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Zooey stood at the bridge and peered down at the crowd on the deck. The
Roland
was not large enough to accommodate 1,000 people. After all the refugees boarded the ship, there was literally no room to sit.
For most of the refugees, it was their first time traveling by sea, and they soon felt nauseous and dizzy. The crowded environment further aggravated the situation. Even those who rarely got seasick felt their stomachs turn uncomfortably when surrounded by sick passengers.
Zooey appreciated the fact that she could not smell anything.
Mortals are so weak…
Carol’s voice came from behind.
I can’t believe that we used to be like that too.
Yes, that’s incredible,
Zooey said with a nod of approval.
She knew what Carol was referring to.
After the captain had received the instructions to support the army, he had immediately sought the God’s Punishment Witches for help. Since the main task for the
Roland
was to locate the God’s Stone mine, Zooey was the decision maker. The magic core from the underground civilization was, at that time, on the ship, and its giant frame almost occupied the entire deck, so there was not much room for more passengers. Zooey should have declined the request to avoid creating potential safety hazards.
She would have refused to provide assistance had this occurred in the Union age, for back then, the rare magic core had been far more important than mortals. She would choose the magic core over a city without the slightest hesitation, let alone taking refugees. However, now, things were a little different.
After having a brief discussion with her peers, Zooey made a decision that even astonished herself.
She shipped the magic core to another port city and asked the First Army who garrisoned there to look after it. Then she steered the
Roland
back to the Northernmost Port. She had even told the garrison that if she did not return in a timely manner, they should take the responsibility of sending the core back to Neverwinter themselves.
But it doesn’t feel bad,
Carol said smilingly while shrugging.
To be honest, I thought you would decline the request, and I was torn too.
I hope they won’t fail His Majesty,
Zooey said darkly.
What had changed their mind? Zooey searched her memories and remembered the First Army who had fought ferociously against the demons at the ruins of the Holy City, the nurses who had treated her in the hospital, the ordinary people in the Dream World who looked no different than the witches, as well as Roland Wimbledon…
I hope so. We risked ourselves coming here to this area permeated with the Red Mist,
Carol said as she patted Zooey on the shoulder, and then headed to the bridge.
Anyway, we completed our mission. I want to go back to Neverwinter immediately and have spicy hotpot. Oh, my mouth waters…
So did Zooey’s.
She heard her stomach protest. Fortunately, Carol shut the gate just at that time and therefore did not hear the noise.
Zooey cleared her mind and gazed upon the sinister Red Mist at the distance.
The Battle of Divine Will that had brought the Union numerous nightmares came once again, much earlier than they had anticipated. The demons had also achieved great progress, but somehow, Zooey felt peaceful.
This time, they were not fighting alone.
Hackzord was suspended above the city he had just occupied.
There was no smoke or ruins of properties. Most buildings remained intact as if the battle had not taken place.
Human beings hardly resisted. They were even weaker than 400 years ago. Had he not trusted Ursrook so much, he would have thought that this was the territory of the enemies in the Sky-sea Realm rather than human beings’.
Within one week, their army had advanced several hundred miles and also built their outpost in the cities not yet permeated with the Red Mist. Hackzord had to attribute the swift operation to the help of the mankind. According to his subordinates, they had only decapitated hundreds of people before the frightened lord and the nobles knuckled under and agreed to provide supplies to them.
It was just like the first Battle of Divine Will.
It appeared that the news that they had burned the Snow Reflection Castle had already been spread out and made a deep impression on other lords.
As more and more cities were conquered, Hackzord gradually received a lot of information from local people. He did not understand why the mankind, who had united together back in the Union age, was again scattered. He did not understand either that why humans’ territory, small as it was, was further divided into four kingdoms that never communicated with each other. The Union that had once dominated the continent was gone.
What had men achieved in the past 400 years?
The four kingdoms were not weak in his opinion, for his best commander had been killed by men.
Did they not know the importance of teamwork?
Yet anyhow, Hackzord was relieved.
He had successfully carried out the plan for the Western Front, although he had experienced some hiccups. He had successfully activated the Birth Tower as the king expected him to.
In a way, he was much more reliable than the boasting
Bloody Conqueror
and the irresponsible Mask. At least, he had fulfilled his promise.
Through a series of Distortion Doors, Hackzord returned to the rupture.
This was the last stronghold on the Land of Dawn, and Hackzord had decided to name this prospective city
Sky
after him. He was sure that this new city would be remembered by the whole clan.
Just at that moment, his guard sent in the update report.
Hackzord quickly skimmed the report through and noticed that a large number of refugees began to flee the Kingdom of Everwinter. He would not have paid it particular notice had those people been regular refugees, for most of them would die on their way.
However, to him, it seemed to be a well-organized, carefully-planned campaign. All the refugees were heading to the Kingdom of Wolfheart in the south by water or land. The troops who attempted to stop them had experienced fierce resistance, which was very similar to what Usrook had mentioned in his letter.
Although several units led by the Upgraded had gained the victory, they had not completely stop the refugees. More troops were needed to stop them. This was also one of the drawbacks to erect the Birth Tower in the mountainous area. Without the Distortion Doors, the Junior Demons and Inferior Demons could not travel to men’s territory by themselves.
Hackzord knitted his brows and asked,
Where’s Nightmare?
Her Excellency is still asleep in the Red Mist pond.
Damn it. She has been there for more than 10 days. I hope she’s not lost in the Realm of Mind,
thought Hackzord to himself.
Hackzord summoned the Distortion Door and went straight down to the bottom of the rupture.
Valkries still remained in her original position. She was sitting cross-legged in the pond, looking quite relaxed. There was not the faintest sign of her being devoured by the Realm of Mind, except that she had been there for an exceptionally long time.
This indicated that she was still roaming the Sea of Mind.
Had the person in front of him been the Bloody Conqueror, Hackzord would have given him a slap in the face to wake him up. He did not mind that this action would cause damage to the Bloody Conqueror’s memory, but he would not reckless do the same thing to the Nightmare.
Why did she have to pick this time to explore the Realm of Mind!
Hackzord felt a little agitated about those fleeing refugees. Dimly, he was aware that something fishy was going on, but it was hard to explain the situation to the king. The king had dispatched two Senior Lords to the Western Front already, so it was not likely that he would send another one simply to deal with these low lives. The other Senior Lords would definitely laugh at him if he requested for one more. However, the truth was that he had made every effort to conduct this operation, but the Senior Lords could not care less about this mission. The Senior Lords simply acted on their own and provided little help to the battle. Therefore, due to the lack of a reliable Senior Lord at the Western Front to properly command the troops, the army was unable to carry out an expedition.
Had Nightmare assisted him in pursuing those refugees, he would not have run into such an embarrassing and difficult situation.
Hackzord glared at the sleeping Nightmare and finally left the Red Mist Pond.
It seemed that he had to guard the Western Front himself.
