Chapter 544
Chapter 544 - 524: The Last Fortress
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The towering city walls, the raging flames on the walls, the sounds of killing and explosions, all invigorated people during the long night.
The Tech Territory was the hereditary domain of Duke York, and this fortress was probably the strongest and most robust in the area.
Patrolling iron knights were still hunting down the corpse monsters outside the city, where huge piles of corpses were accumulating, including those of monsters, locals and refugees.
Entering the city was smooth, as at this critical moment, anyone who could still breathe was aware of their own camp.
Once inside, Lu Ping’an and his party promptly headed to the local Church of the God of Travelers.
After making sure everything was safe inside and the divine personnel were active, Lu Ping’an and his party breathed a sigh of relief.
Even the God of Travelers’ use of time-space teleportation has many prerequisites.
The Divine Power nodes on earth (churches) were crucial, and teleportation could only occur between nodes. However, to initiate the Divine Grace teleportation, a powerful priest was essential.
As the God of Travelers, He laid down numerous Divine Power nodes on earth, but most of them were like the dilapidated churches of the Schlei Domain. With limited personnel and funding, operating a church with divine personnel in every small city-state was not very realistic.
Those low-level nodes could only serve as "endpoints" rather than "starting points."
Perhaps an easier way to understand this is by comparison. The starting point is an "airport," available only in big cities and large territories, while the endpoint... they give you a parachute, and you jump on your own.
"This is the token."
𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦
Lu Ping’an took out the golden Holy-emblem, which was the supreme mark of a Saint and a universal item for tens of thousands of explorers in the Eastern Country.
It contained the authority and Divine Power of the "God of Travelers" and could extract the power of the Earth’s veins at nodes. With the help of the God of Travelers’ priests, teleportation could be performed in large churches, a clear consumption of the God of Travelers’ Divine Power foundation, and only the people of the Eastern Country, these "Divine Sons," had the right to use it.
Once they were sure that the teleportation could proceed smoothly, Lu Ping’an and his party truly relaxed.
He even had the mood to inquire a bit more.
"Recently, have more God-favored people left?"
"A group of God-favored people have left. They had many injured among them, and there are supposed to be two more groups in town. They send someone over every other day to check."
Upon hearing this, Lu Ping’an asked for the contact methods of the other two groups.
Since they were all the "God’s chosen ones" of the God of Travelers, they should all be from the Eastern Country, or at least be able to communicate with each other.
The reasons for not leaving varied, but the biggest possibility was that they had not sold enough boat tickets or collected enough profits. This sudden event had disrupted the plans of too many people.
And now, this city probably gathered most of the surviving lords, nobles, wealthy merchants, and mighty ones from the border region.
"Are there any powerful people locally?"
"Quite a few, angel-class... in your God-favored terms, there are several Rule-level strongmen."
The words of the Great Shepherd reassured people to some extent.
Upon calculating the time, there were still nine days before the next "ship" leaving this world.
Having secured their retreat, Lu Ping’an finally had the leisure to deal with the situation at hand.
The outbreak of this event was so sudden that, although there had been some consultations along the way, many issues remained unresolved.
"Most of the disaster-stricken people refuse to continue northward..."
This outcome was expected.
In Lu Ping’an’s view, this seemingly mighty fortress was actually just that... when the whole world was on the brink of collapse, it was just a slightly larger stone.
To truly seek a way out, they must head to the Holy City.
"Are we going to the Holy City? It’s too far... "
"It’s unreachable, impossible..."
"If I have to go back to that darkness, I’d rather die here..."
But evidently, not all disaster-stricken people thought this way.
Even though Lu Ping’an had dispatched knights to actively spread the "rumor" that "only by going north could one possibly be saved," very few civilians were willing to leave the city.
But the city gates to the north were always open.
Every day, people once again plunged into darkness, trying to head north... That seemingly endless escape route was still ongoing, with numerous warriors, wealthy merchants, and nobles taking the lead, followed by no shortage of others.
However, most people chose to remain in this fortress, where city lights were available, trying to survive for one more day.
They had been terrified by the night and monsters outside, and as long as they didn’t leave the city, they were willing to do anything.
This border city was visibly becoming more crowded, chaotic, and dirty.
Refugees filled the streets, beggars were everywhere, and corpses were quickly disposed of, while dying refugees were dragged away immediately.
There was no need for anyone to hold up a sign proclaiming "the end is near" because everywhere was already the end.
Among them, Lu Ping’an’s party was in the best situation. They still had lords, nobles, wealthy merchants and resources such as gold, silver, supplies, and food, which could be exchanged for some living space.
Lu Ping’an had no intention of hiding. Without causing panic, he revealed much inside information.
"...Only by going north and heading to the Holy City is there hope. Staying here is still just a slow death..."
Some people listened, some understood but pretended not to.
However, a group soon set off on their journey. They were mostly ordinary people, though there were some knights from the Knight Corps among them. Lu Ping’an respected the knights who made their choice, especially Deputy Commander Ben.
"...I know the hope is slim, but without me, they would hardly make it to the next city..."
The old knight said as he embarked on a new journey.
Lu Ping’an looked at his retreating figure, and with some helplessness, he could only offer his blessings.
"See you in the Holy City?"
"See you in the Holy City."
The old knight left, taking with him a few knights who followed him, as well as most of the Schlei Domain people who were still willing to travel by night.
As for those who insisted on staying and not leaving, Lu Ping’an could only guarantee their food for the time being. Considering the reality that the value of a bowl of rice was equal to that of a human life in the city, this was already an extremely generous act.
The lord of the Schlei Domain had vanished from the people’s eyes, having completed the additional tasks given to him by Lu Ping’an. He did not want to be buried with the locals.
Death was the only thing left here? That might not be the case, as no one could be sure where the safe zone would be.
Moreover, if the city was breached again, wouldn’t there still be survivors?
For two days, this last fortress fell into a brief calm, but everyone knew that it was just the calm before the storm.
— End of Chapter 544 —