Volume Four: Fading from the Human World

Gloria City--

"Huff--Huff--Huff--"

The spirit priestess was panting heavily. Lacking exercise, she was exhausted from running for a long time. The black robe she wore to cover her face made it even more difficult for her to move. She was in extreme discomfort the whole way.

"Wait, Yu Jie, slow down--"

"I told you to carry me, but you wouldn't."

"Hugging me like that is so embarrassing!"

The moment the patrol passed a stack of the other side's boxes, obstructing their view—

"Walk!"

"Ah, ah..."

Yu Jie grabbed the spirit and pulled it across the corner. As quiet as a ghost and as agile as a cheetah, they arrived at the foot of Gloria City in the blink of an eye.

The spirit maiden, who absolutely refused to be hugged, could only be pulled around by Yu Jie —or rather, dragged—and thus the spirit Goddess who reigned supreme at the pinnacle of the Divine Law Cult became a human-shaped breast-shaped device (Author: What the heck is that?).

"Alright, we've reached the edge of the Boundary Protection Saint Domain. The patrols won't appear again for the next few minutes."

"Okay... okay... I'll rest for a bit..."

"Now is not the time to rest. It's not impossible for the patrols to suddenly appear earlier than planned. We'd better activate the Boundary Protection Saint Domain quickly."

"You should be more considerate!"

"I told you I'd carry you away, but you wouldn't listen."

QAQ

"Stop talking nonsense. If we don't open the Sacred Domain and leave now, all our efforts will be in vain. This should be your specialty as Goddess, shouldn't it?"

"..."

"Why aren't you saying anything? Hurry up and open the Sanctuary!"

"Um, actually..."

Half a minute later--

"Hey, you know absolutely nothing about the Sanctuary!?"

"I'm helpless too! Gloria's Boundary Protection Saint Domain is under the jurisdiction of the Grand Divine Spellcaster in the Cathedral! The Goddess's daily work has absolutely nothing to do with the sanctuary!"

"... So you're just an ordinary little nun who hasn't even systematically learned divine magic. You're completely useless in a situation like this."

"I'm sorry..." The spirit priestess lowered her head and apologized with tears in her eyes. Although she was Goddess, she did not have the airs of someone in a superior position.

"Well, there's nothing I can do then... I'll do it."

"You're here... do you think you know a lot about this?"

"You don't know anything."

"He said something incredibly depressing with a proud expression!?"

"But I can force my way in."

"That won't do! Although the Boundary Protection Saint Domain allows its inhabitants to leave, it still keeps records. Even if we manage to leave, we'll definitely be detected the moment we pass through the Sacred Domain!"

"That's because the Sanctuary is 'someone else's property,' so it won't side with us."

Yang Yujie gently touched the city wall. Gloria's Boundary Protection Saint Domain was integrated with the city wall, and its sturdiness far surpassed that of other provinces.

"But... what if we turn the Sanctuary into 'our own people'?"

"Ha?"

"So, it seems I've never used my superpowers in front of you before. Perfect, I'll show you... though it's nothing really amazing."

As Yu Jie spoke, he gently raised his hand.

My hands turned pitch black.

It wasn't that the skin itself turned black, but rather that it was covered with a layer of tangible, smoky darkness. Most of the darkness stuck to the hands, while a small portion rose into the air like black smoke. If you looked closely, you could see several pinkish-purple geometric patterns within the darkness covering the hands.

"What's this?"

"I already told you, it's my special ability."

"This looks weird... What's the point of it?"

"Use it like this."

He pressed his hands, which seemed to have turned into darkness, against the city wall. In that instant, the darkness on his hands, marked with pinkish-purple patterns, spread from the point of contact onto the wall!

"You've put the city wall... this is... some kind of corrosion effect?"

"This isn't exactly destructive, though it could be used for destruction... Open it for me!"

Buzzing sounds filled the air as the section of the city wall stained with darkness seemed to come alive. The bricks and stones that had been tightly fitted together moved and shifted on their own, and the light membrane of the sacred domain beneath the bricks and stones opened up, creating a hole large enough for two people to pass through, with the edges of the hole still covered in darkness.

"Wait... it's open already!?"

"It's only temporary. If we drag this out too long, they'll notice something's wrong. Let's go—our destination is the Holy Spirit Festival in Sadington City!"

"Yeah!!!"

As the two left, the city wall and the light membrane returned to their original state, and the darkness on them vanished without a trace, as if nothing had ever happened.

Ye and Haoyue set off in the morning, and now a whole day has passed.

"If nothing unexpected happens, they should be crossing the Blue Reed Wetland right now..."

"Yes, whether this succeeds or not depends on them."

"But, Sister Xue..."

"What's wrong?"

Do you really trust them completely?

Of course not.

"Huh!?"

"Building trust doesn't require what others have done for you, but rather time—a sufficient amount of time. We've only known them for less than two weeks. Do you think it's possible to build trust in such a short time?"

"Then why..."

"If you doubt someone, don't use them; if you use someone, don't doubt them. That's how it is. Whether a person is trustworthy depends on their heart. Time reveals true character, so building trust takes time. But figuring out if someone is trustworthy is very simple; just pay close attention."

"Hmm... I see."

"As the commander-in-chief, you still have a lot to learn, Nid."

"But, to be honest, Sister Xue, although I've said it many times, wouldn't it be more suitable for you to be the head of the group? I'm clearly still—"

"--Still very immature?" Uncle Brad, who had been standing to the side, spoke up.

"Probably... To be honest, sometimes I feel like an empty shell. Even though I can command thousands of troops, even though I can fight against thousands on the battlefield, but..." Nid's hands unconsciously clenched, "But I feel that apart from the ideas passed down from my predecessors, everything else inside me... is an empty void."

