North, Coldwind Hills.
The barracks were continuous, and the military flags were fluttering. The barracks made of heavy northern camphor wood stretched along the mountains, as if a dark ravine had been plowed in the snow. Soldiers in the "Winter Wolf" armor of the Northern Army were running between the barracks like busy worker ants, reinforcing the newly built camp.
In the sky above the campsite, a layer of flickering magic shield was gradually taking shape. The mages from Icewind Valley were working overtime to erect barrier pillars all over the campsite, striving to complete this magic shield before the arrival of the blizzard.
This was the elite army of the six northern provinces, the proudest army of the empire. Until half a month ago, it was the strongest barrier in the north of the Dragon Empire, blocking the invasion of the demons from Gorgon's Abyss in the far north. But now, they had set up a new camp far away from their original line of defense, with their swords pointed south, ready to attack the imperial capital.
A figure clad in heavy black steel armor came to the hillside and looked down at the military camp and the busy officers and soldiers. Although this armored figure had an extraordinary presence and was rather tall, the armor that was specially tailored to the wearer's physique still made the commander's limbs slimmer than the average male soldier's. The rose decorations on his cloak also seemed to hint at the true gender of the person wearing the armor.
The sound of snow squeaking came from behind, and an old general with white hair also came to the hillside. The old general had a face like a lion, and his arms were bare in the snow. His body was so strong that it almost made people wonder if he had barbarian blood in him. He stopped behind the figure in black armor and said respectfully, "Your Highness, you should go back and rest. The snowstorm is coming soon."
The figure in black armor did not look back. A low but clearly feminine voice came from under the black helmet, "Duke Owen, what do you think of this war?"
The old general looked into the distance, in the direction of the imperial capital. "From the day the Northern Army was formed, we only had these two missions: to seal off Gorgon's Abyss, and to complete the Turn of the Era. His Majesty has given us this mission, and you will lead us to complete this mission. This is the purpose of the Northern Army."
Constance Dragon shook her head as her armor creaked. "Aside from your sense of duty, what do you think of this war? Our victory or defeat, the future of the Empire, and … the consequences of this war. "
"The warriors of the North can fight against the erosion of Gorgon's Abyss in ice and fire. We don't have those mechanical swords, nor do we have the ancient heritage. All we can rely on is our tempered will and bravery, and the brains of our generals who haven't been completely frozen." The old general, known as Grand Duke Owen, laughed. "I think the Army of the North is enough to fight against the Knights of the Ebon Blade, and we have your Knights of the Broken Blade, so victory is on our side. As for the consequences of this war … "
The old general was silent for a moment. "Your Highness, many things are destined."
A soft sigh came from under Constance's visor as she looked up in another direction.
Further north on the horizon, a faint red line jumped between the sky and the earth. The sky around the red line vaguely showed signs of distortion, as if there was a powerful force entrenched there, waiting to invade this world.
"Gorgon's Abyss has responded to us. It will be silent for two years, and within two years, we must end this war."
"The warriors of the North will not let you down, Your Highness."
Constance nodded slightly as she retracted her gaze from Gorgon's Abyss. She saw that at the edge of the Coldwind Hills, a new blizzard was forming.
She took off her helmet as her long black hair fluttered in the northern blizzard. The oncoming snowflakes and cold wind made the princess, who had a determined face and deep eyes, narrow her eyes. An old and hollow voice echoed in her heart.
"There is no eternity in a dynasty. The gods will die, the Holy Spirits will die, the sages and the dragons will also die. We do not know the beginning of all this, but we can see the bleak future. In that future, the world will fall into the everlasting night, and everything will burn to ashes. All the great souls can only wail helplessly as they witness this end, and they will be torn apart along with the world. Those who are ignorant of this are lucky. In their limited lives and knowledge, the world is full of light and peace. Aside from those born in times of chaos, most people can enjoy a lifetime of peace. But the immortals must bear the pain of facing the truth, and that is the price of immortality. "
Constance walked towards the direction of the camp.
"Father, please wait for a moment. I will take over your throne now."
…
There had indeed been some changes in the Black Forest. But depending on the observer, the so-called changes might just be revealing the truth.
The convoy was moving along a path that no one had ever set foot on before. The neatly arranged petrified lampposts and seemingly endless black pine trees receded as the convoy moved forward. At that moment, all three caravans had switched forms, and the guards of the carriages lowered to form a low bunker. The passengers sat inside the bunker to observe the outside world, and that helped them to have a panoramic view of the forest. The three caravans relied on shield generators to provide protection, and lowering the carriages would not affect the protection much.
