Clad in heavy armor, they climbed the mountain—Hao Ren had initially assumed the knights before him were ordinary humans. But after seeing them haul full-body armor weighing dozens of kilograms, along with various weapons including longswords, throwing axes, and hand crossbows, all the way to the summit as if they were walking on level ground without even breathing heavily, he realized that these people were probably superhumans in another sense.
The ancient temple's great gate had already collapsed. The gaping Door leaves and the hollow above the main hall left the place completely exposed to the wind and rain. After lying abandoned for thousands of years, much of the sanctuary was buried beneath dust and rubble. The empty hall offered no comfortable place to rest, yet even such a terrible environment was already precious to the utterly exhausted knights.
Just as Hao Ren had said, there was no Chaos Mist on the sacred mountain. Perhaps this temple, abandoned for many years, was still providing a faint protective power that kept Chaos from invading. The instant Veronica stepped into the temple, she felt a reassuring aura flow into her heart. She cast Hao Ren a grateful look, then let out a long breath and sat down on the floor without the slightest regard for decorum. The other knights were hardly any better.
"Your Highness the Princess..." The old knight Morian could not help speaking up, but Veronica waved her hand. "Sir, don't worry about so much. Recovering our strength is more important. I can sense the power of Order here. It's weak, but still enough to dispel Chaos. It's safe here."
Morian blinked. The Taros Royal Family's inherited talent for Detect Chaos was beyond question, so he let out a breath as well. He removed his cumbersome gauntlets and waist armor,