Sand City

"Pfft!" A metallic sweetness rose in Idiveer's throat, and he spat out a mouthful of blood. His presence weakened further, and he looked almost withered with age. With his armor riddled with holes and cracks, he looked every inch a dying warrior on the verge of being laid in a coffin.

Yetos, by contrast, was in far better shape. There was little blood on his armor, and though his face was pale, it looked much healthier than Idiveer's purplish, deathly complexion.

Watching Idiveer clutch his chest and gasp for breath, Yetos steadied his own breathing and said with some disappointment, "You really are tough. Even a direct hit from my energy beam didn't kill you on the spot."

Idiveer raised his head and glared at him, forcing out the words, "Hmph. Your attack was too weak. Thinking you could kill me with one move was a joke."

"Then are you sure you still have a chance of winning?" Yetos tilted his head back and exhaled softly.

Idiveer turned his head to glance at the battlefield, where the fighting had paused.

Their earlier clash had been brutally dangerous, and the men on both sides had suffered injuries of varying severity. If that were all, he would still have thought victory possible. What he had not expected was that the two knights who had suddenly appeared would be so formidable-so formidable that even Weiduolida had died beneath their swords.

The situation was now the complete reverse of what it had been. He had only three men left, while his opponent had five.

That single glance told him that their hopes of victory were slim. If they continued fighting, they might well be wiped out. His death would then affect the main Viking force far behind them. At best, they would retreat to their tribe in disgrace. At worst, it would spark internal turmoil, giving the Seven Kingdoms Coalition an opening to attack once word reached them.

Having made his decision, Idiveer sighed softly and looked at Yetos. "You're right. My chances of winning are slim now. But if you insist on killing me, you'll pay dearly too. At best, your left arm will be crippled for good. At worst, your heart will be damaged, and you won't have more than a few days to live."

"What do you want?" Yetos asked with a scornful smile.

"Let me and my men leave. I promise we won't invade your territory for ten days."

His words immediately drew fierce protests from the Viking leaders and Knight Commanders.

"Leader! We can't return empty-handed like this! I can still fight!"

"Give me two more minutes! I'll chop these men into pulp with my axe!"

"For vengeance! For the tribe! For Valhalla!"

Idiveer stamped his foot, unleashing a powerful gust that swept outward. The three men lost their footing and stumbled back more than a dozen steps before regaining their balance.

"I said we're withdrawing. That is an order," he said, enunciating every word.

"Yes." The three bowed their heads respectfully, no longer daring to protest.

Once their side fell silent, the Knight Commanders immediately began shouting:

"Knight Commander! Don't listen to his excuses!"

"That's right! We can't let them off so easily! This is our chance to finish them all!"

"We have more men! If we keep fighting, we're sure to win!"

The three Silver-Pattern Knight Commanders roared passionately. Years of slaughter on the battlefield had tempered their resolve, and they only grew fiercer as they fought. They were unwilling to abandon the rich spoils of victory that were almost within their grasp.

Yetos did not reply. Instead, he turned his gaze to Kanni.

"Knight, what do you think?"

Kanni's silver sword stood angled in the ground as he supported the severely wounded, unconscious Zeng Mu with both hands. His usual impassive expression had given way to a faint look of apology.

"His wounds are serious. We can't risk anything else happening to him," he said softly, looking at the Nameless One's closed eyes.

Yetos looked away and turned to Idiveer. "I agree to a temporary truce and will let you and your men leave. But remember to keep your promise."

"I swear on my tribe that we will not trespass on your territory for ten days," Idiveer declared, raising his hand.

"Go."

"Move!"

Without a moment's hesitation, Idiveer shouted and turned, running toward the dense forest from which they had come. The three Silver-Pattern Leaders cast reluctant glances at their enemies, a trace of malice flashing in their eyes, before following him in retreat.

Half a minute after they left, Yetos finally lost control of the turbulent energy inside him and spat out a mouthful of blood. His legs weakened, and he lowered his heavy sword to brace himself, barely keeping steady in a half crouch.

"Knight Commander!" the three cried in unison, hurrying over despite their wounded bodies.

With their support, Yetos straightened his back. He waved a hand and sighed. "Idiveer is no easy opponent. When he wounded me earlier, he actually left a trace of elemental power in the wound. During the fight, he detonated it and aggravated the injuries I had just managed to suppress."

"No wonder... no wonder you agreed to his terms." The three finally understood.

"Fortunately, he was foolish enough not to notice, and I barely managed to keep it under control. Otherwise, we really would have had to fight to the death today."

After explaining this with relief, Yetos looked at Kanni as he approached and asked, "Young knight, what is your name?"

"Knight Commander, my name is Kanni."

He nodded approvingly. "Very impressive. Your swordsmanship is the finest of any knight I've ever seen."

His gaze shifted downward to the unconscious Zeng Mu, and Kanni immediately explained, "He's from the Second Knight Legion. He lost his memory after being injured in the earlier Vanguard Battle, so he can't remember his name."

"I've been calling him the Nameless One for now. He seems quite happy with that name himself."

"The Nameless One..."

"A meaningful name." Yetos nodded approvingly, gratification showing in his eyes.

That earlier left-handed sword throw had been truly brilliant. Its speed, force, and accuracy had all been flawless. It was hard to imagine that he had performed it in such an exhausted state. Even Yetos admitted that he could not have done the same.

It was precisely that one sword throw that had kept his nearly uncontrollable injuries from flaring up, while also giving him the opportunity to gravely wound Idiveer. Only then had they managed to secure this less-than-disastrous outcome.

