Chapter 340: Vesper Shipping Union Association, Heading to the Northern Territory

Chapter 340: Chapter 340: Vesper Shipping Union Association, Heading to the Northern Territory

"Rein, don’t go! Let me go instead!"

Ella grabbed Rein’s sleeve, holding on for dear life.

She could feel it. When Rein saw Lance die just now, his emotional turmoil had been so great that it had already taken a serious toll on his body.

If he went to fight those Demons with all his might now, he would surely die here!

Her fingers clenched the fabric, refusing to let go no matter what.

"You promised you would get me home to the Northern Territory safely!"

Rein turned his head to look at the Wolf Girl.

A helpless, bitter smile appeared on his pale face.

"Sorry, little wolf cub. This time, I might really have to break my promise to you."

He patted the back of Ella’s hand with his own rough, large one.

"In my current condition, I don’t think I can get you home."

As he spoke, Rein pulled a map from his coat—one he had drawn long ago, marked with all sorts of secret routes and safe houses—and forced it into Ella’s hands.

"Listen! Find a chance to leave the main group soon."

Rein’s tone became extremely serious.

"Find a way out of White River Province and run straight for the East Coast."

"You’re a Sub-human Species. If you head straight north, you won’t be able to get through the strict border checkpoints in Beifeng Province to reach the Northern Territory."

"Once you reach East Coast Province, look for the ’Vesper Shipping Union Association.’ They control secret shipping lanes used for smuggling. If you can get on one of their ships, you’ll be able to avoid the Kingdom’s border patrol fleets and reach the Northern Territory quickly."

Rein pointed to a string of characters on the edge of the map.

"I’ve left a special contact method on this map. The man is a brother I trust completely."

"After you arrive in Ostrara, the City of Trade, go seek his help. For my sake, he’ll definitely arrange a ship for you to get home."

After explaining all this, Rein gave Ella’s shoulder a firm pat.

"Go. While it’s still chaotic."

"There’s no need for you to stay here and give your life for a bunch of strangers."

With that, Rein pulled his hand free from Ella’s grasp.

Leaning on his heavy oak cane, he moved past the girl and limped toward the thin defensive line formed by the old veterans ahead.

As he walked forward, Rein noticed out of the corner of his eye a young girl in a Guild uniform standing dazedly by the side of the road.

Her head was tilted back, and she stared at the now-empty sky as if her soul had left her body.

People in the fleeing crowd, trying to escape the Demons, often bumped into her accidentally.

But the little girl was like a senseless puppet, letting the crowd jostle her without moving an inch.

And at that moment, a breach had been torn in the flank of the defensive line.

A Goblin was charging toward the dazed little girl!

"Nia! Get out of there!"

In her mind, Judith was on the verge of going insane with anxiety.

She urged her frantically, but Nia still didn’t react.

"I just saw it! A few Goblins have broken through the line up ahead and are charging your way!"

"Nia! Snap out of it! Listen to me! That bastard isn’t dead at all!"

"He’s not dead?"

Hearing this, Nia, still dazed by the earlier scene, suddenly snapped back to her senses.

"Right! He’s definitely not dead!"

To get Nia to flee for her life, Judith started spouting utter nonsense.

"Listen to me, Lance fought that Heroic Spirit for so long, he must have a Specialty that resists instant death! I saw it clearly at the end—that blue-haired woman who rushed over to him was holding a bottle of Alchemy Potion!"

"As long as he takes the Potion and recovers enough Life Force, with that Specialty, his injuries definitely won’t be fatal!"

It was this fabricated lie that restarted Nia’s world.

She felt the stagnant heart in her chest begin to beat again.

In that instant, the clamor of the crowd and the roars of the Demons returned to her senses.

When lost and confused, people instinctively cling to the answer they want to believe.

To fall for someone for the first time, only to face a final farewell before you could even confess—the shock was too much for a young girl to bear.

That was why she wasn’t sure if the last thing she saw was really as Judith had described.

And of course, everything Judith had said was a lie.

She just wanted to use this method to ignite Nia’s will to survive and get her to leave this dangerous place as soon as possible.

As for whether Nia would discover the truth after the crisis was over, she didn’t have time to think about that now.

However, the effect of this desperate lie was immediate.

Nia had now completely snapped out of her daze.

’If that very pretty woman really did save Lance with a Potion in the end...’

Nia secretly made a decision in her heart.

’Then I’ll be magnanimous for once and won’t hold it against them for holding hands in the Underground City.’

