In Kolo, there are countless ancient ruins with heavy stories like the "Hill of the Unknown Soldier". In the thousands of years when the tide of chaos continued to hit, brave warriors, great emperors, wise scholars, and victorious generals
, one after another, the characters who once shone brightly in history have sunk into the seemingly endless darkness. No matter how epic they were and how brilliant they were, they were all destroyed in the ever-rotating wheel of war in the world of Koro.
Crushed into pieces, like the cheapest consumables, they are continuously consumed in the grand time span of thousands of years.√
Just like the great Elf Emperor six thousand years ago, he once unified almost an entire continent and fought bravely against Chaos. However, in the end, even his name was lost in the long river of history, and his empire was wiped out, not even a piece of it.
No bricks or bricks have been left, and only the wisest and most knowledgeable scholars can find bits and pieces of descriptions in the books, and then tell the story about the ancient emperor in the most unreliable way.
In Colo, all this is commonplace.
But Hao Ren, a bystander, could not be indifferent. As a prosecutor, he could not accept that a civilization had sunk into darkness in this way. For ten thousand years, the mortal race of Koro had been spinning in circles in the war.
All his strength was consumed in the meaningless tug-of-war with the forces of chaos. There was something wrong with the world and he felt that he had to find a way to understand the truth behind it.
After bidding farewell to the Hill of the Unknown Soldier, the team quickened their pace. Veronica hoped to reach the border of the Shadow Jungle before the end of the day. She had confirmed the location. If everything goes well, the knights would be able to see the border of the jungle in a few hours.
A kingdom outpost has been established.
Hao Ren noticed that the knight princess was a little impatient. This was especially obvious after leaving the Hill of the Unknown Warrior. It seemed that something pressing had happened, making the princess feel helpless and anxious. Based on his previous exchanges with the knights, he could vaguely understand
Yoyo guessed what happened: Veronica's army retreated into the desolate wilderness after a defeat. The Chaos Army in the Shadow Jungle broke through the human blockade and launched a surprise attack on the Kingdom of Order. Her Royal Highness the Princess was worried about her motherland.
and the fate of the people, and if a miracle does not happen, this fate is obviously not optimistic.
Morian and Hao Ren walked together. The old knight with a gray beard still maintained his seriousness as always. There were not many emotional fluctuations on his angular face. In fact, he also had something to do with Veronica in his heart.
The same worry, but the veteran knew how to completely control this emotion. He glanced at Hao Ren, who was silent, and suddenly broke the silence: "What was the Order State like a thousand years ago?"
Hao Ren was busy testing various communication channels in the mental connection. He was startled when he heard a sudden movement next to him. He looked at Morian unexpectedly. This was the first time in several days that the other party took the initiative to talk to him and
It wasn't that the old knight had any objections to him, but that the old man was taciturn by nature. Hao Ren blinked, not knowing what the other person's intention was for suddenly raising this issue, but he still remembered that his identity in the other person's eyes was that of an ancient person.
The high-level temple guard should have a strong connection with the "Order State", so he answered in a very ambiguous way: "It's probably the same age as yours now. The church rarely changes. The priesthood determines everything."
Morian nodded noncommittally and remained silent for a few seconds before speaking: "Half of the failure we encountered was due to the sudden retreat of the Order. I have no intention of blaming or complaining. I just want to know what the Order has to offer."
Under what circumstances would Tuan Guo do such a thing?"
As the old knight spoke, he fixed his gaze on Hao Ren. His expression looked like he wanted to get a definite answer. However, Hao Ren was instantly confused: Who the hell knows! Although he came from an ancient temple
He ran out of the country and took the title of "Ancient Guardian", but this fake guy has nothing to do with the religious order in this world! He is the Pope in the name of the Goddess of Twitch.
…
At this time, Veronica, who was walking in front, also heard the noise and came closer. Her Royal Highness the Princess was equally concerned about this topic. She frowned: "For thousands of years, the Order Country has been a member of various kingdoms. They have protected
In the entire Order World, their authority is based on this responsibility. However, their retreat in the Shadow Jungle cannot be concealed at all. Sooner or later, this will spread, and the prestige of the church will suffer huge losses... Guardian, what do you think of the Order?
For what reason would the country forcefully withdraw its troops despite knowing such losses?"
Hao Ren opened his mouth, and after holding it for a long time, he finally got some inspiration from the employee handbook and some classic cases seen in the tutorial documents, and said vaguely: "I have an uneasy feeling, this must be a huge change within the church.
Maybe there is a problem within the Order's country."
"There will be problems in the sanctuary?" Morian raised his eyebrows, "How is that possible... The miracle of the Goddess of Creation is located on that continent, and no chaotic force has ever been able to approach the sanctuary."
