Ame wondered what he was thinking. Or rather, she wondered if he was sane. No, she always felt he was not. But was he really thinking of enlisting the traitor’s army?

He ignored her and jumped in front of the army.

He moved forward as he chuckled: “Harold! How are you?!”

Harold smiled: “Nangua! What’s going on? Why were you with them? Why did they retreat?”

Nangua chuckled: “Well, the situation has changed in a dire way, my friend”

Harold frowned: “How so?”

Nangua waved a hand as he stated: “The realm is under attack by forces from beyond the Ocean”

Harold chuckled: “Nice one, brother, nice one. But seriously, what is going on?”

Nangua’s face turned serious: “It is not a joke, my friend. An army of monsters is reaching for the capital killing everything on its path”

Harold frowned deeply.

While watching the capital burn was something he would probably enjoy, he did not want to see the people suffer.

Traitorous as he might be, ambitious as he might be, he did care for the people.

At the very least, he did not want to see the innocents slaughtered.

He asked: “What exactly is going on?”

Nangua explained: “I am not too sure but an urgent message was received from the Capital. All the forces of the kingdom are converging there to face the incoming army of outlanders. The army here was recalled urgently as well”

Harold’s gaze deepened: “What do you think will happen?”

Nangua admitted the cold truth he believed in: “Everyone will die. There. And then here. And then beyond here. The continent is doomed”

Harold shook.

He asked: “What are you here for then?”

Nangua looked behind him, at the hill, on which stood Ame: “To try to convince you to do something stupid alongside us”

Harold shook.

He understood exactly what Nangua meant. He looked behind him at his army of Northerners. Then, he looked back at Nangua: “Would it make a difference?”

Nangua turned back to him: “I do not know. But everyone will die if it does not”

Harold turned towards his army and spoke as loud as he could: “Outlanders have invaded our lands! They are attacking the Capital at the moment and planning to annihilate everything on Vrislorin!”

“Grudges against the Capital, against the King, brought us together! Because these lands are ours!”

“It is time to go defend all of our homes! Let us go to the Capital!”

He turned to Nangua with a deep gaze: “Let us not waste any time, we have much land to cross”

Nangua nodded.

The Northern army moved out.

The way that took days to cross previously only took less than one this time.

Of course, not everyone reached the Capital yet. Only those elites at the highest levels managed to reach this far this fast.

They used everything they had, spending their energy without a care and popping all the pills they might have had.

But they reached the Capital in time.

To fight.

To protect.

Ame and Nangua stood next to Harold on one side and the other commanders on the other. In the same day they would have been enemies and then brothers.

They watched the other forces arriving.

The gigantic river of eyeless beings extended beyond the horizon.

Ame gulped.

Nangua told her: “Death is scary, is it not?”

Ame nodded with a frown yet her eyes remained firm: “But we will make it, we have to”

Nangua looked back at the eyeless beings.

It was the work of The Nightmare.

But why? Was Jin not his chosen one? Why send those demons here?

What was The Nightmare thinking?

…

Johnny Fall was a debtor.

One with the highest of debt. He was a mighty cultivator of the 59th stage and tried his luck against the Greedy couple themselves.

He failed miserably.

And became a debtor.

That was two hundred years ago already.

And he was very much aware that he would live as a slave until he died. He would leave nothing and no one behind. His existence meaningless from beginning to end.

This time, he was sent to Vrislorin. As one of the troop leaders.

The reward was attractive. Yes, it was. But he was not planning to go for it. After all, what was the point of searching for something he would likely not find?

He did not want hope.

Instead, he was thinking of enjoying some time of freedom. Maybe teaching someone for as long as he could so as to leave some inheritance somewhere.

He was doing exactly that in a random village when news of the eyeless army reached him.

As he heard it and looked at the villagers, he felt pain in his heart. These people, innocent as can be, would all die.

For something that was not even related to them.

He looked at his hands. Clean and youthful even after so many years. Then, he looked back at the villagers.

They were getting older yet they were happy with what they have.

He thought back upon his life, his goals and pursuits. What had he achieved in the end? Compared to them? Nothing. But they lived happy lives while he did not.

Anger rose from very deep within himself.

He was unable to bear the thought of these innocents dying.

As he thought so, he left the village. And then, he brought his hand to the golden collar around his neck and infused spiritual energy within it. It was a special gift granted to the troop leaders so as to lead their teams more efficiently. Just another tool to be honest.

For the first time in his life, and likely the last, he was thankful for this special collar of his.

Once activated, he spoke: “Let us go to the Capital and do at least one thing worth it in our lives”

Tens of thousands of debtors heard his message.

Tens of thousands of debtors were moved by his words.

Tens of thousands of debtors rushed towards the Capital.