Chapter 1 The Light Pillar

Heavy rain poured down, the world a vast expanse of gray. The pillar of light rising from the direction of Lake Beinz was as conspicuous as a lighthouse in the night. Hao Ren listened to the urgent chimes echoing in the town, subconsciously crying out, "The stone monsters are attacking?"

He thought it was the monster siege alarm.

Aofra went to the window and glanced out, her expression suddenly extremely solemn. "No, it's the Saint Lake Church alarm... Something's wrong there!"

Everyone, including Lily, who had been dozing off, became nervous. Hao Ren and his companions were unfamiliar with the local situation, so they didn't know what level of event the light pillar alarm represented, but looking at Aofra's expression, they could guess that this matter was extraordinary. Just as they were about to ask for details, a burst of urgent knocking came from outside. Aofra sensed the identity of the person at the door with a thought. She glanced at the door, and it immediately swung open, a gust of cold wind carrying icy raindrops swept in. A warrior drenched like a drowned rat stood outside the door. "Marshal! Saint Lake is alarming, the Sacred Church has been swallowed by the lake!"

"What?!" Aofra was shocked, even her centuries of self-cultivation couldn't help at this moment. "Is the situation confirmed?!"

"Confirmed. A high-ranking priest who escaped from the church garrison used divine magic to send back the message. Archbishop Gerton is organizing the Church Knights to go to the rescue."

Aofra straightened her light armor. "Gather the elite, we're going too."

"Wait, wait, count us in," Hao Ren quickly chimed in. "We're experts..."

Aofra looked at him strangely. "What experts?"

"Aiya, don't worry about the details. It's definitely right to call yourself an expert at this time," Hao Ren said casually. What reason could he have? He just wanted to broaden his horizons. Faced with Aofra's doubts, he could only wave his hands vigorously. "Just look at our fervent patriotism..."

Aofra nodded. "If I didn't believe you, would you make up another one?"

Hao Ren was choked for a moment. Fortunately, Aofra didn't waste time with him on this topic. The female marshal showed her decisive side. "If you don't mind this awful weather, then come along. After all, you are meritorious officials who escorted the Jewel. I don't worry about you harming the Holy Land. But don't expect me to take care of you."

Then Aofra looked at Nangong Wuyue. "Miss, I still need you to take my people to the mountains. I'm worried that the heretics will take advantage of the chaos to plot something."

At this time, Aofra had not forgotten about the heretics in the mountains, but Nangong Wuyue didn't care. She nodded decisively in agreement. "No problem."

The group didn't need to prepare anything, and soon followed Marshal Aofra out the door, heading towards the town's Knights garrison. After leaving the room, Hao Ren truly realized how powerful the rain outside was: the world was already a vast expanse of color, the whole world seemed to be immersed in a layer of grayish-white paint. The cold raindrops spun in the cold wind and splashed on the ground, as if there was an inverted ocean above the sky that was smashing down on their heads. There was no one in sight on the streets, only teams of soldiers in a hurry running around in the heavy rain, looking disheveled.

Only mages or high-level warriors could use shield-like abilities to block the rain. Most ordinary soldiers were not much different from ordinary people except for their strong bodies.

Fortunately, Hao Ren and his group didn't lack strange gadgets. They took out the life-sustaining neck rings they had used in space, and used their shield function to shield them from the wind and rain, so they wouldn't be too embarrassed. And Nangong Wuyue was even simpler: the raindrops disappeared as if absorbed the moment they fell on her body. The sea demon girl's feet were surging with waves and blue water. She looked like she was walking on waves, sliding as she walked, occasionally doing fancy skating. She seemed to be enjoying this weather.

The wind and rain did not approach within two meters of Aofra. She looked at Hao Ren and his group in surprise. "Your 'magic shield' is very special, unheard of."

Hao Ren waved his hand. "Because we are professional, because we are professional..."

Vivian glanced at Hao Ren, thinking that this guy was now most professional at using his mouth without drafting.

The group soon arrived at the Knights garrison. Nangong Wuyue and a team of elite warriors holding up shields set off first to the mountains, while another team of elite warriors left the town under the leadership of Aofra and headed to the Lake of Blood area.

