.

“And why should we even help?” a voice demanded from within the crowd, slicing through the heavy silence.

“I’ve said it from the start,” Roy answered, face grim. “We didn’t betray anyone. We thought we were sending reinforcements, not selling you out.”

The story was brutal in its simplicity. Bartholomew had called the Safe Zone’s soldiers and fighters to arms under the pretext of an imminent bandit attack on both bases. But the promise was a trap. Kruger, Bartholomew’s right hand, had led the forces supposedly protecting the Haven, the same ones who’d ambushed the group at the capital gates.

From the soldiers’ point of view, both Safe Zones were supposed to be protected. No one should have abandoned their posts with the risk of attack so high. But it had all been a game. Bartholomew stripped the Haven of its defenders to work with the bandits, letting them seize the fortress while Luke and the others were gone.

“If the plan had worked, it would’ve been genius,” Mason said, staring at the ground. “We’d have died to Kruger and no one would know the truth. Then Bartholomew would betray the bandits, save the Safe Zone, wipe them out, and rule both.”

Luke said nothing, chewing over the revelation.

This guy’s insane. Insane, but brilliant.

“Are you going to help us or not?” one of the soldiers asked, his voice trembling between plea and command.

“I am,” Ronan said firmly. “I can’t abandon those people.”

He was already rising, armor clicking into place.

“Without a plan?” Allison raised an eyebrow.

“Do we have time to make one?” Ronan shot back.

The clock was against them. By six a.m., the Wardens would retreat to their lairs, but until then hundreds could die.

“That’s exactly what he wants,” Allison murmured, thoughtful.

“You think I don’t see that?” Ronan’s reply was sharp. “He set this up to kill us. Survive Kruger’s ambush, come home to find our fortress taken, spend our resources, even mana, to take it back. We got lucky with Luke wiping the fortress alone, but we’re still spent. Now he stirs chaos in the Safe Zone to drag us out. We’re weak, low on mana, tired, HP bleeding. I see his plan: kill us now that we’re weak.”

Luke drew a steady breath and opened his system interface.

Name: Luke
Level: 50
Race: Half-Demon
Rank: F
Class: [Demonic Predator (Lvl 60)]
Profession: [Guardian Botanist of Mother Freya (Lvl 60)]
Titles: [Dark Lord]
Bloodline: [Bloodline of the Dark Demon]
Health Points (HP): 1986/4340
Mana Points (MP): 735/(5100)
Stamina: 1742/(2950)
Soul Fragments: 195/1000

Stats:
Strength: 691
Agility: 499 (549)
Endurance: 275 (295)
Vitality: 434
Perception: 458 (468)
Intelligence: 505 (510)
Free Points: 0

Class Skills: [Advanced Blade Handling (Uncommon)], [Profane Knife Throwing (Uncommon)], [Twin Blade (Common)], [Basic Dark Dash (Rare)], [Basic Blood Regeneration (Rare)], [Predator’s Mark (Rare)], [Demonic Blade Dance (Rare)], [Wraith Form (Ultra-Rare)], [Force Infusion (Rare)], [Advanced Stealth (Rare)], [Assassin’s Tracking (Rare)], [Mana Infusion (Rare)], [Basic Archery (Common)], [Demonic Predator Hands (Epic)]

Profession Skills: [Herbology of Mother Freya (Ancient)], [Precise Extraction (Common)], [Basic Potion Crafting (Common)], [Corrupted Plant Growth (Rare)], [Plant Sensor (Uncommon)], [Botanical Bond of Mother Freya (Rare)], [Seed Conversion (Rare)], [Plant Manipulation of Mother Freya (Rare)], [Corrupted Blood of Mother Freya (Ultra-Rare)], [Thorn Mutation (Uncommon)], [Soil Analysis (Uncommon)], [Botanical Purification (Uncommon)], [Acid Blood Arrow (Epic)]

Race Skills: [Identify (Common)], [Demonic Perception (Uncommon)], [Dark Blood (Uncommon)], [Meditation (Common)], [Demonic Endurance (Uncommon)]

Rank Skill: [Soul Infiltration (Rank F)]

Bloodline Skill: [Servant of the Dark Lord (Unique)]
Servants: [Princess Charlie (Skeleton) – Lvl 42], [Servant Slot Available]

I burned too much mana in that ambush, Luke thought. I can barely trigger my best skills now.

Even before the attack, he’d drained every mana potion the group had left with Jack and had even handed over his remaining five 150-HP healing potions. Their supplies were gone. Bartholomew had played it perfectly, going all-in that night.

At least Luke still had a full quiver with twenty arrows. But in terms of resources, he was running on fumes. His HP and mana were low. Jack had burned through all his mana healing everyone after the ambush; now he sat in Meditation, barely able to restore even a hundred HP to anyone. Luke could see the crossroads they were standing at. Bartholomew was sowing chaos to rack up more deaths.

This guy wants to cripple us before we can finish the tutorial. Whoever survives the attack will be too traumatized to try anything. Waiting until six a.m. isn’t an option.

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The assault had already been going on for at least an hour—enough time for a wounded survivor from the ambush to stagger back and warn them the group had returned. To the soldiers, Luke’s team was their last hope. To Bartholomew, their arrival triggered the next stage of his plan.

Am I really going to have to storm Bastion like this?

He dismissed the system interface with a flick of his hand and looked around. Every face reflected exhaustion, but also grim resolve.

“I’m going to activate the first mechanism,” he said, pulling Angelica’s bow from his inventory and slinging it across his shoulder.

Evangeline raised her spear, hands steady despite the dark circles under her eyes.

“No plan?” Quinn asked, voice uncertain.

“When have things ever been easy for us?” Evangeline shot back with a dry laugh. “Don’t forget your friends are still hostages.”

“I know,” Quinn muttered, torn between fear and hope. “But you’re the strongest we’ve got. If you die, it’s over — for us and the Haven. Bartholomew wins.”

Luke’s gaze slid to Ronan, his expression hardening. “Tell me everything you know about Bartholomew’s skills.”

Mason raised a hand before Ronan could answer. “We’ve got a bigger problem than Bartholomew,” he said.

Allison exhaled slowly, eyes narrowing. “Erza Grimhart.”

***

“Bartholomew and Kruger handled the poisons,” Eleanor said as they ran into the forest. Boots struck the wet earth with a drumbeat thud. “Kruger had the Poison Manipulator profession at max level.”

They already knew this, but repetition worked like probing a wound — they needed to trace the enemy’s edge before cutting into it.