111: The Silence Before Chapter 111 Arrives

Just as he finished handling these matters and was preparing to return to the Lords Mansion for the final pre-battle deployment, heavy and rhythmic footsteps, accompanied by faint clamor, echoed from the east, west, and south gates of Lin Tian City, almost simultaneously approaching from the distance.

It was the troops led by Lin Yan and Commander Lin Yu returning!

Lin Tian felt invigorated and walked quickly toward the nearest east gate.

The city gates were wide open, and squads of soldiers filed in one after another.

Compared to when they set out in the morning, their bodies bore traces of battle and dust, but their spirits were high; many soldiers had an air of relief on their faces from completing their mission, or were carrying the corpses of hunted monsters.

The ranks were orderly, and it was clear that the clearing and exploration during the day had proceeded quite smoothly.

Lin Yan and Commander Lin Yu walked at the forefront of their respective units, and upon seeing Lin Tian coming out to meet them, they immediately stepped forward to salute.

"Lord, we have fulfilled our mission and returned safely, every one of us!" the two said in unison.

"You have worked hard." Lin Tian scanned the troops behind them and nodded, "What are the gains? Were there any anomalies?"

Lin Yan reported steadily, "We advanced about fifty miles in the east and west directions, cleared seven small to medium-sized monster colonies, and had dozens of skirmishes."

"Our side had several hundred lightly wounded, with zero casualties. We harvested about fifty thousand Low-grade Spirit Crystal."

Commander Lin Yu added in a soft voice, "The south was relatively calm, with a lower density of monsters. We encountered small groups of corrupted creatures, and all have been cleared."

"Very good." After hearing the report, Lin Tian felt slightly relieved. At the very least, there were no signs of large-scale abnormal gatherings around the territory, which should alleviate some pressure for the night!

Looking up again, the last glimmer of daylight was about to be swallowed by the night. On the city walls, torches were lit one by one, outlining the contours of the towering walls, and a murderous atmosphere permeated as night fell.

"There is not much time left." Lin Tian ordered in a deep voice, his voice clearly reaching the tens of thousands of soldiers entering the city.

"Lin Yan, Commander Lin Yu, immediately arrange for your soldiers to register all today's gains into storage!"

"Afterwards, everyone, head to the cafeteria and eat your fill! Then, return to your posts, check your equipment, and prepare to face the beast tide!"

"Yes!" A thunderous response rang out; fatigue was replaced by fighting spirit, and the soldiers who had been busy all day quickly sprang into action.

The entire Lin Tian City, like a tightly wound war machine, entered its final and most tense state of readiness before the night completely enveloped it.

Lin Tian stood under the city gate, watching the endless yet orderly stream of troops, then looked toward the deep darkness in the north, his eyes sharp as blades.

The deep night, like the heaviest velvet curtain, slowly enveloped the entire Eternal Continent, and also shrouded Lin Tian City, which had just experienced a day of clamor and conquest.

There were no insect chirps, no sound of wind, and even the air seemed to have frozen. This silence was more absolute than last night's, and even more... chilling.

Lin Tian returned to the terrace on the top floor of the Lords Mansion, the night wind blowing through his clothes with bone-chilling coldness.

He did not look at the unsettling darkness, but instead pulled up the [Regional Chat Channel] that was only visible to Lords.

The virtual light screen unfolded in the night, its faint blue glow illuminating his calm profile.

In the channel, the speed of message updates was much slower than usual, but there were still many Lords active.

However, after browsing for a moment, Lin Tian's brows furrowed slightly. Unlike the silence that was unique to his side last night, tonight the channel began to see sporadic posts filled with confusion and unease:

"Strange, why is it so quiet outside? Where are those annoying, noisy rotting dogs?"

"I sent a brave Militia out to take a look, and a hundred meters outside the camp, there's not a single thing! It's terrifyingly quiet!"

"Could this be the calm before the storm? I'm getting a bit spooked..."

"+1 to the user above, it's the same here; it's abnormally quiet."

"Could it be... they all gathered somewhere else? (Terrified expression)"

"@Everyone, does any big shot know what's going on? It's the last day of newbie protection, surely it wouldn't play such a big game, right?"

More and more Lords began to report the situation of "abnormally quiet" surroundings and "no signs of monsters" around their territories.

This was so similar to what Lin Tian had experienced alone yesterday! It was just that the scope had expanded from only his territory to... it seemed, the entire region?

"It seems that I am not the only one receiving 'special treatment'."

Lin Tian closed the channel and cast his gaze toward the darkness in the north that had swallowed the Kamo Tribe, his eyes becoming deeper and more solemn, "But rather... the storm is truly about to sweep over everyone. The silence before destruction... heh, that's quite fitting."

A more unsettling thought then emerged: "My territory entered this 'silent' state a day early. Was it because of that terrifying roar? Or was it because my speed of development caused the 'system' or some rule of this world to mark me early as an object 'needing special attention'?"

"Then tonight, when the beast tide truly arrives, will what I have to face... be a fiercer and more terrifying impact than other Lords?"

This thought made his heart sink slightly, and a heavy pressure spread silently.

It was as if he could hear countless sharp claws scraping the earth in the darkness, and countless scarlet eyes slowly opening, locking onto Lin Tian City, an isolated island radiating "alluring" light in the night.

He took a deep breath of cold air, forced himself to calm down, turned to walk off the terrace, and slowly headed toward the study. Now was not the time for wild thoughts; only power could dispel unease.

Lin Tian took stock of all the supplies he currently had.

[wood × 80,000]

[stone × 70,000]

[iron ore × 75,000]

[Refined Iron × 10,000]

[earth crystal × 400]

[Low-grade Spirit Crystal × 100,000]

[mid-level spirit crystal × 500]

Other items...

His gaze scanned these numbers one by one, and Lin Tian calculated rapidly in his mind. City wall expansion, livelihood upgrades, Fusion Evolution... the consumption was massive, but in exchange, it brought real substance to this city and this army.

However, facing an unknown beast tide, it seemed that no amount of preparation was ever enough.

He took a deep breath, opened his friend list, and first contacted that miner brother who always managed to dig up surprises.

Lin Tian: "Chen Hao, are you there? Urgent matter, I need another ten thousand units of black-yellow stone, do you have any? The price is negotiable, let's trade immediately!"

The message was returned almost instantly.

Chen Hao: "Yes, yes, yes! Boss Lin, I knew you would definitely have a big move tonight!"

His words were full of excitement, but his tone immediately dropped.

"Ten thousand units... I worked my life out today, led my subordinates to dig deeper into a few mining tunnels, and combined with the previous inventory, I can barely scrape this amount together."

"Sigh, looking at your trade volume, Boss Lin, I know you are definitely a hidden big shot! Tonight's beast tide must be nothing to you. Unlike us... our troop combat power is weak, and we rely entirely on mining to trade for some resources; whether we can see tomorrow's sun is an unknown..."