Chapter 468: Town Of The Living
Chapter 468: Town Of The Living
A few more hours passed, and the skies didn’t just darken, they also met a blizzard. The fierce wind resisted their movement, the snow on the ground quickly piled up the further they went, and the cold was near-numbing.
Godfrey could still fly on Solstice, but it became harder for Ema and Ken to see him, much less keep up. Without Ema, he also couldn’t get to the boss, so he had to fly low.
They were able to push on until they got to the edge of a towering mountain. At the bottom, all three of them stayed close to the wall.
Solstice maintained his dragon form and formed shelter for them with his wings.
Within Solstice’s wings, Godfrey manifested a small fireball in his palm, then looked at Ema.
"You’re kidding." Ema stared at him with wide eyes. "We’ll literally freeze to death here. This is a dungeon. We feel cold like normal humans regardless of tier. We need to wait out this blizzard."
Godfrey sat on the snow. "I’m tired." His voice rang, and Ema exhaled heavily while Ken slowly sat with his legs crossed.
"We’ve moved for so long. More than ten hours at minimum. Everyone is tired," Ema muttered.
"Then let’s rest. Let’s rest while thousands of people out there become infected and die in one of the most horrible ways possible. Some people are going to scream as others pour gas on them and burn them. Some are going to drown in fear from the moment they see a centipede in them. They’ll try to hide it and end up infecting others against their will. It could be a mother’s child, a son’s father. It could be anyone right now."
Godfrey paused, then locked eyes with Ema. "I know by the time we get out, there will be at least ten thousand or up to a hundred thousand infected. What does your beast say? If we have to go over this mountain, we’ll go over it, and then we can rest."
Ema bit her lower lip. She looked away from him. "These people have said things about you. Do you really want them to favour you this much?"
"Favour?" He lifted an eyebrow. "I’ve been booed by the world. I’ve been bullied and mocked. Everything I do is turned into something bad. I’ve also been cheered for, been appreciated. Both reactions can change like flipping a coin. In the end, I realised humans, in the end, are to be pitied. They don’t deserve my hate, nor my love. I’m no better either, just someone who has seen both sides of the public and doesn’t care anymore."
He rose to his feet.
"I just want to do me. King Of Summoners..."
"Golem Summoner."
"Golden Devil."
"Staten Angel... They’re just flimsy words that have no true depth. Who knows, someone will be talking about shattering my statue in a decade."
Ema grew silent. For a moment, she refused to believe it was a nineteen-year-old speaking to her.
What sort of mentality was this?
"I’ll scout ahead. Solstice really won’t stay if I leave, so I’ll send someone else while we wait." Godfrey glanced at both of them.
"Wait... why do you still care then? Shouldn’t you be indifferent?" Ema asked suddenly.
"I am... to whatever external reward and expectations. They won’t change who I am at the core. I won’t let the world do that to me." Godfrey sat down, leaning on Solstice.
Ken lowered his head while a lost expression appeared on Ema’s face. She kept glancing at Godfrey, who closed his eyes.
Meanwhile, in the blizzard right outside Solstice’s wing dome, a bright golden diagram flared up, and Ballista stepped out.
His ironclad boots sank into the snow. A bird with powerful hind legs, a full chest, and large wings came out alongside him. It wore a chestplate over its full chest, a custom-made helmet for a bird of this great size, and its ’boots’ were golden greaves that went down to its talons.
Metal talons were placed above its original talons, giving the falcon a menacing set of talons.
The bird was bigger than Ballista himself.
’Scout the mountain top and beyond. Don’t engage with what you can avoid.’ Godfrey’s voice rang in Ballista’s head.
With a solemn nod, the knight mounted his pet, holding two extended wooden sticks, which were an alternative to reins, this fashion was for flight. He held the sticks built into the saddle, and his falcon took off.
Upon activating its time runes, it slowed down the fierce snow and quickened itself. In a few flaps, the huge bird vanished into the blizzard, and after a few more, it ascended a thousand feet, then spread out its wings above the mountain top.
Godfrey and the others were lost in the blizzard.
Suddenly, Ballista’s head snapped to his left. An owl came for him. It was so silent that he could only spot it because of his True Sight, despite this beast having an aura much weaker than his.
It was already upon Ballista, claws aimed for his head, but his falcon suddenly slowed the owl to a standstill. It almost became a picture as it paused right there, wings spread out, wide round eyes locked on Ballista, with talons aimed at his helmet.
’What are you doing?’ Godfrey’s voice made Ballista order his falcon to continue its flight. It shot forward, vanishing into the blizzard while unfreezing time for the owl.
The owl looked around for its prey, only for an arrow to rip through the snow being blown fiercely by the wind. The arrow pierced deep into the owl’s head, and it fell.
Ballista, who was already far away, lowered his bow. He wasn’t even looking back when he shot that arrow. He just wanted the owl to know it made the king’s tone change, albeit slightly.
So, he and his falcon circled the sky but saw nothing for miles until he had to fly lower. This time around, Ballista saw small orange lights in the distance.
He followed them, descending and descending, then suddenly came out of the blizzard. The knight looked at the fierce blizzard and the sprawling town a good distance away, with fire in pots and lanterns hung to the thatched roofs of several buildings.
Under this night sky, there was a town with living people. That looked like a place his king could rest.
Ballista circled it a few times, then flew back toward the mountain range.