Lord: I can see loyalty.

The following morning, in Blackwater City.

The mist had not yet dissipated, and the militiamen patrolling the city wall walked with heavy steps, their faces showing the fatigue of last night's fierce battle, but their eyes remained vigilant.

Vio stood in front of the city gate, looking at the faintly visible camp to the north, his brows furrowed slightly.

Despite not sleeping all night, he remained mentally sharp; his fourth-level breathing technique granted him a recovery ability far exceeding that of ordinary people.

"Your Excellency," a messenger ran from inside the city, kneeling on one knee, "Lord Valentine has arrived and says he wishes to see you."

Vio's brow furrowed slightly. "Uncle Valentine? What's he doing here?"

He turned around and walked into the city.

Valentine should still be in Portor City researching potions and the blueprints he took from Aldrick. Why would he suddenly come to Blackwater City?

A carriage was parked in the open space inside the city gate.

Valentine stood beside the car, leaning on his cane. His old face was full of fatigue, but his eyes held an undisguised excitement.

His robe was covered in dust, indicating that he had rushed here without even having time to bring a change of clothes.

"Uncle," Vio stepped forward, "what brings you here?"

Valentine did not answer, but instead took out a palm-sized iron ball from his pocket and handed it to Vio.

"Take a look at this."

Vio took the iron ball; it was heavy, its surface covered with densely packed magical runes that gleamed with a faint blue light in the morning sun.

He examined it several times, turning it over and over, his brow furrowing. "This is…"

"Have you heard of black powder bombs?" Valentine said.

Vio nodded. As a time traveler, he was all too familiar with gunpowder and bombs.

"A magic bomb." Valentine's voice was hoarse but clear. "The blueprints we found on Aldrick, do you remember them?"

Vio's expression changed instantly, and he nodded.

He had seen those blueprints; they were filled with complex magic circles and runes, but he wasn't a magician and couldn't understand them very well.

Who would have thought that Aldrick was researching magical bombs?

"But those blueprints were only half-finished." Valentine stroked his beard. "That guy Aldrick spent most of his life researching it and still couldn't make it."

Valentine chuckled coldly, a hint of smugness in his voice. "I spent half a month refining the rune structure and adding several new materials—including the dragon scale magic stone powder you brought back. Finally, it's done!"

A glint of light flashed in Vio's eyes. "How powerful is it?"

"Why don't we try and see?" Valentine turned around and walked towards the city. "I've already chosen an open space and had it fenced off. Let's call a few knight captains and take a look together."

On the west side of Blackwater City, in an open area surrounded by high walls, dozens of militiamen and mercenaries stood in a circle, holding weapons and looking tense.

In the center of the open space stood a huge rock, about half a person's height, made of hard granite that had been transported from outside the city.

Vio stood by the wall, with Jimmy, Russell, Glenn, and several knight captains behind him.

Valentine stood beside him, leaning on his staff and holding the iron ball in his hand.

"Watch closely." Valentine took a deep breath, placed the iron ball on the ground, then stepped back to a safe place and raised his staff.

A blue streak of light flowed from the tip of his staff, landing precisely on the iron ball.

The runes on the surface of the iron ball lit up instantly, the eerie blue light growing brighter and brighter, becoming increasingly dazzling.

A low hum filled the air, like something was awakening.

"Here they come!" Valentine shouted.

Everyone stepped back.

The buzzing grew louder and louder, the iron ball began to tremble, and the runes on its surface moved as if they were alive.

Then--

boom!!!

A loud bang shook the ground.

Gravel flew everywhere, dust filled the air, and a wave of heat hit us, carrying the smell of burning.

The militiamen instinctively raised their shields to block the flying stones.

As the smoke and dust cleared, the half-person-high granite slab in the center of the open space had vanished without a trace!

All that remained was a pit half a meter deep, its walls smooth as a mirror, with wisps of smoke rising from its edges.

The entire room fell into a deathly silence.

"This, this is..." Jimmy opened his mouth wide, unable to speak for a long time.

Glenn's gaze was fixed on the pit, his Adam's apple bobbing. Russell's hand, gripping the hilt of his sword, trembled slightly, not from fear, but from excitement.

Vio also approached, squatted down, and touched the pit wall, which felt warm and smooth.

"Its power is really impressive."

"Not just good," Valentine stroked his beard, his old face full of pride. "If you threw this thing into a crowd, nothing would grow within a ten-meter radius."

