# Chapter 7: The Prelude to War
Year 27 of the Great Cataclysm, July 11th, Night.
In the northwestern continent, the former imperial capital of the Ulan Empire, the Psychic City of Geltar.
The vast heavens towered above all things, with endless brilliant starlight and the warm blue moon together illuminating this dead land.
On this plateau of gray-brown rock, devoid of any vegetation, nearly infinite black shadowy figures roamed around the great boulders of the Geltar Plateau with their crimson, vacant gazes. Amidst the thin mist, one could see many flying figures in the mid-air, seemingly possessing self-will, guiding the undead masses below. These powerful shadow beings directed the mindless undead to follow certain patterns, encircling and guarding the center of the plateau—that magnificent capital city shrouded within the fog.
The cold wind howled and swept across the Geltar Plateau from the edge of the world. The bitter cold and sand, mixed with suffocating necrotic miasma, formed a hellish sandstorm that would make even Transcendent-rank experts frown. Yet the capital city of Geltar, which should have been completely reduced to ruins nearly thirty years ago during that earthquake that seemed to tear apart the entire continent, stood intact within this sandstorm.
Within the dark capital, there was no light at all. But by the faint starlight and dim moon, one could vaguely see that within the seemingly intact residential buildings, clumps of darkness writhed, emitting sounds that could be either screams of agony or venomous curses. The positions of these buildings—or rather, the entire structural layout of the city—seemed to have been greatly altered. They appeared to have become part of some enormous formation, encircling and guarding the city center, where seven massive obelisks had been erected at some unknown time.
The seven obelisks, constructed from obsidian and some strange metal, shimmered with black-purple energy light. Layers of incredibly complex runes, seemingly containing infinite mysteries, flickered along the energy veins. They stood at the city's center, absorbing all the free-floating energy from the entire Geltar Plateau, then supplying it to unknown entities.
Suddenly, from within the darkness came a piercing sound of wind.
Within the deep, dark capital, a flash of dark silver light suddenly appeared. This light broke through the raging sandstorm outside the city and crossed nearly ten kilometers within a single second, arriving at the obelisk array in the city center.
The newcomer was a swordsman. He was completely shrouded in a mass of gray mist, making his features unclear. But one could see a longsword of ancient design hanging at his waist, with lightning and thunder crackling along the scabbard, releasing an extremely dangerous aura.
The swordsman stood atop the obelisk engraved with the massive number "Three." Surging black-purple energy flowed into his body, replenishing the power he had recently expended. Aside from this, the swordsman made no unnecessary movements, simply waiting in silence.
And not long after.
One after another, sounds of breaking air and strange phenomena occurred.
A mage, surrounded by seven crystal balls of different colors floating around him, with a sacred stone seed emitting brilliant red light embedded in his chest, opened a space-time portal and arrived atop the obelisk engraved with the massive number "Two."
A warrior, clad in heavy armor adorned with a ferocious dragon head and carrying a dragon-slaying greatsword on his back, stepped through the void and arrived atop the obelisk engraved with the number "Four."
With the surge of a shadow, a barely discernible misty humanoid figure—so lacking in presence that one would never notice it without careful attention—coalesced atop the obelisk engraved with the number "Five."
Riding an Ender Shadow Dragon, a spellcaster in a hooded robe, along with a skeleton archer who was nothing but bones and carried an ancient black iron longbow, arrived in turn atop the obelisks "Six" and "Seven."
Finally, there was a knight.
This knight did not display any extraordinary power, nor did he conceal his appearance. This ordinary-looking, plain-featured old knight with gray hair rode his equally aged, gaunt warhorse, using faltering steps to cross the dark streets shrouded in mist. Wherever he passed, the shadows within the residential buildings that had been wailing and cursing fell silent, turning into painful and unwilling prayers. He gazed at these shadows with a compassionate and benevolent light, but in the end, he only shook his head, causing the shadows to emit disappointed sighs.
It took a long time for the knight to traverse this long stone path and arrive at the obelisk array. Under the gaze of the other six immensely powerful beings, he and his horse slowly stepped through the void to the top of the obelisk engraved with the number "One."
No one expressed any dissatisfaction. In fact, the heavy-armored warrior ranked fourth and the skeleton archer ranked seventh even bowed respectfully.
"I have gathered everyone this time because there is an important matter to discuss with you all. But before that, we need to compile the latest intelligence."
Without wasting words, the knight spoke to the beings around him in a voice that was unexpectedly grand, unlike his appearance: "Within the territory of the former Gru Empire, around the Autumn Water Forest on the northwestern Micia Plain, a Sacred Domain-level—even nearly surpassing Sacred Domain—peak force tore through space-time, allowing a powerful being from another world to descend."