Yetos reached out and placed his hand over Zeng Mu's injured right shoulder.

With a soft rush, green light poured from his palm onto the bleeding hole in Zeng Mu's right shoulder. In just ten seconds, the wound had visibly shrunk. The flowing blood congealed, forming a thin layer of scab so closely fitted that no bandage could compare.

After this simple treatment to stop the bleeding, Yetos withdrew his hand and said with relief, "Whew... fortunately, his bone is cracked but not completely severed. Otherwise, he wouldn't even be able to raise his right arm again."

Kanni agreed. "He won't last much longer as he is. He needs Elemental Medicine immediately, or his mind will soon collapse. If that happens, he could easily become a living corpse."

"Don't worry. There's an Elemental Healer with the main force. Once we catch up, this youngster will be fine."

With a swish, Yetos pulled up the Qi Kingdom general's sword and laid it across his palms, quietly admiring it.

"Exceptional materials and exquisite craftsmanship. A truly fine sword. No wonder it could hold off Idiveer's great axe," he praised, his eyes shining.

Under the others' gazes, Yetos gently slid the Bronze Sword into the wooden sheath on Zeng Mu's back. The mismatch was rather like a fine flower planted in dung.

"We owe him a great deal this time. Let this sword be his well-earned reward."

"Let's hurry. The sooner we catch up with the main force, the better."

Kanni hoisted Zeng Mu onto his back and headed west with the three Knight Commanders and Yetos.

The Withered Forest covered a vast area, and finding one's bearings was difficult, forcing travelers to take many detours. An ordinary person would need two or three days to get out from here. If they took that long, Zeng Mu's injuries would deteriorate completely.

Fortunately, they could rely on Yetos, an Elementalist. Under his control of elemental power, the path ahead became much smoother. Tangled low branches and intertwined roots moved aside as courteously as living people, offering no obstacle to their progress.

Yetos also applied elemental power to the soles of their feet. With its support, Kanni felt much lighter, his steps strong and swift, greatly increasing their pace.

Elementalists are truly powerful. If only I could become someone like that one day, he marveled deep in his heart, disappointed by his lack of talent.

Perhaps the unconscious Zeng Mu sensed his thoughts, for he coughed softly twice, as though trying and failing to speak.

"Brother, hold on. We'll reach the main force soon, and then a healer can treat you."

Zeng Mu made no further sound on his back, but a faint smile appeared at the corners of his mouth in response to that concern.

Morning slipped away, noon passed in a flash, and the dull, scorching afternoon was soon over as well. Evening quickly arrived. Only after darkness had fully fallen and the moon and stars appeared did the five finally emerge from the Withered Forest. From a high slope, they spotted a dense cluster of moving lights in the distance.

Clearly, Yetos had ordered the main force to retreat at full speed, so they had not stopped to camp for the night. That was how they had reached this point already, only a day's journey from the fortress-like Sand City.

"Wonderful! We've finally caught up with the main force," Kanni said, his eyes lighting up.

At a glance, the legion was a surging mass of men, with warhorses following nose to tail and numerous banners overhead. There appeared to be around two thousand of them-a considerable number.

"Come on, let's catch up. If we march through the night, we should reach Sand City by noon tomorrow." Yetos turned his palm over, and a withered tree behind him cracked and fell. Under his mental control, it split into five sections, resembling rough wooden boats that had yet to be carved or smoothed.

They each climbed aboard. Green light shone from Yetos's forehead as he used elemental power to propel the wooden boats forward, gradually picking up speed.

In just two minutes, they caught up with the distant main force.

"The Knight Commander is back!"

The return of Yetos and the others lifted the spirits of the knights, who had been exhausted in both body and mind. Everyone who saw them shouted, and the news soon spread throughout the legion.

With Yetos leading them, the already heartened knights found renewed strength, pressing onward as though they had forgotten the agony of going two days without sleep.

The torchlight moved much faster, almost forming a single line along the ground, like an enormous fiery serpent slithering west.

Sand City, the easternmost city in the Holy Sword Territory, stood right beside the Three Great Territories' Convergence. It was therefore an important military capital, with almost no ordinary residents; nearly everyone there was a legion knight.

Some specialists, however, came to places like this after being recruited by the legions, including blacksmiths and healers.

Others took the trouble to come on their own, not to contribute but to make money, such as prostitutes and liquor sellers. They believed fortune favored those willing to take risks, and what they offered was exactly what the frontline knights desired and enjoyed most. A month here could earn them as much Livre as three or four months elsewhere.

They were not afraid of ending up worse off than they had started. After all, the Holy Temple maintained strict military discipline, unlike the brutality and treachery of the Vikings or the people of the Seven Kingdoms. If a knight dared to commit acts such as refusing to pay a prostitute or murdering someone, he would be found out the next day and publicly beheaded.

Anyone who still felt uneasy could take their purse to the Fulin Taiyou Trading Company and spend a modest amount of Livre on an identification plaque. Possessing one was like holding a guarantee of survival. Neither knights, the Seven Kingdoms, nor even the savage Vikings would trouble its bearer, because the company belonged to a merchant family whose presence spanned the continent and connected all three powers, and it was also an Ancient Family with a long history.

These people made good money, but in the eyes of the Fulin Taiyou merchants, they were merely small independent traders earning pocket change. They could not compare with merchants who had abundant goods, sharp business minds, and powerful backing.

Sand City was known as Fortress City because its walls and buildings were constructed from stacked natural stone, with the gaps filled with a mortar mixture, making them exceptionally solid and sturdy.