Eternal Night: Building an Empire from Scratch

’...So, you are finally here.’ Edgar clenched his hand around the lever.

The monster had an air of intelligence that was unlike any other Nightmare.

Its body was covered in dark scales that had a faint reddish hue.

The Nightmare kept staring at Edgar before it slowly raised its head toward the Eternal Night.

The scales on its body began to glow brighter as a projectile started forming inside its mouth.

The projectile shot into the sky, illuminating the area around it.

The light revealed Nightmares upon Nightmares screeching, shouting, and howling.

They numbered in the thousands, from white rabbits to rhinoceroses. Every single one was filled with rage and madness.

’Are you showing off your army to inflict fear and dread in my heart?’

Edgar couldn’t help but smile at the oddly eerie behavior.

Taking in a deep breath, Edgar began walking along the patrol path.

As he moved, his gaze shifted toward the status screen.

While walking, he placed a ⟨Watch Tower⟩ every five metres and upgraded each one to Level 3 to unlock the Flamethrower effect and the Ballista.

In mere minutes, he created nine new ⟨Watch Tower⟩s on top of the Fortress Wall, each equipped with a flamethrower and a Ballista.

Edgar spread his hands, showing off his own power just as the Nightmare commander had.

The Lizard Commander remained motionless. Its vertical pupils slowly swept across the newly erected towers.

Slowly, it opened its mouth, and the projectile formed once again.

A suffocating silence spread across the Eternal Night.

The next moment, the Nightmare commander launched the projectile at Edgar.

ROOOOOOAAARRRRR!!!

Thousands of monsters charged at once, following the projectile.

Rabbits, wolves, bulls, giant insects, Rootwalkers, and countless creatures Edgar had never seen before poured out of the darkness like a tidal wave.

The Nightmare Tide had begun in full force.

"Just as I expected..."

He calmly gripped the control lever of the nearest Ballista.

"Let’s see whose preparations were better."

The eleven Ballistas rotated almost simultaneously, their muzzles lighting up one after another.

A terrifying glow illuminated the Fortress Wall as the Nightmare Tide crashed toward it.

BOOOOOOOOMMMMM!!!

The projectiles streaked across the battlefield like falling meteors before crashing directly into the charging horde.

The flamethrowers began burning the monsters one after another.

Entire sections of the Nightmare Tide were engulfed in flames in an instant.

Black blood, broken limbs, and shattered earth were thrown hundreds of metres into the air.

The charging monsters didn’t even have time to scream.

Yet...

The Tide never slowed even a bit.

The monsters behind simply climbed over the burning craters and the corpses of their own kind.

It was as though the dead meant nothing to them. They were behaving like mindless beings with no fear of death.

The charging Nightmares almost reached Edgar, but the flamethrowers burned them alive.

He instinctively raised an arm to shield his face.

The collisions produced countless flaming fragments that rained onto the battlefield like meteors.

Several unfortunate Nightmares below were struck and immediately caught fire.

When the first wave couldn’t do much, Edgar’s confidence grew even further.

He turned his gaze toward the Nightmare commander, who was staring at everything unfolding without moving.

’What are you thinking?’

Edgar kept his gaze on the monster as countless others burned beneath it.

CRAAAASH!!

A thunderous impact echoed from the eastern wall, making Edgar frown.

"Andrew!" he yelled as he looked toward the eastern side of the Fortress Wall. "Check the damage!"

The young boy quickly ran up the stairs and looked down.

"There are Nightmares trying to destroy the Fortress Wall!"

Edgar quickly shifted his gaze toward the eastern side.

Groups of five repeatedly slammed into the exact same section of the wall.

BOOM!!

BOOM!!

BOOM!!

Edgar’s expression immediately turned grim.

’It’s concentrating the damage...’

The Lizard Commander had learned from the previous battles.

Instead of wasting thousands of monsters attacking from every direction... it had chosen a single point.

’Let’s see who can sustain more damage.’

Edgar quickly brought up his system panel and began repairing the Fortress Wall instantly.

Every time a Nightmare struck the wall, he repaired the damage, making their deaths meaningless.

Leaving that section to Andrew, Edgar rushed back to the main impact area.

The battlefield below had become complete chaos.

Columns of fire roared endlessly as the flamethrowers swept across the charging horde.

Every few seconds, another Ballista fired.

BOOOOOOM!!

A crimson bolt carved a path straight through hundreds of Nightmares before exploding deep within the Tide.

Edgar would occasionally ignore all the other Nightmares and focus solely on the Rootwalkers, killing them first.

It was to make sure they couldn’t create a bridge over the wall like before.

More monsters rushed forward as though an endless ocean was pouring out of the Eternal Night.

"..."

Edgar’s expression gradually turned solemn.

Even with eleven ⟨Watch Towers⟩, they weren’t reducing the size of the horde.

If anything... the Nightmares were slowly getting closer.

As Edgar was racking his brain to predict the Lizard Commander’s next move, Andrew shouted,

"Young Master!" His voice echoed from the eastern wall. "The wall is still at ninety-nine percent!"

’Ah, for fuck’s sake, don’t state the obvious!’

Edgar ignored him and focused on the Nightmare commander, who was still keeping an eye on everything.

When Edgar noticed how calm it remained, a thought crept into his mind.

Everything that had happened up to this point was nothing but the beginning.

The commander was forcing him to reveal every single trump card he possessed.

’This bastard...’

Edgar’s grip tightened around the control lever.

’You’re using your own army to study my fortress.’

As Edgar kept staring at the monster, the commander finally moved.

Step by step, it walked back into the Eternal Night.

Edgar’s pupils contracted.

’It’s leaving?’

Edgar quickly dismissed the possibility. The sheer number of Nightmares that had appeared told him otherwise.

And just to prove his point, something flew out of the darkness.

When it entered the light of the Unbroken Fire, Edgar finally saw it.

The thing was a green, pouch-like living organism with glowing, veiny skin.

The creature slammed into the front of the Fortress Wall.

The next instant...It began melting the stone.