Chapter Fifty-Five– Storm of Steel and Shadows
The walls of Fort Riven trembled beneath the weight of the coming storm. The ground outside the last free bastion of the continent shook with the march of an army too large to comprehend. Five hundred thousand soldiers from the Sultan's homeland, an ocean of crimson banners, iron-plated legions, and thundering war machines stretched as far as the eye could see.
On the highest tower, Natalia stood with her cloak whipping in the wind, her eyes wide with disbelief. The fields before the fortress—once green—were now an endless sea of soldiers ready to erase them from existence.
Inside the fortress, the people were scared. Most of the three thousand remaining defenders were barely standing. Many were wounded, others were farmers or craftsmen who had taken up spears. Only a few real soldiers remained at all.
Kael, the only person who had ever managed to scratch Andrew, still lay unconscious in the infirmary, body trembling occasionally as his inner light power burned to stabilize itself.
Natalia entered the war room, where Lira, Cristi, and Tudor stood over a rough map of the land. Their faces were grim.
"They'll breach by morning," Tudor said, his voice iron. "They have trebuchets, flame throwers, and magic cannons. We don't even have enough archers to keep them at bay."
Cristi clenched his fists. "We'll fight. That's what we've always done."
"Fight for what?" Natalia whispered. "A slow death? The people here won't last an hour once the battle starts."
She took a step closer to the map. "There might be another way."
Everyone turned to her.
"Let me go to Andrew."
Cristi flinched. Lira's expression darkened.
Natalia raised her hands to silence the protests. "He won't hurt me. He said it before—and I believe him. He still sees me as his sister. And if I go willingly… maybe, just maybe, he'll spare the rest of you."
"No," Lira snapped. "Kael—he would never allow it. You're not just his love, you're a symbol now. Giving yourself up would crush him."
Natalia's voice cracked, but she didn't back down. "If Kael dies here, what's the point of any of this?"
A long silence passed between them.
But it ended with the deep thunder of war drums.
At the base of the cliffs, the Sultan stood atop a ridge, his war council flanking him.
"The Free Lands are at their final breath," he said. "We will break them before sunset."
The order was given, and the siege towers began to roll.
But then—a second sound echoed across the battlefield.
A strange hum.
It wasn't metal. It wasn't magic. It was… something else.
From the other side of the fortress, where the defenders had long given up watching, a thick black mist began to sweep across the cliffs. At its head stood a tall, pale figure in dark armor—the familiar face of GreenWolf, now shadow-touched, his body pulsing with Andrew's aura.
Behind him, twelve full shadow divisions marched with perfect, terrifying discipline. Sixty thousand soldiers. Former generals, reanimated warriors, and blades so sharp they cut through the mist itself.
GreenWolf raised a hand, and the shadow army stopped.
From the battlements, Natalia stepped forward and screamed at him.
"GreenWolf!"
He looked up, eyes blank and dark.
"Help us," she shouted. "Stop this madness. If you help save these people… I'll surrender myself. Lira too. Even Kael. But not a single life more has to be lost. You have to promise me!"
The wind carried her voice like a prayer into the dark.
Lira ran up behind her. "Natalia, what are you doing?!"
Natalia turned, tears in her eyes. "I'm ending it."
GreenWolf stood silently for a long moment.
Then… he raised his other hand.
The shadow army advanced.
But not toward the fortress.
They moved to intercept the Sultan's forces, cutting across the battlefield like a scythe through wheat.
The soldiers below screamed as shadows tore through their ranks—silent, brutal, efficient.
From above, the defenders watched in horror and awe as their would-be enemies saved them from certain death.
Inside the war tent of the Sultan, chaos erupted.
"My lord! There are shadow troops in our flank—led by a general of the Shadow King!"
The Sultan's face went pale. "He sent them?"
"Yes. GreenWolf is with them."
The Sultan ground his teeth. "So this is how Andrew plays his game…"
Back at Fort Riven, Natalia stepped down from the wall, collapsing into Lira's arms.
"I bought us time," she whispered. "Now we need to figure out what we're going to do with it."
Cristi stared out over the battlefield, his eyes wide as shadow soldiers clashed with the Sultan's army.
Tudor muttered, "We might have survived today… but we've just traded one executioner for another."
In the infirmary, Kael's eyes flashed open, his body still weak—but his light pulsed again.
Something within him had changed.
And the war… was far from over.