The low rumble of marching feet echoed across the valley.
Standing atop the eastern watchtower of his village, Hikaru narrowed his eyes as he stared into the distance. Dust clouds churned over the horizon, an ominous herald of the enemy's advance. His instincts screamed at him—this was not a mere skirmish force. This was an army.
Kora climbed the wooden ladder beside him, her armor polished, her blades sheathed but humming with energy. "They'll be here within the hour," she said grimly.
Hikaru nodded. The System had confirmed it—over three hundred enemy units, a mix of orcish marauders, corrupted knights, and skeletal war beasts. They moved with disturbing coordination, a sure sign of intelligent leadership.
"Kora," Hikaru said, "we need our strongest units at the eastern gate. Tell Captain Arven to deploy the upgraded Ballistae and reinforce the walls with Earthbound Stone."
"Already done," she replied, then paused.
"You really think this is just another raid?"
"No," Hikaru answered coldly. "This feels like the first real move in a larger campaign."
System Alert: Global Event Detected
➤ Event: Iron Tide
➤ Description: A powerful dark faction has begun its assault across all player-controlled zones. Hold your ground. Survive. Ascend.
➤ Objective: Defend your village for 1 hour of real-time.
➤ Bonus: Survive with zero structure loss for rare hero unit unlock.
Back in the command chamber, the atmosphere was tense. Maps and troop reports littered the war table as Ilyra, the elven tactician Hikaru had recently recruited, pointed to enemy flanking patterns using illusionary projections.
"They're not simply charging head-on," she noted. "The bulk will hit the east, but they're testing our north wall with scouts. If we ignore them, they'll breach through the rear mid-battle."
"Then we won't ignore them," Hikaru replied. "Send two squads of rangers and Shadow-class units to patrol the north forests. I want traps laid and watchers in the trees."
Ilyra smirked. "Now you're thinking like a general."
Hikaru leaned on the table, his fingers gripping the edge. "If they take the village, we don't respawn. There's no retry."
"Which means we'll win," Kora added, appearing behind him. "Because we have to."
The iron tide hit just as the System's timer dropped to 00:59:59.
The first wave of enemy warriors slammed into the outer gate with terrifying force. The ground shook. Explosive traps triggered, fire bursting across the front lines as archers rained arrows from the ramparts. The enemy's front row buckled but kept coming.
Hikaru stood atop the gate with his sword drawn, issuing commands through the System interface and his voice alike. "Hold formation! Stone Guardians, forward! Shield wall, now!"
Magical runes lit up as his defensive golems stomped to the front line, absorbing the worst of the damage with their massive stone bodies. Behind them, pikemen braced for impact.
The air filled with the screams of war.
Midway through the battle, Hikaru noticed something odd.
The enemy formations were shifting again—not toward the gates, but around the outskirts. A sudden surge in the System interface drew his attention.
System Alert: Shadow Nodes Detected
➤ Warning: Elite enemy assassins detected attempting sabotage at the central Command Hall.
His heart sank.
"They're trying to cut the head off the snake," he muttered.
"Illya!" he barked. "Take half the reserve unit and sweep the inner village. I want those saboteurs eliminated—now!"
Illya vanished in a blur of light, her cloak shimmering as she moved to intercept.
Kora was already sprinting toward the southern lane where three massive War Beasts had broken past the secondary gate, their skeletal maws dripping with cursed energy.
Hikaru activated his special skill:
Skill Activated: Tactical Pulse (Tier II)
➤ All allies within 100 meters gain +20% speed and +15% damage for 30 seconds.
➤ Enemy stealth units are revealed.
A pulse of blue energy spread from Hikaru like a ripple across the battlefield. His allies surged with renewed vigor, while invisible enemies suddenly shimmered into view—caught mid-step, mid-strike. They didn't stand a chance.
Steel met bone. Magic clashed with shadows.
Every second was life or death.
With 15 minutes left on the timer, Hikaru heard the telltale horn of enemy reinforcements.
From the northern ridge, six siege trolls marched into view, dragging behind them massive, flaming catapults. Enemy mages floated behind, cloaked in black robes, readying spells designed to tear down the very walls of the village.
"They're going for a full siege!" shouted one of the scouts. "If those catapults get in range—!"
"They won't," Hikaru growled.
He turned to his second-in-command. "Bring out the Sky Fangs."
"Are you sure?" the man asked, eyes wide. "We've only field-tested them once."
"We don't have time to test," Hikaru said. "Deploy the fliers."
Within moments, the air above the village roared to life as a squadron of metallic-winged beasts took to the skies. Sky Fangs—advanced mechanical wyverns powered by mana cores—soared across the battlefield, launching magical projectiles and flame blasts at the enemy siege line.
Explosions rocked the ridge.
Two catapults crumbled under the aerial assault. One wyvern took a direct hit and spiraled out, crashing in the forest beyond. But it was enough.
The siege line broke.
The final ten minutes felt eternal.
Smoke filled the air. Rubble scattered the eastern road. Hikaru's health bar had dipped dangerously low twice already, and his mana reserves were on fumes. But they were still standing.
With one final order, he triggered the ultimate defense.
Structure Activated: Heart of the Village
➤ Emits a village-wide energy burst that stuns all enemies for 10 seconds. One use per day.
The blast rippled through the land, paralyzing enemies mid-strike. Hikaru led the final charge himself, his blade shining like a second sun as he and Kora pushed the tide back, unit by unit, foe by foe.
And then…
Silence.
System Alert: Objective Complete
➤ You have successfully defended your village.
➤ Bonus Achieved: Zero Structures Lost.
➤ Reward Unlocked: Hero Unit - "Duskblade, the Phantom Vanguard"
➤ All villagers gain +2 Morale and +10% Training Speed for 24 hours.
Cheers erupted across the village.
Exhausted, bloodied, but alive, Hikaru slumped against the inner gate wall and let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding.
"We did it," Kora said, sitting beside him, her arm bandaged, eyes gleaming with pride. "We held them off."
"For now," Hikaru said. "But that wasn't just a test of our walls. That was them seeing what we could take."
Kora's smile faded. "You think they'll come back stronger?"
"I know they will," Hikaru replied, gazing out toward the battlefield littered with corpses and burning wreckage. "And next time, they won't just be testing our strength—they'll be trying to break it."