Kaelen had seen this before, in the old wars before he’d hung his sword over the mantle. A hot simulation —a live-fire rehearsal for a bigger kill. They weren’t here for grain or sheep. They were here to watch how the village bled.
🔥 Barbarians don't just walk to the center; they probe for weak spots in your walls. a village targeted by barbarians a simulation hot
. As the first torch hits the granary, the screen flushes a deep, incandescent orange. This is the "hot" zone: the point where the simulation ceases to be a calculation and becomes a sensory overload The barbarians do not loot for gold; they loot for data points Kaelen had seen this before, in the old