Chapter Thirteen: The Darkness Before Dawn!
Leaffall City, Temple.
The Holy Spirit Priest, Milan, who was praying in the center of the temple, suddenly opened her eyes. A dazzling light flashed in her gaze, and in an instant, she stood up, her expression excited as she said, “Prepare to relocate the believers! Our Lord is almost here!”
“Quickly arrange the Temple Guards; we must first move the most devout believers to a safe place. Our Lord has led the army here.”
A wave of astonishment swept through the temple!
However, immediately thereafter, the priests issued orders, and the remaining guards swiftly took action to prepare for the relocation.
“We want to arrange for the most devout believers to leave!”
The Holy Spirit Priest, Milan, stood firm and said seriously, “These people are the easiest to arrange; they are willing to follow our orders. As for the others, we will talk about them after the first group is sent off.”
In just a few days.
This young girl, barely in her teens, had matured significantly. Although she still looked youthful, she had become much more adept at handling matters.
As the only Holy Spirit Priest in the church, she had learned a lot during this time!
“Understood!” The Temple Guards responded.
Soon.
Outside, a chaotic noise erupted. Many were hesitant to leave immediately. However, a number of devout believers prepared to leave at once, as the siege of Leaffall City had frightened them. The majesty of the giant dragons had impressed the divine mark into their hearts. According to the priests, their new deity was a powerful god who could command dragons, and as long as they left this place, the deity would provide them with safety.
In the crowd, a pale-faced mother held her child tightly.
Although the crisis in Leaffall City had temporarily eased, food was still scarce, and her delicate face showed signs of panic. She held her baby close, moving slowly with the crowd.
At this moment.
A man dressed as a militia approached her, hurriedly saying, “Sister? Are you really going to leave with them? The general said elven reinforcements will arrive soon, and we can drive those half-orcs back!”
The beautiful woman turned to glance at him, a trace of tears in her eyes. She murmured, “How long?”
“Even if we can repel the half-orcs, how long will it take?”
“How much more bl**d needs to be shed? We have no food left! I fear I won’t last until then with my child!”
“I am not afraid of d*ath.”
“But I want him to live!”
The young mother looked at her wide-eyed infant. Her fingers bore scars, reminders of the times she used her bl**d to nourish her child during the most desperate shortages. The little baby, bold and unafraid, didn’t cry amidst the chaos, simply observing everything with wide eyes as if sensing something. Her gaze softened as it landed on the baby. With a resolute expression, she shook her head and murmured, “I’m sorry!”
“I plan to take him to a safe place and raise him slowly.”
“Staying here offers no hope.”
“Even if we defeat the half-orcs, I cannot endure this autumn with him.”
The militia man fell silent.
A look of hesitation crossed his face, and ultimately, he gritted his teeth and said, “Alright. I will leave with you. I cannot let you take your child so far alone.”
Saying this, the young half-elf looked towards the distant city wall, a hint of sorrow on his face.
He was a brave warrior.
If he could, he definitely wouldn’t want to leave his homeland, but now he faced a difficult choice. One was to stay and protect his home, seeking ways to defeat the invading half-orcs, and the other was to protect his sister and go overseas, waiting for the day he could reclaim his homeland. On one side was his hometown, and on the other was his only surviving family member; in the end, he chose the latter.
…………..
Urgent footsteps sounded.
A young figure dashed into the temple, shouting at the priests present, “Warships!”
“Many warships!”
“On the Agate River! It’s filled with warships! We are saved!”
A scout.
In such a situation, only scouts would leave Leaffall City. The clearly more elven-looking young man was excited, hurriedly saying, “The army! Our Lord’s army has arrived!”
God of Half-Elves and Wanderers.
The remaining forces of the church were not only the priests but also many half-elf wanderers. Shortly after the oracle was delivered, the church had dispatched many wanderers.
A smile appeared on Holy Spirit Priest Milan’s face, and with a devout spirit, she knelt on the ground to pray a brief prayer before standing up and saying, “Set off immediately!”
“Everyone, gather your things and escort the believers away!”
Just then.
A middle-aged priest’s voice rang out. He looked more like a noble than a priest and said solemnly, “Are we leaving just like this? Half-orc troops are lurking nearby! What if we encounter them on our way? We can’t hold out for long!”
Priest Fina, frowning, glanced at him and said, “Our Lord will naturally assist us.”
