The gloomy Wilderness was graced by a rare clear day. The clouds had parted, revealing a brilliant river of stars.

Bathed in the moonlight, Masha broke into a smile.

"My Lord, the Bolero Dance is actually quite simple. I can teach you. With your Wisdom, I’m certain you’ll be able to learn it."

She couldn’t quite describe her current state of mind. Perhaps it was a rush of blood to the head, or perhaps it was the result of the long-term suppression she had endured at the Church.

Experiencing this feeling of unrestrained freedom made her want to let her true nature show.

But all in all, this feeling was truly wonderful.

’Now that she’s put it like that, refusing would just make me look incapable.’

The Lord adjusted his attire, walked over, and took Masha’s warm little hand.

Masha showed a rare hint of shyness, but she clasped the Lord’s hand in return.

"Masha, please be my guide, then." The Lord gave her a flawlessly handsome and dashing smile.

Just as the two were about to begin their dance, disaster struck!

A sudden whistling sound came from the sky, like a large object tearing through the air.

"Get down!"

The Lord, with his sharp senses, was startled and instinctively tackled Masha to the ground.

WHOOSH!

A massive stone grazed past their heads and slammed into the ground behind them with a deafening crash, flattening a row of tents.

"Enemy attack! Enemy attack!"

The Barbarian on watch for High Cliff Castle roared himself hoarse.

"My Lord, what happened?"

Masha asked, still shaken, as she looked at Levi’s face, mere inches from her own.

Levi pulled her up from the ground. His face was terrifyingly dark as he looked back at the open ground, which had been gouged into a trench.

Without a doubt, they had been hit by a Catapult.

Fortunately, the boulder, which was half the size of a man, had flown straight through an empty space in the crowd. It only flattened a patch of tents, though one unlucky Goat-man Auxiliary Soldier had his foot pinned by the last of its momentum and was groaning softly in pain.

’In truth, with my current physique, it’s hard to say what would have happened if that boulder had hit me. But your first instinct when you see something like that is always to dodge.’

"What in the hell?! Since when could a bunch of Wilderness Natives get their hands on a high-end piece of equipment like a Catapult?!"

The Lord found it utterly unbelievable that a group of Wilderness Natives—who could barely feed themselves and had to resort to using Goblins and Kobolds as military rations—could build their own Catapults.

The device looked simple, but its mechanics were actually quite complex. Just getting the counterweight ratio right was a difficult problem for any amateur.

"Son of a bitch, that scared the hell out of me."

Zat cursed as he scrambled up from the snow, hastily spitting out a mouthful of slush and mud.

The moment he saw the huge stone land, he’d done a donkey roll to the side, getting a mouthful of dirt for his trouble.

As if poking a hornet’s nest, the fall of that first stone was followed by a continuous whistling from the sky.

Countless giant stones rained down, jolting people from their slumber. Accompanied by incessant screams, an unknown number of soldiers never woke up from their sleep.

Fortunately, High Cliff Castle’s camp was situated in the rear. Generally, anyone with a bit of military knowledge wouldn’t focus their attack on a position garrisoned only by cooks and Auxiliary Soldiers unless they were specifically trying to raid the supply lines.

Thus, the majority of the stones landed on the main force of the Thorn Corps.

That first stone was clearly an amateur’s shot.

’But that wasn’t quite right, either. For a shot with bad aim, it damn well came right for my face.’

"Masha, war is here."

Levi patted Masha’s shoulder and offered a reassuring smile. "Don’t worry too much. This is just a bunch of Wilderness punks. They’ll lose their nerve after this initial barrage. You and Master Fu Jin should go find a place to hide for now."

After turning away, the Lord’s expression darkened, and he bellowed, "All High Cliff Castle Warriors, gear up now! I want to see you all standing here within two hundred heartbeats!"

"Panda, you all go find Fujero, quickly."

"If he’s unlucky enough to die at the hands of these punks, it’ll be a complete disgrace."

Levi then turned to the group of solemn-faced Panda People.

He said that, but Levi wasn’t actually very worried.

Both Si Kai and Fujero possessed profound Combat Qi Cultivation; dealing with catapult stones wouldn’t be difficult for them.

Besides, the Lord didn’t believe for a second that those two didn’t have a few pieces of life-saving Magic Equipment on them.

"My Lord, we will take our leave then." Panda thumped his chest with his fist in a pledge. "If you need us at a critical moment, we will be there to help you."

After speaking, Panda led the Panda Warriors away swiftly.

"Mier, take twenty Beastman Guards and protect Master Fu Jin and the others. You must guarantee their safety."

Levi ordered Mier, who had already donned his Armor.

"Yes, my Lord," Mier replied, formal as ever on duty.

"My Lord, I thank you from the bottom of my heart." Master Fu Jin bowed respectfully.

Contrary to the rumors that Casters had profound Magic but weak bodies, Master Fu Jin’s physique was still comparable to a young man’s, even though he was in his sixties or seventies.

But that was only in comparison to ordinary people. Next to the crowd of battle-hardened warriors present, each as burly as a bear, they were as frail as newborn chicks.

What’s more, their opponents were all famously strong warrior Races of the Wilderness.