The battlefield of the Narrow Pass had quieted, the echoes of clashing steel and arcane blasts fading into a tense silence. Mist still clung to the cliffs, curling over the rocks like the fingers of a specter, but Ren’s army held firm, breathing heavily, weapons slick with blood and mud. Frostbane pawed the ground impatiently beside him, sensing the calm before the storm.
Ren’s gaze swept across the valley, noting every troop formation, every wounded soldier, every patch of treacherous terrain. The System thrummed softly in his mind, a constant companion. He had unlocked new abilities after the last engagement, including Shadow Sight and Command Link, which allowed him to coordinate his soldiers with near-perfect precision.
Yet despite the victory, a sense of unease gnawed at him. Varik
