"Run!"

Confirming their hostile intent, Roland roared and gave the trembling Mason beside him a hard shove before turning to the grim-faced Reggie.

"All troops, listen up! Assemble and retreat!"

Reggie didn’t even need Roland’s reminder. The moment he realized the behemoths before them were far beyond what any human could fight, he had decisively given the order.

His resounding voice instantly pierced the ruins, sounding especially sharp in the dead silence.

These reinforcements sent by Derek were all elites from the nations of the River Domain.

So, after a brief moment of panic, though fear still lingered on their faces, the soldiers’ bodies instinctively carried out Reggie’s command.

In just a few moments, the scattered troops had finished assembling. Under Reggie’s lead, they quickly retreated in the direction away from the Magical Guide Structures.

Roland and his group followed close behind.

The moment Roland spoke, Teresa, Avril, and Galvis had already broken into a sprint.

Perhaps because of the time they had recently spent together, Freddy and Mason had formed a bond. Seeing Mason stumble, the Beastman didn’t hesitate to sling him over his shoulder and retreat with great strides.

As for Vanessa...

Seeing the purple-haired Witch still standing rooted to the spot, completely motionless, and even showing an inclination to move closer to observe the Magical Guide Structures, Roland couldn’t be bothered with etiquette.

He gave the back of her head a firm tap. Ignoring her astonished expression as she turned, his thick arm wrapped straight around her slender waist. After a low growl to warn Tress in his pouch, he broke into a full sprint without looking back.

An instant later, a world-shaking crash erupted behind them.

Roland glanced back out of the corner of his eye and saw that the giant Mechanical Bodies, which had been standing motionless, were now swinging their arms and smashing them viciously into the ground.

However, their targets were not Roland and his group, but the swarm of Demons that had been attracted by the earlier noise and the gathering Magic Elements.

But it was obvious that these Low-Level Demons, even though they had grown more frenzied from the nourishment of the Magic Elements in the thick fog, were no match for these giants.

In the blink of an eye, the swarming Demons were pounded into a gory pulp of flesh and blood.

Multicolored blood gushed from their crushed bodies, spreading across the fractured rock and soil, leaving only the sharp, pungent stench of blood to fill the air.

They ran for an unknown amount of time, only slowing to a stop when the roaring behind them faded into the distance and nearly vanished.

As for the regular soldiers, whose physical conditioning was far inferior to Roland’s group, their legs gave out the moment they confirmed the danger had passed for now, and they collapsed to the ground.

For a time, the only sound in the otherwise quiet forest was the soldiers’ heavy, ragged gasps for air.

"Dammit!"

Looking at the High Tower and the mottled cluster of buildings that were becoming clearer up ahead, Roland couldn’t help but curse inwardly.

’Weren’t Dean Graham and Jia Xiu leading an army to attack that Witch Demon? How could that thing have successfully reactivated the Demon City while under siege by two Extraordinary Professionals and several thousand soldiers?’

Just as he was lost in thought, a soft voice, tinged with complex emotions, sounded by his ear.

"Um... Mr. Roland."

The Witch Vanessa tilted her head to look at the young man’s grave face, a faint blush creeping onto her cheeks.

It wasn’t entirely out of shyness.

It was just...

Her current position was rather undignified.

Her slender body was held fast by Roland’s arm around her waist, unable to move.

It made her feel annoyed, yet also a little...

Shaking her head lightly, Vanessa called out again.

"You can... put me down now, right?"

"My apologies, Miss Vanessa."

Roland apologized in a low voice and gently set the Witch down before turning to walk toward Reggie, who was arranging the soldiers to stand guard.

"Master Reggie!"

Hearing his name, Reggie turned to look at the young man before him with a complicated expression.

Previously, when Roland had reported to him about the Magic City Jiles, he hadn’t dismissed it out of hand like most people would have. But because the information was too vague, he hadn’t taken it entirely to heart.

He had simply made a mental note of it, planning to send someone to report back to Derek on the other side of the mountains.

And yet now...

Recalling the terrifying scene from just moments ago, the Knight Academy master let out a deep sigh.

"How are you, Roland? You’re not injured, are you?" 𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦

Roland shook his head slightly, then spoke decisively.

"What are your plans now? Our connection to the outside world..."

He gazed into the distance. Even from so far away, he could still clearly see the towering figures standing on the edge of the city walls.

"It’s been completely severed. Forgive me for being blunt, but although we haven’t fought those colossi yet..."

Roland wasn’t entirely sure of the depths of the master’s power.

But since Derek had sent him to the Land of Mist to command these elite reinforcements, it meant that even if his power was less than Graham’s, he had to be an Extraordinary Professional.

Even so, Roland didn’t think Reggie could destroy those Magical Guide Structures on his own.

Their number was one thing, but the key issue was that they had zero intelligence on these colossi.

Who knew what other deadly attacks were hidden beneath those massive metal shells?

Roland didn’t finish his sentence, but Reggie clearly understood his concerns.

After a brief silence, the plain-faced master spoke slowly.

"We’re not far from Cuiyan Forest. Dean Graham established a camp there before he left, and there are still soldiers stationed there who were sent over via the Teleportation Platform. How about..."

Although the young man before him was only a Knight Academy student, their previous interactions and the information he’d heard from Graham had made Reggie keenly aware of Roland’s intelligence, strength, and potential for growth.

In this chaotic situation, he subconsciously adopted a consultative tone.

"How about we head there for now to regroup, and then decide on a course of action after we’ve scouted out the situation?"

"No, Master Reggie."

Roland slowly shook his head, rejecting the predictable and conservative proposal.

Compared to the academy master, whose knowledge of the situation in the Land of Mist was limited, he had far more information.

Their path of retreat was now blocked by those Magical Guide Structures. Waiting for Derek to react and organize reinforcements from beyond the mountains could take days, if not longer.

And Roland knew full well that compared to those giant Mechanical Assemblies, the real threat was the Witch Demon who had reactivated the Demon City.

’With its intentions unknown, who could say that the revival of the Magic City Jiles is merely the beginning?’

’Will its subsequent actions trigger an even more terrifying transformation in this region?’

Therefore, to deal with these looming potential crises, standing still was not a wise move.

Thinking of this, Roland took a deep breath and spoke, each word clear and deliberate.

"Master Reggie, I believe... we should head to the military camp immediately, gather the garrisoned soldiers, and then..."

He raised his gaze, looking toward the area shrouded in a swirling vortex of Magic Power—the suspected location of the Demon City Center.

He remembered that direction clearly. It was the exact location he had previously confirmed with Graham on the map.

"Head to Broken Stone Canyon and reinforce Dean Graham!"