Poro pricked up his ears, the sound of hooves behind him growing closer and closer.
But even closer was the chilling killing intent from the King of Sree!
Like a sharp blade, slowly approaching inch by inch…
Amidst this strange fear, Poro suddenly recalled the headless soldiers of Falling Star City he had seen before the city ruins.
"Fortunately, Falling Star City is almost here. The fact that Falling Star City wasn't destroyed in the hands of this King of Sree means that Falling Star City must have some means that the Kingdom of Sree is afraid of."
In the distance, the garrison of Falling Star City had already appeared in sight.
Just like the corpses seen in the destroyed city earlier, everyone was wearing silver-white armor. Poro noticed that each of these Falling Star City guards had a silver, bright spot on their forehead.
The shape was like a star.
But what puzzled Poro the most was the layer of silver light covering the front of these Falling Star City guards. The color and aura of this layer of light were extremely similar to Lake's Star Slayer Sword—like starlight condensed into a physical form!
"Is that faintly glowing layer ahead a magical defensive barrier?"
As they got closer and closer to the Falling Star City guards, the guards reacted quickly, raising the weapons in their hands in unison, their cold light glinting, on high alert.
Their eyes were full of vigilance, as if facing invading beasts, every nerve taut.
"Oz, what about the token you mentioned earlier?"
The horse Oz rode was special, so special that it could rush to the very front of the group.
And this token was the reason why the group had not contacted Falling Star City, but still chose to cross the Sree Kingdom's defense line.
"Of course, I know."
As Oz spoke, he reached into his chest, took out a token engraved with silver patterns, depicting a starry sky and a simple drawing of a masked figure looking up.
"This is the King's Seal!"
Oz raised the token high with one hand and shouted loudly, "I have returned to Falling Star City today, following the King's order to seek allied nations. I have come with envoys from Gothe and other nations. Now, the Sree Kingdom's army is powerful. We need to join hands and help each other. Only then can we hope to resolve the crisis of Falling Star City, and even counterattack the Sree Kingdom and end this battle!"
Upon hearing Oz's words, the Falling Star City guards were stunned.
The leading general narrowed his eyes, looked at the token, and looked surprised. He raised his hand and pressed down, signaling the Falling Star City soldiers behind him to lower their bows and arrows.
"That is... the King's Seal?"
The general began to shout something loudly towards the back, pointing at Lake and the others.
But the Falling Star City commander did not immediately open the barrier, but frowned and argued with the silver-robed man beside him.
"His token is indeed real. I have seen it. It is indeed a token held by a special envoy appointed by the old king, so they cannot be people from Sree. They should be let in."
The general said urgently, but the silver-robed man beside him only glanced at Lake and the others outside the barrier, shook his head, and remained unmoved.
"No, now is a special period. His Highness the Prince's order is that no one is allowed to pass through the barrier again—what if the Sree Kingdom killed the special envoy and took the special envoy's token?"
"That won't happen."
The general glanced at Oz, who was holding the token, and said again, "I have seen this person. He is indeed a person appointed by the old king. He cannot be an internal traitor…"
"But I am His Highness the Prince's man. The old king no longer commands this battle. The one protecting Falling Star City is His Highness the Prince."
The silver-robed man shook his head again. The information revealed in his words made everyone outside the barrier feel a chill.
"But if those Sree people catch up, they will die—"
"Let them die. No amount of reinforcements is useful. Our victory rests solely on His Highness the Prince. No matter what, I will not disobey His Highness the Prince's order."
The silver-robed man's expression remained unchanged, but he had already turned around, ready to leave. "I will not create unnecessary complications."
"Wait a minute!"
Oz's face revealed a hint of despair filled with anger. He raised his hand and patted the light curtain. "I remember that a small part can be opened to let us in—"
"It might have been possible before, but according to His Highness the Prince's order, it is not possible now."
The silver-robed man paused and pointed to the other side, towards the Lan Grass Valley. "There are many mountains over there. You can try to survive by going that way."
Poro and the others had naturally scouted the Lan Grass Valley and also knew the blockade line that the Sree Kingdom had set up there.
With the density of the Sree army, if they started searching, perhaps apart from Lake, Poro, and the few people from the Shadi Kingdom, the rest of the ordinary people would not have a single hope of survival.
Even more likely, they would be killed one by one on the way to escape.
"You are killing your own people!"
