Chapter 71: The Fortress

Neo stumbled out between two narrow rocks and nearly fell over. His lungs were burning, and his legs barely had the strength to keep him standing. He finally dropped to his knees on the soft, dry ground.

Behind him, the howls and snapping jaws of the sacred grove’s guardians slowly faded into the distance. None of them could squeeze through the narrow passage.

For a while, Neo stayed on his knees, desperately trying to catch his breath. Sweat and dirt covered his face, and his chest rose and fell with every ragged breath.

"Okay," he wheezed. "Okay... I think I actually lost them."

He forced himself upright, wiping his forehead with the back of his sleeve, and finally took a proper look at his surroundings.

His stomach dropped.

The dense forest he’d been running through for hours had vanished entirely behind him. In its place stretched an enormous, empty expanse of cracked earth, stretching endlessly toward the horizon in every direction. No trees. No grass. No birds. Just barren, lifeless ground beneath a strange, dim sky that seemed to swallow whatever light managed to filter through it.

’This isn’t the forest anymore.’

Neo looked around, his thoughts racing as he slowly realized where he’d ended up.

’The Desolate Land.’

He slowly turned, scanning the horizon for any sign of life.

For a long while, he saw nothing. No movement. No buildings. Nothing but a vast, barren field stretching endlessly into the distance.

Then something caught his attention far to the left, near the point where the forest ended and the wasteland began.

A fortress.

Massive stone walls rose from the earth, ancient and weathered but still standing strong. Watchtowers lined the walls at regular intervals, and even from this distance, Neo could make out faint figures moving along the top.

’Wait... a fortress? Here? In the middle of the Desolate Land?’

Neo stared at the distant structure, his exhaustion momentarily forgotten.

As far as he remembered, the Desolate Land was supposed to be one of the most dangerous regions in the entire world. A barren wasteland filled with devils and powerful monsters, so hostile that most kingdoms had long since stopped trying to settle it.

But in the anime, there had been an entire arc set in the Desolate Land. Back then, Neo hadn’t thought much about the background details, but he remembered that the region wasn’t actually empty. Several different races lived beyond the known territories, along with humans who had built settlements in places the outside world considered uninhabitable.

There were even isolated cities and fortified territories scattered across the wasteland.

’So this place isn’t as empty as everyone thinks.’

His eyes narrowed as he looked at the fortress again. ’But why is there a fortress here?’

Curiosity quickly pushed aside the last of his hesitation. Neo crouched low and began making his way toward the distant structure, keeping behind scattered rocks and shallow ditches whenever he could.

If his memories were right, there could be an entire civilization hiding beyond those walls. And he had no intention of announcing his arrival before finding out exactly who lived there.

By the time he finally reached the base of the fortress walls, the sun had dipped further toward the horizon, casting long, heavy shadows across the cracked earth. He pressed himself flat against the stone, peering carefully around the edge toward the massive gate.

Two guards stood at the entrance. They were unmistakably human.

Neo blinked in surprise. He hadn’t expected that, not entirely. It made sense, in a strange way, that humans might exist somewhere within the vast, unexplored reaches of the Desolate Land, alongside whatever other races supposedly called this forsaken place home. Still, seeing two ordinary-looking men in full plate armor standing guard outside a fortress in the middle of a supposedly uninhabitable wasteland felt distinctly unsettling.

Their armor bore no crest at all. No royal lion, no noble sigil, nothing to indicate which kingdom, if any, they belonged to.

’No crest. That’s not a good sign. Whoever runs this place clearly doesn’t want anyone knowing who they are.’

Neo pressed himself deeper into the shadow of the wall, keeping his eyes fixed on the guards.

Suddenly, one of them straightened.

"Who’s there?"

Neo froze, his heart pounding against his chest. The guard motioned to his companion, and both of them started walking toward the exact spot where Neo was hiding.

’Crap. Crap. Crap—’

Neo didn’t hesitate. He grabbed a jagged piece of stone and pulled himself upward, climbing the rough wall as quietly and quickly as he could. Once he was high enough, he pressed himself flat against the stone, just above where the guards stopped.

Their footsteps grew closer, then stopped directly below him.

Neo held his breath, not daring to move a single muscle.

"There’s nothing here, I swear I heard something." one guard muttered.

His companion sighed and smacked him on the back of the head.

"You’re hearing things. Get back to your post before the captain notices we’re gone."

The first guard rubbed the back of his head, grumbling under his breath. The two of them then turned and headed back toward the gate.

"Ouch...!"

The guard spun around, immediately looking up toward the top of the wall. By then, Neo had already scrambled the rest of the way up and flattened himself against the stone ledge, safely out of the guard’s line of sight.

"What now?" the second guard asked, clearly annoyed.

"Something hit me," the first guard grumbled, rubbing the back of his head as he looked up.

"Probably just a loose stone blown down by the wind. Come on."

"Damn, it seems like today’s my unlucky day..."

After a tense moment, the two guards finally turned and walked away entirely, disappearing back toward their post near the gate.

Neo let out another slow, careful breath, glancing back once more to make absolutely sure neither guard had noticed him before finally allowing himself to relax slightly.

He shifted his position carefully along the top of the wall, peering cautiously down into the fortress interior below.

The moment his eyes landed on what lay inside, every last trace of color drained instantly from his face.