novelGuiding Beacon
| ← Ch.1376 | Ch.1378 → |
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
"How much time left?"
Marlene stood on the wall, clenching her fists and looking out over the landscape, her brows furrowed.
"Three hours!"
Lapis gripped the golden pocket watch in her hand and stared at the second hand running on it. She wished she could make time pass slower. But unfortunately, no matter how powerful the alchemical elf was, she couldn't reverse the flow of time. Thus, she could only watch as time passed by and not do anything else.
Rumble...
A thunderous roar came from the distant sky. And soon, the people on the city wall noticed a shining, flickering light emerging in the distant border of Chaos. That was precisely Rhode's dragon roar that crossed the border of Chaos and Order, announcing his existence to the whole world. The moment the people witnessed the dragon, they revealed an expression of relief. But soon after, their expression became serious again.
Ever since Chaos retreated, there had been no more attacks on the battle lines. But during this period, Marlene and the others also weren't idling around. They liaised with Erin, Lydia, Nell, and the rest, requesting them to take advantage of Chaos's retreat to evacuate everyone in the first battle line to the final safe zone.
Due to Chaos's full retreat, the first front that served to resist the invasion became useless. Thus, the commanders withdrew their forces. Everyone worked hard to stop Chaos' attack on the first line of defense, but the line was in a terrible condition after suffering the assaults. Even though Chaos retreated and didn't return for a long time, only a fool would choose to repair the defensive line again. It was better to give up and head to the second defensive line to regroup their forces.
For that reason, Lydia, Erin, and the twin dragons started withdrawing their forces, leaving very few people on the first line of defense to obstruct and scout out Chaos. As for the Void Territory, there was still a fair amount of manpower left on the first line of defense. Of course, the main reason was because the magical warships were too powerful for ordinary Chaos creatures to resist. And with the support of other races, the defensive line on the Void Territory was more complete and safer than the others.
However, this group wasn't here out of safety reasons.
"Why isn't Leader here yet... !"
Anne jumped up and down and couldn't stop running around restlessly. As early as eight hours ago, Orchid Heart received a reply from Canary through the guild mailbox, learning that they escaped the Chaos Core and were on their way back. But the thing that everyone was most worried about also happened: there were too many Chaos creatures, so much so that it made Rhode's return a difficult challenge.
No one was certain as to when exactly he would return to the Dragon Soul Continent. At the very beginning, everyone was optimistic. But now, they were becoming increasingly anxious. Time was ticking, and the Plane Destruction Bombs were installed. In just three hours, they would pass the stability period. When that happened, even Marlene and the others had to evacuate the place, not to mention Rhode. But it was a pity that there was still no news from Rhode's side. Although Orchid Heart intended to inquire through the guild mailbox again, the cool-down for it was three hours. Even if she used it now, it would take another three hours before Rhode's side could reply.
But fortunately, everyone knew what the problem was. Only the guild leader and vice-leader had the authority to send out mass messages using the guild mailbox. Orchid Heart didn't send a message, while there was no response from Canary's side. The rest could only wait for the results helplessly. But even so, their facial expressions were still heavy and tense. After all, there hadn't been any news from Rhode's side.
Except for the flashes of light and explosions from time to time, declaring his presence to them.
"Rhode..."
At that moment, Christie and Lillian had also rushed over, watching anxiously at the distant sea of Chaos. There was no major problem within the Void Territory, but they were also nervous since he hadn't returned. If it weren't for the fact that the battle on Rhode's side was still ongoing, perhaps they would have headed over and checked on the situation.
"Two hours left!"
Lapis's tone of voice sounded more like a scream. Her knuckles that held onto the golden pocket watch turned pale with overexertion. She bit her lip tightly, staring ahead as if that would allow her to see Rhode and the others through the thick fog of Chaos. Upon hearing her words, the others looked uneasy and restless, and even Marlene raised her eyebrows and her eyes glinted with anxiety.
"Big Sister Marlene, do we really have to keep waiting? Anne doesn't think it's a good idea to wait any longer!"
At that moment, Anne, who still hadn't given up, urged on Marlene again. After all, Marlene was the supreme commander right now. But apparently, she wasn't feeling as confident as before. Although she showed her calm side in front of the others, in fact, she wasn't as calm as the yawning Orchid Heart beside her.
