110 li west of Qingmu County, Ningyuan County.

The city walls were burning.

The walls, twenty meters high and as tall as those of Beacon Fire Town, could no longer be seen in their original color.

The bricks were pitted from catapult strikes, most of the battlements were shattered, and a corpse lay every few steps.

Some belonged to the Yellow Turban Army, but more were from Ningyuan County. Several cracks had been smashed into the blue-quality gate of the East Gate.

With every impact, the support beams behind the gate let out an overwhelmed groan.

Outside the city, five thousand Yellow Turban Army soldiers were laying siege.

Two Yellow Turban Channel Chiefs sat on horseback, one on the left and one on the right, directing the military formations to take turns attacking the city.

Catapults were lined up five hundred meters away, their massive stone projectiles crashing into the walls every few minutes with a thunderous boom, sending stone fragments flying.

Several other catapults weren't launching stones, but jars of green Explosive Potions that burst upon hitting the walls; the flames, mixed with toxic smoke, choked the defenders so they couldn't open their eyes.

Scaling ladders were hooked onto various parts of the wall, their iron hooks biting into the battlements as Yellow Turban Army soldiers climbed up one after another.

On the city walls, the battle had reached a fever pitch.

The lord of Ningyuan County, Li Zhengyong, stood atop the East Gate tower, gripping a massive war hammer with both hands, covered in blood.

A Level 25 Earth Warrior, he was the only second promotion class-holder in Ningyuan County.

Beside him, thirty Level 19 first-promotion class-holders were desperately resisting the Yellow Turban Army soldiers who had climbed up.

Some used swords, some used sabers, some used shields, and some used spears; everyone was fighting for their lives, and everyone was bleeding.

But their opponents were too many.

Yellow Turban Fierce Soldiers flipped up from the ladders, their battle-axes sweeping across; a class-holder was cleaved off the wall, their scream trailing off long before they hit the ground.

Yellow Turban Strongmen followed, their giant clubs smashing down; shields shattered, and those holding them were sent flying, their chests caving in.

Yellow Turban Fierce Generals jumped directly from the tops of the ladders, swinging their double-bladed battle-axes in wide arcs, cutting down two at a time, then another two. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

Li Zhengyong let out a roar, his war hammer smashing into the head of a Yellow Turban Fierce General, shattering the skull and sending the general tumbling off the wall.

But more of the Yellow Turban Army surged up. Gaps in the wall grew more frequent, and the defenders' lines were torn into segments, forcing them to fight in isolation.

In the Ningyuan County livestream, the bullet chat was sparse, but every word carried a sense of despair.

【It's over... the East Gate can't hold on...】

【Lord Li is only Level 25, while the other side has two Level 25 Rare Bosses. How can he fight?】

【Out of the thirty first-promotion class-holders, seven or eight are already dead...】

【Where are the County Soldiers? Where are Ningyuan County's County Soldiers?】

【The County Soldiers were wiped out long ago. Look at those on the wall; those in gray clothes are all Awakened...】

【Is this the double Nightmare Tide...】

【It's not just a matter of it being double. Ningyuan County wasn't strong to begin with; at most, it's mid-tier among Daxia's county-level territories. Usually, even a Level 3 Nightmare Tide is a struggle, let alone a double one...】

【Can anyone come to save them?】

【How? The closest is Qingmu County, 110 li away. By the time they get here, it'll be too late.】

【And Qingmu County is probably being attacked by the Nightmare Tide themselves, right?】

The bullet chat gradually thinned out. It wasn't that people didn't want to post, but they didn't know what to say.

On the city walls, the battle was nearing its end. Of the thirty first-promotion class-holders, twenty-three had already fallen.

The remaining seven ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ were covered in wounds, surrounded by the Yellow Turban Army at a corner of the wall; back to back, their blades were already notched.

Li Zhengyong stood before them, leaning his war hammer on the ground, gasping for breath.

