The Castle in the middle of nowhere.

I was sitting in the war room, looking at the visualisation, and I couldn't help but smile. The fire was cracking quietly behind me, casting chaotic shadows behind the moving chess pieces representing the enemy forces. I stared at the map, trying to understand why the Cridians decided to move out a week before the winter beasts retreated from this land, but maybe that was just a risk they decided to take in the hope of attacking me sooner. It was something very unexpected and even Josla was surprised by the decision made by Korkas. As I predicted, the Cridian Army moved at once, in five battle-ready formations twenty thousand strong each. I was angry I had to give them the initiative for the time being, but I made sure to limit their options beforehand. As expected, the heavily protected columns travelled on foot using waterways that were still frozen solid. I couldn't hide my smile when my scouts confirmed that the Cridians carry very little supplies with them. In two days, they should reach Parnma and find many reasons to be worried.

"Good morning, my Sunshines, I hope you slept well." I welcomed my wives, who just teleported in and were looking at the map with tension.

"It is true, Theon?" Amber, who looked as perfect as always, despite the fact how quickly they got here after waking up, asked in a serious tone.

"Yes." I shrugged lazily. "But they will need two days to reach Parnma, then about one day for widespread panic when they realise they have no supplies and maybe one more to decide that attacking Avalon immediately is their only chance."

"What if they don't attack?" Irene took a seat and yawned. "Sorry. What if they start looking for supplies?"

"Where?" I smirked and all three of them widened their eyes.

"There is nothing in the three day march radius..." Luna looked at me closely and smiled viciously.

"Oh yes. I made sure of that." My smirk was replaced by a cold smile. "They can only retreat to their garrisons, lose two or three months gathering necessary supplies or they can attack immediately. They have no other chance for them to besiege Avalon as they do now."

"Shouldn't Ban and Drake be here?" Irene started wondering.

"One hour ago, they went to sleep. They will be as useful as chocolate teapots right now." I chuckled. "Besides, there are still two days before the Cridians even reach the staging grounds. Calm down, my Beauties."

"Theon is right, my friends. Trust him. His military prowess is terrifying." Hestia's voice surprised us as she was sitting quietly near the side table drinking tea. "Not a single commander that was brought to this world previously can match Theon in temper, calm demeanour, and judgement. It's all because Eriar has chosen to make Theon a dungeon."

"What exactly do you mean by that?" I asked curiously.

"Most people, having the information you possess, would feel the urge to do something and only a few would refrain from action like you did." She shrugged and soon after, she laughed. "But you don't feel it, right? The flow of time can't put any pressure on you, because you already have lost track of passing time. Minutes, hours, days, weeks, months... It's just the things of the past. Am I right?"

"Indeed..." I leaned back in the chair and observed the map in silence.

"Theon, what is that?" She pointed at a swiftly moving model of a horse wagon, marked as friendly.

I closed my eyes and opened them quickly soon after. I looked at the map for a moment and sighed.

"Remember that mysterious mountain village? The village elders seem to be in a dire situation and they sent a delegation to negotiate. The spy I sent was disguised as a travelling merchant, so he has the horse wagon," I explained after hearing what my Slime had to say through the link. "It's a shame that only scions can initiate the link connections on their own..."

"Wouldn't they stumble upon the Cridian Army?" Luna analysed the map with a worried look. "Shouldn't they return to their village?"

"They shouldn't meet the Cridians on their way here. However, they can't go back right now." I pointed at the location of the Mountain Dungeon, where quite a large army had started marching towards Avalon. "They will also be stuck in Avalon for a time being, but they are aware of it."

"I'll go and use my blessings to support them in their travels." Hestia suddenly declared and slowly stood up.

"Thank you."

•••

It was the middle of the day and most people had already woken up after yesterday's celebration, so I announced Avalon’s wartime status. People were calm, because where exactly could they go, anyway? If anything, it was Avalon that could guarantee their survival. Some nervousness was inevitable, however, most people quickly returned to their businesses, trusting in me and the walls of Avalon. I spent the rest of my day designating legions to defensive positions and preparing a few nasty surprises for the Cridians. I revised the possible tactics, countermeasures, and contingency plans. The Praetorian Guards would be defending the Upper Castle and the Palace along with the Slimes. If the Cridians decided to besiege us, I would give the order for all non combatants to retreat to the Upper Castle. The Middle Castle would be defended by the Legio Aegis and the Mortal Guardsmen, but if the situation made me, I would have time to pull back the Guardsmen to the Upper Castle where they would reinforce the Praetorians. All four-and-a-half numbered legions would be taking the brunt of the attack in the Lower Castle.

All my denizens in the dungeon area started to ignore the set level limits of the Zones. Very soon, they would mix effectively and once the Cridians decide to attack the castle walls, I would crank their aggression settings to max. The last thing to do was to give the instructions for people to follow, so with that in mind, I decided to hold a briefing tomorrow. I should have some vague idea by then of what their commander decided when the Cridians discover the loss of Fort Crissna, the razing of Girsion, and the total lack of anyone and worse, no supplies in Parnma. I invited Ban with his staff officers, Knys and Sigismund, with their helpers, and, of course, my Queens. I sent word to Bob and Demesne as well, so they knew what we were up to.

Demesne was bombarding me with questions, and she was probably more anxious than people living in the city under her care. She was stalwart in her stance on protecting "her" people. Bob was, on the other hand, stoic and suggested to me that using his goblins as a diversion might be beneficial. This caught me off guard a little because I considered goblins to be trash monsters. Of course, that wasn't the case, and he was right, which only made me smile. Goblins had a certain reputation which might be helpful in causing a disturbance in the enemy ranks. I couldn't help it, but I was amazed at the change in Bob- from a savage and murderous monster, he gradually changed into a stoic and reserved farmer. His goblins also reflected this in their behaviours. They became almost reliable and, I dare to say, intelligent. This wasn't bad, but I didn't think it was going to change how people saw the goblins very much. However, it seemed that as long as they could exist and farm chickens and wheat, Bob and his denizens were happy. Both of the dungeons I subjugated had changed their behaviours greatly for the better and I couldn't help but wonder what pushed them into the darkness in the first place.

