Chapter Sixty-Seven: The Eve of Chaos (Part II)
After he finished speaking, he put on his hood and leaped down from the sand dune. His gray cloak billowed behind him like a flag waving in the wind, and without missing a beat, he dashed westward, moving as swiftly as a gazelle on a caffeine high.
On top of the dune, the Red-haired Woman pouted, watching the man’s figure recede into the distance. Her mesmerizing peach blossom eyes were filled with reluctant annoyance. She stood there hesitating for two whole seconds before igniting into a blaze and chasing after him.
The sound of footsteps, like rustling leaves in the night, echoed once more. The woman swiftly caught up to the Swordsman. The dancing flames around her faded quietly. She turned her head to glance at his serious face and couldn’t help but ask, “So, what’s your grand plan once you see her again? Have you thought it through?”
“……”
The man fell silent for a moment. “At least I should tell her to skedaddle out of there… if she really is heading to that town.”
“Uh…”
The corner of her lips curled up in a light laugh, yet her eyes held no trace of joy.
Suddenly feeling a bit tense, her smile disappeared. “…Carlos, I must remind you, that girl’s camp is still a bit muddled. She hasn’t said a peep to you and might just have tossed her lot in with the Gate of Truth. If that’s indeed the case, given our current circumstances, you realize what your actions could lead to, right?”
“Yep.”
The man replied quickly this time, “That’s why I told you not to follow me. The movements on Teacher’s side might already be at the last step. Since we couldn’t find the Fire Seed, it turns out that town is a real Heretic hotspot. We could ignore it, but once we get involved—”
“That girl…” The woman abruptly interrupted him. “What if the Church figures out she’s there? What do you think will happen?”
“…Not good.”
“So, you want to save her?”
“…No.”
He shook his head and exhaled slowly. “I want to save… the branch of the ‘Grace Scales’ that might be heading there—all of them. If things turn truly dire, I might even be able to save the Teacher.”
The woman widened her eyes in disbelief.
She tilted her head to watch the running man, staring at his face for two seconds, incredulity etched in her gaze.
“You’re not joking with me, are you…?”
“Do I look like I’m joking?”
The Swordsman named Carlos had shed all laziness; he seemed worried, his face unusually displaying a hint of unease.
“Leah, there’s a lot you don’t know… It’s better if you don’t. You didn’t listen to my advice and insisted on tagging along. I couldn’t stop you, so fine, you can come. But you have to promise me one thing: if things take a turn for the worse and danger looms, you must not show yourself, ask nothing, and get the heck out of there… Understand?”
“…d*mn it.”
The woman muttered under her breath.
She noticed he wasn’t joking anymore and felt even more incredulous. “That little girl, what’s her deal… Hey, Carlos—”
“Don’t ask.”
Before she could finish her sentence, the Swordsman already anticipated her question and decisively strangled her curiosity right in its crib: “Don’t ask anything. You don’t need to know those things; it’s truly of no benefit to you.”
Leah, the woman, fell silent.
After a moment, she spoke again, “What about you?”
“…What?”
“If I leave, what will you do? You’re not planning to stick around, are you?”
“…I have my own plans.”
The man said in a low voice, “But Leah, you can’t get involved in this. You absolutely cannot. I don’t want you dying here… we…”
As he spoke, he suddenly noticed the woman’s breathing becoming a bit heavy. Eyebrows raised, he turned to look at her face and saw her frowning in a dismal expression. He paused for a moment before breaking into a chuckle, “What’s with that face? It’s all good, just chill out. Maybe things won’t be as bad as I think. We might just need to swing by and say a few words.”
“……”
After a brief moment of reflection, the woman forced a smile: “Oh, I really wish you’d stay in Drunkard Street and keep living it up in blissful oblivion…”
“That way, it’d be a lot easier…”
A gust of wind swept by, engulfing their fleeting figures in the night, and soon they vanished into the distance.
…………
The late night approached.
To the west of the desert, on the banks of the Red River upstream, bushes covered in greenery dotted the land, with a smattering of purple trees standing tall on the heights. Nearby, the yellow mountains lay sprawled out, their massive ridges stretching far into the sandy valley.
Behind that ridge, brilliant golden light flickered, scattering countless sparkles in the night sky like glowing fireflies illuminating the darkness.
“Clang-clang,” accompanied by clattering but resolute footsteps, an uncountable number of Golden Armored Knights emerged from the golden glow, voices rising in a cacophony that flowed like a river in the night. A robe-clad Bishop atop a horned horse looked ahead, and in the distance atop a mountain peak, he vaguely spotted two figures—one fat, one thin.
“The Sword Saint, Old Man…”
The young Bishop murmured, recognizing the frail and hunching figure approaching.
On the mountain, a weathered old man with white hair, looking like he could crumble from gusty winds, leaned on the hilt of his sword with his bony right hand. His oversized robe fluttered in the wind, and his hair tied back seemed to dance along.
His gaze was murky yet deep as he stared at the knights appearing in the golden light below. After a moment, he spoke to the plump lady beside him, “Apheir, do you remember twenty years ago, when we were also leading knights like them onto the Eastern Continent?”
“Twenty-two years ago, Mr. Ryan… hic!”
The plump lady belched while clutching her wine pouch, taking a hearty swig that splattered glowing liquid all over her rosacea-ridden nose.
“Oh, so it’s been twenty-two years… I’m really getting old; I can’t even remember these things anymore.”
“Ha ha, you’re far from old, sir.”
“I’m still old…”
The man called Mr. Ryan sighed with a touch of wistfulness. “In this lifetime, I’ve always preached to establish hearts for the world and destinies for the people, thinking that wielding my sword could save this world from fire and water and eradicate heresy while upholding the virtue of life… But reflecting back, even my lady is no longer in this world, and when she left, I couldn’t even return to see her one last time.”
The plump lady paused her drinking upon hearing the old man’s words.
“Mr. Ryan…”
She sensed the old man’s subtle emotions, wanting to say something comforting, but he waved her off: “Tell me, do you think those beliefs we’ve held onto for so long have strayed from their original path?”
“……”
The lady fell silent.
A cool breeze swept across the ridge, carrying fine sands that seemed to cry out in the night, stirring up chaos and disarray upon the yellow earth.
In Meiser Town to the east, the flickering flames dimmed one by one, leaving only the light of the Old Mayor’s mud-walled house still shining bright.
Elder Robert, wearing tattered rough cloth pants with his thin, dark arms exposed, sat by the window, puffing on his pipe like an old dragon exhaling mist. His face was lined with worry, looking as if he was brooding over something. His granddaughter had long since gone to bed. Moments later, a man rushed in through the courtyard, pushing the door open hurriedly, panic etched on his face as he leaned in to whisper something in the old man’s ear.
At the same time.
Less than a kilometer outside the town, a silver-haired woman, wrapped in a tattered cloak soaked in bl**d, her hair disheveled, staggered slowly through the dark night toward the town.
