Chapter 117: The Last Hope
The night fell.
Leaffall City gradually sank into silence, with hardly any people visible on the streets, even the displaced refugees had gathered in some dilapidated buildings. Ever since the reports of half-orcs preying on the city’s inhabitants emerged, the strange and horrifying events within this city had multiplied. First, people began to go missing at night, and later even members of the patrolling guard vanished. These patrolmen were not defenseless civilians; they were all advanced professionists, and their disappearances indicated a severe issue.
The Noble Council intensified patrols and doubled the number of guards, yet strange events continued to occur from time to time.
Darkness was spreading.
Excessive negative emotions always tend to serve as nourishment for evil. It was said that fallen beings appeared in Leaffall City, but that wasn’t the worst news. The worse news was that there were reports of undead in the sewers underneath Leaffall City.
—Ghouls!
No one knew how the ghouls appeared, but they indeed existed in the sewers of Leaffall City.
The stench of decay and corruption spread. In a world where thoughts could interfere with reality, many supernatural events were born out of mundane causes.
There was a legend among the common folk.
It was said that if a living person starved to d*ath with strong obsessions and grievances, their corpse could transform into a type of undead after d*ath.
That is the ghoul!
Hunger had long started to spread through Leaffall City. The turmoil had caused food prices to skyrocket, and they were now approaching three times the normal rate. Even at this price, humans were reluctant to sell food because the half-orcs had persistently attacked merchant caravans near Leaffall City. Winter was approaching, and the half-orcs would need more supplies; this winter wouldn’t be easy for them either.
The legends of demons were invoked time and again.
The lower class began to believe that demons had cursed the city, and some even thought that members of the upper-class nobility had already been seduced by demons, which allowed the grotesque vampires to disregard their welfare.
Hatred!
This was a powerful negative emotion and a dark force.
The class divide in Leaffall City became increasingly severe, and conflicts escalated progressively, with crime rates rising one after another. At this moment, even a slight provocation from an evil force could ignite a more terrible disaster.
Withered Leaf Path.
This was a relatively remote area of Leaffall City, and now many people were unwilling to go near it; even the patrolling guards were hesitant to come here.
The first evil events began here.
Someone had found the remains of half-orcs, their bones boiled and gnawed upon. This gruesome sight had instilled panic among many, and brought sorrow to a few perceptive individuals.
Hunger.
The dwindling supplies had begun to dissolve the humanity of certain people. It pushed them into a more terrifying abyss of darkness; this was very sad!
There were strange noises near the sewer entrance.
Then came the sight of rats running out. For some unknown reason, there were many rats living here. At first, people fed on them, but before long, they all died of poisoning.
The bodies turned a sickly hue. After inspection, the city sent people to burn all the bodies.
Then this area became completely desolate.
At this moment.
In a dimly lit corner, twisted shadows gradually appeared, crawling out from the sewers. Like hunters in the night, they advanced along the darkened corners. In the depths, a faint green fire flickered. Long ago, a group of refugees had gathered here, but those people had all gone missing.
Faint cries echoed from several streets away, followed by sounds of battle.
Then, the hurried footsteps of the patrolling guards could be heard. It seemed that they were not new to such situations, as reinforcements from the army arrived quite quickly!
Everything soon fell back into silence.
The news was tightly sealed, and ordinary citizens would never know what truly transpired here.
“d*mn ghouls! d*mn dark creatures!”
Mark bandaged the wound on his shoulder and sheathed his longsword. This wound needed proper treatment; otherwise, he might risk infection from corpse poison. He had been responsible for sealing off the news of Withered Leaf Path and defending against the ghouls’ attacks, but he knew very well that this approach was futile; passive defense could never resolve these issues. Every day posed a risk of new undead appearing. The extensive sewer system thwarted their plans to clear out the monsters. As a perceptive individual, Mark understood this city was merely languishing along.
Food.
The military rations had also been cut back. The Noble Council had to survive the winter, waiting for spring’s arrival.
When ice and snow blocked the roads, even the few existing supply lines would likely cease temporarily. With heavy snow locking the mountains, it would be difficult to transport supplies from the Elves and Druid Order.
“Burn all the bodies.”
