The fragment was already in his hand, which meant there was no need to stay here any longer.
Mu Xuan held the fragment and walked toward the door. He had no idea what had happened at the stronghold. Even if he did know, there was no way for him to leave this place…
Finally free of that haunted place, Mu Xuan suddenly came to a halt.
The City Lord’s Mansion, which had once been bright and imposing, had now been reduced to a pile of ruins. A brick, falling with uncanny accuracy, landed right in front of Mu Xuan, striking the ground with a crisp snap.
“Hiss…”
What in the world happened here?! How did the City Lord’s Mansion end up like this?
Harboring a faint hope, Mu Xuan looked past the ruins of the mansion, toward the distance. Still, all he could see was a wasteland… a broader, vaster expanse of devastation.
He could no longer move through this place by memory alone.
Finding Ke Ersa would be quite difficult for Mu Xuan now…
Seeing the city in such a state, Mu Xuan couldn’t help but think of the quasi-artifact Tear of Alrus.
If, each time he entered a scene, time outside jumped forward in leaps, then for the city to end up like this, it was hard for Mu Xuan not to think of the quasi-artifact Mosen had applied for.
Wait—Mu Xuan suddenly thought of Millie.
If the whole city was like this, then what about Millie…
Not bothering to think further, Mu Xuan hurried off in the direction of the church.
The buildings that once stood there had now all collapsed, ruined walls and broken pillars strewn everywhere—a complete mess.
The roads were buried beneath these ruins, making passage impossible.
Those shattered walls were scattered haphazardly, and even the ones still standing seemed liable to collapse at any moment. Mu Xuan had to carefully detour around these obstacles, wary of being hit by a falling brick at any time.
This greatly slowed his pace.
He had no idea how long he’d been running, when at last, Mu Xuan slowly came to a stop. Yet as he looked around, he found the ruins had faded, and the town had returned to its original, intact state. In his eyes, a deep weight appeared…
“Captain, there are too many abominations—we’ve already lost… two team members…”
A knight, dragging what remained of his shattered armor, approached Gryffind and spoke with a weary tone.
Gryffind’s brow was deeply furrowed, his eyes full of worry. He patted the knight on the shoulder and said, “Tell everyone to hold steady. We can’t lose our nerve.”
Then, with a flash of sword-light, he cut down two abominations that had lunged at him.
Even though he alone stood at the very front, blocking the majority of the abominations, quite a few had still broken through into the stronghold.
The abominations’ power was clearly suppressed by the Light, far weaker than they’d be in the black fog. Yet these things attacked in waves, endless and relentless.
Just by sheer numbers, they’d managed to kill two knights. If his heavily-defended main stronghold was faring like this, Gryffind dared not imagine what was happening at the three smaller posts.
But now was not the time to lose formation over a few casualties. They had to hold this place.
They were surrounded on all sides by abominations. If they fell, the townsfolk would be doomed. He could not betray His Holiness’ trust!
The knight, upon receiving orders, quickly went off to support other areas.
Gryffind looked at the ever-thickening tide of abominations, gritted his teeth, and then flooded his cross sword with radiant Light.
He slashed at lightning speed, sending out multiple blades of Light, clearing out swathes of abominations ahead—even slicing through pockets of black fog.
Breathing heavily, Gryffind looked at the twisted, monstrous corpses piling up at his feet.
He had no idea… how many abominations there truly were… nor did he know how much longer he could hold out.
He was facing the greatest number, and now, fatigue was setting in.
“Hey, Roman, do you think they’ll be able to hold out…?”
In front of the idol, almost all the townsfolk were gathered here, with two knights posted nearby, dealing with abominations that had slipped through the defenses.
In a corner, a short man whispered to the burly fellow beside him.
The burly man was stunned for a moment, then looked toward the entrance.
From where they sat, they could just make out the scene of two knights locked in battle with the abominations.
With a muffled voice, the big man said, “No idea… but if they can’t hold out, we’ll definitely die…”
The short man didn’t like that answer. He whispered, “I remember the way we came in. Why don’t we try slipping back if we get the chance?”
The burly man froze again, then replied dully, “There are so many abominations—they’ve already surrounded this place. We couldn’t escape.”
“Jack, instead of thinking about that, you’d better wonder when Bishop Beckzer will send reinforcements.”
Jack, the short one, pouted and grumbled, “Oh, come on, there are only so many knights, and they’re all here. If they can’t hold out, even if Bishop Beckzer comes, it won’t matter.”
“We still have His Holiness…”
At Roman’s words, Jack fell silent.
He might not respect Bishop Beckzer, but after witnessing His Holiness’ miracle of bestowing the power of Light, he had nothing but awe for the Pope.
That was true—no matter what, there was still the Pope. If the Pope knew what was happening here, he would never abandon them.
In another house, Valentin gazed absently at the sacred emblem in his hand.
This was a pollutant item Bishop Beckzer had given him upon his formal appointment.
With the user’s fresh blood, it could imbue a weapon with power that could harm abominations. If he added his own Light, he could create a batch of weapons that would allow ordinary people to fight the abominations.
But… was it necessary? Would the townsfolk even be willing to fight the abominations?
Looking out the window, he saw another knight being pulled down by several abominations, their sticky, foul limbs tearing at the knight’s armor, while the others nearby had no chance to help.
Taking a deep breath, Valentin gripped the sacred emblem tightly. Then, he opened the door and walked toward the idol.
As he came to a stop before the idol, the crowd quieted down.
Valentin took another deep breath, looked at the people, and began, “I know you are afraid. But as you have seen, the knights have built a sturdy line of defense for you with their very lives.”
“So far, not a single abomination has broken through to harm you. The holy radiance has not faded; it has always shielded us.”
“But the threat of the abominations is far greater than we imagined. We have wandered in the black fog for so long, always living in fear. Now, we have finally obtained the Light’s protection. Are you really willing to let the abominations snuff out this spark of hope in the darkness?”
“His Holiness saved us—are we to let him down?”
Faced with Valentin’s questions, many people in the crowd bowed their heads in shame. The reason was simple: in the face of such a crisis, most thought only of self-preservation.
If the knights couldn’t protect them, they would inevitably blame the knights for negligence. Many had been worrying just now if the knights could really keep them safe.
Though Valentin had said so much, someone still couldn’t help but speak out, “But we have no power to fight the abominations…”