Chapter 1 The Northern Border

The Northern Territory, the Windy Highlands.

Camps stretched out in a line, military flags fluttered in the wind. Military camps, built of heavy and sturdy Northern Territory stone pine, stretched along the mountain range, as if plowing a dark ditch in the snow. Soldiers wearing the Northern Legion's unique "Winter Wolf" armor scurried between the barracks, reinforcing the newly established camp like busy worker ants.

Above the camp, a faintly shimmering magical shield was gradually taking shape. Mages from Icewind Valley were working overtime to erect enchantment pillars throughout the camp, trying to complete the magical barrier before the blizzard arrived.

This was the elite army of the Northern Six Provinces, the empire's most proud Northern Legion. Until half a month ago, it was still the solid barrier north of Dragon, blocking the invasion of demons from the Gorgon Abyss in the far north. But now, they were setting up a new camp far from their original line of defense, pointing their swords south, preparing to launch an attack on the imperial capital.

A figure in heavy black steel armor came to the hillside, looking down at the camp below and the busy officers and soldiers within. Although this armored figure had an imposing aura and a rather tall stature, the armor, specially made to fit the wearer's figure, made the commander's limbs noticeably more slender than those of ordinary male soldiers, and the circle of rose lace decorating their cloak seemed to hint at the true gender of the armored person.

The crunch of snow came from behind. An old general with white hair also came to the hillside. The old general had the face of a lion and was even bare-armed in the wind and snow. His burly figure made one almost suspect that he had barbarian blood. He stopped behind the black-armored figure, his tone respectful: "Your Highness, you should go back and rest. The blizzard is coming soon."

The black-armored figure did not turn around. From beneath the dark helmet came a voice that, although low, clearly had female characteristics: "Grand Duke Owen, what do you think of this war?"

The old general looked into the distance, towards the imperial capital: "From the day the Northern Legion was formed, we have only had two missions: to seal the Gorgon Abyss and to complete the changing of the era. His Majesty gave us this mission, and you lead us to complete it. That is the meaning of the Northern Legion's existence."

Constance Dragon shook her head, her armor making a rustling sound: "Aside from a sense of mission, what do you think of the war itself? Our victory or defeat, the future of the empire, and... the consequences that this war will bring."

"The warriors of the north can withstand the erosion of the Gorgon Abyss in ice and fire. We don't have those mechanical swords, nor do we have ancient inheritances. What we rely on is only well-honed will and courage, and the brains of the generals that haven't been completely frozen," the old general, known as Grand Duke Owen, laughed. "I believe the Northern Legion is enough to fight the Black Sword Knights, and we also have your Broken Sword Knights. Victory is already on our side. As for the consequences of this war..."

The old general was silent for a moment: "Your Highness, many things are destined."

A faint sigh came from beneath Constance's visor, and then she raised her head and looked in another direction.

On the horizon further north, a faint red line leaped between the sky and the earth. The sky around the red line faintly showed signs of distortion, as if a powerful force was entrenched there, waiting to invade this world.

"The Gorgon Abyss has responded to us. It will be dormant for two years. Within two years, we must end this war."

"The warriors of the north will not let you down, Your Highness."

Constance nodded slightly and slightly retracted her gaze from the Gorgon Abyss. She saw that at the edge of the Windy Highlands, a new blizzard was gradually taking shape.

She took off her helmet, and a head of black hair fluttered in the northern wind and snow. The snow and cold wind blowing in her face made the princess, who had a firm face and deep eyes, narrow her eyes involuntarily. In her heart echoed an old and hollow voice:

"Dynasties are not eternal, gods will die, the Holy Spirit will die, sages and dragons will also die. We do not know the beginning of all this, but we can see that dim future. In that future, the world will sink into eternal night, all things will turn to ashes in the smoldering fire, and all great souls can only witness this end in powerless wails, and be torn apart with the entire world. Those who are ignorant of this are lucky. In their limited lives and knowledge, the world is full of light and peace. Except for those born in years of turmoil, most people can enjoy a lifetime of peace, but the immortals must bear the pain of facing the truth. This is the price of immortality."

Constance began to walk towards the camp.

"Father, please wait a moment, I will go and inherit your throne."

...

Something had indeed changed in the Black Pine Forest—but depending on the observer, the so-called change might simply be the revelation of the truth.

The convoy was moving forward on a forest road that no one had ever set foot on. The neat rows of petrified lampposts and the seemingly endless black pine trees receded as the vehicles moved forward. At this moment, all three covered wagons had switched forms. After the side panels of the carriages were lowered, they became a circle of low fortifications, and the occupants sat inside the fortifications to observe the outside world. This made it easier to take in every disturbance in the forest—anyway, these three vehicles relied on shield generators to provide protection, and lowering the carriages would not affect the protective performance much.

