Chapter 1 A Rest Before the Storm

While knights, under the princess's leadership, launched a valiant charge, and Hao Ren unleashed a storm of fire and explosions before the Western Fortress, while the kingdom's western gates groaned under the onslaught of chaos, the heartland of this ancient kingdom remained calm. Yet, within this calm brewed a suffocating, unsettling atmosphere.

White City: King Taros I led his followers to build this glorious city on the plains nearly three centuries ago. It was the moment when the tides of chaos receded and the turbulent years ended. The continent of Ansu, like other continents, was in dire need of rebuilding. The "Eagle Empire," once dominating the southern part of the continent, had fallen due to the chaos surge. The survivors of the Eagle Empire and several nearby mountain kingdoms reorganized into a new ethnic group, with Taros I as their leader. When he built this city, he simply wanted to provide his people with a refuge from the elements, but he did not expect that the era of abundance that quickly followed the end of the chaos tides would make him the founding monarch of a dynasty.

And the former refuge, after numerous renovations and expansions, had become the holy capital of Taros.

The White City's name originated from its color: eighty percent of the city's buildings were a sacred white. When the chaos retreated and sunlight once again shone upon the land, the White City shone brilliantly like a holy white gemstone on the earth. This unique style also made it the most renowned and magnificent city on the Ansu continent. Even envoys from the Holy See in the Holy Realm had once exclaimed, "This small border country in the corner of the continent actually possesses a jewel-like capital!" Although this evaluation carried the Holy Realm people's strong sense of arrogance, the Taros people still believed that this was enough to prove how proud they should be of their capital.

The earliest foundation stones of the White City were white rocks from the "Tasili Valley" in the eastern plains. According to historical records, the Tasili Valley appeared out of thin air within a month after the end of the Chaos War. Therefore, scholars believed that the rocks were a product of the chaotic forces being reshuffled by orderly forces. In the world of Coro, such incredible events were part of the natural law. It was through the constant reshuffling of chaos and order that this world could continue to exist in cycles. Today, the rock quarries in the Tasili Valley have long been closed, and the city's main building materials have shifted from stone to magical and alchemical materials. However, the White City people have not changed their city's color. They collect white clay from the plains to use as house paint, continuing to maintain the White City's pride.

Or, more precisely, the pride of the city's aristocratic class. The common people did not really care what color their houses were. However, the nobles hoped that the name of "the Sacred White Gem of Southern Ansu" would endure, so they wrote "maintaining the city's sacred color" into the law. White clay also became one of the means for these proud nobles to amass wealth.

"Their pride should be thrown onto the chaos front lines! I want to see if those wine-bags' faces, if plastered on the city walls, can block the monsters' claws!"

A loud shout broke the peace of the "Golden Rose Palace" in the royal city. A burly middle-aged man with fiery red short hair, a scar on his face, and wearing a kingdom military uniform, threw the parchment in his hand on the ground and then paced angrily around the room. This rather rough-looking man was qualified to shout loudly in this important area of the royal city because he was the country's most renowned war hero, the supreme commander of the Royal Knights, General Groen Modoric.

He was used to shouting at the king, a habit he had since he and the king secretly climbed trees in the royal palace together.

Of course, at that time, he and Rudolph III were only teenagers.

There were several other people in the room. A middle-aged man wearing a light purple robe, with slightly graying purple hair, and a dignified face, sat on an ornate high-backed chair in the center of the room. His calm face revealed no emotion. Beside the middle-aged man stood a girl who looked only sixteen or seventeen years old. This girl had bright light purple long hair and wore a moon-white princess dress. Her temperament seemed elegant and dignified, calm and serene. If Hao Ren were here, he would be surprised to find that this girl's appearance was almost identical to Veronica's.

The last person stood far away from everyone else. He wore a dark red woolen robe commonly worn by nobles, with two rows of shiny brass buttons. He was thin, with a serious face, and light brown curly hair hung down along his cheeks, making his thin, long face appear even more unapproachable.

"Groen, be quiet. I know at least half of them are good-for-nothings, but nobles are still necessary for this country," the middle-aged man in the high-backed chair finally spoke when General Groen had circled for the third time, his voice calm and powerful, "including the good-for-nothing part."

