Chapter 1 The Feast

To be honest, Hao Ren had been waiting for these words from the old general. For the past ten days, he had been trekking through the wastelands and dense forests of the Kroos world without a single peaceful meal. Even though he and Veronica had no shortage of food and drink in their pocket dimension, sitting in the wilderness was definitely not a good environment for eating. So when Magus said it was time to eat, Hao Ren suddenly felt the old man was much more pleasing to the eye...

The old general frankly stated that the environment of the Western Territory Fortress was limited, and Princess Veronica was not one to make unreasonable demands, so this simple welcome banquet was held directly in this simple reception room. Soon, Hao Ren realized that the simple reception room before him was actually the highest-standard place in the Western Territory Fortress. The fortress was magnificent in appearance, but it was a pure combat fortress from the inside out. Everything here was designed to resist the power of chaos, without unnecessary decorations or luxuries. Even Magus's room was only slightly larger than that of an ordinary soldier. Devoting all their strength to resist chaos, squeezing all resources used for personal enjoyment into martial power—this was the normal life of the border people.

Although the welcome banquet was not lavish, it was delicious and nutritious enough. The front-line soldiers fought bloody battles every day, and as long as the upper echelons of the kingdom weren't brain-dead, they would definitely not treat the soldiers here unfairly in terms of supplies. Fresh vegetables and a kind of soft, sweet flatbread made Hao Ren's appetite increase greatly, and a thick soup made from fungi quickly alleviated the fatigue he had accumulated over the past few days.

He was single-minded while eating, but Princess Veronica's attention was obviously not focused on the food in front of her. The princess was very worried about the abnormal changes at the Chaos Border: "When exactly did the monster siege begin?"

"On the day Your Highness disappeared," Magus sat across the table, his massive size making him look like a giant beast crouching beside the table. "To be precise, it was four hours after the entire Shadow Jungle defense line collapsed. When the power of chaos reached its peak for the day, those things suddenly appeared out of thin air. This attack was completely unheralded. Even the wizards in the magic towers didn't notice any signs. If it weren't for the perpetual runes of order on the outer walls of the Western Territory Fortress, I'm afraid we wouldn't have been able to withstand the first wave of attacks."

Veronica nodded. "Has the attack continued ever since?"

"Each time it lasts one to three days, with varying intervals in between. Chaos lingers outside the city. No matter how many times the power of the Beacon Tower scatters them, those things don't seem to weaken at all. To be honest, I find this very unsettling. This is already the seventh year of the Chaos Tide. After the peak period, they should gradually decline, but the current situation... it's as if it's getting stronger."

"Within the kingdom..."

"Thanks to the Goddess's protection, the roads are still open, and contact hasn't been cut off. Although there are small pockets of chaos power permeating the Western Territory mountain corridor, they don't pose a threat. If even the aid from within the kingdom were cut off, this place would have been in a much worse state long ago."

Veronica breathed a sigh of relief. "That's good. My father and General Groon should already be discussing countermeasures."

"Countermeasures? I'm afraid it will be difficult to find any effective countermeasures," the old general shook his head. "Your Highness, I have been fighting chaos for seven years, and even during the Years of Order, I have been fighting against the small and large chaos tears within the kingdom for your father. I know very well what kind of enemy we are facing. It is unknowable and uncontrollable. Although it is sad to say, mankind has always been able to only passively accept and resist the tide of the Carnos Sea. Every time we survive the Chaos Tide, it is not because mortals have defeated it, but only because the tide ends before we are wiped out. If this tide really continues in this manner, all this old man can do is die in battle here. Delaying enough time—that is the only countermeasure."

Hao Ren looked up, somewhat surprised, at Magus.

He didn't expect to hear such pessimistic and despairing words from this seemingly iron-blooded old general. However, once these words came from his mouth, he knew that this was a reality that the people of Kroos had long accepted.

Under these circumstances, the old man could still speak calmly about dying in battle, which was truly admirable.

Veronica obviously knew that the old general's words were the truth, and she could only bite her lip. "...I understand. There's also another matter, regarding the Hearthstone Watchtowers in the Shadow Jungle..."

"After 'that day,' we lost contact with all the watchtowers," Magus spread his hands. "Chaos attacks were quite frequent, and they completely blocked all the routes between the fortress and the jungle defense line. Even our best scouts couldn't get through those shadows. Until recently, a suicide squad managed to cross the chaos blockade and find the watchtower closest to the fortress. Only two scouts returned alive, and the news they brought back was terrible."

"I know..." Veronica lowered her eyes. "The fortress guards are all dead, seemingly from madness."

Magus rested his hands on the table, his eyes fixed on the princess. "You and your knights miraculously crossed the entire forest. Do you know what exactly happened there?"

