The Record of Unusual Creatures

“Your Highness,” the old knight approached Veronica and whispered, “we’re running out of time.”

“I know,” Veronica lowered her voice as well. She knew that her knights were brave, but they were just human beings. She had to avoid damaging their morale as much as possible. “They will attack in about half an hour, and the flag only has two charges left.”

The old knight hesitated, then asked, “Can we really find that mountain?”

“Do you trust me?” Veronica asked softly.

The old knight paused for a moment and replied, “Of course…”

“But I am not so sure. Sir Morian, you were my sword master when I was six, so I have nothing to hide from you. I found the story of the holy mountain in a tattered ancient book. There are only a few sentences in the ancient book and a rough sketch included. It is probably just a collection of whimsical heroic stories written by someone, and one of my ancestors collected it out of curiosity. Therefore, I do not really believe that we can actually find the mountain.”

The old knight was not shocked or disappointed at what the princess said. He just sighed as if he had known the answer.

“As you’ve said, Your Highness, I have known you since you were six years old.” The old knight shook his head. “You can outwit the boys, but not your teacher. Nonetheless, it is all right if the mountain does not exist. What we need is hope right now.”

Veronica sighed softly and said, “But we need to face reality.”

“Veronica, you should not be discouraged. This is not you,” said the old knight sternly while he raised an eyebrow.

The princess froze for a moment. She had not heard her teacher call her name directly for years.

“Do not give up so soon.” The old knight frowned but softened his voice, “As you’ve said, even if the source of the record is not so reliable, at least there is such a record. The holy mountain may actually exist, and fate will favor the warriors of the kingdom.”

Veronica nodded quietly, looking slightly determined now.

She recalled the afternoon when she broke into the old master’s library years ago and found the yellowing pages in a pile of dusty ancient books. She could not really remember what happened when she was young, but perhaps she was very keen on things about secrets and adventures. She still remembered the words about “Cassouin”, the holy mountain.

“Travel from the west of the kingdom, walk through Darkshadow Thicket, and you will find the most striking ‘Mound of the Unnamed Soldier’. It lies under the arch formed by the twisted twin boulders in the barren wilderness. In the direction of the unnamed soldier’s gaze, in the depths of layers of fog and chaos, Cassouin stands eternally on the earth. The ancient Cassouin Grand Temple was built on top of the mountain. It is a great temple that has existed since the last era. It carries the power of the goddess in the past and in the present, as eternal as the earth. The glorious radiance of the Cassouin Grand Temple shines far greater than any tower. Where the radiance envelopes, chaos fades away…”

Veronica recalled the words and reinforced her faith in the existence of the holy mountain. Soon after, she suddenly felt the light around her shake violently.

The old knight drew his sword at once. The magic sword forged by Taros Palace was sparkling blue in the darkness. “Draw your swords! Chaos strikes!” he thundered.

The knights reacted immediately. Each of them crushed their white crystals, which hung from their saddle belt. The crystal cracked and released a thin mist of light. Under the cover of the light mist, the tottering horses immediately regained their strength and neighed in high spirits.

But Morian sighed. The horses that had accompanied the soldiers for so long were not going to make it to the next battle.

As the knights got ready for battle, the golden flag flashed for the last time, and a beam of light burst from the runes on the magic flag. The faint glow released by the battle flag was finally extinguished along with the crackling of magic overload.

The battle flag was extinguished, and the battlefield immediately fell into deeper darkness. However, another light source soon lit up the battlefield. The knights activated their lightning crystals while Morian and Veronica chanted spells, creating floating light balls instantly.

Yet, that particular form of magical light could not dispel the evil servants formed in the fog. Veronica heard a scream coming from behind. She immediately turned around, raised her sword, and split a shadow monster in half.

Whatever that was happening in the fog was revealed by the magical light. Shadows were forming from the darkness one after another. Some of them resembled various wild animals, others were similar to human figures, while some were just dark patches. These strange Servants of Chaos started to shriek. After they lost to the suppression of the golden flag, they began to attack the knights’ defense crazily!

Morian swung his sword and beheaded a monster. The monster’s head soared high into the sky. It screamed in the air as its body twitched and fell to the ground, turning into gray dust in the blink of an eye. The old knight did not even look at the monster he had just killed. He directed the warriors out loud, “Protect the battle flag! The flag can still be activated! Gordon, Roland, don’t stray too far from the line! Don’t be swallowed up by the Chaos!”

Veronica slashed all the monsters that pounced on her. At the same time, she continued to chant spells to release magic seals, assisting the team with instantaneous low-level magic. She was not a real magic swordsman, so the spells she knew were limited. While she constantly repelled the monsters’ attacks, the princess nervously observed the light golden flag in the hands of the warriors. The runes on the golden flag shimmered in the dark, indicating that the flag had begun to recharge. However, nobody knew if the knights could hold on until the flag was fully lit again.

More importantly, were the horses; they had inhaled crystal dust, and these loyal partners could only hold on for a while longer. After the dust effect was over, the horses would probably not be able to move on much further even if the flag was lit again.

After quick consideration, Veronica made up her mind. She raised her sword and swung it in a certain direction. “Knights, charge in that direction! Full speed!”

The knights dashed into the darkness without hesitation. In front of them was a growing army of monsters.

Veronica and Morian led the small team, galloping in the wilderness.

Two magic swords flitted up and down, turning the monsters in the darkness into ashes. However, at the end of the line, a young knight finally could not resist the fatigue and pain accumulated over the days. He fell off his horse as a machete that came from the darkness struck him in the chest.

The young knight tumbled to the ground before his comrades could save him. “Aiken, take care of my—” He was quickly engulfed by darkness before he could finish his last words.

A flash of light came from the darkness. The man’s dying soul was then engulfed by Chaos.

Veronica saw it too, but she was unable to stop. She could only look up and continue to focus on the enemies in front of her.

At this very moment, an extremely dim, magnificent shadow appeared.

It was a black mountain.

Mount Cassouin.

Fog and darkness had obstructed her sight. Veronica could only see the mountain when it was close at hand. The knights behind her saw it too and exclaimed in surprise, “It’s the holy mountain! The holy mountain is right ahead!”

That immediately boosted the morale of the knights, as though the mountain had instantly dispersed the enemies around them. But as Veronica looked at the top of the mountain, her heart began to sink.

She saw the building atop the mountain. It was the Cassouin Grand Temple recorded in the ancient book. Its glorious rays of light could dispel all evils, but the situation there was completely different from what she had expected. The entire temple was shrouded in a dark sky, and only half of the Cassouin Grand Temple remained. Only a faint Light of Order surrounded the ruined sacred land.

On top of that, the light was not much brighter than the light from the golden flag earlier.

Even the great temple left by the last era had almost been completely destroyed by the Chaos.

Morian noticed it too. He immediately approached Veronica and said, “Your Highness…”

“Keep going,” said the princess in a deep voice. “At least there’s light there.”

Morian nodded slightly.

And just as the old knight and princess were expecting the worst, something unexpected happened.

Suddenly, an unexplained explosion broke out among the monsters. A bright, dazzling blue flame erupted, and a dozen Servants of Chaos were instantly reduced to ashes!

*Boom! Boom!*

A series of explosions went off in all directions, and the monsters turned into ashes in the big explosion. A strange man appeared. He ran down the mountain and threw small bright light balls without stopping. Every small light ball hit the ground and caused a rocking explosion. The princess then heard the man shouting.

“Get out of the way, all of you! Humanitarian aid is coming!”