Hao Ren said casually: "Maybe it's something other than the power of chaos?"
As soon as he said this, the surroundings suddenly became strangely quiet.
"Uh... I just said it casually." Hao Ren saw the atmosphere and knew that he seemed to have said the wrong thing, so he quickly made up for it, but before he could say a few more words, out of the corner of his eye, he suddenly saw someone in front of him.
The shadow of the forest.
The Shadow Jungle is right in front of you.
The Shadow Jungle was once a vibrant and dense forest. Before the tide of chaos struck, this large forest that stretched between the plains and the kingdom was an important source of wood and alchemy materials in Talos. It was also the home of a few wild elves and goblins.
Home. This forest extends along the western and southern borders of the Talos Kingdom, forming a vast half-moon-shaped area. There are several elven settlements deep in the dense forest. In peaceful days, the elves rely on collecting herbs and herbs deep in the forest.
Magic ores come to trade with humans outside the forest in exchange for daily necessities, while the goblins live with the elves and are responsible for maintaining the flow of magic in the forest.
But the tide of chaos changed the face of the forest. The originally vibrant green plants turned into dark and twisted demonic trees. The vines became highly poisonous. The shrubs began to devour the living creatures passing by the forest roads. The soil also lost its ability to support life.
No herbs or food that could be used by humans grew in the jungle. Eventually, when the water in the jungle was poisoned, the elves and goblins evacuated their homes. According to Veronica, those who withdrew from the forest
Goblins and elves now live in several towns in the west and south of Talos, living as temporary citizens and assisting humans in protecting the borders of the Land of Order.
Hao Ren was a little surprised when he heard this situation, but he soon learned that this was actually a quite normal phenomenon in the world of Koro:
Chaos is always invading various kingdoms. The tide of the Sea of Karnos will change the pattern of the continent every hundred years. Strong kingdoms can maintain relatively stable territories amidst this turmoil (larger empires
It can even last for ten centuries), but it is difficult for those small city-states and discrete ethnic groups living on the edge of the Land of Order to maintain it. They are not weak from the beginning, but may be the members of the kingdom that was defeated in the last tide of chaos.
The descendants, after the new tidal cycle began, were unable to protect their fragmented homeland, so they could only seek refuge in the surrounding kingdoms.
Under normal circumstances, each kingdom will not refuse this kind of help.
Because everyone knows that they will have such a day.
The elves in the Shadow Jungle also had a kingdom two centuries ago. This kingdom ruled the entire forest instead of just a few settlements. But in the end they declined and became a vassal of the Kingdom of Talos. A few years later,
The Kingdom of Talos may be the same. The once proud mountain people will become a few tribes wandering on the edge of the forest. When chaos and order conflict again, they will also have to seek refuge in a new country...
Veronica bit her lip as she watched the dark ancient forest trees pressing down on her head.
The kingdom may fall, but not today.
Hao Ren followed Veronica and walked step by step. The roads in the Shadow Jungle were extremely difficult to walk. In fact, there was basically nothing that could be called a "road" here. They were contaminated and activated by Chaos.
Plants are moving all the time, and even the ground is not that stable. He saw with his own eyes two ancient trees slowly moving in the distance as if they had legs, while a piece of soil slowly solidified under his nose.
The stone softened into a puddle of mud. In this case, even if there were roads built by humans in the jungle, they have now been completely swallowed up and obliterated.
If the desolate wilderness is a dead place still in the mist, then the Shadow Jungle is a terrifying dream that is constantly surging like a nightmare, and everything that happens here is horrifying.
But even in such a creepy magical dark forest, there is a shelter of order.
The Kingdom of Talos spent a huge amount of manpower and material resources to build Hearth Outposts in the forest. These outposts are important eyes and ears for the Kingdom of Order to monitor the border of Chaos. Each outpost requires an astonishing amount of materials to maintain stability in the Black Forest.
, but this investment is worth it: if it were not for the existence of these outposts, it would be impossible for a small kingdom like Talos to persist until the seventh year in the tide of chaos in this century.
Soon the team, led by Veronica, approached the first Hearthfire Outpost. Hao Ren saw a glimmer of light in the darkness ahead, and the surrounding forest seemed much more normal: swaying carnivorous shrubs and
The walking magic trees have all returned to normal plants, which is a sign of order.
Seeing those shadowy buildings deep in the jungle, Veronica couldn't help but breathed a sigh of relief. Although she had prepared for the worst, she still couldn't help but feel comforted at this moment, feeling that maybe the goddess of creation hadn't abandoned her yet.
This troubled kingdom.
However, Hao Ren couldn't help but frown: the dim light in front did have the aura of order, but along with it... there was also a faint smell of blood. (To be continued.) 8