Chapter 682

Chapter 67 The Night Before Chaos Part 2

He finished speaking and put on his hood, leaping down from the dune. His gray cloak fluttered behind him as he landed. Without pausing, he continued running westward, his steps swift and sure.

On top of the dune, the red-haired woman pouted, watching the man’s distant figure fade away. Her bewitching eyes were filled with reluctance and unwillingness. She stood there for two seconds, hesitating, but in the end, she transformed into a streak of fire and chased after him.

The sound of footsteps “sashashasha” echoed again under the night sky. The woman quickly glided beside the swordsman. The flames enveloping her dissipated silently. She turned her head to glance at his serious face and couldn’t help but ask, “What do you plan to do when you see her again? Have you thought it through?”

“…”

The man was silent for a moment. “At least I need to tell her to leave that place as soon as possible… If she really is heading to that town.”

“Ho…”

A smile curved the woman’s lips, and she let out a light laugh, but there was no mirth in her eyes.

She seemed to be somewhat nervous; her smile quickly faded. “…Carlos, I have to remind you, the girl’s allegiance is still unclear. She hasn’t told you anything, which means she might have already sided with the Gate of Truth. If that’s the case, given our current situation, you know what this means, right?”

“I know.”

The man answered swiftly this time. “That’s why I advised you not to follow me. The actions of our teacher might have progressed to the final stage. We haven’t found the ’ember,’ but that town is indeed an abode of heretics. It would be fine if we don’t get involved, but once we do—”

“What about that girl…” The woman suddenly interrupted him, “If the church finds out she’s there, what will happen?”

“…It will be terrible.”

“So you want to save her?”

“…No.”

The man shook his head and slowly exhaled. “I want to save the ‘Grace Balance’ detachment that might arrive there. All of them. If things go to their worst, I might even save my teacher’s life.”

The woman’s eyes widened abruptly.

She turned her head to look at the running man, staring at his face for two seconds, disbelief filling her eyes.

“You’re not joking with me…”

“Do I look like I’m joking?”

The swordsman named Carlos was serious. He had long lost his lazy demeanor. He seemed to be worried about something, a rare expression of unease appearing on his face.

“Lia, there are many things you don’t understand… And it’s better that you don’t. I can’t stop you from coming along, so I let you come. But you must promise me one thing. If things take an unexpected turn and become extremely dangerous, you must not show yourself, ask no questions, and leave immediately… Do you understand?”

“…Damn it.”

The woman cursed softly.

Seeing that the man wasn’t joking, she felt even more incredulous. “What’s going on with that little girl… Hey, Carlos—”

“Don’t ask.”

Before the woman could finish her sentence, the swordsman already knew what she wanted to ask and decisively stifled that curiosity in its cradle. “Don’t ask anything. You don’t need to know those things. They won’t benefit you at all.”

The woman named Lia fell silent.

After a moment, she spoke again. “And you? What will you do if I leave?”

“…What?”

“If I leave, what about you? You won’t come with me, right?”

“…I have my own plans.”

The man said solemnly, “But Lia, you cannot get involved in this. You absolutely mustn’t. I don’t want you to die here… We—”

As he spoke, he suddenly heard the woman’s breathing become heavy, and her eyebrows rose as she turned to look at her face. He saw her frowning deeply, looking troubled.

The woman with a sorrowful look was slightly taken aback, then she laughed: “Why do you look like that? It’s fine, relax, relax. Maybe things won’t be as bad as I think. We… might just go there to deliver a message.”

“…”

After a moment of contemplation, the woman also laughed: “Heh, now I hope you could stay in Drunkard Street and continue your life of constant drunkenness…”

“That would be simpler…”

The wind and sand swept over them, gradually enveloping their running figures in the night, faint and indistinct. Soon, they disappeared into the distance.

…………

As midnight approached.

On the western side of the desert, beyond the banks of the Red River upstream, the yellow soil covered with shrubs was interspersed with patches of greenery. Isolated purple trees stood on various high slopes. Not far away, the Yellow Mountain lay across, its massive ridge extending far into the distant sand valley.

Behind the mountain ridge, dazzling golden light flickered, scattering countless specks of light, like countless fireflies shining in the ink-black night, illuminating half the sky.

“Clang, clang,” amidst the chaotic yet resounding footsteps, countless gold-armored knights emerged from the golden light. The noise grew into a long stream under the night sky. A robed bishop riding an oryx raised his head, and his gaze reached the peak of a mountain ahead where he vaguely saw two figures, one fat and one thin.

“Sage Sword Master…”

The young bishop murmured. He recognized that somewhat frail and hunched figure.

On the mountaintop, the old man with white hair and weathered face leaned on the hilt of his sword with his bony right hand. His oversized robe and the hair tied at the back swayed in the wind.

His eyes were murky yet profound, gazing at the knights appearing in the golden light below. After a moment, he spoke to the plump old woman beside him: “Apfel, do you remember twenty years ago, when we led knights like them to set foot on the land of the Eastern Continent?”

“It’s been twenty-two years, Mr. Rayn…”

The plump old woman hiccupped. She still held a wine pouch in her hand, lifting it to her mouth for a drink. The strong liquid spilled out and splashed onto her red, alcohol-soaked nose.

“Oh, it has been twenty-two years… I’m getting old, can’t even remember these things anymore.”

“Haha, sir is far from being called old.”

“I’m still getting old…”

The old man called Mr. Rayn sighed slightly: “Throughout my life, I always said I wanted to establish the heart of heaven and earth, and secure the lives of the people. I believed that by wielding a sword, I could save the world from calamity, to eradicate heresy while promoting the virtue of compassion… When I came to my senses, even my wife had already passed away, and I couldn’t even see her before she left.”

The plump old woman stopped drinking when she heard the old man’s words.

“Mr. Rayn…”

She sensed the subtle emotions of the old man, wanting to say something comforting, but he waved her off: “Tell me, do you think our beliefs have strayed from their original path?”

“…”

The old woman fell silent.

A cool breeze blew from the other end of the ridge, carrying fine sand, like the night’s weeping, stirring up chaos and devastation on this yellow earth.

In Mese Town to the east, the fires gradually dimmed, except for the light in the old town mayor’s earthen house.

Robert, the old man, wore a pair of coarse linen trousers with holes, his dark and lean arms exposed, sitting by the window, smoking a pipe. His wrinkled face looked worried about something. His granddaughter had long gone to sleep. Soon, a man rushed in from the courtyard, hurriedly opening the door, his face filled with panic, whispering something into the old man’s ear.

At the same time.

Less than a kilometer outside the town, a silver-haired woman, dressed in tattered and blood-stained cloak, disheveled and unkempt, moved slowly toward the town under the pitch-black night.