Chapter 197: The Land of Dragons (4)
It was as if a previously lush forest had suddenly been left with a barren expanse, which was a rather odd landscape. From a bird’s-eye view, this verdant prairie seemed to be encircled by towering trees, but as one got closer to the prairie, the color of the trees turned darker, and the leaves became sparser, as if they had been corrupted by some powerful force until they’d completely withered, transforming into black, dead trunks, and even the ground had turned into marshland.
This environment made me wonder if it had once been eroded by the chaotic power of the Abyss. But the vibrant grassland and the countless bizarre flowers blooming in it directly contradicted this notion. How could the center of this foul muddy swamp be such a lively place?
How strange…
But now was not the time for such thoughts. The wilderness was anything but tranquil. The distant rumble of thunder echoed continuously, seemingly emanating from the very center of the prairie. I turned to look in that direction and saw a chaotic storm whipping purple lightning, tearing through the verdant grass like a wild beast. The swirling gray mist formed a massive tornado, which seemed to be wrapping around something ominous. And I could make out…
It appeared to be a tree…
A tree… I couldn’t even guess how big!
From my rough estimate, that tornado was at least a hundred meters high. It was murky gray, swirling with countless dark clouds, with flashes of purple lightning, completely obscuring what was wrapped inside. Yet above the tornado, innumerable thick branches poked out, a hundred-meter tornado couldn’t even fully hide that tree.
It was at least one hundred twenty to thirty meters tall, and who knows how thick…
I was still in shock at such a sight in Woodward Forest. I furrowed my brow, pointed toward the storm, and shouted at the cleric ahead, “What’s that over there?”
“That is the entrance to the Land of Dragons!”
“…What?”
I was a bit foggy, thinking I must have misunderstood.
“Miss Silvya, do you see the tree in the storm?!”
“I see it…”
“That tree is the entrance to Dragonland! It’s the place where the ancient deities set their seal a thousand years ago!”
The cleric, riding on his beast, turned back to tell me, “Those two at the Gate of Truth are over there in the storm! We’ve been at a standoff with them for two days now! Not long ago, that female heretic seemed to have done something, and then this terrifying storm appeared, enclosing the tree! She went into the storm, leaving that old man guarding the entrance, and we’ve tried twice to get close but—”
The man gritted his teeth, his gaze fierce: “That damned old cur! He’s killed many of our people…”
“…Really.”
I stared into the storm, my brow furrowing in thought.
The cleric was talking about the dancer’s old servant… That woman, has she already entered the Land of Dragons? Or is she trying to break the seal… That tree is the seal… What did those previous two loud booms mean… And where’s the Dragon… Carlos said it’s still alive…
I nervously raked my fingers through my hair, my brain all in a jumble.
“We’re here!”
Suddenly, the cleric shouted again, and he raised his voice, straining to alert everyone, “We’re back!”
“We bring Miss Silvya! We’re back—!!”
Have we reached the battlefield…?
Iron hooves galloped forward as I leaned sideways on the beast, peering ahead.
Just a few dozen meters away, about a hundred clerics were scattered either sitting or standing. Among them were several knights clad in golden armor, and upon seeing the approaching horned horse, the seated clerics all stood up; many of them turned their heads toward us, stretching their necks to get a better look.
“Miss Silvya has arrived—!!”
The cleric carrying me shouted again. The horned beast was running swiftly, a distance of dozens of meters covered in just a few breaths. The man up front yanked the reins sharply, causing the beast to whirl around and stop. At that moment, everyone noticed the commotion, and those farther away rushed over, while those who were close began to gaze up at me.
Then the murmuring spread through the crowd.
“Miss Silvya…”
“It’s her, the one I’ve seen before, she is Miss Silvya…”
In just a couple of seconds, the murmuring quickly turned into thunderous cheers that surged like a tidal wave across the wilderness.
“Silvya! Silvya! Silvya!”
I don’t know who started, but gradually everyone began calling my name. Despite their poor condition—some were injured, many struggling to even stand—the overwhelming majority of the clerics had bl**d-stained robes, some sporting bandages on their heads, dirty faces in a way that was unfathomable for those once refined members of the Faith Organization. Even during the battle outside Alectine City, they had never looked this ragged.
Yet it was these very people, now shouting my name, their weary expressions overshadowed by flames of determination in their eyes.
As I dismounted from the beast, standing before them, my cheeks felt warm, and my nose had grown a bit sore.
These were the brave souls who had fought here…
To protect the people of Silgaya…
I kept taking deep breaths, scanning each pair of eyes, the fierce, spirited emotion within them reaching deep into my own heart.
