章 31: Chapter 30: Collapse
"Is this a joke? How is this possible?"
Lucius's eyes widened, his body shivering, as he incredulously stared at the Black Tide slowly approaching from afar.
It wasn't completely dark yet, and with his keen senses, he could vaguely make out that the so-called Black Tide was very likely the regular army of the Rhea.
Impossible! Absolutely impossible!
He knew how vast the East Coast was, how could this army have arrived here? And didn't they plunder other refugee groups or scour Nasir at all?
Moreover, there was more than one path from Nasir to Fein City, damn it! The appearance of those people was like an ant from Nasir precisely finding another ant!
"Just bad luck, or rather, fate?"
Lucius felt a bitter taste in his heart, vaguely sensing that there was some kind of "inevitable" factor in this gamble that led to their failure.
They "cheated" to find this fleeing group so accurately and quickly.
Lucius suddenly turned back and looked towards the pitch-black jungle not far away and yelled:
"All members of the Fischer family, abandon everything except your personal belongings, and run into the jungle right now!"
Due to certain issues with rifled guns yet to be addressed, the armies on the Ouden Continent were generally equipped with smoothbore flintlocks, with an effective range of about a hundred meters. Reloading took at least tens of seconds, hence the very important first volley of collective fire on the battlefield would not be fired lightly.
And the Nasir refugees had not entered the range of the Rhea army's bullet fire in the first place.
But in the world of Claud, extraordinary power existed, and aside from the soldiers equipped with flintlock rifles, the infantry retained other tactics based on the characteristics of their race.
At the command, the Rhea's unique half-orc units temporarily set down their flintlock guns and collectively threw a few short spears with extraordinary strength that ordinary humans could not match, from a great distance.
They rose into the dim sky and fell scattered over hundreds of meters into the fleeing crowd, followed by continuous screams and wails.
"Ahhhh! Run!"
"The Rhea are coming!"
"Help!"
A regular army might scatter in disarray, but the refugee group became like an anthill thrown with firecrackers upon being attacked, everyone went mad!
Everyone made a wild dash towards the jungle to the west, with many of the weak and even some adults being pushed down by others and ending up dead under the crush of the chaos.
The sparse throwing of spears stopped abruptly.
In the dim light, a detachment of Rhea's army resembling a black tide separated out, rapidly closing in. They were a well-trained cuirassier unit, charging towards the refugees on their fast horses.
Lucius, leading the Fischer family, didn't hesitate to rush towards the jungle. Encountering a regular cavalry unit in the wilderness left no chance of survival; they had to dive into the jungle right away.
Irene was clutching her dazed brother Chris, while Byrne kindly pulled Grandma Narda along as she ran; Grandma Narda let out a few wails trying to look for her sons but ultimately didn't go against the crowd to search for them.
A few strangers who weren't familiar blocked the way, begging and entangling, hoping to obtain the protection of the Fischer family, which had a high reputation and was well praised by everyone in Nasir.
"Get out of my way!"
Lucius roared loudly, cutting down anyone in his way without hesitation, tearing away the mask of the "Hero of Nasir" to reveal a ferocious and frantic face.
He knew it had to be done this way, as sheltering a few more would mean dozens more, even hundreds more. Having scared the shocked people away with his killing, Lucius led his family members into the edge of the jungle at the first opportunity.
The dark jungle was vast, more than enough for their purposes, and moreover, it would take the Rhea a long time to finish killing the majority of refugees and then proceed with the looting.
That's the logic, but for some reason, Lucius had a strong sense of fear deep inside.
It is coming!
All members of the Fischer family felt the hint given by the great Lord of the Lost!
Something even more terrifying is about to happen!
Suddenly, within the Black Tide, a silent blue rain rose into the sky, reaching tens of meters high before blooming into cold blue flowers, then falling like brilliant fireworks onto all the Rhea.
The spell's aura was extremely beautiful, yet Lucius and the others felt nothing but horror, and they immediately plunged into the jungle without hesitation.
It was a Ritual Spell cast by many, greatly enhancing the overall speed of the Rhea people. The cavalry, who were even faster, swept across the frozen river like winds of death, crossing it in record time!
The swiftest of the black-armored riders had already stood out from the pursuing cavalry!
The pitch-black warhorse beneath him galloped with lightning speed as if it possessed the terrifying bloodline of a mysterious creature, its hooves striking sparks of lightning that were extraordinarily visible against the dimming sky!
"He might be the Rhea people's commander!"
An Extraordinary knight from the Nasir knight family bellowed as he rode his warhorse, charging forward to intercept the black-armored rider breaking away from the main force. Killing him would surely deal a heavy blow to the enemy's morale.
In the instant they closed in on each other for close combat, the dazed people couldn't make out the details as the Nasir knight tumbled off his still galloping horse, body askew.
The black-armored rider quickly entered the rear of the fleeing group on his pitch-black warhorse. Anyone struck by him was instantly thrown aside, and soon the cavalry followed through the breach, swords raised high, relentlessly cutting down their foes.
——
The night had fallen completely dark, and in a few hours, it would be light again.
Surrounded by pitch darkness, the members of the Fischer family were utterly exhausted, but thankfully, the sounds of slaughter were no longer behind them.
Lucius exhaled and said, "Let's stop for a moment, count the numbers for the third time, and start with you, Byrne."
The original group of over a hundred people surrounding the Fischer family now numbered just over seventy, with more than thirty scattered. Fortunately, all the key members were still present, including Old Ramon.
He had been carried all the way by his son Hugh, who, large in stature, now lay on the ground panting, his face flushed and body trembling, unable to utter a single word.
Even with stamina far exceeding human limits, Lucius, fully armed, still felt exhausted and knew they had to rest.
Having already trekked for a day in the icy wilderness and then scrambling through the jungle for a long time, many had reached their limits. Grandma Narda had even fainted from exhaustion; fortunately, Irene's healing powers had saved her.
Lucius ordered everyone to hydrate and eat and then rise to continue marching in thirty minutes.
In the dark of the night, the resting group dared not to light any lamps, conversing in hushed tones, while subdued cries occasionally reached their ears.
Byrne approached Lucius and Irene, sipping water in small gulps, and said nervously,
"I looked at a rough map of this jungle yesterday. It's vast; we probably won't make it out until sunrise."
"Our current path leads to the southeast, it is less intuitive but safer."
Irene closed her eyes in ardent prayer, communing, then after pondering with her eyes reopened, she solemnly said,
"The great Lord of the Lost can bring misfortune upon our enemies, but He has not fully awakened yet, and His power should not be used lightly. The targets that can receive the Descending Divine Punishment are very few."
"We can implore the great Lord of the Lost to intervene if we offer up our lifespans as a sacrifice."
"I understand,"
Lucius nodded after listening, frowning deeply in thought.
He knew it was impossible to have the not-yet-awakened Lord of the Lost annihilate the enemy.
Like all gods of this world, they seldom interfere with worldly matters without extensive preparation and sacrifices.
Yet, His great power ensured that at least one or two, or slightly more, enemies would be slain if the chosen target was right, creating a surprising effect.
However, that was the worst-case scenario; the best outcome would be that they no longer encountered the Rhea army and made a safe escape.
In theory, it was nearly impossible for the Rhea to find them again.
Nevertheless, Lucius couldn't shake off an intense feeling of fear and unease from deep within.
Suddenly, his eyes widened in tremor, and he growled in a low voice,
"No, no, this is all wrong! Those Rhea are 'cheating' in the game!"
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