The Record of Unusual Creatures

Panda Novel

If one looked at Fort West from a distance, the white megalithic fort between the mountains was spectacular. When one stepped into it, the fortress appeared even more magnificent.

Hao Ren was not uneducated. From Holleta and Tannagost to Helcrown and Aerym, he had seen grander architecture and had a set of aesthetic standards of his own. But whichever way he looked at it, Fort West was a fantastic spectacle. The walls of the city were towering, and the white stones were glittering in the Light of the Order as if the fort was made of light. The huge magic runes spread from the top of the Kindle Tower down to the wall, forming a transparent energy shield with many blue letters on it. Everything seemed to embody one fact.

It was a shield that represented the confidence and courage of mortals. It stood here in glory, guarding the frontiers of the World of Order.

Princess Veronica and her knights were getting a grand welcome. But many fortress garrisons had not yet figured out who this group of reinforcement coming from the wilderness was. It was already more than half a month since Veronica and her Royal Knights’ defeat in the Twilight Forest. Everyone thought that this brave princess had died on the chaotic border with her soldiers. No one thought that she would carry out an epic feat of crossing the realm of Chaos so that few people could make a connection of the reinforcement forces with the princess.

And more importantly, there was this man—Hao Ren. When a small group of 30 people flanked the monsters, the first thing the fortress guards noticed was the powerful artillery bombardment and bomb explosion. Hao Ren was alone, and his combat style had skewed the appearance of the entire team entirely. No one knew who they were.

However, after these knights entered the city, news of Princess Veronica’s survival quickly spread throughout the fortress.

They had received an invitation by the fortress commander, the general of the west of the kingdom, Marcus.

Ordinary knights were brought to a lobby on the first floor while Princess Veronica, Hao Ren, and Morian were taken to a special room on the second floor. It was a large stone room with almost no decoration but only an oval table and wooden chairs. There were maps of the western mountains, and the Shadowy Forest hung on one wall. On the other wall were all kinds of swords and protective gear. Other than that, there were no other furnishings in the room.

A robust old general had long been waiting in the room. Hao Ren was stunned when he saw the general: he was a giant at 2.5 meters tall, even slightly taller than Y’zaks in human form. His hair was white, but he still looked powerful with his sharp face and muscular build, which even his combat suit could not hide.

Nonetheless, the white hair, eyebrows, and the vicissitudes on his face were a giveaway to his age. Despite that, Hao Ren was a little confused with that incongruence: was he an old man, he asked himself.

“Your Royal Highness,” the old general quickly came up and bowed to Veronica. “It’s the only good news for a long time to see you live. The goddess is protecting Taros!”

“General Marcus,” Veronica hurriedly held the general up, but the scene looked a bit funny—the old general was almost as tall as Veronica even with him kneeling. “You are the general of Fort West; you don’t have to bow to me.”

The old general got to his feet. As they took their seats, the general asked, “Your Royal Highness, how did you survive in the Shadowy Forest? I heard that the Chaos had swallowed your troops, and that had been more than twenty days ago.”

“We crossed the entire Shadowy Forest and half of the wilderness,” Veronica said. “We arrived at Mount Cassouin, with goddess of creation’s protection, the guardian of Mount Cassouin saved our lives.”

While saying, she looked at Hao Ren and solemnly nodded.

General Marcus had already noticed the stranger, who dressed in odd costumes, around the princess. Earlier during the siege, he had seen the stranger in the battlefield—it was not just flames and explosions-kind of magic that left an impression, but also Hao Ren’s pretty good combat skill. Hao Ren was wielding a blue-light spear fighting a dozen monsters alone. He was valiant, not something with regular training or courage could do.

It was an aura that formed when one had been through unimaginable challenges.

This aura was called reckless on Earth.

Had the general seen the battle between Hao Ren and the demon-god Vivian MK-II, then he would understand how this kamikaze came about.

In most cases, the enemies that Hao Ren faced were not something that he could win with sole tactics and safe approaches. As Raven 12345 once said that inspector’s life rested on three things: 3% of luck, 7% of effort, and 90% of foolhardiness.

“Nice to meet you,” Hao Ren said as Marcus was silent. “General, Veronica has been all praise of you. My name is Hao Ren. The name is a bit unique, so it is easy to remember.”

He was using the identity of an ancient guardian as cover, and he felt that it came in handy while roaming in the human kingdom. So his words and actions had to blend in too.

Marcus looked at Hao Ren; he was suspicious. “So you are?”

“I am the guardian of Mount Cassouin that Veronica has mentioned,” Hao Ren replied. “As you all have said, I seem to come from the past generation. Well, that was how Veronica described me.”

Marcus slightly squinted.

He was distrustful of this ancient guardian that came out of nowhere. Unlike the young and somewhat careless princess, the battlefield veteran was not only combat-capable but also cautious and skeptic.

In the worldview of the old general, many things have set in his mind. He had long passed the age of believing in legends and prophecies without checking the fact. In Collow, myths were as common as dirt. If they were real, the world would have ended a thousand times over.

An ancient guardian who guarded an ancient sacred mountain—a mountain that only existed in legend—for millenniums in the realm of Chaos sounded like a grotesque and doubtful. The suspicion of the old general made sense. In the wilderness of no man’s land ruled by the chaotic forces, it was not that desolate in the past.

Why had no one discovered Mount Cassouin before the Chaos swallowed the wilderness?

To take a step back, Marcus also knew that there were indeed some areas where the Chaos shrouded permanently. In Collow, they called it the tearing point. Assuming that Mount Cassouin was in one of the tearing points, then what was in the mind of the last generation that they had built a temple in such a wicked place? It was not that the temple could protect the territories in its surroundings.

The background of this ancient guardian became suspicious.

However, the old general did not say anything but just quietly watched Hao Ren for a while. He then turned to Veronica. “Your Royal Highness, have you brought any news from the hinterland of the Chaos?”

“Of course,” Veronica replied. “We found that some changes are taking place in the realm of Chaos, those festered monsters, and signs that some unknown forces have modified the furnace. There are other things too. But before that, I would like to ask what the last siege was all about? If I remember correctly, their last attack came less than a month ago. The attack this time was uncharacteristic of their pattern of the Chaos.”

Marcus nodded. “It is true. The attack of the Chaos was very sudden. There has been more than one attack. The battle you saw today was the seventh since the past twenty days.”

Veronica was stunned.

The old general waved his hand and continued. “Your Royal Highness, there are too many things to say. I have ordered meals to be served. It is better for us to eat while we talk.”

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