# Chapter 45: This Era of Flame Will Finally Arrive
In the city center, Saint Lawrence Cathedral.
The black circular holy emblem hung at the very top of the cathedral, unmoved by the howling wind and driving snow, as stable as a rock.
Joshua carried Anria, walking steadily and quickly. This city guard in his arms was different from his officers and comrades—his internal organs were severely damaged, yet there were few external wounds. If he wasn't treated and stabilized immediately, he would likely die, or at the very least suffer organ failure.
And Joshua happened to need to visit the cathedral anyway, so he simply brought him along.
Crossing the steps, Joshua arrived at the stone-and-wood door. He noticed that the white glow that had previously covered it was gone, and the reinforced and sealed divine technique arrays had all disappeared. So he simply took matters into his own hands and pushed open the door.
"Creak."
The sound of ice and wood grinding against each other echoed as the door opened. The warrior didn't hesitate for a moment and walked straight into the reception hall. Two armored guardian knights, sensing that someone whose strength they couldn't gauge had opened the cathedral door, quickly emerged from the corner rest area. However, upon seeing that the person who opened the door was Joshua, they both stopped and performed a knight's salute.
"Lord, what brings you here?"
One of them stepped forward and asked with confusion. He did find it somewhat strange. In this freezing weather, even ordinary people preferred to stay home rather than come to the cathedral to pray, let alone a noble count. Why would he have the leisure to visit the cathedral?
"Looking for someone to treat injuries. Hand this one over to you—he's too badly hurt."
Joshua handed the young city guard to the two guardian knights. Sensing the arrival of a Gold-rank expert, Atanis's two students also hurried over at this moment. These two Silver-rank priests had not yet completed their training and were still apprentices under Priest Atanis. According to church tradition, they would only be able to stand on their own and preside over a local cathedral when they one day awakened their inner conviction, made their vows, and obtained true Holy Light power.
But for now, they could only follow their teacher to treat injuries and illnesses.
"Thank you both. Heal his internal injuries a bit. Also, where is Priest Atanis? I have urgent business with him."
Taking off his clothes, which were full of tears and holes from claw strikes, Joshua walked bare-chested straight toward the corridor behind the main hall of the cathedral. As he walked, he asked, "In his room or the library?"
"The library, Lord."
The younger priest, named Victor, replied while treating Anria's wounds and using Holy Light to sense the extent of his internal organ damage: "Teacher has been searching for ancient texts about the Inner Sea of Falling Stars recently. He's been there for several days."
"Good, thank you."
Knowing the location, Joshua quickened his pace. He passed through winding corridors and headed straight for the back of the cathedral.
The library.
Atanis stood before a tall bookshelf, silently flipping through ancient texts. He wore wooden-framed glasses, his expression serious. Beside this white-haired priest, dozens of similar books were piled up like a mountain, nearly burying his figure.
Just as he was earnestly reading the ancient text in his hands and taking notes, heavy footsteps came from outside the library.
A moment later, the footsteps stopped at the door. Accompanied by a low scraping sound, the library door opened. Atanis happened to finish making a bookmark at that moment. He closed the book and set it aside. The white-haired priest looked at the warrior before him with some curiosity and said, "Well, well, our new lord. Why have you come... and without even wearing clothes? Is something urgent?"
"Yes, indeed, something urgent."
Joshua didn't bother with pleasantries with the familiar man. He said bluntly, "I need to use the cathedral's magic communication array. And I need it immediately."
Atanis furrowed his brow. Having served as a priest for so many years, he had seen everyone from emperors to paupers. From the expression on the warrior's face, he clearly knew something major had happened, and it was very urgent. So the priest didn't waste a single word and immediately stood up to lead the way: "Follow me. The communication array is on the second floor."
The two passed through corridors, crossed spiral staircases, and arrived at the second floor of the cathedral. Atanis walked toward a room that looked completely ordinary, with Joshua following closely behind.
Arriving at the door, the white-haired priest extended his palm. White Holy Light rose from his body, scattering like starlight, then gathered in his palm. Seeming to sense the resonance of this power, a rotating silver magic array appeared on the door, which had neither handle nor keyhole. Complex runes spun densely, dizzying to behold.
Pressing the light in his hand against the array, Atanis murmured, "Saint Lawrence Cathedral, Punishment Priest Atanis, requests permission to use the Twilight Great Communication Array."
Having received the Holy Light power that met the requirements and confirmed his identity, the silver array immediately stopped rotating, and the door slowly opened.
"Go ahead. Inside is the super-large communication array connecting all parts of the empire. You should know how to use it."
Withdrawing his arm, the white-haired priest stepped back, making way, while narrowing his eyes and asking, "You're this anxious—can you tell me what's happened?"
"I suspect communications at Black Forest Fortress have been blocked. It may already be surrounded by the Black Tide by now."
