Jiang Zhaoyue stood between the two corpses, her silver-white spear planted on the ground as blood dripped from its tip, drop by drop.

She wore a suit of form-fitting silver and blue armor that glinted coldly under the blood moon.

Her long hair was tied into a high ponytail, and the stray hairs at her forehead fluttered slightly in the wind.

Her face was expressionless, but her eyes shone with a startling brilliance beneath the blood moon.

【Jiang Zhaoyue · Lord of Crescent Moon Territory】

【Level: 25 (second promotion · Valkyrie)】

Two men stood behind her.

The one on the left wore a deep blue martial artist's robe with a long saber at his waist, its scabbard inlaid with a blue gemstone.

He was in his early thirties, with a lean face, a short beard, and steady eyes.

Star Guild Leader — Han Xingyu, Level 25 second promotion Saberman, master of one of the three top guilds in Zhenyue City.

He still held his saber, and the blood on the blade hadn't fully dried, yet his aura was already restrained, like a sharp blade returned to its sheath.

The one on the right wore black light armor, with two long swords crossed on his back—one hilt black and the other white.

He was not yet forty, with a cold face and a habitual downward turn of his mouth, making him look difficult to get along with.

Lingyun Guild Leader — Ling Yunzhi, Level 25 second promotion Swordsman, a figure of equal fame to Han Xingyu.

His sword was already sheathed, but his right hand still rested on the hilt, ready to be drawn at any moment.

Han Xingyu sheathed his saber, walked to Jiang Zhaoyue's side, and glanced down at the two corpses on the ground, his tone flat:

“Level 25 Rare Bosses, a double Nightmare Tide, and five thousand Yellow Turban Army soldiers. Crescent Moon Territory's walls are only ten meters high, the gate is only Green grade, and your soldiers barely number over a thousand. Any other territory would have been wiped out tonight.”

Ling Yunzhi did not respond. He turned to look at the city walls, his gaze passing over the damaged battlements and collapsed arrow towers.

He scanned the still-smoking city gate and finally looked at the Awakened who were resting on the walls.

They were covered in wounds; some sat paralyzed on the ground, some leaned against the battlements with their eyes closed, and others were bandaging their injuries.

But every face bore an expression of having survived a disaster—not one of joy, but of profound relief.

“Chairman Jiang,” Han Xingyu continued.

“As agreed, our three guilds cooperated fully to ensure Crescent Moon Territory met the conditions to upgrade to county-level before tonight. ”

“Now that the Nightmare Tide has receded, it's time to make a decision.”

Jiang Zhaoyue did not speak. Her fingers tightened slightly around the shaft of her spear.

Ling Yunzhi finally spoke, his voice cold but truthful:

“The blood moon appeared ten days ago, and no one knows when the upgrade conditions might change.”

“If we wake up tomorrow and the requirements for a county-level upgrade become something nonsensical, we'll both be too late for regrets.”

Jiang Zhaoyue looked up at the city walls. On the walls, several young Awakened were bandaging their wounds.

She withdrew her gaze and looked down at the corpses of the two Chiefs on the ground.

The blood had already coagulated into a dark red, casting a dull glow under the blood moon.

An indescribable feeling suddenly welled up in her heart.

Crescent Moon Territory could have reached this point on its own without relying on the power of Star and Lingyun. 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

She had the confidence and the ability. From the day the village was established, she never intended to rely on anyone else.

She had planned to take another ten years to slowly accumulate resources, upgrade to a county-level city, and steadily build a solid foundation.

But everything happened too fast. The disaster came too fast.

Ten days ago, the blood moon appeared in the sky. That night, she stood on the roof of the Lords Mansion, watching that blood moon until it vanished, not sleeping for the entire night.

She knew what it meant.

Eighty years ago, when the blood moon appeared, thirty percent of the nations on Blue Star were destroyed.

Among those fallen nations, some were ten times or even a hundred times stronger than Crescent Moon Territory.

The appearance of the blood moon shattered all her hopes of getting lucky.

Jiang Zhaoyue closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and slowly exhaled.

She opened her eyes and turned to face Han Xingyu and Ling Yunzhi.

“Fine,” her voice was very calm. “Upgrade now.”

Han Xingyu nodded, a hint of a smile appearing on his face.

Ling Yunzhi said nothing, but his hand resting on his sword hilt relaxed.

Jiang Zhaoyue pulled the silver-white spear from the ground, the last drop of blood falling from its tip in the moonlight.

She turned and strode toward the Council Hall.

Her steps were steady and her back was straight; like her character, she would never show weakness in front of others.

Behind her, Han Xingyu and Ling Yunzhi exchanged a glance and followed.

On the city walls, the resting Awakened saw Jiang Zhaoyue pass by and stood up one after another, placing their right hands over their hearts and bowing their heads slightly.

“Lord.”

“Lord Jiang.”

Jiang Zhaoyue nodded to each of them without stopping her pace.

She passed through the East Gate, walked down the main street, and pushed open the doors of the Council Hall.