"Even elite knights in armor couldn't stop them."

"Can it be mass-produced?" Vio stood up.

Valentine thought for a moment.

"If I have enough materials, I can only make two or three a day. And I don't have many dragon scale magic stones left, so I have to use them sparingly."

Vio nodded, a slight smile playing on his lips. "Then let's start doing it, as much as we can."

He turned around and glanced at the crowd.

"What happened today must not be told to anyone."

"Yes!" everyone responded in unison.

Although the matter of the magic bomb was not made public, speculation about the explosion quickly spread throughout Blackwater City.

The militia and knights could guess that there was a new weapon, a weapon with power comparable to magic!

The morale of the troops was greatly boosted, and the soldiers' faces were full of confidence and fighting spirit.

The morale of the troops was greatly boosted, and the soldiers' faces were full of confidence and fighting spirit.

Gregor was just a lowly soldier of the White Horse family, and those hundred knights were nothing more than an appetizer.

The real battle is yet to come.

…………

North of Blackwood, at the main camp of the Northern Allied Knights, the central tent.

Marcus Whitehorse sat in the main seat, his face so gloomy it could drip water.

Before him knelt several knights who had escaped from Blackwater, their armor stained with blood and dirt, their faces etched with fear and exhaustion.

"What did you say?" Marcus's voice was soft, but everyone could hear the suppressed anger beneath the calm.

"Commander..." The leading knight trembled, "Captain Gregor... he's dead. Of our hundred knights, less than thirty have returned alive."

"Less than thirty people?" Raymond Gray, the nobleman who had distinguished himself in the battle, sat to the side, holding a glass of wine in his hand, his expression exaggerated.

"You, a hundred elite knights, went to attack a small town with only a few hundred militia and mercenaries, and more than seventy of you died?"

The knight lowered his head, not daring to reply.

"What a piece of trash." Raymond spat and slammed his glass down on the table.

Then, he turned to the side and put his arm around the waist of a maid next to him. The maid was wearing a plain gray dress and had a pretty face, but her eyes held a hint of barely perceptible disgust.

She subtly shifted her body to avoid his hand. Raymond merely frowned but didn't react; he simply withdrew his hand, picked up his glass, and took another sip.

Beside him stood a guard knight in half-plate armor, expressionless, watching his master's actions without uttering a word.

"It's not that we're incompetent..." The knight who had escaped finally spoke, his face grim. "It's that the reinforcements from the south arrived too quickly. We had just breached the city gates when their knightly order arrived, attacking us from both sides. We simply didn't have time to react."

"The reinforcements arrived too quickly?" Marcus turned around, looking at the map of Blackwood on the wall. "Blackwater City is at least a day's journey from the main force in the south. How could they have arrived so fast?"

"Unless..." a deep voice came from the other end of the long table.

All eyes turned in that direction.

There sat a man in his thirties, with a thin face, only one eye, and a deathly aura about him.

He was not wearing armor, but rather a set of old-style royal robes with a white eagle emblem embroidered on his chest and a long sword hanging at his waist.

His name is Rand Hamas, the head of the White Eagle family, a middle-class family in the capital.

"Unless what?" Marcus asked.

The one-eyed man, Rand, was silent for a moment, then spoke slowly and gracefully: "Unless they were prepared."

"Blackwater City is not an isolated city, but a decoy. They deliberately made us think that there were only a few hundred militiamen and mercenaries there. By the time we sent troops to attack, their main force was probably already waiting for us to take the bait, so they could catch us off guard."

"A decoy?" Raymond scoffed. "Are you saying the Earl of the South anticipated our move?"

"Whether it counts or not, I don't know," Rand's voice remained calm. "But Blackwater is a town in the North, and it's several days' journey from the Southern Earl's newly built fortresses."

"Without prior preparation, their reinforcements wouldn't have been able to arrive so quickly."

Marcus fell silent, staring at the map with a furrowed brow.

"Then tell me, what should we do?" Noble Raymond stood up, walked up to Rand, and looked down at him. "What good ideas do you have? Don't just talk the talk."

Rand looked up at him, a hint of displeasure flashing in his gray eyes, but he still spoke.

"I actually have a way."

The tent fell silent instantly, everyone staring at him, waiting for him to continue.

Raymond's face twitched, realizing that this person was not simple, and he obediently shut his mouth.