The warhorns came at dusk.
Three of them — low, guttural notes carried on the wind, followed by the rhythmic clang of rusted drums and the howl of beasts long corrupted.
Kian didn't flinch.
He stood on the outer rampart, cloak coiled behind him like smoke, the sky above dark with ash clouds tinged red from the setting sun.
Behind him, Ashfall Bastion waited — walls newly reinforced with Codex-enhanced stone, traps reset, Sentinel constructs stationed at the gates, and a hundred settlers either armed, hiding, or praying.
"Who are they?" Veyna asked, approaching beside him.
Kian's eyes narrowed, the Codex lens clicking softly in his left eye.
[Scan Initiated – Hostile Force Identified]
Faction: Red Jackals – Nomadic Warband, Bounty-Hunters, Slavers
Estimated Numbers: 27 foot soldiers, 4 fire-scar wolves, 1 siege walker (Tier II)
Commander: Garrus Flint, ex-War Captain of Zareth's Outriders. Known for brutality and anti-mage purges.
Suggested Strategy: Delay. Bleed. Break morale. Avoid frontal engagement.
Kian exhaled.
"They're not here to bargain."
"No," Veyna said. "They came to collect."
Inside the Bastion – Pre-Siege
Gellon and the salvager twins hauled ammunition to the towers. Marra, arm in a sling, coordinated wall watchers and trap resets. Several newcomers had taken to training with scrap weapons or Codex-projected blades — shakily, but with determination.
In the Construct Stable — a half-underground chamber lit by violet glyphs — three Ashhounds stood ready.
They weren't real beasts.
They were Codex-born hybrids — wolf-shaped defense constructs made from salvaged armor, sharpened bones, and mana-fed core engines.
[Ashhound Unit – Operational]
HP: Moderate Damage: Piercing + Disruption Passive: Targets enemies marked by Builder
"Deploy them to the south gate," Kian ordered.
Marra nodded. "What about the siege walker?"
Kian smiled grimly.
"I built something for that."
Battle Begins – Hour 0
The first jackals hit the outer trench at full sprint — axes high, howling. Fire-scar wolves bounded ahead, jaws leaking molten drool.
Trigger Detected.
A shhhck! of metal and flame.
[Trap Activated – Ember Cage Grid]
Enemies Incinerated: 6
Fear Radius Increased by 8 meters
The rest stumbled.
Then the Ashhounds leapt — silent and deadly. One took down a wolf in seconds. Another lured two jackals into a rune pit that exploded with concussive force.
Kian moved like a general possessed.
"Section 3: Reinforce!"
"Gellon — reset your ward line now!"
"Veyna, hold the northeast corner. They'll test it next."
The Codex interface swam with data — structural integrity, enemy morale, ally health thresholds.
He read it all.
He became it all.
Then came the siege walker — a towering mess of steel limbs, alchemic engines, and chained bone-cannon arms. It rolled forward on wheeled treads, belching fire and death.
Garrus Flint rode atop it, a massive man with plated arms and a rust-colored cape.
He raised his war blade and bellowed, "TEAR IT DOWN! LEAVE NO STONE STANDING!"
Kian descended into the inner sanctum.
There, on a raised platform, sat Project Ruinwheel — his Codex-tier siege weapon: a rotating spire of gears and plates with a high-frequency blade-tipped spear mounted in a rail-launch system.
He activated it.
[Siege Defense Construct Online – Ruinwheel Initialized]
Target: Marked
Power Charge: 76%
Launch In: 3… 2… 1…
The Bastion shook as the weapon fired.
The spear punched through the walker's leg joint, ripping it apart in a flash of molten steel and bone. The walker collapsed sideways, crashing into its own troops.
Garrus Flint was flung into the dirt, dazed.
Kian climbed the battlement, raised one hand — and marked him.
"Take him," he told the Ashhounds.
Veyna's Stand
On the northeast wall, fire erupted.
The jackals had brought flame-slingers — mages with corrupted sigils — and launched burning spheres at the high walk.
Veyna stood alone against them.
Her eyes glowed violet-blue now, hair whipping in unnatural wind. She raised her hands, and fire met fire — but hers moved like a living creature, shaped into spears, lances, and burning wings.
She didn't just cast.
She commanded.
One by one, enemy flame attacks bent away — diverted or extinguished.
Then, Veyna whispered an ancient word.
And the sky cracked.
[Sealed Core Sync – Temporary Overdrive Achieved]
Ability: Starbrand Flame – Targeted Ray + Explosion
Cooldown: Unknown. Core Instability Rising.
A pillar of light surged downward from above, obliterating the last of the flame-slingers in a single, blinding strike.
For a moment, the battlefield was silent.
And then they ran.
Aftermath
The Red Jackals fled into the night.
Garrus Flint was left behind — bleeding, unconscious, and shackled. He would be interrogated, not executed. His knowledge might yet be worth something.
Kian stood in the wreckage beside his war table, covered in soot, blood, and ash.
The Bastion still stood.
But cracks were forming — in the walls, in the people, in Veyna.
[Settlement Update – Bastion Morale +12]
Enemy Force Routed.
New Fame: Ashguard of Hollowreach.
Codex Level Up – Architect Codex Rank III Achieved
New Blueprint: Construct Beacon Tower
Passive Unlocked: Battle Efficiency +10% near fortifications
Predation Level Up – Tier 2 Achieved
New Trait: Deathsense – Can detect dying enemies within 30 meters.
New Feature: Tactical Assimilation – Gain brief skill memory from devoured prey.
Later, Veyna sat beneath the stars, alone.
Kian joined her.
"They'll keep coming," she said.
"Yes."
"I won't survive it," she whispered. "We won't."
Kian sat beside her.
"Then we change the game," he said. "We build a warstate. A true stronghold. A city made not just to survive — but to push back."
Veyna turned, surprised.
He smiled faintly.
"They called me unchosen. I'll make them wish I stayed that way."
End of Chapter 10