Chapter 154 - Horde Part 9 (1/2)
”What the f*ck?! Jia soldiers in Fortuna?” he frowned at the thought. How was this possible? There were multiple detection formations active around the city 24/7. Any Jia soldier within 10 miles of the city would be found out. There was no way for them to sneak in....unless...
He dialed another number. Yangdi picked up on the first ring, ”Did you find out anything?”
Yangdi shook his head, ”Only that the beast hall and several other places had been attacked a few hours ago. They came out of nowhere and then vanished just as quickly,” he snapped his fingers.
”How the hell is that possible?”
”It's not. Someone is helping them from the inside. I'm 80% sure of it.”
”What? Can you find out who?”
”I'm trying but I've already lost a few men. They seem to be prepared and covered their tracks well,” Yangdi nodded.
”Alright, let me know as soon as you find any new information.”
Hao Xuan sat on the platform and couldn't help but think about the timing of it all. The beast hordes, evacuations, the neverending rain, and now the Jia attacks?
One after another disaster struck the Mei kingdom in the last few weeks. Suddenly a face flashed past his eyes.
”Jiang Ling, the hidden prince. Is it him again?” he mumbled.
*BOOOOM*
The seven beasts were attacking the chains continuously. Two of the chains were already destroyed and another was close to breaking.
Hao Xuan looked up at the massive beasts, shrouded in darkness. Were these guys under someone's orders as well? Most beasts of that level would have their own consciousness and weren't mindless creatures like the ones attacking them right now.
”SEAN!” there was a loud shout from his left. He turned around and saw the situation. There were hundreds of beast corpses piled around him in a circle. The old men were still fighting with crazed expressions on their faces.
Out of the three hundred or so, less than two hundred were left alive, and many of them had severe injuries as well.
”What are they fighting so hard for? Just escape for god sakes!”
”How could they escape with those creatures just outside the city walls? Unless they were flying, there is no way to outrun those things.”
”But still, what's the point of fighting like that?”
”Then should they just give up?”
”I-I didn't say that...”
The comments on the stream didn't stop for even a second.
Hao Xuan looked around him and felt out of his element. There was so much going on that he didn't know where to start. He channeled Qi into his badge and contacted Kuo.
”What's the situation over there?”
”Not good,” Kuo's voice came from the other side and in the background, there were some shouts and screams.
”We passed by a river and got attacked by these strange creatures. They jump out, attack and jump back into the river. Occasionally there will be a tentacle or two that will drag someone into the water as well. We've already lost a few hundred people like this.”
Hao Xuan went silent and tried to think of something to say to help, but couldn't find the words.
”Just.....do your best. Try to get to the grade two city, it will be safe there,” he said through gritted teeth.
”....yes...captain,” Kuo's low-spirited voice came through one last time before the transmission shut off.
He took a long breath and looked out towards the front. The rain impinged on his back like the beating of a hammer. The old men were falling one by one and soon would all be gone. There were still four chains left on the formation and it would take at least another half an hour.
He looked at their faces and all of them had wide smiles on their faces. To them, this was not a bad end.
”Hey old man, can you do me a favor?” he asked Charles who was fighting three beasts at once.
”Haha, ask away. As long as it's in my power, why not?” he laughed.
”Can you help my men? They are trying to bring the civilians away but are under attack. Instead of throwing your lives away here, can you help those people escape?” Hao Xuan mumbled the last sentence but almost everyone still heard it.
Charles thrust his hand outwards and threw a beast dozens of meters away. He looked at Hao Xuan's downcast expression and couldn't help but soften his.
”Sure, as long as it will help, why not?”
”Yeah, of course. You're in charge so just tell us what to do.”
”Yea yea, why are you so depressed? Is that it?”
Several of the others chimed in as well and laughed.
Charles walked up to Hao Xuan and extending his hand. Hao Xuan looked at him for a few seconds before grabbing it and standing up.
He hit Hao Xuan on the head lightly, ”You're so young, don't lose hope so quickly. Men should be bold, strong in the face of adversity. How can you show your face back home if you sit around moping like this?”
”Come, give us the location of the caravan, we will go help them,” he pointed at his spirit band.
Hao Xuan didn't have the words to describe his current mood. Deep down he knew there was little chance they could actually do anything to change the situation, but still, he hoped for a miracle.
He gave Kuo's location to them. They summoned their contracted beasts and left one by one.
”Go and help them as much as possible,” he ordered Ensis who also left silently.
”How could a few dozen old men make any difference?” Hyde's voice came from behind him. He turned around and saw him standing there with an umbrella.
”Do you even need an umbrella?” he asked absentmindedly.
”No, but I like it,” he calmly replied.
”Stop overthinking everything. You can't do anything about things a million miles away. Focus on what's in front of you. Look, all those dumb creatures want a piece of you, let them have it,” he pointed towards the front.
Hao Xuan turned around and saw innumerable beasts circling the platform. There were thousands upon thousands of them all around him.
”Remember the plan, you just need to last a few more minutes,” Hyde vanished once again, leaving Hao Xuan alone.
***
”Oi, what is he doing?”
”Why is he just standing there?”