Now that the sun had almost completely set, and with Leighton Town lying in a low basin surrounded by mountains, darkness fell quickly here. By the time they entered the town, the streets were already lighting up for the night, and the magnificent pale-violet curtain of light in the sky looked even more spectacular against the gradually deepening darkness. Yet despite this magnificent night view, hardly anyone had come out to the streets to stop and watch. Hao Ren followed the serious man in black robes into the town, seeing tightly shut doors everywhere. Not a single stall could be found in what should have been a lively, bustling night market. The people most often seen on the roads were fully armed town guards. Some belonged to the national order of knights, wearing standardized armor or robes bearing the blue emblem of the kingdom on their chests. Others belonged to the Radiant Church's order of knights, wearing black or white surcoats over their clothes. Apart from these professional soldiers, some disorderly equipped mercenaries could also be seen moving about the streets. Though they were not as uniformly armed as the professional soldiers, their bearing showed that they were all battle-hardened veterans. They had probably been recruited by the order of knights to bolster the town's defenses after the attack.
The entire town was shrouded in a tense, solemn atmosphere. It seemed the attack that had taken place between afternoon and dusk had left everyone here on edge. Hao Ren also saw bewilderment on the faces of some young soldiers. Apparently, even these professional fighters had been stunned by the sudden appearance of those bizarre monsters.
The tall, thin man leading the way said almost nothing along the journey. He merely led them silently through the oppressive streets. Hao Ren took