Time may not have been too long, but for the marching soldiers, it felt as if a century had passed.
They braved the night, risked falling, endured exhaustion, and pressed on relentlessly through the Chaotic Mountain Range. In the end, they resembled soulless skulls, mechanically moving their limbs, numbly following the flow of people forward, or pausing briefly.
Finally, when the eastern sky brightened, the leading unit—a fully-equipped Magic Knight Group—emerged from the Chaotic Mountain Range and stepped onto flat ground.
In front of them, the outline of a squared city appeared. It was a border trade hub of Shalin, sparsely populated, with a few soldiers stationed but scarcely anyone expected an enemy to suddenly appear here.
The Magic Knights gazed at the city and began to silently form ranks. Behind them, other soldiers emerged from the Chaotic Mountain Range, joining in.
In an instant, thousands silently launched a collective charge.
