Chapter 125: The Advance into Chaos

The piercing shriek of an alarm bell tore through the entire Fox race encampment. Mina, the red-haired Fox Princess, was violently jolted awake from her slumber.

Before she could even call out, voices erupted from outside her tent.

“Your Highness! Your Highness! It’s terrible, something’s gone wrong with the secret realm!”

“What?!”

Mina instantly became fully alert. Without even pausing to tidy her appearance, she rushed out of her tent, a look of disbelief etched across her face.

“What exactly is happening?”

Mina’s personal attendant stammered, pointing towards the horizon, her face terrifyingly pale.

Following the attendant’s trembling finger, Mina gazed towards the distant horizon, where a smudge of black was slowly emerging.

It looked as though a bucket of ink had been poured into a pristine spring. The entire sky rapidly turned an ominous black, spreading relentlessly towards the Fox encampment.

Mina’s pupils sharply constricted. The encroaching darkness was not the arrival of nightfall; it was the all-consuming Chaos power!

As a member of the Fox royal family, she understood better than anyone the true meaning of that encroaching gloom.

“Give the order! Emergency evacuation for everyone! Abandon all non-essential supplies and retreat towards the kingdom’s border! Quickly!”

Mina’s voice was sharp, yet imbued with an undeniable authority that instantly dispelled her attendant’s panic.

“Yes, Your Highness!”

The attendant’s expression hardened, and she hurried away. Before long, the piercing sound of horns echoed throughout the entire camp.

The entire Fox encampment erupted into a frenzy, like a tranquil lake suddenly disturbed by a massive stone.

Well-trained Fox warriors swiftly assembled. Mages, knights, archers, and ordinary soldiers formed small, orderly squads. Despite the urgency, the process never descended into complete chaos.

This alone proved that the forces under Mina’s command were truly the elite among the Fox race.

Mina stood personally on a high platform in the center of the camp, her crimson hair fluttering in the rising wind.

She calmly directed the entire army’s withdrawal, yet her eyes remained fixed on the relentlessly approaching darkness, her heart sinking with every passing moment.

It was too fast. She had never anticipated the speed at which the Chaos would spread.

Fortunately, this wasn’t within Fox territory. This land had originally belonged to the Serpentfolk, but their weak defenses had allowed the Fox race to easily breach and occupy it.

Subsequently, a secret realm inexplicably appeared here, from which Chaos creatures continuously emerged. This forced both nations to temporarily cease hostilities in the region.

During this period, both sides were engaged in negotiations, and no one had paid much attention to the situation at the front-line secret realm.

It was this oversight that gave the Chaos power an opportune moment to strike.

“Damn it, if only I had known, I would have sent people to deal with the secret realm’s problem sooner.”

Mina gripped the platform’s railing, her expression utterly grim.

Before long, the army led by Mina began its orderly retreat.

Mina also dispatched messages to the commanders of other military formations, urging them to withdraw immediately.

However, these other Fox armies clearly lacked the swift reaction time of Mina’s forces. Her entire legion had already pulled out, while these other groups were only just finishing their preparations.

Faced with this, Mina could only fret helplessly. She was merely the leader of her own contingent, not the commander of all these other generals.

Among these generals, many even harbored resentment towards her authority.

Fortunately, the black mist on the horizon had been spotted in time, granting the entire Fox military ample reaction time.

Shortly after the Fox forces hastily departed, a well-equipped, dust-covered human squad appeared on the outskirts of their former encampment.

They wore uniform black cloth armor, their breastplates emblazoned with the sword and flame insignia of the Olga Kingdom’s explorer teams.

The squad leader, a middle-aged man with a resolute face and sharp eyes, gravely surveyed the remnants of the Fox encampment and the encroaching black sky.

“Captain, judging by the tracks, the Fox race just evacuated,” a ranger-clad team member reported after crouching to inspect the ground.

The robust middle-aged man nodded, his gaze still fixed on the distant darkness.

“So, even this place couldn’t escape the corruption of Chaos power?”

“Captain, what do we do now?”

Faced with this sudden crisis, the men of the Olga Kingdom were at a loss.

The squad leader, named Rex, hesitated for a moment, then took a deep breath and spoke.

“Everyone, check your firearms and ammunition, Holy Light Charms, and Holy Water reserves.”

As the order was given, every member of the squad, without question, began checking their various pieces of equipment.

