Lost in thought, Gaius only noticed the arrival of a newcomer after she started speaking to the twenty-odd groups of volunteers headed towards Eo-Seu. The boy couldn’t help but rub his eyes — the woman was the spitting image of Paragon Ying Xin.

“Brave volunteers from Feng-Lang and Mi-Zu,” said the woman, “thank you all for coming. This is an image generated by an artefact, so I’ll be unable to respond to your queries. I’m Paragon Ying Xin, one of the defenders of the now-overrun defence line at Eo-Seu. Eo-Seu has fallen to the enemy, but the time the defenders there had brought us have been incredibly valuable.”

The image stopped speaking, presumably to let the impact of her words sink in. After a few seconds, in which Gaius felt relieved that the Paragon hadn’t died in the fields of battle, she continued, saying, “A sturdy defence line has been erected through the eastern shores of Feng-Lang. Brave men and women of the Eastern Territories, head there to help us in our effort. Do not let the defenders who fell at Eo-Seu squander their lives in vain.”

Static flashed across the image, and it vanished. A low droning spread across the entire city centre as people began to talk. Most of them were now eating their meals in double-time, and before he knew it, the pavilions were emptied.

Gaius watched as these groups took to the skies. He wanted to go back home, but he hadn’t upheld his promise yet. The Display artefact on his chest was showing more than seven hundred kills, and he at least had to distribute some of these points…or the rewards he got from them, to the families of the fallen. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and followed the departing groups as they flew eastwards.

Promises have to be kept, after all.

Cityscapes, forests and mountains turned into a blur as Gaius followed the group ahead of him. He was careful not to overtake them, since it would be incredibly awkward if he lost his way by flying too quickly. The eastern coastline of Feng-Lang was expansive enough that he didn’t know which part of it was Paragon Ying Xin referring to, after all.

After a few hours of following behind the groups of volunteers, the boy finally caught sight of an extensive network of fortifications. Pillbox-like structures dotted the hilltops, obstacles like concertina wire had been erected throughout the coastline, and as he caught up with the stunned volunteers, Gaius saw layers of trenches, manned by probably over a hundred thousand troops. Above the sky, over fifty groups of at least ten Knights had taken up positions in the air, overseeing the entire battlefield.

Most ominous of all was the presence of at least eight Paragons, making themselves known. Apparently, none of the Paragons defending Eo-Seu had died in battle, which was somewhat of a comfort. More than enough had died in service of their nation, after all.

“Where should we go to?” Someone’s voice sounded out. “This place is huge…”

Gaius opened his mouth to reply, but decided not to speak. Instead, he flew down towards a giant square, where what looked like the registration booth he’d seen when he registered his name a few days ago was. Making sure that the Display artefact was pinned on his chest prominently, he walked over to the person manning the counter.

The clerk looked up as Gaius drew near. An odd succession of emotions appeared on her face — surprise, curiosity…and shock as her eyes fell onto the Display on his chest.

“I managed to retreat from Eo-Seu’s battlefront earlier,” Gaius said quietly. “Where’s Paragon Ying Xin? I’ve something to tell her.”

“I, you, I…” She was flustered for a moment, and the finely-ironed shirt she was wearing was covered with creases immediately. Her eyes flitted over to something written on the table, and the clerk took a deep breath. “I’ll make the arrangements. But you’ll probably have to wait for quite some time before she’ll meet you. What’s your name?”

“Gaius. Remember it well,” said the boy. He got up, and retreated into the shade of a nearby tree, safe from the scorching temperatures. As he left, the groups of volunteers he’d left behind started descending from the sky, and formed a long queue silently.

“You’re back.” A voice came from behind Gaius, and he turned around to face the speaker. A woman, with long, black hair, was staring down at him, fatigue lining her face. The traces of battle could still be seen on her — her grey robes were stained with dark patches of what probably was blood.

“That was fast,” Gaius replied. “I just reported my presence to the clerk there.”

“I was passing by just now,” said the Paragon. “We don’t have much time to rest, after all. Now, you wanted to see me for something?”

Gaius indicated the Display on his chest, and Paragon Ying Xin’s eyes widened at that number. “That’s…wow.”

“I was only able to do this with the valiant sacrifices of the other defenders. I’ll like you to use your authority to duly compensate their family.” Gaius picked up a fallen leaf and held it in his hand. “Or else I wouldn’t find it in me to keep fighting.”

The Paragon narrowed her eyes at the veiled threat, and then relaxed. “Consider it done. If only we were able to discover such a large movement earlier…we might have been able to retreat in a better fashion.”

Gaius was silent. “Where would I go to trade in these kills for items?”

The abrupt change of topic caused Paragon Ying Xin to blink. “The building at the centre.”

She pointed at a pagoda that loomed quite some distance behind the fortifications. “The lodgings for Knights are near that area too — there should be signs set up to direct you there. Still…I don’t think there’s anything you can’t buy with the points you have.”

“I’ll think about that when it comes.” Gaius clenched his fist. “For now, I’m going to rest.”

“Do that,” said the Paragon. “The Lifespring will need some time to consolidate his forces. We estimate that he would need a week before any force capable of attacking Feng-Lang’s shoreline can be gathered, and with the losses you inflicted on his Knights…we can double that.”

Gaius grunted, a sound that Paragon Ying Xin clearly understood as that of affirmation. Without much ceremony, she took to the sky once more, and vanished into the horizon.

A moment later, the boy flew towards the pagoda she had pointed out. Gaius was in no mood to exchange items — he just wanted to find a place to sleep through the day in. After some wrangling with the clerk at the lodgings for Knights, the boy entered a room and dropped onto the bed without much ado.

He was…tired.