“Set off immediately!”
At this moment.
The sky was approaching afternoon, and amidst the bustling activity, thousands of believers had gathered. These were the most devout followers of the church, who had no hesitation in choosing to leave together after the oracle was delivered.
The southern gate of Leaffall City opened.
The first to emerge were the temple guards, followed by a portion of the militia, then a large number of civilians, with the priests responsible for rear guard coming last.
On the city wall.
A splendidly dressed noble quietly watched as the crowd left, his cold gaze fixed on the figure of Holy Spirit Priest Milan.
“Your Excellency.”
A middle-aged man who looked like an officer approached him, saying in a low voice, “Are we just letting them leave? If they do, the people in the city will lose heart.”
“I’m afraid our situation will become even more difficult!”
The elegantly dressed noble turned to look at him, his expression cold as he said, “I know. Pull back the front line; they cannot reach the Agate River before dark. Once they leave here, they will be exposed to the half-orc army.”
As he spoke, his expression hardened.
Yes.
Most of the believers are old, weak, women, and children, or ordinary civilians. Their speed on the road is incredibly slow; they absolutely cannot cover twenty to thirty kilometers before dark. If the half-orc army learns of their whereabouts, the final outcome is easy to imagine; a group of civilians could never withstand the powerful half-orc army in the wild.
The middle-aged officer’s face instantly turned ugly. Upon realizing why the noble let them go, he couldn’t help but feel a twinge of compassion.
Unless there were quick reinforcements on the road, the final outcome for these people could be tragic!
If they were caught, it would be a massacre.
And if these people were slaughtered by the half-orc army, the civilians in Leaffall City would absolutely lose any thought of leaving, which would deal a heavy blow to the church’s authority. In this situation, the Noble Council would have absolute control.
As night gradually fell.
The priests had hurried the crowd to quicken their pace as much as possible, but with so many old, weak, women, and children, it was simply not feasible to move quickly. Among the crowd were many orphans of warriors; those women holding children had not had a full meal in a long time and were now exhausted. The sky was already darkening, and they had only covered about half the distance; if the half-orc scouts discovered them, they were very likely to be pursued by the enemy.
“This is too slow!”
The elderly bishop glanced at the cumbersome, slow-moving group and muttered, “I’m afraid the half-orcs have found us.”
“Prepare the Temple Guards for battle!”
“Militia, stay to protect the believers, everyone else, get ready for combat with me!”
Half a day had already passed.
This massive convoy was almost impossible to miss. If discovered, it wouldn’t take long for the enemy’s troops to appear.
The old man bowed his head and prayed a few words, slowly saying, “Now we can only hope our Lord’s reinforcements come to assist us!”
“Otherwise.”
“We may not hold out until the Agate River.”
…………..
Ooo ooo ooo!
The mournful sound of a horn echoed.
The crowd suddenly erupted in panic, countless faces turned towards the distance in fear, where the figures of the half-orcs appeared. Although the night obscured their vision, they could still see the enemy rushing closer.
“Prepare for battle!”
“Prepare for battle!”
“Temple Guards, follow me! Everyone else, lead the civilians away!”
An elderly man in bishop robes drew his long sword and tightened his grip on a steel shield. Despite his seemingly aged body, he dashed towards the rear while shouting, “Stay calm! Move towards the direction of the Agate River! There are reinforcements from our Lord ahead!”
“Priests stay behind!”
“Servants of the church! Warriors of the temple! We cannot abandon the believers!……”
“All who can fight, join me to block the enemy!”
“This is the final darkness before dawn!… Our Lord’s army is coming soon!… For the glory of our Lord!…”
“Prepare for battle!”
…………..
Awooo!
The mournful howl of wolves echoed.
Accompanied by a deep drumbeat, several dozen half-orc cavalry riding massive wolf mounts surged out from the side of the half-orc army. Raising such fierce beasts was more challenging than maintaining a heavy cavalry unit; even with the collective strength of the half-orcs, they could only train a small squad, and now this wolf cavalry unit circled around, accelerating towards the retreating civilians.
The half-orc warriors had appeared right before them.
Faced with the increasingly close wolf riders, the remaining temple guards were unable to offer support.
The distance was closing in!
The shadow of d*ath loomed over everyone. Once the wolf cavalry charged into the crowd, it would be nothing short of a massacre!!!
…………..(To be continued ~^~)
