On the rooftop of a building in the central court of Bain Fortress, two figures were peeking downwards.
The wind, carrying sand, forced the two to continually adjust their hoods. The person on the left nudged the other with an elbow and pointed ahead, saying, "Look over there." In the direction he pointed, through the faint squall, column after column of knights were advancing along the courtyard's gallery, converging towards the north—where the main structure of the fortress lay, the residence of Nulman Ig Harman Aymur—Bain Castle.
"What are they doing?"
"It can't be that we've been exposed," the other person said, pulling at the brim of their hat, looking puzzled at the scene. "Otherwise, they should be heading this way."
The first person uncertainly asked, "Then the Chairman asked us to scout the other side's movents, does this count as sothing significant?"
"This..." The other person hesitated for a mont. The commotion was indeed large, but it did not seem directed at them. Or rather, it seed beneficial to their actions.
But the knights wouldn't mobilize for no reason, a hint of doubt flashed through his mind—what was happening at Bain Castle at this mont?
And during this mont of hesitation, a flash of light suddenly passed behind the stormy sand ahead.
The light burst out from within Bain Castle, mingled with a fla that soared into the sky. In the stunned gaze of the two, the fla burst from the cracked wall, finally turning into a thunderous roar accompanied by countless bricks and stones. After the explosion, a giant hole appeared on the outer wall of Bain Castle.
The two stared blankly at the scene. After a long mont, the one on the back swallowed hard before saying to his companion, "Hurry and notify the Chairman..."
...
Fang Hong stood at the edge of the opening, casting a glance outside.
The room was in chaos, with the windstorm sweeping in from outside, clearing the pervasive smoke and dust. Shouts ca from outside, shadows moving as many knights were approaching in his direction. He couldn't understand the local dialect, but he could guess the aning: probably sothing like not letting him escape from here.
"They've set a heavy guard outside, Mr. Knight."
"Both the eastern and southern exits are heavily guarded."
Miss Tata's voice remained as calm as ever; she mastered tens of thousands of languages—including insect communication—so Istania's dialect posed no challenge for Miss Dragon Soul.
And Nini could only say, "Papa!"
Fang Hong nodded.
He glanced over the Bain Knights maneuvering amidst the sandstorm, allowing a slight smile before quietly slipping away, turning in another direction.
More knights were closing in from the second floor, everyone assud he would escape from here, but he silently moved into a room at the end of the corridor, opening the door, then closing it behind him. In that place, an Energy Angel stood before the bookshelf holding a sword. He leisurely raised his right hand, commanding his construct to etch an array on the ground.
The rapid footsteps passed by outside the door, heading towards the other end of the corridor.
Fang Hong leaned against the door, unhurried, as if he hadn't heard the sounds behind him, focused and unperturbed. The Energy Angel stood opposite him, inscribing concentric circles on the floor stroke by stroke.
It wasn't long before questioning voices echoed from afar, the knights apparently discovering that no one was over there.
But Fang Hong didn't even twitch an eyebrow, and amidst his silent gaze, the array's final stroke was completed.
On the wooden floor, complex symbols crisscrossed.
He leaned down, pressing his hand on the array's center, beginning to inject magic power. The concentric circles flickered slightly, then dimd—the floor appeared unchanged. But this was because altering the physical structure of a stone wall as before on the fourth floor consud too much magic power; he neither had the reason nor necessity now, just making the material brittle would suffice.
He withdrew his hand, commanding the Energy Angel to strike the array, the floor cracking and collapsing with a roar.
Fang Hong wasn't sure if the knights over there could perceive this side's commotion, but he didn't hesitate, leaping downward without delay.
Below was an empty room. He landed, imdiately dusted himself off, and stood up, then looked ahead. Not far away, there was a window leading to the outside. Fang Hong moved over, opened the window—a gust of sand-laden wind blew in. He shivered slightly, then agilely climbed out through the window, reabsorbing the Energy Angel into the Information Crystal in a streak of light.
Only then did Fang Hong turn to look back; this direction was just opposite to the hole he created earlier, drawing minimal attention from the knights here. Not far away was a corridor, through which he could enter the central court—he was quite familiar with the courtyard's layout by now.
However, the troubles behind him still lood.
A roar ca from the second floor: "He's over here!"
Fang Hong looked back, seeing the silhouette of a knight behind a second-floor window, the opponent lifting a crossbow, firing an arrow at him. He didn't dodge; the magic guided bolt was pushed aside by the wind, striking a tree not far away. Knights in the distance heard the shout and began converging in this direction.
Fang Hong silently exclaid for the worse, promptly fleeing towards the corridor.
But upon exiting Bain Castle and entering the central court area, he realized he still underestimated the severity of the situation.
From the feedback from the Clockwork Fairy, quite a few knights were heading this way, originally drawn by the explosion, but now likely aware of the true nature of the events.
User Comments
0 comments from readers