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The original was posted on /r/hfy by /u/RangerFrank on 2024-10-28 16:51:06+00:00.

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Good morning, everyone. I have some updates for you and something important at the end of the chapter.

First of all, I want to express my heartfelt gratitude to each one of you for your recent support. The $850 goal was met solely because of your assistance, and it was a true blessing. Thank you so much for your help; I cannot thank you enough.

And, of course, I owe some double time and chapters, so let’s talk about that next. As a thank you for your support, I will begin posting twice a week. I plan to keep the usual Monday posts as they are, and the second weekly post will just be… whenever. It’ll be a sort of surprise when it comes. Maybe I’ll double-post on Mondays or spread it out. Maybe you’ll wake up to a gift.

Speaking of gifts, I’m already looking forward to our Christmas giveaways this year. But more on that when it’s closer to the festive season. As for Christmas and Thanksgiving, I plan on taking some time off. For Thanksgiving, I’ll be taking that weekend off, which includes Monday the 1st. I’ll continue posting as usual until the Monday before Christmas Eve, the 23rd. After that, I’ll be taking an extended break over New Years and will be back to our regular schedule on the 13th of January. I’ll make sure to drop reminders again for all this when it comes closer.

Also, I have finally, after many months of waiting and dealing with the sellers overseas, got my hands on the last product. Everything so far has met my expectations, and I’m finally ready to enter the last stage of getting things for the Kick Starter. Tomorrow, I’m meeting with the person who is going to help me get the photos and the graphics for everything, which should be the final step. I’m praying these final steps don’t set me back any more than I already have been, but the way things have been going on is on the whim of others now. I’ve made some miscalculations and mistakes, but I’m still very excited for what’s to come. Let’s just say it’s been a learning experience…

I would love to get the Kick Starter up by the end of next month, but once again, this is just my wish. At the bare minimum, I’m going to make the push to get that damn thing up before the end of the year because I’m growing too anxious to show off everything, as it’s been gnawing at me for months now.

Again, thank you all so much.

After the incident with the Dullahan, Ms. Taurus and her people cleared the sewers and collapsed the entry points that the undead used to get in. Of course, the possibility those moles could burrow in somewhere else was still a real threat. It forced the city to expand its defensive network in order to catch another surprise before it hit us.

Varnir, Tsarra, and I said our goodbyes to my mother and Sylvia as we got some much-needed sustenance and a pitiful amount of rest. It was their turn to go up the wall, and I remained in the encampment for my turn. After a few hours passed and the day began to wind down, Tsarra and Varnir returned.

“How is the wall looking?” I asked Varnir.

Varnir plopped down, exhausted, and sighed deeply. “It’s okay. The outer defenses are all but destroyed, and the undead are starting to make a giant pile up toward us, but the mages are burning it down. I spent most of my time moving supplies and helping any of the wounded.”

“Are we taking many casualties?” I asked.

Varnir shook his head. “No, not really. The undead are starting to amass Skeleton archers. They seem to pop up out of nowhere and get a volley off before getting blasted to pieces by mages. Some people took some arrows and went down.”

“I see…and the Corpse Giants?” I questioned.

“Staying far off in the distance. Sometimes they’ll try to throw a boulder at us, but it’s too far even for them,” Varnir answered.

“But seriously, Kaladin, what do you think their next move will be? Are they just going to try and wait us out?”

I shrugged. “They will probably spend the next few days draining our supplies and morale since we thwarted both of their surprise attacks and initial assault. Or at least that’s what I would do.”

A haggard-looking Tsarra sat down slowly next to Varnir. Her red hair was matted down from sweat, dirt, and blood, and she looked even more pale than usual. It was clear she had used a lot of mana during her rotation.

“Are you okay, Tsarra?” I asked out of concern.

She smiled and nodded weakly. “Yes…just tired.”

“They had Tsarra use her water magic to sweep away the undead that was piling up,” Varnir mentioned in between bites.

I see…

Tsarra was about to spoon some of the gruel before she stopped and put a hand over her mouth as if she were about to vomit. Tears rolled out of her eyes as her brows furrowed in pain.

“D—does the smell ever go away? I feel like I’m still there on the wall…” she mumbled.

“You’ll get used to it…sadly,” I answered. “But you do need to eat to conserve your strength.”

Tsarra gave the wooden bowl a grim look before she started scooping the stuff into her mouth. It was a rather desperate attempt to beat the lingering smell, but she could hardly be put at fault. The lingering stench of death and decay over the city was particularly nauseating. And with the amount of rotting corpses…the chance for disease would rise rapidly.

“You are going back up there in an hour or so, right?” Varnir asked.

“Yes, my time to rest will be up shortly. I should start heading that way now,” I said, standing up.

“Good luck out there,” Varnir said with a firm nod.

“Y—yes…please be safe,” Tsarra mumbled.

“Thank you. And I will.”

—

The situation on the wall was as Varnir said. The undead were shambling forward in an endless sea that spanned the entire western side of the city. It appeared that we had barely made a dent in their numbers, and at the rate we were going, it would take weeks to clear them. But by then, we would be out of food and with dwindling numbers.

Regardless, I spent my shift doing what I could. I burned large piles of squirming bodies as they attempted to reach the top of the battlement with magic, moved supplies that needed moving, and just generally supported everyone that I could. The undead, as they were, weren’t an immediate threat as long as the growing piles were reduced to ash by a few mages. The Corpse Giants remained looming in the distance, unmoving. The Liches, or any other powerful undead for that matter, remained elusive.

My shift felt much longer than the first but passed by nonetheless. I wouldn’t be on call for the rest of the day unless something extreme and unexpected happened so I decided to go back to the castle for the evening. I returned via carriage and quickly showered the day’s filth off of me, but it appeared rest would elude me for a while longer.

Knock. Knock.

I made myself presentable and answered; Sir Blackwood was waiting for me at the door. “Sir Shadowheart, His Highness is requesting a meeting.”

“Understood, let’s go.”

Sir Blackwood led me to a conference room, where I was one of the first to arrive. The room quickly began to fill with many of the top players here in the city. And once everyone had arrived, the three royal siblings came in as well.

“I’ve called everyone here to discuss our next moves. But first, allow me to thank all of you for your hard work today,” Prince Xander said earnestly and with a short bow.

“We are just doing what needs to be done, Your Highness,” Professor Garrison said.

“Even so, with all the unknown, everyone handled things beyond expectations. Good job,” Prince Xander said as he turned to Sir Blackwood.

“Sir Blackwood, please recount today’s casualties for everyone present.”

Sir Blackwood brought out a sheet of paper and read, “We have about four hundred combatants dead or missing, along with many uncounted-for civilians. Our wounded reached well over three thousand, but grievous wounds were only at a thousand. The numbers have remained low thanks to our healers and Miss Sylvia.”

“Good, and what of our total amount of rations?” Prince Xander asked.

“As things are now, we should be able to hold out for just a month. But we will eventually have to start rationing the civilians in the coming days,” he answered.

Prince Xander rubbed his chin. “And according to your estimations, when will rationing for the civilians start?”

“Within a week, Your Highness. Non-combatants are already at a limit of two meals per day.”

“I understand. Then, by the weekend, start rationing the civilians,” Prince Xander ordered.

Things are going okay for the time being. We have enough supplies to continue the defense for a month, but…do we really have that kind of time with no support coming our way?

“As all of you have heard, our food limit is set at a hard limit for a month. Beyond that, we may start i…

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