Steel and Sorrow: Rise of the Mercenary king

Chapter 209: Taste of mud

The fortress known as the Gods' Fingers stood like a giant among men, rising below the rugged peaks of the God's Hand mountains. This ancient stronghold, guarded the only pass between the northern and southern realms, making it a critical choke point for anyone attempting to cross between the two lands.

The castle's outer defenses comprised two formidable sets of walls. The outer wall, towering and nearly impenetrable, traced the mountain's contours, seamlessly blending with the jagged rocks and sheer cliffs. Behind this first line of defense rose a second, even more imposing wall, built directly against the face of the mountain itself. Constructed with heavy stone , these walls stood as resilient as the mountains they were built from.

Initially, only the inner area—protected by the first wall—was occupied by the residents of the Gods' Fingers. But as the generations passed, the population swelled, and necessity demanded more space. Between the two sets of walls, layers of modest suburbs emerged, expanding the fortress into a bustling enclave. 

Nestled against the cliffs,its position and structure made the Gods' Fingers nearly unassailable, while its strategic significance meant it remained fiercely guarded by those who wished to make sure nothing passed between the north and the south.@@novelbin@@

The Gods' Fingers fortress was the brainchild of Barlak the Lame, a cunning, iron-willed king from one of the fractured petty kingdoms that had once dotted the land before the empire rose to unify them. Over 200 years ago, Barlak, often called "the Cripple," had dedicated his life and his dynasty's entire fortune to the construction of this towering stronghold.