Qingyu didn't hesitate and decisively issued the command:

"Retreat! Jelaba takes the lead, Peibela and I will stay behind, the rest of you carry the wounded and non-combatants."

Immediately, everyone sprang into action. Qingyu soared into the air, her body radiating bright light, shining in mid-air like a star.

Rod understood that she was using herself as bait. The aura of flames and the firelight are extremely detested by the monsters, causing them to prioritize attacking this shining orb.

With Qingyu's high maneuverability, she might be able to evade the attacks.

Horus tacitly pulled out a lantern, and the faint light illuminated the team.

The crowd rapidly retreated to the rear.

Behind them, the spiritual energy ripple reached the sky, but no one turned back until they had exited the mountains and then stopped.

Shortly after, a spot of firelight quickly approached them from the darkness, and Qingyu and Peibela returned to the group.

They looked uninjured, and only then did everyone breathe a sigh of relief.

Qingyu said, "The giant worms seem unable to move, as they retreated underground once we distanced ourselves."

Liszt said seriously, "The spiritual power of these giant worm monsters is exceedingly strong, generally over 1.3 million kilokks, and they are very adept at concentrating spiritual energy, capable of launching attacks nearly twice their spiritual power strength, which is an extremely rare ability among monsters."

Generally speaking, a monster's attack doesn't exceed their spiritual power strength.

Only humans, through training and mastering spiritual techniques, can unleash attacks of higher strength.

Thus, with the same spiritual power strength, monsters are usually not a match for humans, let alone having a gap in the source.

But if the monster advances to the King Level, the situation changes.

King Level monsters master a strong source, their soul strength and tenacity greatly increase, and with the same spiritual energy, those with a strong source have more solid and stable spiritual energy, also becoming more powerful, with great changes in instinct, making their actual threat level much higher than non-King Level monsters.

Though these giant worms aren't King Level, their spiritual power strength is too high, the threat is too great, and their numbers too many; direct combat would likely result in substantial loss.

Retreat was definitely the right choice.

Peibela said, "Before we retreated, several more giant worms burst from the ground. I can hardly imagine if we continued to fight, whether more giant worms would surface."

"What's really under Hera Fortress?"

She cast her gaze at Rod.

"Little Rod, please ask them, hopefully, they won't hide anything."

Rod knew she had doubts, and indeed, it was somewhat suspicious.

But he also knew that Vier and Lance absolutely weren't ancient evil thoughts.

"Sister Peibela, they're definitely not ancient evil thoughts, nor doomsday believers. The profound human emotions I witnessed in them couldn't possibly be faked."

Peibela's eyes lit up, and she relaxed, saying, "If Little Rod says so, then it must be right. Sorry, being far from the Royal City in the dark depths, one tends to be extra cautious."

Rod smiled, "That's how it should be; in this situation, one can never be too careful."

Of course, in truth, that alone wasn't enough to confirm; the real reason was that he had obtained their Flower of Humanity.

Ancient evil thoughts would never be genuinely moved within their souls by the salvation of humans.

Rod believed the situation they encountered was also beyond Vier and Lance's expectations.

Sure enough, upon hearing his question, Vier and Lance were filled with confusion, puzzlement, and worry.

"I don't know... I've never heard of anything under Hera Fortress, and I've never seen these powerful giant worm monsters before."

Rod speculated, "Could it be that they discovered something unusual beneath Hera Fortress, prompting them to abandon it?"

Vier and Lance exchanged glances, their eyes filled with intense worry.

"Lord Rod, the Hera Fortress is one of our kingdom's most important outposts beyond our borders, guarding three crucial waterways. It has existed securely for eighty years... For such an important outpost, the Royal City surely conducted thorough investigations. I really doubt they would suddenly abandon the fortress."

Rod asked, "What are the waterways? I've heard you mention them many times before."

Lance explained, "We discovered many precious mineral veins around the kingdom's periphery, but we can't expand that far for now. To obtain those resources, we use special covert operatives as miners, extracting minerals at temporary mining sites, and the roads transporting these minerals back to the Royal City are the waterways. Ensuring the safety of these waterways is extremely important, and these outposts are critical points."

Vier said with concern, "This is very unusual. Something must have happened to the Royal City. Is No Light City in trouble again?"

"No, that's impossible."

Lance denied, "No Light City couldn't possibly be in trouble; perhaps the pressure from Dawn Horizon has increased. Before setting off, I heard the Great Shepherd mention the Abyss's activities seem to have increased."

No Light City, Dawn Horizon?

Why are Saint Reel's place names so strange?

Especially No Light City—it's hard to imagine a human outpost called No Light City.

Rod pondered for a moment and asked, "Is there any way to bypass Hera Fortress? I think the most important thing now is to establish contact with Saint Rel Royal City, let your Pope know of our arrival so we can better assist you."

"Yes!"

Lance shouted:

"You're absolutely right, the most critical thing now is to re-establish contact with the Central Church Court."

"Your arrival will be a tremendous strong stimulant, greatly boosting our morale."

"Saint Rel must be in a very critical situation now; we might have encountered some huge trouble or disaster upon our land. Your arrival will dispel these clouds, bringing us immense hope."

"In such a dark world, hope is more precious than gold."

Vier excitedly said, "Lord Rod, I really don't know how to thank you. To receive aid from compatriots in times of peril, perhaps this is the very meaning of humanity's existence."

"Where should we go?"

Vier reminded, "The nearest place from here, a location the Royal City would never abandon..."

Lance pondered, suddenly his eyes lit up, excitedly shouting.

"Sword City!"

Vier's golden eyes also gleamed with bright light, "Yes, Sword City! This is our northern core hub, guarding the northern gateway of the kingdom, at the intersection of sixty waterways, the hub of thirty towns. Under its protection, thirty million people live! The Royal City would never abandon this outpost!"

"We can bypass Hera Fortress from a small road on the west side and proceed five hundred thousand mas northwest along the Pine Stone Waterway to reach Sword City!"

"Protecting White King Saffek resides within Sword City, along with the most powerful spiritual communication tower, capable of penetrating even the densest black fog, never losing contact with the Royal City."

Lance turned, his gray eyes filled with hope, solemnly saying, "Honorable Black War God Rod, please lead us to Sword City."

He placed his right hand on his chest, bowing deeply.

Vier slightly bent both hands, performing an elegant curtsy.

It seems this is the etiquette of Saint Rel Kingdom.

Rod cleverly imitated Lance's move to return the gesture, certainly not daring to mistake Vier's exclusive female greeting, lest his great name be ruined.

Afterwards, Rod relayed their words to Qingyu and the others.

Horus praised, "Rod, you've done well. Such meticulous and clear thinking is something you didn't possess before. It seems your carefree nature is gradually changing with time. Now, you've become a steady and mature Fire Son; of course, make sure to stop viewing those unhealthy materials in the future."

Qingyu smiled, "Even Little Rod will grow, Uncle Horus, don't look at him with the eyes of the past."

Horus nodded, also saying, "After reaching contact with Saint Rel's Central Church Court, we must do our utmost to help them through the crisis. If necessary, I will request assistance from Trolian Royal City."

Everyone agreed, helping Saint Rel is helping themselves. Troli's expansion can be delayed, but crisis and disaster wait for no one.

They also believe the inclusion of such a powerful fresh force will certainly greatly alleviate Saint Rel's crisis.

The opportunity to seek aid from Trolian Royal City might not be frequent.

Thereafter, led by Vier and Lance, everyone bypassed Hera Fortress, taking a small path beyond the mountains, heading towards Saint Rel's northern gate—Sword City.

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