Before long, the cheers subsided, and the crowd parted as a frail, robed elder stepped forward. He approached me, looking at me with a mix of unspeakable delight in his murky eyes, extending his bony hand to pat my shoulder, holding on tightly.
“Blessed by the deities… To have you here at this most difficult moment. I am Archbishop Ansiel. Miss Silvya, should we say a hero always arrives when most needed? You have come… just at the right time…”
I suddenly felt the elder looked a bit familiar.
But after thinking it through, I couldn’t recall where I had seen him before. Maybe all robed old men look alike? I bowed slightly to the elder, as the situation was critical, this wasn’t the time for pleasantries.
“What do you need me to do?”
I asked bluntly, and the elder nodded, releasing my shoulder and pointing toward the distance: “Do you see that storm?”
The clerics had already begun to regroup. Here, whether clerics or knights, they were all the finest warriors of The Holy Church. They moved with remarkable speed, and under the shouts of a few apparent leaders, the battle lines quickly formed. The man who had brought me over was roaring from behind, “Miss Silvya has arrived! Now is the time to muster our courage and face those demons head-on!”
“Roar—”
The battle cries of more than a hundred warriors echoed across the wilderness, and the elder pointed at the storm, his gravelly voice clear amidst the uproar.
“The entrance to Dragonland, cough cough, is at the center of that storm vortex. There are only two heretics there, and you’ve had a run-in with one of them before. Those two broke through the outer defenses of the forest not long ago, slaughtering their way here, intending to open Dragonland and gain even greater power from the demons… I led the surviving clerics and knights in two attempts, but we were stopped by that elder at the entrance. Before you arrived, the remaining hundred or so of us were planning to rally again for one last charge.”
“As the elite of the Church, your blades, your holy lances should shred that old mongrel from the Eastern Continent! You must uphold your honor!”
From behind, a horned beast let out a mighty cry, armor and weaponry clanking, and the man’s powerful roar thundered before the formation, “After today, you will be recorded in history! Your names will be etched on the hero’s monument in the Holy City! Your families, your children will feel proud of what you’ve accomplished today!”
“Dragonland is about to open, cough cough.”
The old pope stood there with his hands clasped behind him, coughing weakly. His voice wasn’t loud, nearly drowned by the deafening shouts around us, and I had to lean in a little, standing on my toes, tilting my head to listen closely.
“Earlier, from that tree in the center of the storm, two waves of energy were released; that was the heretics using the divine relics’ power to assault the entrance. If there’s another, the entrance will surely be breached. My child, we will launch our third assault next, and the goal this time is to break through the old heretic’s defenses, allowing you to smoothly enter the storm’s center, touch that tree, and then pass into the Land of Dragons.”
“We will hold off that powerful enemy for you; do not engage him. Remember, no matter what happens, do not worry about us, do not look back, enter the storm’s center, and once the Land of Dragons opens, do everything you can to prevent the other heretic from entering. That demon, the source of the power at the Gate of Truth, is in there.”
The tattered golden battle flag unfurled, and the horns of attack echoed leisurely. Someone walked over leading two horned beasts. As the man shouted from the front, we were already at the final moment.
“Remember the resolve you made today; remember the feelings you hold at this moment!”
He turned and mounted the beast, drawing out the long spear hanging at his side, swinging it down swiftly with a clang. A dazzling purple light flashed from the spear tip.
“After this battle, whether you live or d*e, you shall all become heroes, forever remembered by the people! The great deities are watching over you; the holy light shall forever accompany you—”
At the front of the formation, the old pope and I mounted our horned beasts at the same time. The elder stroked the beast’s neck, a hint of a smile in his eyes, “Miss Silvya, this time, you don’t need to be in the front; let these kids have their hero moment first. They’ve been waiting for this for a long time.”
“…Okay.”
I looked at the old man for a moment, nodding emphatically.
My voice felt dry.
“Faith Organization! Judgment Fist! All troops prepare!”
Clank-clank-clank—
The knights drew their swords, the clerics prayed in hushed tones, golden light poured down from above the formation, bathing everyone in a faint glow. I unlatched Captain Gray from my back; the trigger was already broken, so I had to manually assemble it piece by piece. As the scythe formed before my eyes, the once chipped blade seemed to shine with a dazzling sharpness once again.
I gently caressed the blade, thinking: Sorry, but please accompany me once more…
“Charge with me—!!!”
The fierce battle cry behind me reverberated, and the thunderous hoofbeats echoed across the wilderness as the elder on the beast beside me turned to make a sign of prayer.
“May the holy light bless us, Miss Silvya.”
