Chapter 79: Chapter 79

In front of the castle’s main keep.

Ron chatted absently with Justin and the others beside him to pass the time, but his attention was completely diverted from their conversation, fixed entirely on the east.

Just a few minutes ago, he had felt that terrifying low-frequency soundwave once more. Moreover, quite a few territorial subjects in the square before the main keep had been knocked unconscious by that shockwave. Ron didn’t know exactly what the situation was like in the east. He wanted to ask Morris but couldn’t find him; Morris had not accompanied them to the castle for shelter, but had stayed near the Bell Tower to stand guard.

“Ron, how long do you think it will take the Territory Guard to wipe out the enemy?”

“I don’t know, but I hope it’s soon!”

If that low-frequency soundwave struck again, who knew how many more territorial subjects would be affected. Ron even suspected that the soundwave wasn’t specifically targeting the subjects at the castle, but was merely the aftershock of the fierce battle between the two sides in the east.

Just then, Karel, who had been speaking, seemed shocked by something and suddenly lost his voice. Without needing Karel to explain, Ron already understood what had happened. Just now, the environment around the castle had somehow become somewhat similar to the outside of the territory. An immense pressure abruptly bore down on everyone’s minds; even Ron experienced a momentary daze.

Fortunately, this was solely a mental influence. As long as one hadn’t come into contact with the transcendent, they were almost entirely unaffected. At this moment, in front of the castle’s main keep, nearly half of the people didn’t feel anything amiss. However, the other half, who had more or less encountered the transcendent, were all exhibiting reactions of unbearable headaches or violent nausea.

Sounds of agonizing wails and numb groans instantly echoed one after another across this small square.

No one knew exactly what had happened outside to cause the situation to deteriorate to such an extent in the blink of an eye. Ron was deeply anxious but helpless. He could only instruct his companions to notify the other Apprentice squads to reorganize the territorial subjects in the square.

He hoped that making this last-ditch effort would add a modicum of the Power of Order to everyone.

The Power of Order could resist external mental pressure and the corruption of Aberrant Beasts. If they could unite all the territorial subjects in the small square into a single entity, he figured they should be able to endure this.

At a time like this, the difference between the Apprentices who had participated in the training outside the territory and those who hadn’t became glaringly obvious. It wasn’t to say that those who had gone were completely unaffected, but at the very least, they wouldn’t be overwhelmed into panic by this sudden surge of mental pressure. On the contrary, those Apprentices who had never left the territory were starting to panic themselves, their performance even worse than many of the ordinary territorial subjects.

“They’re ultimately still just a bunch of kids!” Ron sighed inwardly.

Back in his homeland, these Apprentices would all be school-aged minors. Even in this world, they had only undergone a single month of training. Most crucially, they didn’t have the Instructors meticulously guiding them from the sidelines; all they had was the dread brought about by an unknown enemy.

Seeing this, Ron immediately stepped forward. He forcefully pinned down an Apprentice who was so panicked he tried to charge into the main keep, and shouted, “Weren’t you all curious about what we trained in outside the territory yesterday? I’m telling you now: it’s this. Experience it properly! I believe you can handle it!”

For bewildered and panicked individuals, the best approach was to provide them with a goal, a direction. When Ron revealed that what they were currently experiencing was the very situation found outside the territory, some Apprentices grew even more nervous, but far more calmed down, their eyes regaining their firmness.

This atmosphere quickly infected the others, not just the Apprentices, but also some of the territorial subjects who were struggling to resist. Many of these subjects had participated in the training outside the territory, later leaving the Territory Guard for various reasons, while others were those who had partaken in Apprentice training in their early years but were eliminated prematurely.

The less contact one had with the transcendent, the lighter the mental pressure they felt at this moment. However, regardless, there was still a significant portion of territorial subjects who couldn’t endure this spiritual oppression, howling in agony.

Seeing this scene, Ron didn’t know what else to do. He could only cast a hopeful gaze toward the castle’s main keep, praying that the butler who had just arranged matters for the territorial subjects would report the situation here to the Lord.

Just then, Laurie, the Captain of the Ninth Squad whom he had met during yesterday’s training, appeared beside him at some point and asked in a hushed tone, “Ron, this isn’t working; a lot of people are on the verge of collapsing! Do you have any other ideas?”

“I don’t know.”

Ron suddenly felt a wave of discouragement, a thought flashing through his mind: “Forget it, what does this have to do with me?” But in the next moment, his guard shot up. Mental pressure was omnipresent. It wasn’t just direct, violent oppression; it would also dissolve a person’s thoughts in a manner akin to “heat death.” At a time like this, he had to hold fast to his convictions!

“If it really comes down to it, knock them out!” Ron’s gaze suddenly turned fierce.

This was a last resort born of desperation. Yesterday, on the way out of the territory, hadn’t a few Apprentices succumbed to unconsciousness? Yet the Instructors had still left them in place temporarily. It stood to reason that unconsciousness was also a method of resisting external mental pressure. It was just a passive one, and he didn’t know if doing this would leave any lingering aftereffects.

But the situation had already devolved to this point. Rather than letting those people succumb to madness, it was better to knock them out before they went insane, thereby preventing further panic from spreading. Panic was the greatest enemy of Order. Since Ron couldn’t increase Order right now, he could only devise ways to diminish Order’s enemy.

Hearing Ron’s proposal, Laurie couldn’t help but hesitate. However, he quickly reasoned it out; this was indeed the only viable option left. Thus, he immediately relayed this method to the others.

…

However, before Ron and the others could knock out the territorial subjects on the verge of madness, the Lord’s butler, who had made an appearance a short while ago, once again stepped into the small square before the main keep.

He waved at Ron and the others. Ron’s heart leapt with joy, and he hastily called out to his companions, “Hold off on acting for a moment. I’ll go over and take a look; perhaps the Lord has a better solution!”

Then, he trotted over to the butler. He was joined by the captains of two other Apprentice squads.

“Steward Severn, does the Lord have any instructions?” Ron took the initiative to ask.

“You have all done very well, but it is not enough. The enemy has destroyed the roads and buildings on the east side of the territory, creating a breach in the territory’s overall Order defenses. This is not something a crowd of untrained territorial subjects can withstand.”

Steward Severn’s expression remained placid, and the look he cast over the crowd lacked the slightest ripple. Then, before Ron could press for more answers, he drew a paper cylinder from his sleeve, unrolled it, and handed it to Ron:

“You can read, can’t you? This is the Kingdom Decree brought by the Mailin Merchant Guild. The Decree states that the Kingdom of Helios shall venerate a True God: the Lord of Radiance. Reciting His sacred maxims can resist and even dispel Chaos.”