“Black, confirmed.”

“Count, confirmed.”

“Nosa…”

“Bandel…”

“Caleb…”

“Jack…”

“Bulgar…”

One by one, reports rang out. When the last team member confirmed their checks were complete, Rex nodded with satisfaction.

“The disaster has already begun. Our first priority is to understand why this Chaos power invasion occurred here.”

“The Fox race, who just retreated, must know what happened. We’ll pursue them, full speed ahead!”

“Yes, Captain!”

The squad members didn’t hesitate, swiftly giving chase along the tracks left by the retreating Fox forces.

In less than half an hour, they caught up with the tail end of the Fox race’s retreating contingent.

The sudden appearance of the human squad immediately put the Fox warriors on high alert, causing a stir at the rear of their formation.

Soon, the news reached Mina, who was commanding at the front.

Upon hearing this, Mina’s brow furrowed.

Given the circumstances, she couldn’t imagine anyone daring to linger in this area.

However, when she learned the newcomers were an explorer squad from the Olga Kingdom, she immediately turned her horse and, surrounded by a team of elite guards, rode to stand before Rex.

She observed Rex and his team, her expression softening slightly.

“Are you people from the Olga Kingdom? What brings you here? This place is extremely dangerous; I urge you to leave at once!”

Her tone was quite sincere. As the largest human empire, the Olga Kingdom was not a power Mina wished to offend.

Rex noticed the newcomer’s opulent attire and instantly recognized her noble lineage.

He did not, however, show any disrespect to Mina simply because he was a citizen of the Olga Kingdom.

Instead, he respectfully placed his right hand over his chest and performed a standard knight’s salute.

“Esteemed Fox Princess, I am Rex, Captain of the Seventh Exploration Squad, affiliated with the Olga Kingdom’s Explorer’s Association.”

“We were tasked with tracking down relics left by our predecessors, and our search led us here. May I inquire what has transpired ahead? And what is that darkness?”

Mina observed the genuine inquiry and gravity in Rex’s eyes; it didn’t seem feigned. Moreover, relations between the Olga Kingdom and the various beast races were generally amicable.

Without prevaricating, she took a deep breath, pointed towards the rapidly expanding black domain, and her voice grew heavy.

“A secret realm appeared in that direction some time ago, and Chaos creatures have been emerging from it intermittently.”

“Now, Chaos power is permeating that secret realm, and as we lack the means to directly confront it, we were forced to retreat first.”

“The secret realm is out of control?!”

The team members behind Rex widened their eyes, staring in disbelief at the streak of darkness on the horizon.

As explorers, they had witnessed countless incidents related to Chaos power, but they had never encountered anything like this—an entire secret realm losing control and transforming into a focal point of Chaos power.

Rex’s expression also turned grim. Chaos power was a cancerous growth upon the world, something more terrifying than any natural disaster.

He forced himself to calm down quickly, his gaze fixed resolutely on Mina.

“Your Highness, what is the rate of the Chaos’s spread? And what is its estimated affected area?”

“Extremely fast!”

Mina’s voice was urgent, and she continued without hesitation.

“At this rate, it will spread into our Fox territory within three days.”

Rex gripped his rifle stock tightly, his knuckles turning white from the force. He glanced back at his team; though fear flickered in their eyes, it was overshadowed by a fierce resolve.

He turned back to Mina and spoke in a deep voice.

“Your Highness, if you trust us, leave the rest to us.”

“We will venture deep into the Chaos Land to destroy this node. Should we fail to return within three days, please notify the Olga Kingdom. The Olga Kingdom would then be willing to extend its aid to you.”

Mina froze, then looked at this group of humans, whose average strength was only around the third tier, and flatly refused.

“No! It’s too dangerous!”

“Your Highness!”

Rex’s tone was firm.

“Please have faith in us. Faced with such a situation, no citizen of the Olga Kingdom would stand idly by.”

Mina gazed at Rex and his team members behind him, who, despite their visible tension, held resolute gazes. She fell silent.

‘Yes, they are citizens of the Olga Kingdom, a nascent kingdom that was once destroyed by Chaos, only to be rebuilt from its ruins.’

‘Their unwavering stance against Chaos is something the entire continent has witnessed.’

“…I understand.”

Mina sighed, finally nodding her assent.

“Here is a map to the secret realm’s entrance. Please, be careful with everything!”