The hall was empty. Several maps were spread out on the long table, and the candles on the holders were half-burnt, with wax dripping onto the tabletop and hardening into white flowers.

Jiang Zhaoyue walked to the center of the hall and stopped.

She turned around to look at Han Xingyu and Ling Yunzhi as they entered.

“After the upgrade, Crescent Moon Territory will be a county-level territory,” she said softly, but every word was clear.

“As agreed, I will not touch the interests of Star and Lingyun in Crescent Moon Territory. But there is one condition—”

She paused, her gaze moving from Han Xingyu's face to Ling Yunzhi's, and then back again.

“I decide the matters of Crescent Moon Territory. You may offer suggestions, but you cannot make decisions for me.”

Han Xingyu smiled and cupped his fists. “Rest assured, Chairman Jiang. You can trust the reputation of Star.”

Ling Yunzhi only nodded and said nothing.

...

Central Plains Region, Korea, Jeolla County.

On the East Gate wall, Park Jung-hoon leaned on his longsword, gasping for breath.

The light of the blood moon fell upon him, dyeing his dark red cuirass an even more vivid hue, as if it had just been fished out of a pool of blood.

The Nightmare Legion outside the city was retreating, finally vanishing into the darkness.

The catapults had stopped, the scaling ladders had fallen, and the battering rams lay tilted by the moat, still emitting wisps of smoke.

He had won.

Park Jung-hoon leaned against a battlement and looked down at his purple-grade equipment set.

The cuirass, leggings, boots, and longsword—four purple pieces—had activated the set effect:

Health +1000, along with the active skill 'Unity of Armor.' It was thanks to this skill that he had managed to hold on tonight.

The decision to hand over the Special Village Establishment Order was the right one.

Without this gear, he never would have survived tonight's double Nightmare Tide.

Against five thousand Nightmare Legion soldiers and two Rare Bosses, the version of him from ten days ago would have seen his city fall and himself killed long ago.

Park Jung-hoon sheathed his sword and turned to look inside the city walls.

The County Soldiers were cleaning up the battlefield, moving bodies, repairing battlements, and counting arrows.

Awakened sat on the ground in small groups; some were drinking water, some were bandaging wounds, and others were leaning against the battlements with their eyes closed to rest.

No one was laughing, and no one was cheering. They had won, but everyone knew that tonight was just a fluke.

What about next time? Or the time after that?

“Lord Park! Lord Park!”

A young voice came from below the wall, urgent and sharp, sounding as if the speaker's throat were being squeezed.

Park Jung-hoon frowned and leaned over to look down. A messenger was scrambling up the wall, his boots slipping on the steps, nearly falling several times.

His face was deathly pale, his lips were trembling, and his eyes were filled with terror.

“What is it?” Park Jung-hoon's heart sank.

The messenger rushed onto the wall and collapsed before him, gasping for air, unable to speak for a long time.

Park Jung-hoon waited for two breaths, then losing his patience, he grabbed the man's collar and hauled him up. “Speak!”

The messenger swallowed hard, his voice shaking. “Lord Park... Jinzhou City... Jinzhou City has fallen... City Lord Choi is dead, Priest Lee is dead, and both vice city lords are gone.”

“Jinzhou City... is finished. The only county-level territory left for Korea in the Nightmare World is Jeolla County.”

“The high-ups want you to return to the real world as soon as possible to discuss a strategy.”

Whatever the messenger said afterward, Park Jung-hoon didn't hear a single word.

His mind was filled only with those few sentences: Jinzhou City has fallen, City Lord Choi is dead, and the only county-level territory left for Korea is Jeolla County.

His hand slipped from the messenger's collar, and his longsword slid from his grasp, hitting the ground with a 'clang' that sounded exceptionally piercing on the quiet wall.

He stood there, motionless.

His face was expressionless, and his eyes were empty, like a hollowed-out stone statue.

The surrounding County Soldiers and Awakened heard the noise and turned their heads; everyone was looking at Park Jung-hoon.

The wall was so quiet that only the {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} sound of the wind could be heard.

Park Jung-hoon looked down at the longsword on the ground. The blade reflected the blood moon, as red as a pool of clotted blood.

He suddenly thought of Choi Jeong-won, that old man who always had a stern face and a voice like sandpaper on iron.

The pillar of stability who had held things together for Korea in the Nightmare World for ninety years. Dead?

He crouched down, picked up the longsword, and slowly stood up.

His movements were slow, as if he were carrying a weight of a thousand pounds.

He slid the sword back into its sheath and turned to face everyone on the wall.

“Each squad, take a head count and tally the casualties. Move supplies into storage and settle the wounded.”

His voice was hoarse, but every word was clear.

“In one hour, I want to see a complete battle report.”

No one spoke. The County Soldiers silently continued cleaning the battlefield, and the Awakened quietly tended to their wounds.

The squad leaders began counting their numbers; no one said an unnecessary word.

They watched as Park Jung-hoon walked down the city wall, his silhouette looking lonely and desolate under the blood moon.