158 Chapter 158: Ambush (1/2)

”Phew…we're almost there.”

Zhang Hou Zi sounded relieved as we closed in on the shelter. It was almost within sight now, a massive dome-shaped building that resembled an oyster shell. There were a few lights blinking in the distance, suggesting that it still functioned, but we couldn't see any sign of people. That made sense – any humans would be seeking refuge inside the building, not wandering outside it.

”Don't let your guard down,” Teacher Fielding warned harshly. ”We still have about 400 meters left.”

After the encounter with the Silver Skeletal Wolf, we ran into a Dire Wolf and three Cyclops Rats on two separate occasions. Having exterminated a rank B monster, the lower-leveled beasts were a breeze in comparison, and we decapitated the former through our combined efforts while incinerating the latter with well-aimed fire spells and a flaming arrow (from my Sagittarius). It didn't even take more than a minute to bring the low ranking monsters down.

We proceeded in silence, tension and adrenaline still running high. Even Craig didn't run his mouth, exhaustion showing on his face. It was only natural. We had a tough fight against the Silver Skeletal Wolf, and as short as three kilometers were, the journey was taking its toll.

That was when Harvey suddenly perked up.

”I see it! The shelter!”

His excited pointing was what led to Zhan Hou Zi's sigh of relief and Teacher Fielding's somber reminder. Despite our teacher's harsh tone, our morale soared buoyantly at the sight of our destination being so close.

Finally…finally we could rest! After all this fighting! And risking our lives!

As we drew closer, the foul stink of death and other unspeakable stuff drifted into our nostrils, causing us to wince. We were approaching a blackened river, which was filled with bloated corpses and demonic things that we couldn't identify from the distance. The Cyclops Rats had emerged from there, and we had fried them before they could climb up the river bank fully and ashore into the city proper. Not that we needed to bother – the riverside café that once boasted a lovely view over the river had been demolished, with blood running over ruined tables and corpses half-concealed behind broken chairs and furniture.

Even though none of us wanted to approach the stinking river, we didn't have a choice. The shelter was just across a huge, red bridge. Trying not to look too closely at the devastated café, we cautiously crossed the bridge. Like the road we had traversed earlier, vehicles lay abandoned, overturned and destroyed over the wide expanse of the road. In some places, fires still burned. Evidently there had been a battle here. A massacre, but the corpses were missing. Most likely a mage had intervened and fought off a bunch of monsters to buy some time for the civilians to get out of their cars and run to safety on foot.

With the shelter being so close to the bridge, I doubted the civilians required much persuasion to complete the rest of the journey on foot.

We were barely halfway across the foot when an unfamiliar voice called out to us.

”Hey! You kids over there! What are you doing here?”

We all froze when we caught sight of a young man in military uniform descending in front of us, his cloak flapping behind him. He acknowledged Teacher Fielding with a nod, seeming to recognize our teacher.

”Captain…”

”Drop it. I'm no longer in the military.”

”Ah…sorry…uh…Teacher Fielding, is it now?” the soldier absently rubbed at his cheek, and then turned toward us. ”And you kids must be students from Jing Tian Academy.”

”That's right.” Teacher Fielding stepped in and affirmed. ”We're the vanguard team. The rest of the students and teachers will be following behind us in waves. About fifty groups, so it might take them some time to evacuate completely. We scouted ahead for a safe route – they shouldn't be in danger as long as they follow the route I transmitted back to them.”

The soldier beamed. ”That's good to hear.”

”What are you doing here by yourself, Lieutenant Yang Bai?” it was Teacher Fielding's turn to ask the questions. ”Where's the rest of the army?”

”We rushed here as soon as possible from the northern fortress,” Yang Bai replied.

Oh, that was right. Now that he mentioned it, he was one of the soldiers I saw back in the Northern Fortress, with his brown hair and friendly smile. We had met briefly back when I was recovering there, before I nuked the army of three thousand monsters. I didn't speak to him at all, though, so I didn't recognize his voice.

”General Jiang Jun and the other soldiers have assembled at the shelter and are taking care of the civilians. They are still arriving in drips and drapes, and I was assigned to scout ahead to search for any survivors and guide them to the shelter.” Yang Bai was smiling brilliantly. ”I'm so glad I found you guys! Let's hurry!”

”Wait, the other groups…” Teacher Fielding began. Yang Bai nodded.

”I understand. I'll inform General Jiang immediately. I'm sure he'll dispatch reinforcements to escort them. I think we can actually ask them to form a convoy and evacuate as one. We should have more than enough soldiers to fend off monsters.”

Yang Bai was already reaching for his smartphone and dialing the general's number. Whoa, 4G army was so advanced these days, making use of cellphone technology to fight intelligent wars rather than relying on brute force alone.

After he made his call, he turned back to us with what he probably thought was a reassuring smile.

”Okay, General Jiang has begun assigning escorts to your Jing Tian Academy. You guys should follow me. The general ordered me to bring you guys to the shelter safe and sound.”

”How do we know we can trust you?” Bu Fan asked skeptically, his eyes darkening with paranoia. Yang Bai paused for a moment, looking unsure.

”Um…”

”I've known Lieutenant Yang ever since he was a cadet,” Teacher Fielding replied, stepping in. ”I understand your concerns, but we can trust him.”

”Uh…is there something I should know?” Yang Bai asked, looking puzzled as he glanced from his former mentor to Bu Fan.

”We heard that the monster invasion this time is orchestrated by the Dark Church again.” Despite Teacher Fielding's words, Bu Fan didn't let his guard down.

”Oh, I've heard about that too.” Yang Bai nodded vehemently. ”We'll catch those bastards and kill them. Hunt every single one of them down. They will never get away with this.”

For the first time, I heard genuine rage blazing behind his usually cheerful voice. Yang Bai cast a glare at the ruins of the city behind us, clenching his trembling fists. He then took a deep breath and calmed himself down when he remembered his mission.

”In any case, we should hurry. We don't want to be talking out here when a monster comes by. You kids look like you've been through hell.”

”Where's your Spirit Wolf?” I blurted out as I stepped to the front to join him when he spun away to lead the way. Yang Bai turned to gape at me.

”Huh?! Spirit Wolf? What are you talking about?”

”Aren't you a summoner as well? I thought you can summon a giant wolf…you know, the one with deep blue fur.”

”What the hell are you talking about? I'm a holy magic user, not a summoner. I use white magic, I don't summon soul beasts.”

Yang Bai looked genuinely confused, but Teacher Fielding interfered by smacking me at the back of my head.

”Pay my students no attention. They're always talking nonsense.”