Oz was now even more furious.
It could be seen that there had been too many accidents exceeding his plan along the way, not to mention now, the destination was so close, but it had become a dead end due to some short-term changes!
"What to do?"
Lake also exchanged glances with Poro. Behind them, a Gothe warrior who had caught up faster had already shown a desperate expression.
"I might be able to…"
Just then, Lake bit her lip and suddenly said, "This light curtain seems to have the same source of power as my Star Slayer Sword. I feel that I might be able to control it to a certain extent."
"You can control the barrier of Falling Star City?"
Hearing this, Poro was stunned. He looked at the silver-white light curtain so close at hand and reached out his paw to touch the surface.
A trace of icy coldness, like touching a sheet of ice.
This kind of barrier is somewhat different from the energies of magic, heaven, and hell. In short, with Poro's current magical attainments, he cannot crack it in a short time.
"If you control it, it shouldn't cause any damage, right?"
Poro asked again. If he rashly controlled it and seized power, causing the protective shield of Falling Star City to be destroyed—then he would really become an "internal traitor" of the Sree Kingdom.
"No, I can sense the essence of this energy through the Star Slayer Sword…"
Lake stared intently at the flowing light-like barrier in front of her and continued, "I can control the energy approaching us to retreat on both sides, revealing a small hole that people can enter and exit.
Then, after we go in, I can control the small hole to close again without damaging this barrier."
"Okay, then let's give it a try."
Poro responded decisively upon hearing this. He knew that Lake was not a conceited person and would only say something after being absolutely certain.
The next moment, Lake raised her hand and pulled out the Star Slayer Sword from her waist, the sword body quickly glowing with silver light.
This time, whether it was the Falling Star City guards inside the barrier or the people outside the barrier, they all saw it clearly—
The starlight emitted by Lake's Star Slayer Sword was exactly the same as the color of the light curtain of the Falling Star City barrier!
Lake pointed the sword flat, the tip of the sword gently touching the surface of the barrier.
In an instant, at the point where the sword tip touched, layers of ripple-like micro-waves rippled across the smooth surface of the barrier, and in the center of the ripples, an oval-shaped hole slowly appeared.
"You, how can you—"
At this moment, the former Starfall City general stared wide-eyed. All the Starfall City soldiers who witnessed this scene gaped, their faces astonished.
No one had anticipated this happening. After all, most of the time, this seemingly thin barrier was virtually indestructible!
They raised the long swords in their hands but didn't know whether they should stop it.
"What's going on!? Is the Starfall Barrier fluctuating? Could it be those damned Srui people..."
The silver-robed man who had just left hurriedly returned.
When he saw the starlight on Leike's body and the sudden hole in the barrier, his expression froze. The previous indifference faded, replaced by extreme shock.
"You..."
Then, he finally made some kind of decision.
He reached for the silver necklace around his neck. The next moment, the necklace lit up simultaneously, and the faint light quickly opened a neat door in the barrier.
"Come in."
The silver-robed man said, looking at the Starfall City general beside him, and said again in an unquestionable tone, "Don't let the Srui King kill any of them. Take your men out and block the Srui army."
"Yes."
The Starfall City garrison general responded in a deep voice without hesitation. With a wave of his hand, the Starfall City garrison, which had been prepared, jumped on their horses, raised their spears and shields, passed through the barrier, and met the pursuing Srui army!
Polo noticed that even where there were no holes, these guards could pass through the barrier freely.
And after leaving the barrier, a faint silver glow appeared on their bodies—
Exactly the same as when Leike fought with the Star Killer Sword!
"Starfall City... Star Killer Sword... are they all the same power?"
Polo narrowed his eyes.
"Now that you're in, retreat to the back quickly! Otherwise, if the Srui King launches an attack, I won't necessarily be able to protect you!"
The silver-robed man said sternly, but his tone was much softer than at the beginning.
He only glanced at the others, and more of his attention was focused entirely on Leike.
Or rather, on the starlight on Leike's body.
Polo looked back with some worry. The ominous pressure given by the Srui King had not yet ended.
The Starfall City guards had already passed the last person, blocking the Srui Kingdom's advance.
And the Srui Kingdom's advance still showed no signs of stopping.
Through the silver light of the Starfall Barrier, Polo's eyes narrowed. He saw the Srui King in the Srui army formation reaching for his waist, gripping the hilt, and gently pulling out his long sword!
