It's still dark outside the window, but Stan is already tossing and turning in bed, and Nellfi's conversation with him yesterday has made him uneasy. He felt a little confused about the situation, when Nerfi had become so proactive, and the girl seemed to be deliberately pushing himself forward without giving him time to think. On top of that, Stan realizes that he has some expectations, and the fleeting thought flashes through his mind and is immediately suppressed. Stan understands that this is a very dangerous idea, and will only make him hot-headed, lose his cool, and act irrationally.

Stan gets out of bed and puts on his coat. Thun is located south of Varys, and even in this strange climate it is not cold, and there are no fireplaces in all the houses here, because there is no need for it. Stan walks over to the window and opens it to look out, and the city is plunged into darkness, with only a few bits of light flickering in the darkness and silence all around. At least the dark tide hasn't come yet, Stan thinks as he sits back in his chair and waits for the dawn.

The barracks was in Thun, a few minutes' walk from the castle, and the squires had taken Stan and Nerfi there, but it was already bustling at dawn. Gunther was already standing on a high platform in the center of the barracks, and the soldiers were gathering from all directions, and their eyes were full of doubt.

Most of the soldiers were in place, and the conversation gradually subdued, and Gunther invited Stan and Nerfi to the high platform, and a majestic voice rang out, "Guardians of Thun, it has been many days since the last time the High Lord of Sigmund called up the armies of the various realms, and today this knight of Canrito, Stan, has brought us even more amazing news......"

Immediately in a whisper, uneasiness spread through the crowd, and Gunther coughed and continued, "It has always been thought that the dark tide is in the far north, blocked by the three border states, and those monsters are far away from us, only in the sleep of children, no one thought that they would be not far from us, but they are in the south of Varys, right in Cerendra. ”

The crowd erupted in incredible exclamations, and Gunther raised his voice. "To make matters worse, those monsters are heading towards Cumberland, and it's Thun who will go head-to-head with them first!"

Many people couldn't help but shout. "How so? What should we do? We've never fought the Dark Tide!"

Gunther raised his hand to signal everyone to be quiet, then looked at Stan. "Stan has a wealth of experience fighting the Tides, and together with the mage Nerfi, he and the mage Nerfi have successfully repelled the Tides' attacks, and they will help us defend against them. ”

The soldiers calmed down a little, and Guntel continued, "After Stan arrived at Thun last night, I have sent knights to ask for help from Dorne and Gaiman, reinforcements will arrive soon, and all we have to do is hold Thun until the reinforcements arrive." Multiple scouts were also sent to the south to monitor the Dark Tide's movements last night, and we will be the first to know if the Dark Tide appears. ”

These words of Gunther reassured the bewildered soldiers, and they no longer panicked, and someone said, "Then ask this knight to tell us how to deal with the dark tide, I have heard that they are not afraid of pain, and can continue to fight even if they are pierced." ”

Stan nodded and began to explain, the huge barracks was densely packed with hundreds of soldiers, and Stan had to open his voice to make his voice go farther. The soldiers listened attentively, lest they miss a word, for they knew that perhaps any one of them might save their lives in the battle against the Dark Tide.

By the time the lecture was over, it had been almost two hours since Stan could barely speak, and the soldiers' constant questions made him realize that he had to teach everyone as much as he could about how to fight the Dark Tide. The soldiers had dispersed and began to practice in twos and threes, Stan sat in a chair next to him, and Nerfi brought him hot tea. "Drink a little, Stan, you're speaking well, you're looking more and more like a leader. ”

Stan takes a few sips from his teacup, and finally feels like he can speak again. "I'm just trying to let them know more, and it doesn't matter if I don't like a leader. ”

"Say whatever you want. Nerfi said with a smile and sat down next to Stan. "Although there is no news from the scouts yet, in my judgment, it is very likely that the dark tide will reach the outskirts of this place tonight, and no later than tomorrow morning. ”

Hearing Nalfi say this, Stan's cup almost falls to the ground, and he turns his head to look at Nalfi in surprise. "How do you know?"

Nerfi responds to Stan's gaze. "I've calculated how long it took for the Darktide to cross the Sweets Rainforest from the time the Lord of the Darks woke up in Grivel, and I found two Cerrendras who had fled the sea by boat last night, and they told me when Green Bay had fallen, after which the Darktide began to cross the rainforest. ”

"I see, uh-huh......" Stan pondered for a moment. "We don't have much time left, these soldiers don't have time to do targeted training. ”

"I'm afraid so, and I hope that the message you have given them will help them escape. Nerfi pursed her lips and glanced at the soldiers training in front of her.

Stan informs Gunther of the bad news, and the lord decides to start arranging the fortifications before the scouts can hear about it, and the order is immediately given, and the soldiers get busy.

Sure enough, in the evening, a scout returned, a knight, who ran to the barracks with a pale face and brought bad news to the lord. The news was relayed by the scouts at the front, and through a rough estimate, Guntel calculated that Dark Tide was about ten hours away from Thun. The lord ordered the soldiers to rest in turn, one to continue the fortifications, and the other to rest first, and then switch to each other for a few hours, so as to ensure that when the dark tide came, most of them would have some rest.

Stan didn't rest, he was almost always instructing the soldiers in training, Magnus's experience made him realize how brutal the battle against the Dark Tide was, he didn't dare to think about how many chances of survival the soldiers in front of him were, and the only way to stop thinking about it was to devote himself to training.

Time was fleeting, it was the second half of the night, and Stan was standing on the south-facing wall looking into the distance, and there was no sign of the dark tide. Nerfi sat on a chair next to her and closed her eyes to recuperate, the great battle was coming, and as the only mage, she needed to conserve her mental power as much as possible, although she knew that no amount of mental power was enough.

The city of Thun was so crowded that throughout the day, the villagers of the surrounding villages flocked into the city, and Guntel sent his soldiers to deliver the news to the villages within a radius of several miles. One by one, the scouts delivered the bad news, and then ran to the front line again, and as the minutes passed, the soldiers gradually stopped training and stood on the city wall looking blankly ahead.

Finally, in the wee hours of the morning, in the faint moonlight, a black line appeared on the distant horizon, which grew wider and wider, spreading towards Thun.