The third covered wagon, which was originally at the back of the team, had now been moved to the front, becoming the lead vehicle.

Leah lay on the front of the covered wagon, her eyes wide as she looked at this wondrous forest. The mist and spatial distortions in the forest were meaningless to her. The forest was presenting its truest face.

"I can be sure that what we are walking on now is the real Black Pine Forest road. It was supposed to be like this—and those forks and wide roads that explorers have discovered are illusions," Hao Ren said to Charlemagne and Awenna. "I can also boldly guess that for many years, explorers have only been circling in the virtual cracks on the periphery of the Black Pine Forest. People think they have crossed the Black Pine Forest through the forest roads, but in reality, they may have passed through some kind of space tunnel, or they may have been deeply hypnotized while walking around the periphery of the forest—the true scenery inside the forest has never been seen."

Awenna was so surprised that she didn't know what to say. She stared at her surroundings, then looked at Leah, who was lying on the front of the car: "This hypothesis is shocking... Who exactly is this little girl? Why are you so confident?"

Leah shouted without turning her head: "Don't call me little girl, I'm older than most of you!"

"Her identity is a bit complicated to explain, but she has a magical ability called seeing through everything," Hao Ren explained perfunctorily. "She can see through all the illusions in the world, so it is precisely because she is in the team that we can enter this area that no one has ever set foot on."

"What kind of organization is your World Tree Temple...?" Charlemagne hesitated for a moment, and finally couldn't help but ask.

Hao Ren thought for a moment: "Basically, it's about saving the world."

"Okay, I've overstepped. Please don't mind."

"...I'm serious!"

Just as Hao Ren was emphasizing that he was an honest person, Lily suddenly poked his arm: "Landlord, landlord, look over there—it's happening again."

Hao Ren looked in the direction Lily was pointing, and saw that several blurry figures suddenly condensed in the mist on the side and rear of the convoy. The figures shook twice, and then became indistinguishable from real people—they were several "phantoms" wearing civilian clothes, with golden-red pupils, silver hair, and a height of two meters. They were men and women, as leisurely as ordinary people taking a walk in the forest, chatting as they slowly walked into the distant mist, and the sound of their conversation was vaguely heard:

"The army has been mobilizing frequently recently." "I heard there's been fighting on the border..." "The Grand Master has been going to the Great Temple frequently recently, could it be..." "The Seven Kings Conference is about to be held, I really don't want any trouble at this time."

Those phantoms disappeared, and Vivian frowned slightly: "That's the seventh time, and this time they even brought up the Seven Kings Conference."

Since the convoy started moving towards the depths of the Black Pine Forest, those phantoms had appeared more than once.

And their content was also different.

The first time, Hao Ren and the others saw soldiers on the road having an encounter with polluted monsters. The second time, they saw a group of wounded refugees retreating under the cover of soldiers. The third time, they saw a group of prisoners being escorted into the depths of the forest, but the fourth time, they saw a group of plainly dressed craftsmen gathering at the intersection, pointing at the forest, seemingly planning some kind of construction project...

Now, it was the seventh time.

The appearance of the phantoms was irregular, and they did not seem to be arranged according to a timeline. Sometimes it was refugees at a time of national crisis, and sometimes it was pioneers opening up and building in the wilderness.

Leah initially guessed that these phantoms were "another possibility that the world had never realized", but this guess had now been basically rejected. Hao Ren suspected that what was presented in the Black Pine Forest was actually a segment of history from the "Old World", and a segment of history that even Leah had never seen.

That should have been the memory of the old days, but for some unknown reason it had turned into a "false world". Hao Ren speculated that the so-called unknown reason was the destruction and rebirth that Lakhryen had experienced.

Only one thing could not be explained—this world was reborn under the effect of Leah's dream. Which link in this process went wrong, leading to the preservation of such a "remnant of the Old World", and its manifestation in this world in the form of the Black Pine Forest?

Looking at the dark trees around him, Awenna was a little uneasy: "Are we... really on the right path?"

As if to respond to her, Leah, who was lying on the front of the carriage, suddenly patted the cover of the carriage and pointed to the fork in front: "Ahead, to the left."

"Trust her judgment," Hao Ren said with a smile. "Her intuition and true vision can lead us to find the truth of this forest."

Awenna was about to cry: "But we don't want to find the truth of this forest—we want to get out quickly..."

Hao Ren's expression remained unchanged: "Oh, then her intuition and true vision will lead us out of this forest."

Awenna's heart was immediately filled with despair, and she felt that this group of mystical guys probably didn't plan to leave...

At this moment, Vivian suddenly raised her head and sniffed: "I seem to smell... blood."