Rex gravely accepted the map and offered a solemn thank you.

“Thank you for Your Highness’s assistance! As your team lacks items to confront Chaos power, I offer you this bottle of Holy Water. May the Divine King protect you.”

Without waiting for Mina’s acceptance, Rex placed the bottle of Holy Water he carried on the ground, turned, and shouted to his team members.

“Seventh Squad, objective: the forefront of the Chaos spread! Forced march! Maintain vigilance, and be ready to respond to any sudden developments!”

“Yes, Captain!”

Mina wanted to say something more, but the human squad was already rapidly moving away.

Mina clenched her fists, a complex mix of emotions swirling within her. She cast one last glance at the all-consuming darkness, then wheeled her horse around and shouted with renewed urgency.

“Increase speed! We must get the word out!”

****

*Thump-thump-thump.*

The rhythmic, steady footsteps continued unbroken. Facing the terrifying, massive black miasma ahead, the human squad plunged into it without hesitation.

The moment they stepped inside, the surrounding light abruptly dimmed, as if even sound itself had been swallowed. A dreadful silence enveloped them.

The air hung heavy with a viscous, sickly sweet and putrid stench that made them gag.

As they stepped into this forbidden zone of life, they immediately felt countless gazes fall upon them.

“Check if your charms are active,” Rex murmured.

A faint, milky-white glow simultaneously emanated from the charms on the team members’ chests, forming a subtle aura that barely pushed back the encroaching, thin black mist.

This was the Holy Light Charm at work; it could resist the corruption of Chaos power, but its effects were temporary.

The Holy Water, in essence, served as the battery, ensuring the Holy Light Charm wouldn’t lose its efficacy.

“Maintain formation. Nosa, scout ahead,” Rex commanded, his rifle already cocked and loaded.

Nosa, clad in ranger attire, stepped forward, shouldering their jet-black rifle and loading it with specialized Holy Light-infused bullets.

“Our Holy Light ammunition is limited, so use it sparingly.”

“Understood.”

Nosa advanced at the very front of the team, rifle raised, their nerves stretched taut.

Beneath their feet, the earth was cracked and parched, a sickly grayish-white.

The deeper they ventured, the more horrifying the scenery became. Sky and ground seemed to merge, presenting an unbroken expanse of utter blackness.

“Activate illumination magic.”

The team members pressed buttons on their firearms, and immediately, faint lights appeared in the pitch-black sky.

After several more minutes of walking, scattered corpses of fallen Serpentfolk and Fox warriors began to emerge.

Their forms were twisted, some still frozen in postures of combat or desperate flight, their skin shriveled and eye sockets hollow, as if all life had been drained from them.

What was even more terrifying was the grotesque transformation these corpses were undergoing. Too much Chaos power clung to them, gradually converting the fallen into Chaos creatures.

Just then, a corpse on the ground abruptly sat upright, two round objects falling from its eye sockets.

Immediately after, rows of teeth sprouted from within its hollow eyes. It twisted its inky black body, lunging towards the reconnaissance group at the very front of the squad.

“Watch out!”

*Bang!*

A single gunshot rang out, and the monster collapsed, its entire body instantly disintegrating into ash.

“Beware of those ‘animated’ corpses!”

Ranger Nosa, rifle raised, called back a warning from the front.

A Serpentfolk corpse, half-covered in black crystals, then sprang from the ground in a physiologically impossible posture, hissing as it lunged towards the flank of the squad!

“Open fire!”

*Bang! Bang! Bang!*

Several crisp gunshots pierced the deadly silence.

The bullets, imbued with faint Holy Light energy, accurately struck the animated corpse’s head and chest, causing its body to convulse violently and sending black crystal fragments scattering.

The power of Holy Light easily destroyed these monsters, which had only just been transformed into Chaos creatures.

However, their Holy Light bullets were finite; each shot fired meant one less remaining. Their current predicament remained extremely challenging for them.

The entire team pressed onward, the extent of the Chaos corruption intensifying with every step deeper.

The glow of the Holy Light Charms flickered unsteadily within the thickening black mist, their protective radius shrinking further.

Twisted whispers began to manifest in the air, directly drilling into their minds, attempting to provoke fear and madness.

“Steady your minds!”

These were mental contaminations, or more commonly, inner demons.

Fortunately, with the protection of the Holy Light, these corruptions were currently unable to affect them.

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