After hearing yet another request from Anne, Marlene knitted her brows and glanced around her hesitantly. As a matter of fact, without needing to look at the people around her, be it Lize or Lapis or anyone else, it was apparent that they weren't willing to sit idly by. Marlene was also uncertain.
Honestly, she thought about giving Rhode a hand, but there was no Order present amongst the Chaos fog. Of course, she could certainly use her power to form part of Order to eradicate the disruption of Chaos. But if they couldn't find Rhode in time, they would suffer a double loss, where Rhode couldn't return and they also weren't able to make it back. But if Rhode was within reach and yet, they never reached out to help and only watched him perish...
At this thought, Marlene didn't dare to think about it anymore. Even though she was calm and intelligent, she was still a young lady, after all. If that really happened, she would never be able to take it!
And at that moment, an indolent voice sounded from beside her.
"Don't worry, be good and wait here."
"Miss Orchid Heart?"
Upon hearing her words, everyone shifted their gaze to Orchid Heart who stood at the side. At that moment, Orchid Heart looked like she was half asleep and lifeless, casually leaning against the wall and gazing at the people in front of her.
"There's no point for you girls to go... It'd just be a waste of time. Although Rhode's current situation isn't favorable, it's still not entirely hopeless..."
"Is waiting here our only choice?"
This time, it was Lillian who spoke. It was evident that she couldn't stand waiting like this any longer. Upon hearing Orchid Heart's words, Marlene also let out an inward sigh. In fact, intellectually, Marlene knew that this was probably the only way. Facing this crucial situation, the most frightening factor was hesitation. Since Rhode wanted them to hold fast to his order, they just had to do it. If they were to send someone out to find his group while holding on, the result might be hard to predict.
Marlene was his lover, and from her standpoint, of course she couldn't be that unmoved. But Orchid Heart was different. Her relationship with Rhode wasn't that of a lover's, but that of a senior and junior, so there was no pressure for her to say that at all.
However, the following words that Orchid Heart said caught Marlene by surprise.
"We certainly don't need to wait here... Christie, I'll leave it to you to open a path for Rhode."
"Huh?"
After hearing Orchid Heart's words, Christie was stunned. Soon after, a glimmer of hope flickered in her eyes and the crowd also finally responded. That's right, it was indeed hard for them to look for Rhode, but that didn't mean it was the same for the others!
"Okay..."
The young lady's voice wasn't loud and was somewhat as plain as usual. But this time, it had a hint of determination. After hearing Orchid Heart's order, Christie took two steps forward and raised her right arm. Along with her movement, a golden feather pen appeared in her hand and countless lights gathered before her, coalescing, expanding, and turning into a white canvas scroll.
"Lilian, help me!"
"Yes, Christie!"
Upon hearing Christie's words, Lilian didn't hesitate in the slightest. She raised her hands and stretched them forward. Almost at the same time, golden, brilliant sunlight descended from the sky, penetrating the layers of pitch-black fog and illuminating the entire land. And under the radiance of the sun, the thick fog of Chaos dispersed immediately like melted snow!
At that very moment, the feather pen in Christie's hand landed silently on the scroll.
Then, the world changed.
The turbid, cloudy fog that shrouded everyone's vision scattered rapidly. As Christie waved her tiny hand across the white paper, a cloud path appeared out of nowhere. The sun's brilliance lit up the path like a guiding beacon, at the same time dispelling the dark fog.
The path opened, stretching onward endlessly.
Christie was apprehensive as she didn't know where Rhode was. Indeed, her power as a deity warden could translate imagery into the reality of the world. Despite that, she felt overwhelmed. She sensed how much Chaos was affecting Order. Even though she was drawing tiny strokes with the feather pen in her hand, she felt as if there were many people holding her hand and forcing her off the path she set. That was why she needed Lillian's help, and even with the Light Dragon's assistance, Chaos was still a hindrance that couldn't be underestimated.
I want to see Rhode... Rhode... will surely be back!
Gnashing her teeth and enduring the pressure of Chaos, Christie finished the last stroke on the scroll.
In an instant, a path appeared in front of everyone. As the fog dissipated, they witnessed a dark, enormous figure emerging from it.
The mighty dragon spread its wings and soared across the sky.
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