’At most, after this is all over, I’ll prepare a generous gift to thank her properly, and then I’ll solemnly warn her not to disturb my life with Lance ever again!’

Just as Nia finished psyching herself up, a ferocious-looking Goblin, holding a chipped Stone Spear, had charged to within a meter of her!

The tip of the Stone Spear was even aimed right at her heart!

SWISH!

In the nick of time, a blinding silver light suddenly flashed past Nia’s cheek like lightning.

A Secret Silver Thread sliced directly through the Goblin’s neck.

With a dull thud, green blood splattered out, and a few warm drops even splashed onto Nia’s fair cheeks.

Rein had made his move.

"This is no time to be spacing out."

"Th-thank you!"

Nia quickly thanked him.

Just then, she heard the heart-wrenching cries of a little girl nearby.

Turning her head, she saw a little girl in a worn, floral-print dress, sitting all alone on the ground next to an overturned supply cart.

Her parents had likely been separated from her by the crowd during the chaos.

Without any hesitation, Nia rushed over.

Meanwhile, Rein, still in the same spot, saw several massive Gnolls and Ghouls charging toward him.

He took a deep breath, raised his right hand, and prepared to manipulate the Secret Silver Thread again.

But just as he was about to channel his power, a stabbing pain, ten times more violent than before, suddenly shot through his heart!

The intense agony instantly drained all the strength from his limbs.

His arm fell limply to his side, and he stumbled forward uncontrollably.

’This is bad...’

Rein gritted his teeth as cold sweat trickled down his forehead.

’Has my body deteriorated so much that even the Jade Potion is starting to lose its effect?’

Just as the Gnoll’s sharp claws were about to tear out his throat,

Suddenly!

an agile figure slammed into it from the side.

It was Ella!

The Wolf Girl leaped into the air.

Her long, slender legs drew back in mid-air, unleashing the immense Burst Power unique to a Sub-human Species.

She viciously kicked the Gnoll in its soft abdomen!

BANG!

With the sound of cracking bones, the Gnoll, a full size larger than Ella, was sent flying by the ferocious force!

It even knocked over a Ghoul that was following behind it.

Ella flipped deftly in mid-air and landed steadily on her feet.

She stood up straight, shielding Rein without a hint of retreat.

"You girl... why didn’t you listen... and run!"

Rein clutched his chest in pain, leaning on his cane as he asked, gasping for breath.

Ella didn’t look back at him.

She stared at the Demons getting back on their feet and said in a very serious tone,

"You’re not a stranger."

"These past few days... thank you for always giving me delicious jerky, and all that hot, thick soup."

Hearing this, at this moment between life and death, Rein’s vision actually started to blur.

Under the pitch-black night sky, the wide cloak the girl had been wearing had fallen away in the fight.

Her silver-gray hair danced in the night wind, and her silhouette gradually and perfectly overlapped with the image of the Cyan Moon Female War God from the depths of Rein’s memory.

’That stubborn temper...’

Rein laughed helplessly to himself.

’She’s exactly like her aunt.’

Meanwhile, Nia hadn’t yet reached the little girl.

She suddenly caught sight of a Goblin that had slipped past the defensive line up ahead and was running quickly toward the child.

Nia’s heart leaped with anxiety.

She snatched a broken wooden cart handle from the ground.

She rushed forward and, with all her strength, smashed it down on the Goblin’s head.

CLANG!

The Goblin cried out in pain.

Seizing the opening, Nia immediately turned, scooped up the little girl, and shoved her forcefully under a nearby supply cart that was still relatively intact.

"Hide in there! Don’t make a sound! And don’t come out!"

She had just seen the shadows of several more Goblins approaching in the darkness.

She couldn’t run. She had to stay here and protect this child.

However, to her surprise, the danger came not from the front, but from the sky.

Overhead, there was a sudden, muffled roar as the air was torn apart.

A massive Sound Wing Beast suddenly folded its broad Wings.

It plummeted from the sky like a falling star, diving straight for her!

Its sharp claws were about to crush Nia’s skull!

WHOOSH!

A heavy Armor Piercing Arrow instantly tore through the pitch-black night sky.

It precisely pierced the Sound Wing Beast’s tough torso!

The immense momentum sent the massive Demon tumbling through the air for several meters.

Finally, with a THUD, it was pinned firmly to a dirt slope in the distance. It struggled a few times, then went still.

Immediately after, from the depths of the wilderness, a powerful, resonant voice boomed like a clap of thunder, instantly drowning out all the chaos and screams on the battlefield.

"Red Dragon United Strategy Team!"

"Prioritize protecting the civilians!"