Trekking across the barren wilderness was a grueling journey, but fortunately, it did not last too long. The humans of the Kolo World were far more physically fit than people on Earth, while combat-class professionals among them were practically superhuman. The knights traveled light and marched on foot, moving at a forced pace the entire way and needing very little rest. After a few days, Hao Ren learned from Veronica that they were already close to the edge of the plains.
In fact, no one, Hao Ren included, could yet see any sign of the Shadow Jungle. However, the traveler's talisman in Veronica's hand had begun emitting a steady glow. This was a reaction to the magical beacon near the edge of the Shadow Jungle. If everything went smoothly, they would see the iconic landmark between the two regions within half a day at most: Hill of Nameless Warriors.
The trek had been uneventful enough. Although the oppressive atmosphere of the Chaos domain placed tremendous psychological pressure on them, the "holy relic" Hao Ren had lent the knights provided the group with powerful protection. Veronica had never seen a military sacred artifact capable of providing such lasting and effective protection of order. The light emitted by that small white plate had not weakened at all, even in places where the Chaos aura was at its thickest. For days, the Light of Order it released had remained almost completely constant. It needed neither recharging nor cyclic purification. The thing seemed like an incarnation of holy power, continuously protecting everyone amid the Chaos without showing the slightest sign of exhaustion.
This made Her Highness the Princess wonder: if the kingdom's army had a few holy relics like this, how many brave soldiers' lives could they save? The kingdom's Chaos expeditionary army would