"Nid ..." Brad frowned.

"Could it be that you still can't let go of the matter of... deserting the battlefield without permission back then?"

"--!!!"

Nid's shoulder jerked slightly.

His lips trembled uncontrollably.

"Ah... that's right..."

He gave a bitter smile.

"No matter how much I act like a leader, no matter how many achievements I make, no matter how much people admire me... I still can't erase the fact that I'm just a despicable deserter. That's probably why the Holy Crown has never recognized me..."

"No... Nid, this matter..."

"It's not your fault"—but Loxue couldn't bring herself to say those three words.

There were no special circumstances at the time, and there was nothing to argue about.

It is undeniable that someone at that time would flee the battlefield solely out of fear.

What are you talking about?

"Hmm--Eh? Xiao Wu- san!?"

"I think I... heard the word 'deserter'?"

"!!!"

Nid's face turned deathly pale instantly.

No, that's not right! You must have misheard—

"Don't tell me you heard me right. Just consider what I'm saying next as me talking to myself," Xiao Wu impatiently, waving her hand to interrupt Nid. "I think that even if someone suffers a hundred setbacks, runs away a thousand times, and fails ten thousand times, as long as he can return to the battlefield on the ten thousand and first time with his own will and face death, then he is still a true hero."

"Eh..."

"Alright, alright, stop thinking about it. I already said I was just talking to myself!" Xiao Wu abruptly ended the conversation. "I'm here to talk to you, Commander-in-Chief. I'll head out to catch up with them after we're done."

"Uh, okay, what is it?"

"You told me, didn't you? This Greatsword contains... fragments of the Emperor Slaying Sword."

Xiao Wu pointed to Nid's ever-present sword, its unassuming exterior concealing astonishing power; gazing at it for too long could even cause one's mind to tremble.

"Yes, are you curious about this?"

"Hmm... as you probably know, I'm not very good with words, so I'll get straight to the point—once your revolution succeeds and you no longer need this sword, would you... be willing to part with it?"

"... ha?"

Nid and the others were unaware of this.

Just as they were beginning to uncover the ancient story of the Craft God and the Emperor Slaying Sword, the situation on the other side was far from pleasant.

Blue Reed Wetland.

A vast swamp lies west of Sadington City, named for its dominant azure reeds. By day, the swamp, reflecting the blue sky, combined with the equally blue reeds, creates a mesmerizing, dreamlike visual effect. At night, it's further enhanced by the reflection of countless stars, their shimmering light dancing among the blue reeds—a truly amplified version of the daytime spectacle.

Because of its natural curtain-like effect and complex geography, the Blue Reed Wetland became the first natural barrier on the western side of Sadington. Small groups of travelers or ordinary caravans could pass through easily, but tens of thousands of troops would encounter considerable difficulties here. The geographical conditions here destined large-scale forces to be unable to pass.

"Golden Moon, Gold Moon Innate!!!"

The golden rune rose into the sky and instantly exploded into a dazzling miniature golden moon. The moonlight illuminated the swamp below, making even the swaying of every reed clearly visible!

"Haoyue! Have you seen her!?"

"No! Xiao Ye, can't you sense her Blood Energy?"

"Unless you feel it the instant she attacks, you can't feel anything! It's like an inorganic substance— Azure Fire Fall!"

In that instant, I sensed a slight fluctuation in Blood Energy. A blood clot the size of a bus rose into the sky, transforming into a dazzling fireball that plummeted straight down! At the same time, the golden moon unleashed countless blazing laser beams that shot towards the same spot!

Golden light and crimson flames shot straight into the sky, instantly evaporating all the liquid within a kilometer radius, and turning countless beautiful blue reeds to ashes in an instant! And the series of explosions did not stop there, continuing to ravage the already scorched earth!

"Did it work?"

"Have no idea..."

Smoke billowed and mist filled the air. Two powerful attacks were unleashed in quick succession, yet Haoyue and I dared not relax our guard for even a moment.

Where?

Where did she hide?

It's impossible for him to die.

This is the first time I've ever seen someone whose self-healing ability is comparable to—or even surpasses— Xiao Wu's.

If Xiao Wu's regeneration is close to the molecular level...

This girl, who appears to be only fourteen or fifteen years old, is the one who can be restored with a single click.

That's practically a bug.

Where will the next wave of attacks come from?

"I offer you my rib."

Although it was a very soft sound, my keen hearing still picked it up.

"--Directly below!!!!"

The bright moon leaped upwards at lightning speed, and I immediately conjured more than a dozen layers of Blood Crystal Shield! At the same time, the ground directly below crumbled into dust from the inside, and countless huge, white, curved pillars burst forth from below! The first shot easily pierced through nearly ten layers of crystal shields, and the two that followed shattered the crystal shields completely!

"Holy crap! What kind of attack power is that?!"

"Xiao Ye! Above those ribs—"

"Huh!?"

Upon closer inspection, those sharp, giant white pillars—ribs—are covered with a sticky, dark red solid, like bits of meat stuck to rotten ribs.

Then, in a fleeting moment, I caught that clear, melodious girl's voice again.

"Abominable Meat Block."

Countless chunks of flesh clinging to the giant ribs multiplied simultaneously, transforming into a dense web of blood and flesh that splattered in all directions within a few breaths. I immediately released dozens of flying Blood Beast as shields, but the moment they touched the multiplying Blood Beast, they were engulfed and devoured, vanishing without even a chance to explode!

"Damn it, why did it have to turn out like this?!!!!"

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