Cheer up, Azha," Sejax said. "The soothsayers say that the Shurima are less than half a day's journey away from Acacia."

"Are the Celestial warriors coming with you?" I asked.

"They said yes, lad. They said there was. ”

"I'm kind of looking forward to seeing them, isn't that wrong?"

Sejax shook his head. "No, because they're legends. But as long as you actually see it, you will definitely regret it. ”

I didn't understand what Sejax meant, and asked, "Why?"

He glanced at me with his peripheral vision. "Because they're monsters."

"What about you, have you seen it?"

I was young and vigorous, and I was not afraid of heaven and earth, but I still remember the expressions on Sejax and Cogelin's faces.

"I've seen it, Azza." Sejax said. "We fought one in Beizek."

"We flattened half of the mountain before we flattened the mongrel," Cogelin added. "Even so, only Sejax's weapon was big enough to cut off its head."

I remembered that legend and couldn't help but shudder with excitement. "That's what you did"

Sejax nodded, but didn't speak, knowing I shouldn't have asked any more. They paraded the corpse through the streets of the newly liberated city, proving that Shurima's heavenly soldiers were flesh and blood. My father didn't want me to see this, fearing that it would kindle the fire of rebellion that had been hidden in every Acacia's heart for a hundred years.

I can't remember exactly how the gods died, but I can recall how large, weird, and terrifying it was beyond common sense

Later, I saw them.

That's when I understood what Sejax meant.

We lined up on a gentle slope, with the broken remains of the city wall behind us. For more than a thousand years since the arrival of the Sun Empress, we have not allowed the recovery of rubble or the rebuilding of the walls; The ruins force us to remember the defeat of the ancient times.

But now, our army of masonry, laborers, and magicians is using magically induced winch machinery to neatly lay down the massive granite that has just been mined.

The rise of the city walls makes me feel very proud. Acacia is bathing in the glory of rebirth before my eyes.

An even more shocking scene was the army straddling the avenue into the city. Ten thousand soldiers, both men and women, were dressed in familiar leather armor and armed with battle axes, javelins, and spears. In the days following the uprising, the furnace continued to produce swords, shields, and arrows day and night, but time was limited, and before we could arm all our soldiers, the Sun Emperor was already in the eye and the army was immediately marching eastward.

I have seen pictures of the ancient Acacia army in a forbidden book, and the brave warriors form rows of gold and silver arrays, and although we are only the remnants of the ancient army, we are not spared a penny. Two thousand clawed riders were deployed on each of the two flanks, their crotch-steadied mounts stretched all over their bodies, and their clawed hooves stamped impatiently around the ground. A thousand archers were half-kneeling fifteen feet in front of us, arrows with blue tail feathers stuck in the soft soil in front of them.

The three deep infantry phalanxes are our main force, like a bastion of courage, intent on resisting the enemies who have oppressed us for generations.

In the rear of our position, mages are casting earth and stone magic. The crackling energy blurred the air. The Shurima will definitely bring a mage army, but we have our own magic to contend with.

"I've never seen so many soldiers," I said.

Coughlin shrugged, "No one has seen it, not in our generation. ”

"Don't be too complacent," Sejax said. "The Sun Emperor has five troops, and the one with the least number is three times as large as ours."

I tried to imagine this force, but there was no concept at all. "How can we defeat such an army," I asked.

Instead of answering me, Sejax took Kauali to his chosen location, stopping in front of a huge granite stepped building. Beneath the base of the building are stakes, on which are the corpses of the Shurima inserted, and a flock of scavenging birds hovers overhead. At the top of the building, a tent was erected in scarlet and indigo satin, and it was unknown what was inside. A group of robed priests surrounded the tent, each holding a cane made of star iron and drawing intricate trajectories in the air.

I don't know what they're doing, but I can hear a constant buzzing sound, like a nest of bugs trying to burrow into my head.

The tent swayed like a mirage, and my eyes began to water, and I had to look away. My teeth seemed to be loose in the sockets and my mouth was filled with the smell of sour milk. I retched and wiped my mouth with the back of my hand, but I didn't expect a few traces of blood on my hands. I was taken aback.

"What," I asked. "What's in there?"

Sejax shrugged. "It is said to be a new weapon. It was discovered by sorcerers deep underground after the Saabra earthquake. ”

"What kind of weapon"

"Does it matter?" said Coughlin. "They say it's going to kill those gold-clad-eaters out of the world. And those gods, it's impossible to die too many times. ”

The sun was about to rise now, but there was a shiver down my spine. My mouth suddenly became dry. There was a tingling in the fingertips.

Is this fear, perhaps?

Or, perhaps, just maybe, it's a portent. Something is going to happen.

An hour later, Shurima's army arrived.

I've never seen troops like this, I've never imagined so many people coming together. The storm was dusty and overwhelming, like a gathering storm that was about to sweep away the mortal realm.

Immediately afterward, I saw in the dust the bronze spear of the Shurima warrior. As far as the eye can see, there are soldiers in all directions. They marched forward, a wall of people holding golden flags aloft, and the totem of the solar disc glittered in the midday sun.

At the top of the gentle slope, we see waves of enemy armies coming into view, hundreds of thousands of undefeated armies whose ancestors have conquered the known world. Golden mounts and riders covered the flanks, and hundreds of chariots floating in the air cleared the way in front of the army. The heavy carriages of a three-masted galleon are loaded with strange war machines, and the high-speed spinning spheres are surrounded by fireballs and lightning bolts, resembling a navigational astrolabe. The machine was surrounded by a group of priests in robes and torch staffs, each surrounded by a retinue of blind slaves.

In the center of the army, are those Celestial warriors.

My mind had forgotten everything else, blood, horror, and fear. Only the image of the Celestial Warrior is left before my eyes, and will linger for the rest of this moment.

I saw nine of them, standing like a hill among the soldiers under their command. Their appearance and bodies are a terrifying mixture of humans and animals, and nothing like it has ever existed in the world and never should exist. They were dressed in bronze and jade armor, all giants. Unbelievable monsters.