But as soon as they reached the Twisted Woods defense line, they were blocked by a group of knights wearing white robes. The leader of the white-robed knights was a middle-aged uncle who looked quite dignified. The priest stood frankly in front of Aofra. "Marshal, Archbishop Gerton has already taken people to Saint Lake. This matter can be handled by the Church Knights."

Hao Ren was stunned, thinking that it was already this time and these pedantic clergy were still adhering to this outdated rule. Marshal Aofra's reply was even simpler and more direct. She pointed at the priest with her long sword while riding her horse. "Get out of the way, you are obstructing the Kingdom Knights from performing their duties."

The female marshal did not show any joy or anger on her face, she just stated the facts indifferently, but an invisible pressure had already spread out of thin air. Obviously, if these pedantic priests continued to block their way, she and her Knights would directly ride their horses forward and crush these people.

The priest gritted his teeth, probably thinking that now was not the time to say these words, so he had no choice but to reluctantly open the gate. "May the Goddess bless you."

"Bless you too, by the way." Aofra left a sentence and led her knights into the Twisted Woods.

The large team of warriors galloped wildly in the rain, creating a magnificent momentum like opening a wind king barrier, but Hao Ren always felt that this way of rushing was unreliable. "Are we just running over like this? Even if these horses are exhausted, we'll still have to run for most of the day!"

Aofra didn't speak, but waved to the knights behind her. "Everyone, get ready, straight ahead, charge!"

Immediately, all the knights lined up in a single column, lowered their bodies, and made a charging posture. The military horses that Hao Ren and the others were riding were also trained by the Knights, and at this time, they also found their positions in the team on their own. Aofra was at the forefront of the team, like an arrow, leading the entire team to charge straight ahead!

The moment the knights started charging, Hao Ren immediately realized that the surrounding environment was wrong:

The sound of wind and rain gradually faded away as if isolated to another world, and everything around him became monotonous and abstract like a faded black and white photograph. The towering ancient trees and other things in the Twisted Woods suddenly showed a semi-transparent texture, and the entire Knights regiment launched a reckless straight charge in this black and white phantom world!

Ignoring the towering trees in front of them, ignoring the boulders and river valleys blocking their way, ignoring any obstacles, everything in front of the Knights' swords was like an illusion, only these warriors were the only reality in the endless phantasm. They passed through the many things that had turned into phantoms, quickly leaving the avenue and choosing a straight path to the Lake of Blood!

Moreover, the speed far exceeded the normal galloping of military horses. Hao Ren only saw the fleeting shadows beside him quickly connecting into one piece, almost unable to see any scenery clearly. He estimated that it was at least two hundred miles per hour.

Becky held the reins tightly behind Aofra, and her whole person became excited. "It's the Marshal's Charge! The Marshal's Charge! The only military momentum magic in the world! Back then, Lord Aofra relied on this move to lead a thousand elite soldiers directly through the seven layers of defense that the southern rebels claimed would not fall for a hundred years, and directly captured the entire family of the Southern Grand Duke alive before the front line had even started fighting! The rebellion was quelled within a day!"

Hao Ren was immediately horrified, and Aofra turned her head to correct him seriously. "The rumors are inaccurate, only four layers of defense were penetrated. I originally only planned to raid one of their fortresses, but I didn't expect the Southern Grand Duke to be inspecting that place with all his confidants. He and I were both shocked at the time, but his reaction was slower than mine."

Hao Ren continued to be horrified: this is truly worthy of being a legendary heroine, look at her, even her skill tree is custom-made!

With the help of the Marshal's Charge, the large team actually arrived at the shores of Lake Beinz in less than an hour. The blood-colored water light jumped into everyone's eyes. Even though the world was filled with rain, Lake Beinz was still the most conspicuous scenery in this vast landscape.

Because this thing was too red.

The group went directly along the lakeside terrain to a high ground. After stepping on the high ground, Hao Ren looked down at the Lake of Blood and was immediately dumbfounded:

A huge vortex appeared in the center of the Lake of Blood. The location of the vortex was exactly where the original island in the center of the lake was located. Now that island had disappeared.