The Western Fortress among the distant mountains was like the light of dawn at the end of darkness. The world-piercing radiance of order dispelled the knights' fatigue and dejection of the past several days. Encouraged by the brilliance of the Tower of Kindling, the pain covering everyone's bodies seemed to vanish completely, and every one of them wished they could immediately sprint to the foot of those light-shrouded mountains.
Still, Veronica had not lost her composure. She ordered the knights to set up a temporary camp and rest in the open ground outside the Shadow Jungle, preparing to head for the fortress after the Chaos power weakened again.
This seemingly "time-wasting" rest was actually essential, because the knights had spent far too long operating in an area where the Chaos power was at its peak. Even with the protection of the sacred relics, everyone had been more or less eroded by the aura of chaos. This erosion had not yet altered their bodies, but it had already left deep shadows in their mental worlds—the shadows were not obvious in the darkness, but beneath the light, they would have nowhere to hide, transforming into wounds.
People who had spent too long in a chaotic environment could not return directly to the Land of Order, because its overly powerful protective force would purify everything that had been eroded without distinction. In humans, this manifested as the collapse of the mind and the loss of control over the magic power within their bodies. In the early days of the war, soldiers returning from the Chaos Front Line would often kill themselves after returning to the barracks. This was the result of an eroded mind developing overwhelming guilt and fear upon returning to the domain of order. By now, people knew how to deal