An arrow was lodged in his left shoulder, and his right leg had been slashed; blood had stained his half-body iron armor a dark red.

Outside the city, the two Yellow Turban Channel Chiefs moved simultaneously.

They leaped from their horses and landed on the wall, one on the left and one on the right, walking toward Li Zhengyong.

Their battle-axes dragged on the ground, sending sparks flying.

Li Zhengyong looked up at the two approaching figures.

He took a deep breath and tightened his grip on his war hammer.

【Lord Li...】

【Stop watching, I don't dare to look anymore...】

【Ningyuan County is finished.】

Li Zhengyong charged forward. The war hammer and the two battle-axes collided with a boom, the shockwave knocking back the surrounding Yellow Turban Army soldiers.

He blocked the first strike, then the second; by the third, the wound on his left shoulder burst open, and the war hammer slipped from his hand.

A battle-axe struck his chest, shattering his iron armor.

Another battle-axe struck his waist, snapping his half-body iron armor in two.

Li Zhengyong knelt on the city wall, blood welling from the corners of his mouth.

He looked up at the sky. The blood moon hung there, very red and very bright.

He remembered the day he established the village; it was also a night with a full moon.

Back then, they had nothing but a Village Establishment Order and a group of brothers.

Forty-three years had passed; from a village to a town, from a town to a county seat, every brick and tile had been fought for by him and his brothers.

Now, it was all gone.

He closed his eyes and collapsed.

【Lord Li has died in battle...】

【The thirty first-promotion class-holders are all gone...】

【The East Gate is broken... the city gate has been smashed open...】

【The Yellow Turban Army has entered the city...】

In the footage, the Yellow Turban Army poured into Ningyuan County through the East Gate.

On the streets, the Awakened were still resisting, but they were no longer organized.

In groups of several or a dozen, they fought desperately in alleys, in front of houses, and in squares.

But there were too many Yellow Turban Army soldiers. Five thousand men pouring into a county seat was like a tide flooding a sandpit.

An Awakened was surrounded by three Yellow Turban Army soldiers, and a spear pierced through his chest from behind.

Before he fell, he threw the blade in his hand, which lodged into a Yellow Turban soldier's neck.

Another Awakened was cornered; the sword in his hand was broken, but he gripped the half-blade and lunged at the Yellow Turban Army, only to be cut down.

A father and son stood side by side in front of their home, the father holding a hoe and the son a kitchen knife; they were struck down together by a Yellow Turban Strongman's club.

【Stop killing... please... stop the killing...】

【They're all just ordinary people...】

【There are only six thousand people in total in Ningyuan County...】

【Six thousand people, and not one can escape...】

【This is the Nightmare World...】

The footage continued; after slaughtering the Awakened on the streets, the Yellow Turban Army began searching house by house; some rushed out and were impaled by spears;

Some hid under beds and were dragged out and killed;

Some climbed onto roofs and were shot down by Archers. No one could escape.

Yellow Turban Army soldiers were everywhere; the walls were occupied, the gates were blocked, and even the sewers were sealed.

Twenty minutes later, there were no more living people in Ningyuan County.

In the livestream, the image froze on the East Gate of Ningyuan County.

The gate was shattered, half the wall had collapsed, and corpses were strewn everywhere in the streets.

The bullet chat was empty; no one spoke anymore.

Then, the screen went black.

【Livestream signal lost】

【Ningyuan County has fallen】

The bullet chat reappeared, sparse, like whispers at a funeral.

【Another one...】

【How many people are going to die tonight?】

【Korea's city-level territory is gone, and now Ningyuan County is gone too...】

【The blood moon only appeared ten days ago; this is just the beginning, isn't it?】

【I don't know... I really don't know...】

(Tomorrow's preview: Beacon Fire Town officially upgrades to a county-level territory, the Great Qin Elite Soldiers Barracks is unlocked, and two thousand Elite Soldiers are ready to go! Also, the rating dropped by 0.3 today... if you're satisfied with the story, please give a like to support, thank you!)