Chapter 395 Reunion (1/2)

Arran reached Knight's Watch at the break of dawn He'd traveled through the night, and as the city finally ca walls even as the lands beloere still cloaked in shadow

He could not help but feel a sense of ahen he looked upon the city's hty defenses Built atop a massive hill and surrounded by tiered layers of walls, the city reseiant castle — but one that washu as the sight of the city's walls was, Arran now understood that even these defenses ht if it ever pushed beyond the Desolation in force

When he had first laid eyes upon Knight's Watch, he had wondered what enemies its walls were built to withstand But now, he knew the answer After seeing the power of a Warlock, he understood that just a handful of such creatures could bring down any wall

Against the strength of Arches, no barrier would offer more than a temporary respite

Moreover, Arran suspected that the Blight counted creatures even stronger than Warlocks a its numbers He'd had his share of bad luck in the past, but he could not ihtiest champions the moment he set foot near the Desolation

Farmany, a powerful but otherwise unreht And if that was the case, there had to be stronger beings aht caused Arran soes — or near enough not to th would those that surpassed thees, or worse, even stronger than that?

He sighed softly as he considered the possibility, then abandoned the thought as quickly as it had coers ahead, doing so would do hiood

Instead, he took a moment to clear hisits

Early as it was, the roads were still empty, and even at a distance of a quarter-ood two dozen of the hinized that he was no Blightspawn, they visibly relaxed

When he reached the gate souards' leader stepped forward and cast a short glance at his armor ”Wolfsblood Army?” There was a hint of envy in his eyes, and not without reason Though he was a Knight, it was obvious that his arood as Arran's

Arran nodded ”Knohere I can find the rest of roup?” As he asked the question, he couldn't stop a s his lips It seeed to uard, however, ave hier into a Knight,” he said sharply, disapproval clear in his voice With a gesture at the city behind hiroup within the outermost layer of the city, about three h Arran was teer yet, he wisely held his tongue Instead, he gave the ates — and proht's Watch was no common city was obvious even from afar, but inside the city walls, he no that the outer part barely even resembled a city

Rather than homes and shops, the half-mile between the first and second walls held only barracks and large training fields And despite the early hour, nu their swords various battle formations

Arran had expected to find a city, but instead, what he saw more resembled a vast athered around the city proper

These soldiers weren't part of a single arroups, each with its own leaders andtheir own banners

Arran understood that these were Darians headed into the Desolation, ht's Watch before they continued their journey to Sacrifice

Here, they would try to find allies and coroups — the strongest ones — would grow their nuroups to bolster their ranks and alory in the Desolation The sroups,their prospects of rewards for a chance at survival

Though Arran already knew all of this, he still found himself startled by the sheer , but actually seeing it with his own eyes was soer for ht of the Darian soldiers ht be, what he really wished to knohat Kaleesh had achieved since his departure

That the Knight at the gates had recognized his ar else, itan arh still remained to be seen

Arran quickly set off toward the area where the guardser to see the fruits of Kaleesh's labor

Though he was mainly interested in the Wolfsblood Arroups he passed as hebefore he noticed that there were stark differences between theroups counted only a few dozen soldiers and were usually led by just one or two Rangers To Arran's eyes, the soldiers in these groups looked more like farmhands and shepherds than warriors, with rusty weapons and shoddy ar the at best

Arran guessed that these groups caes and small towns, and he couldn't help but shake his head as he looked at theerous as he believed, then ain

Yet where the sroups appeared wholly different

With hundreds — or, in some cases, thousands — of soldiers, they reseers, and they had the equipment to match their nu uniforers who did not carry a star backing, Arran knew Their leaders were likely the sons and daughters of Lords and Knights, given the troops and equiph even they would face danger, he had no doubt that hed wistfully as he continued onward As unfair as the situation seee it All he could do was try his best to allow himself and his allies to escape unscathed

As for the Darian villagers, they would have to fend for the the groups in their drills as he passed them Some impressed him with their skill and discipline, while others left hi whether their soldiers had ever even held weapons before

But then, as he laid eyes on yet another group, he came to a slow halt, and his eyes widened at the scene before him

To his side there was an army of thousands, ell-armed soldiers ere clad in immaculate unifor a blue dragon-shaped sigil, and even at a distance, Arran saw that several of the Rangers a the soldiers wore starht hiroup was easily the best-equipped he had seen so far, equipht his eye were their drills

Where the other groups ht aardness of trained but inexperienced fighters, the soldiers of this group obviously had the confidence of seasoned veterans, their every move shaped by years of experience — experience that clearly extended beyond the training fields

A single look was enough for Arran to know that ers in their abilities, and as he continued to watch, he soon became convinced that most of them had already spent time in the Desolation

The sah they were still far rehts, their skills and discipline ers Arran had encountered so far If the soldiers in this arers were master swordsmen, ar could bring

Yet as respectable as their individual skills were, Arran was eventhe a le shouted coh to make hundreds of soldiers switch positions in an instant

When Arran first saw the Wolfsblood Company do battle, he had been astonished at the coordination of Kaleesh's forces — how the captain's band of , the different units like weapons expertly wielded by their leader

But as he watched this army practice, he was forced to ad he had seen from the Wolfsblood Company

Several minutes passed as he watched the army in its drills, and he took the opportunity to study its movements and compare them to what he had learned fro before a sed fro man in starmetal armor, they moved toward Arran at a rapid pace, their expressions filled with confidence and hostility in equal measure

A wry smile crossed Arran's face as he watched their approach It see an audience

”You there!” the young roup called out as they approached Arran ”What's your business here?”

”I'er's hostility, Arran replied calers posed no threat to hiht with people he could easily kill without even drawing his sword

”You think you can—” the young Ranger began, but he stopped mid-sentence as he noticed Arran's armor Then, a cold smile crossed his lips ”One of Kaleesh's strays, wandered off by himself?”

Arran raised an eyebrow It seeed to make a name for hier, see Arran's silence for fear,should know better than to enter a dragon's den”

At this, Arran could not help but sigh Though he hadn't been searching for a fight, perhaps he would have to teach this foolish Ranger a well-deserved lesson, after all

Yet before he could move, a voice sounded in the distance ”Commander!”

When Arran turned toward the sound, he saw Arjun rushi+ng toward hier acconized none of them, but since several wore the Wolfsblood Co Kaleesh's new recruits