Far away from Leonora, another kingdom also faced the same suffocating tension beneath the darkened skies. Within the kingdom of Valdros, King Darius stood atop the massive battlements overlooking the outer territories while cold wind swept heavily across the walls around him.

Dark clouds churned endlessly overhead and faint rain had already begun drizzling from the skies, covering the stone walls and armor of the defenders with thin streams of water.

But despite the storm approaching, the true source of anxiety for the king was not the weather. It was the silence.

King Darius narrowed his eyes toward the enormous stone mountain range stretching far beyond the kingdom walls. Those mountains had always served as the nesting grounds of the Magical Beasts, that constantly assaulted Valdros for these couple of days. Gigantic creatures covered in natural stone armor lived throughout those rocky territories, and for days the kingdom had continuously fought against their relentless attacks.

The battles had never fully stopped before this.

Everyone inside Valdros had already prepared themselves mentally for a long war that would continue for many more days. The soldiers had accepted exhaustion as normal. The healers had worked without rest. Even the king himself had remained atop the battlements leading the defense personally.

Because unlike many rulers, King Darius had once stood as one of the strongest knight cultivators within Valdros before ascending the throne. Magic energy cultivation still flowed powerfully throughout his body even now.

That was why he chose to remain on the battlefield with his soldiers instead of hiding safely within the palace.

But now everything beyond the walls had suddenly become empty.

No roars echoed from the mountains anymore, no beasts descended from the cliffs, and there was no movement appearing anywhere across the rocky landscape.

That silence felt far more terrifying than the battles themselves.

The defenders atop the battlements remained visibly restless. Archers continuously scanned the distant mountains while knights gripped their weapons tighter than before. Even the veteran mages standing near the defensive towers looked deeply unsettled.

Because nobody understood why the attacks had suddenly stopped.

Then one of the knight captains approached the king quickly before lowering his head respectfully.

"Your Majesty," the captain said.

King Darius slowly turned his gaze toward him. "Speak."

The captain hesitated briefly before continuing. "I wish to send scouts outside the walls to investigate what is happening on the mountains."

King Darius looked toward the distant rocky landscape again afterward.

"So you also feel something strange about this, Captain?" he asked quietly.

The captain’s expression tightened immediately.

"This is deeply worrying, Your Majesty," he answered honestly. "When an enemy suddenly changes their attack patterns like this, it usually means they are preparing something worse."

King Darius remained silent for several moments while the cold wind moved across the battlements around them.

"Except," the king finally said slowly, his eyes narrowed further toward the dark mountains. "We cannot even predict what that ’something worse’ might be. Because we still do not truly know what or who we are fighting."

The captain visibly gritted his teeth while tension hardened across his jaw.

The same fear existed inside every defender standing upon these walls. Not knowing the enemy created a different kind of terror entirely. It felt like a massive dark cloud constantly hanging above all of them while nobody knew when the rain would finally descend.

King Darius released a slow breath.

"I think sending scouts outside right now would be extremely dangerous, Captain. But I understand that it may become necessary," he said carefully. The king paused briefly before continuing. "Let us wait a little longer first. If nothing changes... then we send the scouts."

"Yes, Your Majesty." The captain bowed once more before quickly leaving to relay the orders.

The rain slowly intensified afterward. Water dripped from the battlements while the defenders remained trapped in tense silence beneath the dark skies.

Then suddenly, hurried footsteps echoed across the walls.

One of the kingdom mages rapidly approached the king with alarm visible across his face.

"Your Majesty!" the mage shouted while struggling slightly to catch his breath.

King Darius immediately turned toward him. "What happened?"

The mage looked deeply unsettled.

"Our communication spirits..." he reported anxiously. "We’ve lost contact with the other kingdoms."

King Darius’s expression immediately hardened. "What do you mean lost contact?"

"The spirit connections stopped responding entirely," the mage explained quickly. "We cannot establish communication anymore. It’s as though something is interfering with the Magic energy itself."

Silence immediately settled around them again.

The surrounding knights and mages exchanged uneasy looks while the rain continued falling softly across the battlements.

King Darius slowly turned his gaze back toward the distant dark mountains. Genuine anxiety started tightening deeper inside his chest.

King Darius immediately turned toward the surrounding defenders after hearing the report about the broken communication spirits.

"Increase the watch rotations," he ordered firmly. "Nobody lowers their guard. I want every movement outside the walls reported immediately."

The knights and mages quickly straightened.

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

The king wasted no more time afterward. He immediately walked across the rain-soaked battlements toward one of the large Magic circles positioned deeper within the fortress walls.

Blue streams of Magic energy illuminated beneath his boots the moment he stepped into the formation. Ancient runes began rotating rapidly while the surrounding air distorted lightly.

Then his body vanished from the battlements.

Moments later, King Darius reappeared deep beneath the kingdom inside a massive underground cavern illuminated by countless glowing crystals and floating Magic lamps.

The enormous chamber still carried signs of the earlier battle against the awakened ancient constructs. Broken metallic bodies remained scattered throughout parts of the cavern while cracked weapons and damaged Magic pillars littered the ground.

At the center of the underground archive, Archmage Morvain continued working beside several partially dismantled constructs.

Since defeating the awakened guardians, the old Archmage had devoted himself to studying both the sealed archive and the ancient constructs themselves in hopes of learning how to use them for the kingdom’s defense.

At that moment, Morvain slowly lifted his head after sensing the king’s arrival.

"The spirit communication is down," King Darius said immediately while approaching him. "Just like you predicted."

Morvain visibly gritted his teeth afterward. "We can only continue defending the walls for now," the old Archmage said heavily without wasting time.

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