"Clang—"
In an instant, the entire space seemed to freeze. The colors between heaven and earth fell into black smoke at this moment. Under the dark illusion, behind the Srui Legion, blood light surged, and the sky cracked—the sharp鳴 of knives and guns was distorted into the piercing sound of claws scraping against glass...
In the mirage of hell, the blade of the Srui King's long sword was obscured by blood, making it difficult to see its true appearance.
It fell in the air, and the warning in Polo's heart reached its peak at this moment—
A miserable scream, curse, or dying whimper... After the chaotic noise mixed, the illusion began to fade, and the Srui King sheathed his sword.
Polo saw that the Starfall Barrier, which had just been sparkling, had become dim at this time.
And its distance from him was shortened!
This also meant... that the territory of Starfall City it protected had shrunk again.
Outside the Starfall Barrier, all the Starfall City soldiers who had attacked fell to the ground, their blood gushing. Their heads all rolled to the ground at this moment.
Just like what Polo had seen in front of the ruined city before.
"Srui King, he—"
Leike also looked horrified. Although they had imagined such a scene in the ruined city before, seeing it with their own eyes at this moment made them experience an insurmountable fear!
"Yes, this is the Srui King, which is why I said that no matter how many reinforcements or allies come, it's meaningless."
The silver-robed man said coldly, "If there were no Starfall Barrier, you and I here would also lose our heads!"
"So, in order to save us, you let those guards... go to..."
Leike knew it was not good to say that, but the silver-robed man in front of him did not seem to have any sorrow on his face, "Die?"
"Die? No, the value of you people is not as good as any Starfall City warrior."
The silver-robed man chuckled and shook his head, "What they are doing is just blocking the Srui King's advance as quickly as possible, so that he draws his sword in advance.
In this way, the consumption of the Starfall Barrier will be smaller."
"But they hadn't even started fighting, and they were already..."
"No, under the protection of the Star Child, they will not die."
The silver-robed man pointed not far away, and a silver-white city appeared in front of them behind the Starfall City defense line. That was Starfall City.
And a new team of cavalry came from the direction of Starfall City.
Following the direction pointed by the silver-robed man, Polo and Leike saw the general at the very front. They were surprised to find that the general's appearance was exactly the same as the one who had just rushed out of the Starfall Barrier to fight!
And at this time, there was no blood on his body, and the other soldiers behind him were the same.
"Why aren't they... dead?"
"Under the protection of the Star Child, the souls of warriors will not be taken away by the claws of hell. They will gain new bodies in Starfall City, healthier and stronger."
The silver-robed man led Leike and his party into the city, and the surrounding guards made way.
Polo saw that the entire Starfall City's buildings and walls showed a mirror-like silver color, and the closer he got to the inner city, the deeper the color of the sky became.
But the sky did not appear dim. The sunlight disappeared, and the sky was full of stars shining brightly. Nebulae flickered, weaving a net of light in the sky.
"In the prophecy of the stars, the Srui King will be annihilated by starlight in Starfall City twenty-four days later, and that day is the fifteenth birthday of our prince, the Star Child. His power will leap again."
The silver-robed man looked at the stars in the sky and put a mirror-like mask on his face. The voice became a little muffled under the obstruction of the mask, "So, we don't need any allies or help, just wait—for the arrival of the day of victory."
"Prophecy?"
Leike was stunned for a moment, "Can someone really see through the future?"
"You ignorant people naturally wouldn't understand.
To the gods hanging in the sky, everything in time is already destined."
Leading the group through the streets of Starfall City and entering the gate of the inner city palace, the entire palace complex became even more dazzling, and the starry sky on the dome was brighter than what was seen elsewhere.
Unobstructed starlight was reflected by the surrounding silver buildings, like quicksilver flowing light.
The silver-robed man waved his hand, and several guards stepped forward and stopped the others behind Leike.
"What does this mean?"
Leike was stunned for a moment. Oz and the others behind him also looked puzzled, "We are envoys who have come to form an alliance to resist the Srui Kingdom..."
"I said, our Starfall City does not need any useless reinforcements or allies."
The silver-robed man said again in a deep voice. The surrounding palace guards also wore silver masks, on which no expression could be seen, only reflecting the starlight in the sky.
"You were able to reach this place only because His Highness the Prince wanted to see you alone."
The silver-robed man turned to Leike, "That's all."