"All our preparations for the plan are nearly complete, leaving only the final removal of obstacles and implementation. The arrival of this otherworldly expert is very ill-timed. Now, all variables must be eliminated."
Speaking thus, the old knight turned to look at the swordsman ranked third: "I have already sent Swordsman's subordinates to investigate the situation. What are the results?"
"None."
With arms crossed over his chest, the swordsman spoke in a faint voice: "My subordinate has not yet sent back information. But he is Loz, the Shifting Shadow. I believe he should be able to find intelligence that will satisfy us."
"Then let us set this matter aside for now."
The knight nodded. He then turned to look at the crystal mage ranked second: "Regarding the pursuit of that dragon-blooded girl who holds what is suspected to be the 'Origin Sage's Robe'—have there been any results?"
"No, my lord." The seven crystal balls floating around him danced lightly in the air, forming one strange rune and formation after another. The spellcaster bent slightly as he replied, but his voice sounded synthesized, as rigid as a machine: "The power of the Origin Sage's Robe exceeds my imagination. Its last eruption annihilated an entire legion of undead shadows. I have dispatched my three crystal puppets to pursue, but the Lord of the Dark River blocked them."
"The Lord of the Dark River has taken her under his protection. Then indeed, there is nothing to be done."
Seeming very familiar with the other's power, a trace of nostalgia flickered in the knight's eyes: "You may not fully understand his true power. Avoid conflict with him for now. We need to conserve our strength."
Subsequently, the knight questioned all the other beings in turn about their recent intelligence. No one expressed any dissatisfaction; they all answered truthfully.
Until the end, the knight nodded slightly and said calmly: "Very good. Everything is still within the plan."
Then, he stated bluntly: "The important matter for which I invited you all to gather is that I have successfully reconstructed the Ulan Empire's method of summoning and 'controlling' Heroic Spirits, and have made certain improvements based on our situation."
When he said this, all seven powerful beings let out disdainful cold laughs. Even the swordsman, who had been completely devoid of emotional fluctuation, shrugged his shoulders.
They were not laughing at the old knight's words, but at the Ulan Empire.
If not for this greedy empire that sought to reverse the taboo of life and death, and intended to forcibly control the Heroic Spirits that had condensed the faith and hearts of countless people, how could they have reappeared on this land?
"The Grandia World is a world without faith in gods." The spellcaster riding the Ender Shadow Dragon spoke with a soft laugh, his voice coming from under his hood, unexpectedly young: "Completely different from the other worlds I have visited. All faith is concentrated on ancestors and heroes. To try to control me... them, one would have to oppose the entire world, the will of all humanity."
The heavy-armored warrior also sneered in a low, muffled voice: "Overreaching."
The old knight seemed to have anticipated the others' reactions. So after everyone stopped laughing, he spoke again: "After reconstructing this method, our next target is the 'Sage's Tomb' in the southwestern region, which is firmly protected by the four major human resistance forces."
The knight's voice now carried a hint of ethereality: "The sages and heroes of past generations, our old friends, and even 'we ourselves' are buried there."
Suddenly, from the fifth obelisk, the blurry misty humanoid figure softly spoke a few words that no one could clearly hear.
But the old knight heard them, and he responded clearly: "Yes, for now we do not have the strength to launch a frontal assault."
"Therefore, we must first go and eliminate those scattered resistance forces spread across the entire continent, so that the whole world is either us or them."
As he said this, the old knight gently touched the long spear hanging at the side of his warhorse. His voice carried a barely perceptible hint of amusement: "Then, cut off their sources of information, block their supplies of food and water, seize the raw crystal ores, and pollute the upstream water sources."
The skeleton archer ranked seventh flickered the soul fire in his eyes and tightened his grip on the longbow. The heavy-armored warrior ranked fourth also involuntarily reached back to grasp the hilt of the greatsword strapped to his back, looking as if he was immensely anticipating it.
The other powerful beings, though their expressions were unclear and they made no movements, their auras were vastly different from the oppressive feeling before.
Above the Geltar Plateau, thick mist surged. Lightning snaked down from within it, finally disappearing into the pitch-black sandstorm, transforming into flickering flames.
Pale light illuminated the city that had long become a dark realm of death, as if daylight had finally descended upon this land that had sunk into the abyss for twenty-seven years.
"This is war."
Under the illumination of the lightning, the old knight spoke thus. His tone carried a hint of relieved anticipation that had finally arrived.
"Twenty-seven years."
"The final decisive battle is about to begin."