Chapter 1280 - 577: Keep Moving Forward

Chapter 1280: Chapter 577: Keep Moving Forward

The Mermaid’s questioning echoed in the depths of every Heroic Spirit’s heart.

"Do you... regret it?"

Jingle~

Her fingertips plucked the strings, and the sound of the harp rose.

Julia immediately grew alert and shouted in haste, "Cover your ears! Don’t listen to her harp!"

But it was already too late.

That music seemed able to ignore all physical barriers and act directly on the depths of the soul.

It turned into countless subtle whispers, resounding in the bottom of every Heroic Spirit’s heart, knocking at the obsessions they had clung to for a thousand years:

"Look at the companions beside you—why did they fall? What meaning does your persistence still have?"

"Is your Divine really still watching over you?"

"Or have you already long been forgotten..."

These whispers were not some compulsory mental control, but the most agonizing of questions.

They dug out the Heroic Spirits’ deepest confusion, pain, and doubt.

The unwillingness of having never died on the battlefield, the loneliness of endless waiting, the terror of watching their companions fall into madness, the grief at the lost splendor of the Divine Kingdom...

All those emotions that had been forcibly suppressed by an iron will were, at this moment, stirred and magnified by that gentle harp tune.

"Aaah!"

The Soul Fire of some Heroic Spirits began to flicker violently, their colors turning chaotically muddled.

Their facial expressions twisted—at times pained, at times enraged, at times blank and lost.

Some Heroic Spirits began to sob under their breath, while others let out roars like wounded beasts.

"Hold fast to your heart! Remember your oaths!"

Julia’s voice cracked like thunder, trying to rouse her sinking companions.

Her will was firm enough, and the fury etched on half of her skeletal face helped her resist most of the mental corrosion.

Julia could still cling to her core and remain unshaken.

But she could feel that the music was like a seepless flow of water, bit by bit eroding the legion’s last cohesion.

Before she could find a way, something even more terrifying happened.

One Heroic Spirit suddenly lifted his War Axe and hacked madly at the empty ground before him, roaring, "It’s you! It’s all your fault! If you hadn’t suggested we hold the line back then, we would have already..."

Clang!

"Traitor! You’re all traitors!"

Another Heroic Spirit’s eyes turned blood-red as he swung his weapon wildly at the empty air, as though locked in battle with an invisible foe.

"I’ll kill you! Kill you all! Kill!"

The harp tune had plucked their deepest fears and resentments, driving them into a brief madness, making them attack indiscriminately!

The inside of the legion fell into chaos in an instant!

At the front of the legion, Fremay still lowered her eyes as she played the harp, the corners of her mouth carrying even a trace of compassionate, world-sorrowing gentleness.

She did not unleash any offensive Divine Skills, did not Summon any Water Elements, and did not conjure an Illusion Realm.

She simply sat there, playing the harp, and a battle-hardened Heroic Spirit legion began to crumble from within.

Or rather, was it truly the music she played that destroyed them?

Or was it the tormenting memories pressing upon their souls that drove them to collapse?

Everyone knew the answer to that question.

But Julia could not accept it.

She could not just sit and watch herself die here!

"We... still cannot... fall here..."

Just as Julia was exerting every last ounce of strength to steady the situation, even ready to charge at Fremay at any cost—

The music stopped.

"What?"

Julia stared blankly ahead, and saw that the Historical Mermaid had already ceased her plucking.

Fremay slowly lifted her head, those deep-sea-blue eyes gazing at Julia and the tortured Heroic Spirits behind her.

"...Heh."

She let out two soft, thoughtful chuckles; there was no hostility on her face, only a gentleness bordering on the sacred.

She set the harp lightly to one side, rose with graceful movement, and swam a little in midair.

Then, she did something none of the Heroic Spirits had expected.

The powerful and beautiful Mermaid actually turned slightly to the side, opening a path leading toward Elda.

"Go on, keep moving forward."

Her voice was ethereal and soft, as though bidding farewell to friends bound for a long journey.

"Your faith has already passed this trial."

"No, this doesn’t really count as a trial at all—and the one qualified to test you should not be me."

She looked at this group of Heroic Spirits, their minds on the verge of shattering yet still holding on, and could not help but sigh a few times in her heart.

These people were nothing more than lingering echoes of days long gone.

They themselves knew this better than anyone, and yet they still had not given up on moving forward.

How pitiful, how lamentable—and how worthy of respect.

"As for your faith, the very fact that you exist here is already the most undeniable proof."

Thus, Fremay took the initiative to step aside and open the way.

"Go on, keep moving forward."

"On the road ahead, you may find the answers you have always sought."

No obstruction, no battle—only this sudden "mercy."

Yet this mercy was more cruel than any blade.

"This..."

Julia froze, and the Heroic Spirits behind her froze as well.

They looked at that road that seemed to lead toward hope, then at their companions beside them—some with struggling eyes, some still half-trapped in madness—and an indescribable emotion surged up from the depths of their souls.

Have we... been acknowledged?

After being blocked the whole way, after fleeing in such misery, they had actually been acknowledged by a powerful enemy.

She acknowledged the faith of these people, gave her assent to their persistence?

She...