The third caravan that was at the end of the convoy was now at the front of the convoy, and became the lead.
Rheia lay at the front of the caravan as she stared at the wondrous forest. The mist and distorted dimensions in the forest were meaningless before her eyes, and the forest was showing its truest side.
"I can confirm that the path we are on now is the real path of the Black Forest. It has always been like this, and the forks and paths that the explorers have explored are all illusions." Hao Ren said to Charlemagne and Awenna, "I can also make a bold guess that the explorers have only been circling around the outer edges of the Black Forest. People thought that they had passed through the forest path, but in reality, they might have passed through some sort of dimensional tunnel, or they might have been hypnotized while walking around the outer edges of the forest, and no one has ever seen the true interior of the forest."
Awenna was so shocked that she did not know what to say. Her eyes widened as she looked around, and then at Rheia who was lying at the front of the caravan. "That is a shocking hypothesis … Who is this little girl? Why are you all so confident? "
Rheia did not even turn her head as she grumbled, "Don't call me little girl, I'm much older than you!"
"Her identity is a little complicated to explain, but she has a magical ability, and it's called seeing through … Uh, no, seeing through everything." Hao Ren explained, "She can see through all the illusions in the world, and because she is in the convoy, we can enter this area that no one has ever set foot in before."
"That Basilica of the Yggdrasil of the World Tree … What kind of organization is it?" Charlemagne hesitated for a moment before asking.
Hao Ren thought for a moment. "Basically, it's to save the world."
"Alright, I've crossed the line, please don't mind."
"… I'm serious!"
As Hao Ren emphasized that he was an honest person, Lily suddenly poked his arm. "Mr. Landlord, Mr. Landlord, look over there. They've appeared again."
Hao Ren looked towards the direction where Lily was pointing, and saw a few blurry silhouettes materializing in the mist behind the convoy. The silhouettes wavered for a moment before becoming no different from a real person. They were dressed in civilian clothing, had golden-red eyes, silver hair, and were two meters tall. There were both men and women, and they looked like they were taking a stroll in the forest. As they chatted, they slowly walked into the mist, and their voices could be heard.
"The army has been moving around quite frequently." "I heard there's a war at the border …" "The Hierarch has been going to the Great Holy Cathedral a lot, could it be …" "The Council of the Seven Kings is about to begin, I really hope there's no trouble now."
The silhouettes disappeared, and Vivian frowned. "This is the seventh time, and this time there's a Council of the Seven Kings."
Ever since the convoy moved deeper into the Black Forest, the silhouettes had appeared more than once.
And the content was different.
The first time, Hao Ren and the rest saw soldiers fighting the corrupted monsters on the road, and the second time, they saw a group of wounded refugees retreating under the cover of soldiers. The third time, they saw a group of prisoners being escorted deeper into the forest, and the fourth time, they saw a group of workers in simple clothing gathered at the intersection, pointing at the forest as if planning some construction project …
And now, it was the seventh time.
The silhouettes appeared without any pattern, and did not seem to follow a timeline. Sometimes they were refugees in times of crisis, and other times they were pioneers in the wilderness.
Rheia had initially guessed that the silhouettes were "another possibility that the world had yet to realize", but that guess had been rejected, and Hao Ren suspected that the silhouettes in the Black Forest were actually a part of the "old world"'s history, and a history that even Rheia had never seen before.
That was supposed to be a memory of the past, but for some unknown reason, it had become a "false world", and Hao Ren speculated that this unknown reason was the destruction and rebirth that L 'Haronne had experienced.
There was only one thing that could not be explained. This world was reborn under the influence of Rheia's dream, and what went wrong in the process that caused such a 'reverberation of the old world' to be preserved, and manifested in the form of the Black Pine Forest in this world?
Looking at the dark forest around them, Awenna was a little uneasy. "Are we … really on the right path?"
As if to answer her, Rheia, who was lying in front of the carriage, suddenly slapped the cover of the carriage and pointed at the fork in the road ahead. "Up ahead, to the left."
"Trust her judgment." Hao Ren smiled. "Her intuition and Vision of Truth will lead us to the truth of this forest."
Awenna was on the verge of tears. "But we don't want to find the truth of this forest. We want to get out of here as soon as possible …"
Hao Ren's expression did not change. "Oh, then her intuition and Vision of Truth will lead us out of this forest."
Awenna's heart sank, and she felt that this bunch of weird people had no intention of getting out …
And at that moment, Vivian suddenly looked up and sniffed. "I think I smell … blood."
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