Angus Port, this city nestled against the northern coastline of the United Kingdom, had always enjoyed a peculiar tranquility.
It was neither a frontline fortress nor a resource hub. Though nominally situated close to the border adjoining the Hermit Empire, the towering Crimson Ridge Mountains stood like a natural barrier, keeping the flames of war and strife at bay. For nearly a century, even during the most tension-filled years when relations between the Kingdom and the Empire reached their most precarious point, the residents of Angus Port could still sleep peacefully in the briny sea breeze.
However, with the mainland situation growing increasingly tense, the lord of Angus Port had still strengthened surveillance and inspection of all maritime vessels. The order itself was beyond reproach, but as it filtered down through layers of implementation, it became a glittering path to wealth in the eyes of the dock guards.
Passing merchant ships, fishermen, and even the occasional small exploration vessels seeking harbor for resupply—all became targets for their extortion and blackmail. A few silver coins could "expedite" customs inspections, while a few gold coins could render certain non-compliant cargo "invisible." The dock guards' purses swelled, but beneath the surface bustle of the port, an atmosphere of oppressive slickness and greed had taken root.
Edwin was also a dock guard, but unlike his fortunate colleagues, he was a lighthouse keeper on night duty. The interior of the lighthouse was cramped and damp, permeated with the scents of lamp oil, sea salt, and aged stone walls.
Edwin leaned against the cold inner wall, his rough fingers unconsciously rubbing the empty, deflated money pouch at his waist.
"Damn this lighthouse!" Edwin's voice carried heavy fatigue and resentment, echoing in the narrow space. "Those brothers down at the docks—just a bit of oil slipping through their fingers is enough for us to work a whole month! And us? Guarding this broken pile of stones, we get nothing but that measly dead salary!"
He grew more agitated as he spoke, suddenly pounding the wall with his fist: "My son—after the talent assessment a few days ago, they discovered he has water magic affinity, prime material for learning spellcraft! That damned tuition fee—where am I supposed to get that kind of money?"
Nearby, a relatively young guard sat on a wooden stool, polishing the glass cover of a lantern. Listening to Edwin's complaints, he would only occasionally mumble an "mm" or let out a brief sigh. He understood Edwin's frustration, but felt these complaints had become as much a part of the lighthouse's background ambiance as the nightly sound of waves.
Right now, he was more worried about their companion who had gone out to relieve himself and hadn't returned for quite some time.
"That Big-Eye Fish fellow—did he fall into the sea or something?" The young guard set down his cloth and cocked his ear toward the outside. Beyond the wind and waves crashing against the rocks, there was only deathly silence.
Edwin waved his hand irritably: "Who cares! He's probably dozing off in some sheltered corner! This cursed job—even our laziness has to be so pathetic..."
But the young guard's unease continued to grow. Though Big-Eye Fish could be lax at times, he never left for this long without reason.
"I'd better go check on him." He stood up, grabbing the halberd leaning against the wall.
He pushed open the heavy wooden door, and immediately ice-cold, briny sea wind rushed in, making him shiver. The young guard squinted, looking around but seeing no sign of Big-Eye Fish. He walked toward the platform's edge, toward the usual sheltered corner used for relieving oneself, his footsteps making soft sounds on the stone slabs.
"Big-Eye Fish?" he called out in a lowered voice.
Just as he approached the shadows near the edge, sudden change erupted!
A black shadow shot out from the shadows of the lighthouse's outer wall like a specter, moving at unimaginable speed! The young guard only caught a glimpse of slippery scales reflecting light from the corner of his eye before feeling an ice-cold, piercing pain at his throat.
He wanted to shout, but could only produce a "heh-heh" gasping sound. The halberd slipped from his hands, crashing onto the stone slabs with a harsh clang. He clutched at his throat as hot fluid gushed forth, staring in disbelief with wide eyes as his body softly collapsed.
Edwin inside the lighthouse jumped at the strange noise! "What the hell's going on?"
He stood up, rushed to the door in a few steps, and yanked it open.
The scene before his eyes made his blood freeze instantly! The young guard lay in a pool of blood, his body still twitching slightly. And beside the young guard's corpse stood a... a nightmare-like creature!
It stood a full head taller than the tallest human, with a slender form covered in dark green, glistening scales. A thick, powerful serpentine tail dragged behind it, supporting its body. On its triangular head, a pair of cold, cruel yellow vertical pupils gleaming with malicious light stared fixedly at Edwin. In its hand, it gripped a curved, strangely-shaped dagger gleaming with ghostly blue radiance, its tip still dripping with the young guard's fresh blood.
A snake-person! A demon race!
He turned and ran back inside, the snake warrior hissing lowly as it pursued! Edwin pressed against the wooden door, but the force from behind made him clearly realize this wouldn't hold for long.
"Damn damn damn damn! How am I this unlucky?!"
In this life-or-death moment, Edwin thought of his wife back home who nagged endlessly all day, thought of his child still immersed in dreams of becoming a mage.
He abandoned trying to hold the wooden door and rushed toward the thick rope in the opposite corner that he'd never used before!
The snake-person burst in, and just before the dagger pierced his chest, Edwin used the last strength in his body to violently yank down the hanging rope!
"CLANG————————!!!"
A resonant, urgent, powerfully penetrating bell toll instantly shattered the silent night sky of Angus Port!
Not long after the bell sounded, several more equally tall snake-person silhouettes silently slid out from the shadows outside the lighthouse. The one in the lead had an even more imposing build, with deeper-colored scales approaching ink-green, and a ring of conspicuous dark red bone spikes around its neck.
It looked at the two guards lying in pools of blood and its kinsman who had just withdrawn the dagger, those cold vertical pupils burning with flames of rage.
"You fool!" Its voice was filled with disappointment and fury. "You let them sound the alarm! Because of you, the surprise attack plan was ruined just as it began!"
The snake warrior who had made the mistake fearfully lowered its head, hissing some explanation, but was roughly interrupted by the leader.
The snake-person leader raised its head toward the port direction. In the distance, lights were already beginning to flicker sporadically, with confused human voices and metallic clashing sounds faintly audible.
Several other snake warriors gathered around, asking uneasily: "What do we do now?"
The snake-person leader took a deep breath, a flash of viciousness crossing its vertical pupils: "Those who cannot prove their worth have no way to survive in the Empire. This operation must succeed—failure is not permitted!"
"While these human swine haven't fully reacted yet, charge in! Pave the way with their blood and terror! Seize the docks!"
Under the leader's command, massive numbers of snake-people wielding weapons swam ashore at the dock's edge.
Slaughter began in an even more frenzied and bloody manner after the unexpected alarm. Soon, the dock area fell into chaos as snake warriors, with agility and strength surpassing ordinary human soldiers, savagely attacked the hastily responding guards and awakened residents.
They set fire to houses and ships moored near shore, creating even greater chaos. Piercing screams, clashing weapons, collapsing buildings, and the crackling of flames mixed together, painting half of Angus Port blood-red in the deep night.
"Quick! Quick! Send everyone to the docks, kill all those demon race!" Count Angus repeated this order he'd already given several times. Suddenly attacked, he was now completely panicked.
But when he looked up, he saw a scene of despair—
Several demon race warships, like giant beasts crawling out of darkness, their menacing silhouettes crashed into his vision, slowly sailing in under the firelight from the docks.
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