But there was sothing strange about the enemy forces. The soldiers charging from the front seed slower, as if weighed down by sothing unseen.
Dark mist rose from their bodies, swirling around them like a living, breathing thing.
Above them, the clouds darkened further, and their eyes were hollow, which shone with an eerie light.
The soldiers from the rear, however, were moving quickly, their armor shining in the light, and their eyes appeared lively. There was no mist around them. They were alive, in the truest sense.
As the two armies neared, ready to collide in a bloody clash, a sudden voice rang out in every soldier's mind, sharp and clear.
"D-Do not engage in battle," Lina's voice echoed in everyone's subconscious. "D-Do not look into their eyes for too long. This is only an illusion."
The soldiers froze, confusion spreading like wildfire through their ranks. A ripple of doubt passed through them as they stared at the approaching forces, unsure whether to follow Lina's command or face the enemy head-on.
"What is she saying?" a soldier muttered, his grip tightening on his sword. "An illusion?"
The battalion commander's voice cut through the thick air, sharp and commanding.
"Listen to her instructions if you want to live!" he bellowed.
The sound of his words seed to snap the soldiers out of their rising panic, and they braced themselves as the two armies approached.
The soldiers stood firm, hands clutching their weapons tightly, hearts racing. They were so close they could feel the ground tremble beneath the relentless march of the enemy.
And yet, as the enemy soldiers charged toward them, sothing strange began to happen. The first few figures passed through them like mist, continuing their charge.
The soldiers stared in disbelief, so of them blinking, rubbing their eyes as though trying to clear the vision before them.
Were they truly in the midst of so grand illusion? Were these figures even real?
Most soldiers, having heard Lina's warning, held their ground, standing still as the army charged through them like mist.
But there were always a few, gripped by fear, unable to keep their composure, who raised their weapons against the oncoming force.
One soldier, paralyzed by panic, swung his sword at an approaching enemy. The mont his blade connected, the enemy soldier's hollow eyes locked onto his, and with a chilling roar, it charged at him.
The soldier barely had ti to react before the mist-like figure passed through him, and in the instant it did, his body crumpled. His eyes went lifeless, his soul seemingly ripped from his body, and he fell to his knees, defeated.
Around the ranks, similar scenes unfolded. Soldiers who disobeyed the command, their minds clouded by fear or disbelief, t the sa grim fate.
They tried to strike at the passing army, but it only led to their demise, their life force seemingly drained away by the shadowy figures they had dared to challenge.
In the midst of it all, Reynold's white-armored soldiers remained still. They stood like a wall of silence, as the spectral forces surged past them.
No one in their ranks flinched. Not a single weapon was raised. They had been trained for this, prepared to heed the command even if it ant certain death. This was no different.
The white-armored commander couldn't help but study the scene. He looked up at the swirling dark clouds above them, at the eerie figures rushing forward, and then turned his gaze toward Reynold, who was still observing with that sa intense calm.
"My Lord," the commander said, his voice betraying a hint of awe, "is this perhaps the battlefield from the era of the Human Emperor?"
The words hung in the air.
Reynold's alchemist association, while primarily known for their dicines and elixirs, operated several secret branches dealing with various matters.
One such branch was an intelligence network dedicated to gathering information about the lost ancient era and past events.
Having read such records, the commander had a vague sense that this battlefield was connected to that lost era, prompting him to seek Reynold's confirmation.
Reynold, who had been quietly watching the battlefield unfold, nodded slowly. "Most likely,"
The commander hesitated for a mont, but the question pressed at his mind like a weight he couldn't ignore. "Then this ruin is also..."
Before the commander could finish his sentence, he saw Reynold's gaze locked onto the charging figures.
Hollow. Empty. Full of dark intent. The enemy soldiers charged toward Reynold, their faces twisted in rage.
The commander, seeing the threat, stepped forward instinctively, his large shield raised in front of Reynold as he prepared to protect his lord.
But before he could react, the soldiers passed through him effortlessly, as though he were made of air. The shield he carried, despite its size and weight, did nothing to stop them.
"My Lord, be careful!"
But Reynold remained still, calm as a mountain in the face of the oncoming storm. He didn't move a muscle as the enemy soldiers rushed toward him.
When they were within arm's reach, he raised his hand and grabbed one of them by the throat. The soldier's body struggled briefly in his grasp, but the others passed through Reynold without resistance, just as they had done with the rest of the soldiers.
The figure in Reynold's grip writhed, trying to fight against him, but it was futile. Reynold tightened his hold, and with a small twist, the soldier's body dissolved into dark mist, dissipating like smoke in the wind.
"I see how it is," Reynold murmured.
The commander rushed to his side. "My Lord! Are you unhard?"
"Don't worry. It only affects those with weaker minds."
The commander's expression tightened. "What… was that? How could you grasp it when the rest simply passed through?"
Reynold turned to him, his voice calm but firm. "Because it's an illusion… and not an illusion at the sa ti."
The commander's eyes widened. "What do you an, my lord?"
"If you perceive it as real," Reynold said, "then it becos real."
just now, Reynold has perceived that large group whole as real soldiers, but after grabbing one, his subconscious shifted to thinking of them as an illusion.
"I understand," the commander muttered.
Now, he finally understood why Lina had told them that it was only an illusion and not to engage them. If they had chose to engage that would have only made these soldiers real. That ant she had already seen through it from the start.
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