Even when viewed from afar, Western Fortress—a white stone citadel nestled between the gateways of the mountains—was spectacular. Once you actually stepped inside, its grandeur and majesty seemed magnified several times over.
Hao Ren was no provincial when it came to sightseeing. In Horleta, Tanagrus, Demon King's City, and Erem, he had seen more magnificent buildings than he could count, and he had developed his own standards for appreciating grand architecture. Yet by any measure, Western Fortress was a breathtaking wonder: its towering walls rose majestically into the sky, the white stone glittering beneath the radiance of the Light of Order as if the entire fortress had been forged from light. Enormous magic runes spread from the top of the Tower of Kindling at the fortress's center all the way to the walls, forming a translucent energy barrier embedded with countless blue characters. Everything seemed to embody one simple fact:
This was a barrier, one that gathered the faith and courage of mortals. It stood here, radiant and glorious, guarding the frontier of the Order World.
The knights led by Her Highness the Princess Veronica received a grand welcome, but beyond the celebration, most of the fortress's defenders still had no idea what this sudden reinforcement from the Savage Lands was all about. Veronica and the Royal Knights under her command had been defeated at the Dusk Forest defense line more than half a month ago. Everyone had assumed that the brave princess had died with her soldiers at the Chaos Boundary. No one had imagined that she would lead what remained of her forces in an epic feat that had nearly taken them across the entire Chaos domain, so very few people connected today's reinforcements with the princess.
More importantly, there was Hao Ren. When a small force of