Veronica shook her head. "I'm also in the dark, General. Those watchtowers showed no signs of being attacked. All the buildings were intact, and even the armories hadn't been opened. Only the guards inside were dead. However, we did find some clues. The commanders of some watchtowers seemed to have held out longer than others around the hearthstone devices. They left behind..."

Veronica recounted her findings in those watchtowers in detail. Magus did not interrupt her throughout the entire narrative. The old general listened intently, and the imposing eyebrows on his face gradually furrowed together.

"We know nothing about these things," Magus's expression was grim and frightening. "I have failed your father."

"General, there are limits to human strength," Veronica comforted him. "Your ability to defend the Western Territory Fortress is already the greatest achievement for the kingdom. The events that occurred in the Shadow Jungle are strange in every way—not just the changes encountered by the Hearthstone Watchtowers, but even my defeat that day was somewhat strange. Although the Theocracy has always been arrogant, they have never made such mistakes in the past centuries. All these things are worthy of our in-depth investigation. The scholars in the royal capital are probably the only hope."

Magus frowned. "The scholars... we can only rely on them. The events that occurred on the Western Territory front must be reported to the royal capital immediately. I will arrange for a messenger."

"Messenger?" Veronica raised an eyebrow. "The teleportation device..."

"It hasn't been working for ten days," Magus shook his head. "The interference is getting stronger day by day. The wizards say that a dark shadow vortex is gradually forming above Ansu, and the spatial structure on the continent is becoming very unstable. Now, except for the heartland of the kingdom, spatial teleportation in other regions has been completely suspended."

Veronica thought for a moment and said decisively, "...Then I must also return to the royal capital."

"Yes, now that you have survived safely, His Majesty must want to see you immediately."

"It's not just for this reason," Veronica put down her cutlery and looked at Hao Ren, who was beside her. "Our trip to the chaos this time was filled with many incredible things. It's better to tell my father some things in person, and my sister... she knows a little bit more and may be more interested in the Guardian. At the same time, I'm also worried about the domestic situation. If I don't show my face again, some people may become restless."

"Haha, the circles of nobles..." Magus laughed, his tone undisguised with contempt and annoyance.

Hao Ren looked at the people around him and felt that he didn't seem to have any need to participate in the current topic, so he continued to lower his head and eat seriously.

After the welcome banquet ended, Hao Ren and the other knights returned to their rooms to rest, while Veronica and Morian stayed behind.

The two of them climbed the high spire of the fortress with General Magus. They went up the spiral staircase all the way to the highest platform of the Western Territory Fortress. The Beacon Tower stood tall on the base behind them, emitting a radiant light that enveloped the entire fortress in protection.

Looking around, the Shadow Jungle was like a muddy black cloud, gloomily entrenched in the western land. The farther reaches were completely shrouded in darkness. The mountains on both sides of the fortress also extended upward in the light, eventually being obscured by the dark shadow clouds in the sky. Only on the eastern side of the fortress could one see the vast and unpolluted mountains and hills, a faintly glowing road stretching through the mountains and forests, leading all the way to the kingdom.

Standing here, if one only looked to the west, it was inevitable to feel surrounded by a sea of darkness, trapped on an isolated island.

This was the bridgehead of the orderly world, the edge of the light.

"Regarding that 'Ancient Guardian'..." Magus looked at the distant forest, as if speaking casually, "Princess, do you trust him?"

"He saved everyone's life, including mine," Veronica said lightly.

Magus heard the subtext in her words. "It seems you are also not so certain about his origins."

Veronica did not say anything.

It was indeed the princess who initially identified Hao Ren as an ancient guardian, but that did not mean that she had not had any subsequent thoughts. After so many days of thinking and observation, especially after noticing Hao Ren's erroneous knowledge and even ignorance of many common senses of this world, the doubts in her heart gradually increased.

Confused memories are not a universal excuse most of the time.

Magus waited for a few seconds, and when there was no response, he continued, "You should have also thought of it. There may be hermits surviving from the last century in the wilderness, but it is unlikely that there are things from the last era—chaos shuffles every hundred years. Apart from a few specific tears, there are almost no ancient ruins in the world that have gone undiscovered for a continuous thousand years."

Veronica glanced at the old general. "Mount Karsuan is in a tear. Whether it was a hundred years ago, three hundred years ago, or a thousand years ago, it has always been shrouded in chaos. I know this is incredible, but there really is a temple there."

Magus's eyes widened.

"His origins are indeed a mystery," Sir Morian finally spoke at this moment. "But he is definitely not a servant of chaos, nor is he a cultist. He carries many extremely powerful holy relics with him. The power of those holy relics is far beyond anything in this era. They are probably ancient relics."

"In any case, the most important thing is that he is on our side," Veronica sighed. "I know you may think my idea is naive, but I have thought it through carefully. I trust him and believe that he is a guardian of the Holy Land, regardless of whether he really comes from ancient times."