Mark glanced at the battleground; yet another comrade had died at the hands of the ghouls. Those pitiful lower-class citizens had no power in life, yet in d*ath, they became stronger than many professionists.
What a tragic scene!
The hatred and grievances enveloping the city nourished these undead. They were born from this negative energy. It was heard that issues had also arisen in the mass grave area, making the patrol guards’ tasks increasingly tight. Mark couldn’t help but think back to everything that happened earlier in the day. As a native of Leaffall City, he suddenly began to hope for the arrival of that lord; perhaps only he could save this city that was nearing its doom.
Discontent had recently emerged within the army.
Pessimism spread within the ranks. Many officers felt dissatisfied with the Noble Council’s inaction during this time.
“Perhaps we should consider changing sides.”
As Mark contemplated this, he glanced at his companions nearby. If they were to switch sides, they would need sufficient backing.
On the other side.
In some dilapidated building in Leaffall City, many refugees had gathered together.
Prayer.
Ryan’s last words made many realize what they should do. In the past, people had prayed to the God of Half-Elves—Lord Soren—but none of those prayers had received any response.
The power of the Saint’s Cataclysm was interfering with everything!
The deity’s abilities were nowhere near what they once were. The power of prayer could not reach Soren, and even in Modo City, it relied on temples to gather the Divine Power of Faith.
Temples, idols, altars.
These were the central points for gathering faith; only by relying on them could deities sense the prayers of their believers during the outbreak of the Saint’s Cataclysm.
Leaffall City was far enough from Modo City.
The original temple had fallen into ruin. The faith among the half-elves was fairly scattered; some believed in the Elven Pantheon, while others believed in human deities. This was also the reason many chose not to follow Soren when he left.
Now.
The deities they believed in couldn’t even save themselves, and it was only now that they began to place their hopes in Soren.
A makeshift altar.
Numerous refugees gathered around, kneeling before the altar and sincerely praying. When faced with desperation, people tend to believe in deities, especially those on the brink of d*ath who tend to have the most fervent faith.
Low murmurs of prayer began.
The makeshift altar gathered this power of faith, and the strength of the believers’ pleas began to transcend space and reach Modo City.
A lone prayer is powerless.
That feeble faith could not be sensed by the deities. However, when thousands began to pray simultaneously, the gathered faith became astonishing, and the ad-hoc altar almost instantaneously glowed faintly with divine power. They were pleading for help from Soren, forming a torrent of strength. It could even alert the deities to everything happening in Leaffall City!
………………
Modo City.
Soren could not sleep tonight, as a massive and chaotic wave of faith suddenly surged into his divine awareness.
In almost an instant.
He established a mental connection with over ten believers and, through this connection, began to learn everything happening in Leaffall City. The situation deteriorated faster than Soren had imagined, and the turmoil outside made things even more difficult for Leaffall City. The increasingly fragile planar barrier of the Saint’s Cataclysm also gave demons an opportunity to exploit.
In a flash!
Soren’s consciousness descended upon the altar, but no form was created since that would consume too much divine power.
Before him were the believers kneeling in utter darkness.
These poor souls were ragged, emaciated, and their expressions were numb. The despairing environment had led them to place their final hope in Soren. Thus, the gathered faith power was quite remarkable!
Soren’s gaze transcended them, gazing across to the other side of Leaffall City, where he sensed an aura of evil, filled with d*ath, darkness, and bloodshed.
That was the power of an Evil God!
Soren could not determine which Evil God it was, but he was certain that its minions had infiltrated the city.
That stench of rot and d*ath!
Even if the main body had not arrived, Soren could easily sense it.
At the same time.
In the most prosperous area of Leaffall City, he faintly sensed the presence of demons. These demons always preferred to start corrupting hearts from the upper echelons, as those in positions of power were often the most susceptible to corruption and fall, using them could yield exponential results. In addition, within the deities’ vision, Soren felt traces left by some other existence, though they were too faint to identify.
“Very good!”
“All the monsters have gathered!”
“It seems they are all ready to take a piece of the ruins of Leaffall City!”
Leaffall City had already fallen.
There was hardly anything of value left here, but for certain existences, there remained a wealth that was incredibly surprising!
That was—souls!!!
………………
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(PS: There will be one more update.) (To be continued ~^~)
