Free Web NovelChapter 99: Chapter 99: The Beacon Before Dawn
The final preparations were not heroic.
They were exhausting.
Move stones.
Tie ropes.
Sharpen stakes.
Reinforce gates.
Sort arrows.
Distribute pills.
Place oil jars.
Repair ballista tension.
Mark retreat paths.
Assign wounded fighters to safer positions.
In stories, battles began with banners and speeches. In reality, Qin Yuheng found that survival depended on whether a cracked hinge was repaired before something heavy hit it.
Captain Ren’s twelve remnants worked with desperate focus. They were Tower mission entities, but their fear felt real. Their relief when Qin Mo repaired the beacon mechanism felt real. Their gratitude when Qin Yuchen organized shield positions felt real.
Qin Yuheng did not treat them as illusions.
The Tower counted them.
So he would protect them.
Two hours before the tide, Qin Mo completed the beacon mechanism.
"Fuel is enough," he said. "Resin from east forest, oil from stores, and rotfire-resistant stone lining from the south marsh samples. It will burn."
"Can it be lit under attack?" Qin Yuheng asked.
"Yes, but it needs thirty breaths after ignition to stabilize."
"Then we light it before the tide reaches the wall."
Captain Ren hesitated.
"If lit too early, the commander may target it immediately."
"It will target it anyway."
The captain nodded.
"Then we light when the tide enters the valley mouth."
Qin Yuheng climbed the watchtower.
The valley below was dark.
Then red eyes appeared.
Dozens.
Hundreds.
The beast tide came like a living shadow.
Fang Beasts in front.
Rotfire beasts behind.
Bonewings overhead.
At the center, the Frontier Beast Tide Commander walked calmly, its antlers glowing with poison-fire light. One of its command anchors had been destroyed, and Qin Yuheng could see the effect. The tide was not perfectly ordered. Some packs moved too early. Some flying beasts circled unevenly.
Good.
Small advantage.
They needed every advantage.
The beacon timer appeared.
[Final Beast Tide approaching.]
[Light the warning beacon before outpost breach.]
Qin Yuheng gave the order.
"Light it."
Captain Ren lowered the torch.
The beacon caught.
For a moment, the flame sputtered.
Then it rose, orange-gold against the storm. frёewebnoѵēl.com
The beast commander raised its head.
It roared.
Every flying beast turned toward the tower.
"Bonewings incoming!" Qin Lian shouted.
Qin Mo fired the ballista.
The first Bonewing fell.
Archers released.
Qin Yuchen held the stairway to the beacon.
Qin Lian moved along the tower supports, killing beasts that landed. Qin Yuheng stood at the front wall as the Fang Beasts hit.
The first impact shook the outpost.
The second cracked the east barricade.
Oil jars fell.
Fire spread across the mud, creating a burning kill zone.
Qin Mo’s formations slowed the first wave. Captain Ren’s remnants stabbed through wall gaps. Qin Yuheng used War Thunder Advance to hold the breach, cutting down beasts without chasing.
Thirty breaths.
The beacon flame needed thirty breaths.
At fifteen breaths, Rotfire Mud Beasts reached the wall.
Their bodies exploded when killed, damaging stone and wood.
Qin Yuheng changed tactics.
"Push them back before killing!"
Qin Yuchen led the shield remnants in a shove formation. Qin Mo triggered ground spikes. Qin Lian cut legs instead of cores, forcing beasts to collapse outside the wall.
Twenty-three breaths.
Bonewings reached the beacon tower.
Qin Lian intercepted two.
A third slipped past and struck the beacon frame.
[Beacon Tower Integrity: 39%]
Qin Mo cursed and fired the ballista at point-blank angle.
The Bonewing exploded into feathers and bone.
Twenty-nine breaths.
The Beast Tide Commander lowered its antlers.
A poison-fire beam gathered.
It aimed at the beacon.
Qin Yuheng’s eyes sharpened.
He could not reach it in time from the wall.
"Yuchen!"
Qin Yuchen understood.
He threw his sword.
Not at the commander.
At the cracked command anchor charm hanging from one of its antlers.
The throw was precise, but not enough to break it.
Qin Lian’s dagger followed from the tower.
It struck the same point.
Crack.
The commander’s aim shifted.
The poison-fire beam missed the beacon and struck the outer wall.
Stone exploded.
[Outpost Integrity: 31%]
Thirty breaths.
The beacon stabilized.
A pillar of golden fire shot into the sky.
[Warning Beacon lit.]
[Primary objective secured.]
[Reinforcement signal sent.]
The remnants shouted.
But the tide did not stop.
Now they had to survive until the signal took effect.
The Beast Tide Commander advanced.
Level 27.
Too strong for a reckless duel.
But its command had weakened, and the beacon’s light burned some of the smaller beasts.
Qin Yuheng made a decision.
"We do not chase the commander. We hold until reinforcement response."
Captain Ren looked at him.
"The commander will break the wall."
"Then we fight it at the inner gate."
They fell back in layers.
Outer wall.
Inner barricade.
Beacon stair.
Every step cost beasts.
Every step cost integrity.
The commander finally reached the inner gate.
Its antlers smashed down.
The gate cracked.
Qin Yuheng stepped forward.
Not alone.
Qin Yuchen stood right.
Qin Lian left.
Qin Mo behind.
Captain Ren and his remnants formed a spear line.
The commander struck.
Qin Yuheng blocked with sword and thunder.
The force nearly drove him to one knee.
But Qin Mo’s formation anchored his feet.
Qin Yuchen cut the antler crack.
Qin Lian struck the eye.
Captain Ren thrust his spear into the beast’s neck.
The commander roared.
Then the beacon flame pulsed.
From the distant sky, horns answered.
Tower-generated reinforcements?
Memory army?
Golden arrows of light fell from the clouds, striking the beast tide outside the outpost.
The commander staggered.
A mission message appeared.
[Beacon response activated.]
[Beast Tide weakened.]
[Defeat commander for increased evaluation.]
Qin Mo shouted, "Of course!"
Qin Yuheng saw the commander’s weakened state.
Now.
"Full strike!"
The team moved.
Qin Mo locked its legs.
Qin Yuchen severed the cracked antler.
Qin Lian pierced the wounded eye.
Captain Ren and the remnants stabbed together.
Qin Yuheng used Thunder Shadow Flash and appeared beneath the commander’s throat.
His sword pierced upward.
Thunder exploded.
The Frontier Beast Tide Commander collapsed.
[Frontier Beast Tide Commander defeated.]
[Final tide broken.]
[Ruined Watchtower Outpost defended.]
Rain fell over the broken outpost.
The beacon burned above them.
All twelve remnants were still alive.
Captain Ren lowered his spear and looked at Qin Yuheng.
"You held the frontier."
Qin Yuheng looked at the exhausted team, the wounded remnants, and the burning beacon.
"No," he said. "We held it."
