When dusk fell, Grey Rock Castle had not yet been torn open by artillery fire.
Outside the city wall, the Red Tide Legion's vehicle phalanx had already fully deployed.
Steel lined up in a row, engines idling at the lowest speed, a low rumble rolling along the ground like thunder pressing down on the chest.
They didn't advance quickly, only switched on the searchlights simultaneously.
The cold white beams swept over the city walls, moats, and arrow towers, finally coming to a calculated stop on the towering castle; this deliberate pause was more torturous than any siege.
Grey Rock Castle plunged into dead silence; the soldiers stayed at their posts, but no one knew what they were waiting for.
Attack delayed, negotiations unseen, even death itself had been postponed.
Kael Remont stood on the tower balcony, his eyes bloodshot, fingernails digging into his flesh.
The wind crept into his ears, gradually changing tune, like a whisper at the back of his head.