"What are they good for?" Groen replied impolitely, but he quieted down. Although he was notoriously lacking in etiquette when he was with the king, as a general of the kingdom, he still knew when to obey.

"At least they let you vent your anger by scolding them," the man in the high-backed chair—Rudolph III—joked, "and what they said also makes sense. The kingdom's defeat in the West has made us lose face in Ansu, and even in the entire Coro world. Although face means nothing to the chaos monsters, to politicians, it means real benefits and opportunities. If we can't hold the last piece of orderly land in the southern continent, then there are many countries willing to 'help' us defend it. On the Radiant Continent, the Violet Empire's magic airship fleet has already begun to assemble."

"These guys," the scar on Groen's face trembled with anger, "the Radiant Continent is close to the Holy Realm, the tides of chaos always end the earliest, and the damage is always the lightest. Then they always reach their claws into other people's homes!"

"The darker it is, the closer it is to decline. The power of the tides of chaos has reached its peak, which means that this disaster is coming to an end soon, and the years of abundance will soon arrive. Every country must plan for the future—the bodies of the dead are divided and eaten by the living, and those who survive have an obligation to become stronger in order to face the next war. This is the iron law of Coro since ancient times, and that's how we got here."

Rudolph III quietly spoke of the cruel reality, but this reality was indeed the case. The last few years of each Chaos War were the greatest test that mortal kingdoms had to face. Most of the kingdoms that ultimately collapsed could not withstand these last few years, while those powerful kingdoms with spare strength would wait nearby, ready to act as soon as a country faced collapse—first with aid, and then with natural annexation and absorption.

This was not despicable at all. Absorbing and reforming a country was always more resource-efficient and time-saving than rebuilding civilization from ruins. The once-a-century tides of chaos did not allow people the leisure to slowly negotiate and discuss. How to complete the redistribution of resources and reconstruction work as soon as possible after the war was the law of the jungle that the Coro people had to master since ancient times. This could even be considered a unique spirit of unity and dedication in this world.

Now, the Taros's western defense line was in a mess. If the chaotic forces drove straight in, this ancient kingdom that had survived two Chaos Wars would be in jeopardy. Under these circumstances, it was reasonable for any surrounding country to take any prying actions, including those staunch allies. If the kingdom really collapsed, then the Taros people would not have any conflict with the "acquirers," and everything would be handed over peacefully.

It was just that the side that fell would not be so willing after all, and General Groen was like that.

"The situation in the western forests is a mess, and what has happened cannot be reversed," the thin man who had been standing the furthest away suddenly spoke, "It's just a pity for Princess Veronica. I heard that she fought bravely, but was no match for the situation."

"Duke Rune, don't speak as if it's none of your business," Groen stared at the thin Duke Rune, the most powerful man in the kingdom besides the king, "Princess Veronica went to the western front line, and you are partly responsible."

"The kingdom's military plans have no personal feelings..."

"Enough," Rudolph III suddenly raised his voice, interrupting the argument. The king's face was angry, and his voice was devoid of warmth. "You are here discussing my daughter's death! Think about how a father feels at this moment!"

"Your subject is guilty," General Groen immediately bowed to Rudolph III to apologize, "but your subject believes that the Holy See should bear the main responsibility for this matter. The Holy See needs to give an explanation for the current situation in the kingdom's western border."

Duke Rune on the side was expressionless, not knowing what he was thinking.

"The Holy See must give an explanation," Rudolph III said with a livid face, "Those Holy Realm people..."

The room was silent for a while, and it was the girl standing beside Rudolph III who broke the silence. This girl, who looked exactly like Veronica, said softly, "Father, regarding what happened in the West, and what's happening beyond the Chaos Boundary, the scholars have some... theories."

"Theories?" Rudolph III raised his head, looking at his daughter, who was known for her intelligence, "Ania, what have they discovered?"

"Some are the scholars' observations, some are news from the border, including unconfirmed ones," Princess Ania said softly, "For example, new energy flows have appeared in the chaos, the dark side of the Sea of ​​Karnos has expanded to the entire Coro, and strange changes have occurred on the floating island groups in the kingdom's southern border. The magical beast groups on the islands are conducting organized large-scale activities, and there is also a rumor about the 'Head Wolf'..."

(I'm getting married today! This chapter is scheduled to be released...)