Chapter 32 - Chapter 32: Chapter 31 Fatal Gamble (1/2)

Chapter 32: Chapter 31 Fatal Gamble

The fleeing group rose to continue their journey, only this time everyone tacitly slowed their pace.

Most were at the limits of their physical and emotional endurance, and while they had managed to hold on without issue initially, a brief rest had almost instantaneously allowed exhaustion to overwhelm them.

Sighs, crying, and complaints intermittently arose from around, the jungle ahead completely dark and lightless, like a tunnel leading to a bottomless underground. The escapees could only move forward, guided by the memories in Byrne’s head, silently hoping for light at the end of the darkness.

Chris, who kept moving forward, suddenly stopped and looked down at his feet where an insect, accidentally crushed underfoot, had its juices splattered all over the ground.

“What’s wrong?” his sister Irene whispered gently beside him.

Chris shook his head, said nothing in response, and continued to follow the group.

“It’s okay, we’ll definitely be fine.”

Irene took a deep breath, one hand tightly clutching a transparent bottle, while the other comforted her brother Chris.

She had thought Chris would be afraid, trembling just like the other children, but the young boy with silvery-white hair simply followed the group in silence, not uttering a word from the beginning to the end.

He seemed to be the only person in the fleeing group who wasn’t nervous.

Irene always felt she knew her brother best, yet sometimes she thought Chris was a bit too “mature”.

Some might even say that Chris seemed somewhat emotionally lacking, but Irene deeply despised such a statement—it was as if they were calling her brother handicapped.

He was just precocious and quiet.

“Irene.”

Old Ramon came over. As the pace of the group had slowed, Old Ramon, who still had enough strength, insisted on walking on his own and didn’t want to be carried by his son anymore.

He looked at Irene who had grown up, thinking that if his granddaughter could’ve grown up, she might have been just as beautiful as Irene.

“Irene, I know how cruel and terrifying the Rhea people can be. I’ve dealt with these bastards decades ago.”

“Mhm.”

Irene nodded. The once somewhat senile Old Ramon was now extraordinarily lucid.

His calm eyes gazing into the darkness held determination and weight as he continued, “But let’s not kid ourselves, we Cyart people aren’t exactly saints either. You must be careful.”

“War is a game for the nobility; it’s usually the poor folks’ children who die while the nobles hardly ever kill each other.”

“One day, if you want to transition from being a pawn in their game to a player, you must find a way to become a noble.”

War is but a game for the nobles, and the children of the poor are the ones who die, Irene reflected thoughtfully.

Old Ramon fell silent for a while, then added, “Hugh actually has a son, my grandson, who was raised in his uncle’s home in a nearby village.”

Irene nodded again, initially thinking the old man would make some request about his grandson, but the conversation ended abruptly. Old Ramon fell silent and kept muttering to himself.

Lucius, leading the group, was deep in thought, desiring to know how the Rhea people had cheated, for only then could the Fischer family be entirely safe.

How exactly had they discovered our fleeing group? Did the Rhea troops target everyone or just a specific person or item?

Prophecy-type spells?

It was very possible. Lucius knew that prophecy-type spellcasters were extremely rare but they did exist, and perhaps the Rhea had used a prophecy-type spell to learn about the entire fleeing group.

But was that the answer?

He frowned tightly, not understanding the specific workings of prophecy-type spells and thus unable to fully assess the overall situation.

It seemed that everyone was gradually approaching the edge of the dark forest, and the sky was also slowly brightening, no longer the pitch-black path where one couldn’t see their own hand in front of them.

Everyone’s spirits lifted slightly—the most dangerous moment had completely passed.