His words were concise. After explaining, Joshua walked directly into the room.
This was a hall with a circular dome. On the walls and ceiling were many semi-transparent rune crystals, forming smooth lines through which silver-blue and golden light flowed. Above the convergence point of all these lines hung a virtual sun emitting a soft white glow.
A 'three-dimensional array' suspended in the center of the room.
Within this virtual sun, countless runes and energies formed patterns of perfect regularity, combining and dispersing within the white light, constantly shifting. An ordinary person would feel utterly exhausted and mentally drained just by looking at it.
But Joshua showed no abnormality. Though he was a warrior, his will and spirit were as tenacious (jianren) as his body. In fact, without a firm will and rigorous analysis of situations, one could never become a truly powerful warrior. Moreover, as Atanis had said, he had used communication arrays many times and was very familiar with them.
The black-haired warrior walked toward the three-dimensional array suspended in the center of the room. He gazed at the light, then closed his eyes, extending his spirit to establish a connection, quickly adjusting the communication parameters.
A moment later, he felt countless data and coordinates appear in his mind.
"Connect to: Northern Lands, Moldavia Territory, Black Forest Fortress."
These keywords flashed through his mind as Joshua's spiritual information was clear and firm: "Initiating connection."
Under his command, countless data and coordinates flowed like a torrent, then slowly settled, finally fixing on a massive fortress standing amidst white snow, surrounded by dense black forest.
"Zzz... zzzz."
No response. Joshua was not discouraged. He repeated, "Connect to: Northern Lands, Moldavia Territory, Black Forest Fortress. Initiating connection. Increasing communication wave intensity. Authorization source—Imperial Northern Count, Joshua van Radcliffe."
"Authorization level confirmed... Wave amplification in progress... Zzz... Boom! Zzz... Woo..."
This time, strange noises appeared, seemingly the sound of goblin cannon fire or exploding fireballs. Faintly, there seemed to be echoes of horns and battle cries.
"As expected."
Hearing these sounds, Joshua decisively and actively terminated the connection with the communication array. He opened his eyes, sighed, and muttered to himself, "An accident has indeed occurred. I just don't know how long the battle has been going on, or whether the fortress has fallen."
Sensing that the fluctuation of Holy Light power was gradually increasing, Priest Atanis slowly walked into the room. Though his expression was unreadable, one could still feel the solemnity in this white-haired man's heart.
"Joshua, what happened? Ordinary communication shouldn't require your noble authorization for amplification—that's something used for cross-region connections."
"...The fortress hasn't sent any short-range messages for three days. I thought it meant everything was peaceful. Who knew the Black Tide had already begun? The knights were fighting desperately at the border while I remained completely ignorant."
Silence. Then he began to chuckle softly. The corners of Joshua's mouth lifted slightly. He turned and walked toward the door of the communication room: "Haha... ridiculous."
"What? But why was there no warning? Could some magical beast have the ability to block communications?"
Hearing this news, the white-haired priest's face showed shock. But then he immediately furrowed his brow, turning to scold the departing warrior: "How can you laugh? The fortress is in danger now. Who knows how many people are trapped in disaster? Joshua, those are your people!"
"No... I wouldn't laugh at something like that."
Leaving the communication room, Joshua slowly walked toward the balcony on the second floor of the cathedral. He shook his head and said with emotion, "I was just laughing at myself just now... This omen should have been discovered long ago. Haha, I've just been living too peacefully for a while, and I've let my guard down to this extent..."
"Truly... laughable."
Slowly pushing open the French windows of the cathedral, the fierce wind carrying flying snow rushed in. Facing the howling north wind and freezing cold wave, the black-haired warrior welcomed it as if it were sweet nectar. He looked up at the sky, his gaze seeming to pierce through the layers of dark haze (chongchong yinmai), gazing toward the distant horizon beyond where his eyes could reach. His crimson pupils burned like flames.
"It's beginning."
The Black Forest Tide—this was merely the beginning, the opening act of the endless conflicts that would engulf the Mycroft Continent in the days to come, and the true beginning of this life of his.
"Atanis... do you know? The peace now is just an illusion. The flames of war will be rekindled in the future. The blood of all races will soak the sand, and corpses will scatter across the land—no one can escape this war. Righteousness cannot save those who do good, and evil cannot save those who do evil."
Outside the window, dark clouds shrouded (longzhao) the sky. Ice, snow, frost mixed with some dust swept across heaven and earth. Despite such cold weather, Atanis felt as if something was burning before him.
"The cowardly have nowhere to hide. Only the brave can survive."
Turning his head, the black-haired, red-eyed warrior, Joshua van Radcliffe, spoke softly to the silent white-haired priest:
"My friend, this era burning with war and conflict has finally arrived."
—End of Volume 1: Northern Wind