•••

It was before midnight when the dead tired horses crossed the drawbridge of Avalon and only then had the Slime Butler dared to slow them down. He moved them straight to the Middle Castle, and he led a carriage towards the noble district. He came to a stop in front of the impressive mansion, in front of which a row of the Slime Maids and Butlers were already waiting. The mansion was guarded by a few Praetorians, and the spy couldn't understand why his Master bothered that much. However, it wasn't his place to question the choices made by the King, so he quickly jumped from the driver's box and opened the door. One of the Praetorians was already waiting to welcome the guests.

"Esteemed Guests, my King wanted to offer you this place to rest. You must be worn out after such a long and hurried trip." He eyed the delegation, which was observing him in turn. The six unknown beastkin, with four large males, of which one was quite old, and two young females, were looking around in shock.

"Thank you, Sir Knight. May we ask you a few questions?" The old man asked, and one of the younger warriors helped him walk.

"As long as I can answer," the Praetorian replied.

"Why does the King himself want to see us? How could he know about us?" The Beastkins were uneasy and nervous.

"Your village is the first one that wanted to talk with Avalon, so the King decided to talk with your delegation personally," the Praetorian explained. "As for your second question, we are currently at war with the Cridian Kingdom and the City is preparing for war. Our scouts spotted you earlier while you were on the road and informed the King. The carriage that brought you here was bearing the markings used for carrying diplomats, so we knew beforehand that someone important was coming." It was a believable lie, but the delegation had no means of knowing that. Well, except for the Truth Seeker skill...

"I thought that your 'merchant' was, in reality, a spy," one of the younger women added angrily, making the rest of the delegation stiffen and hold their breaths.

"You indeed can call him that way." The Praetorian had not even flinched when he responded, surprising the entire delegation. "But isn't that the case with any merchant? They travel to distant lands, meet a whole variety of different people, and offer them their goods. Every good merchant is a diplomat and a spy, my Lady. But please, it's late, so take a well-deserved rest."

•••

I watched the delegation meeting with one of my Praetorians curiously. I decided to use Praetorians as the honour guards for a few reasons. They were, after all, the most elite undying soldiers at my disposal and their skills encompassed Rhetoric and Diplomacy, so they were well versed for situations like this. In the case of the village delegation, for sure they were more than meets the eye and hid many surprises up to their sleeves. While their presence here was one big unknown, I was wondering why they had to be this cliche. Like seriously, the trope of the old fellow acting as the leader while in reality the hot-blooded young girl, probably some village chief's daughter or other hidden princess, was the true leader, was a bit overused in all the cheap manga I saw in my previous life. In their defence, they seemed to be very formidable warriors, however, it was arguable how they could fare against my greatest warriors or me in person if I had to intervene, now while they were so deep inside Avalon. Still, I find it rather odd they would send a suicide squad just to attack us, so I was looking forward to the meeting.

Anyway, my scouts, who actually were around, informed me that there was not a single sign of winter beasts in the area. No matter how you look at this, according to the oldest inhabitants of Avalon, it was unpreceded, which made me very suspicious of what was going on. The Cridian army, in the meantime, was resting for the night time in quite well-protected camps, but the night was the time of monsters. While I gave the Cridians the initiative, because I couldn't afford the losses among my Legions at this point of the war, it didn’t mean I would simply just wait. So while the Cridians were resting in a false sense of safety, thinking their numbers guaranteed them undisturbed rest, around them the darkness of the night thickened. Tonight, I was going to unleash my wolves.

•••

The guards were looking around nervously into the darkness, while the big campfire allowed them to warm themselves. The nervousness of King-general Korkas spread among the ranks of the army like a fire. The soldiers talked about incoming subjugation but couldn't shake the feeling that something was amiss. The guards felt uneasy and were even frightened because they saw some shadows and silhouettes in the corners of their eyes, playing and taunting them. Suddenly, people started screaming in fear deep inside the camp and not soon after, the general alarm sounded. Amidst this chaos, the overwhelming sensation of dread and inevitable doom overwhelmed the soldiers, making them unable to sleep. The investigation very soon discovered the gruesome pictures in various tents, somehow explaining the missing few dozen soldiers. The blood and body parts left behind were so similar to the sight all the soldiers were so familiar with. The Winter Beasts were here, as elusive as always. King Korkas was holding in his hand the bloodied scrap of a cape belonging to one of his now surely deceased officers, and gazed at the tent with anger.

"My Lord, all traces suggest that we were attacked by the Winter Beasts. We must retreat at once!"

"Don't be silly! We are the Cridian Army! We need to subjugate that new dungeon quickly if our Kingdom is to survive the following years!"

"But..."

"I know you are afraid of the elusive Winter Monsters, but we must endure, soldier." Korkas put the cape fragment he held on the field bed and turned around. The soldier gazed upon his king and saw the determination painted on his face.

"Yes, Sir!" the soldier mustered all his courage.

"Tomorrow we will meet with Ban's forces in Parnma. Send the news that I want the soldiers to rest as much as possible!"

"Yes, Sir!" The soldiers doubted they could rest that night anymore but kept that to himself and quickly left his King.

The eyes and invisible stalkers in the darkness continued to accompany the Cridian soldiers ever since the beginning, depriving them of the night's rest.