Elden: Ring of Calamity

Chapter 435 Escape
At the beginning of the 50th year of the Golden Calendar, the turmoil outside the North was even more violent than the massive siege of the Arctic Ice Field.

Radagan personally led an army of 350,000 to hunt down the Ancient Dragon Temple. The troops drove straight south, and the vanguard had already approached the line of Nangemir.

On the flat Yatan Plateau, the temple members and the Yahara caravan were unsurprisingly chased to a narrow area at the southern end of the plateau. There were pursuers on both the northeast and northeast sides, and the impregnable Dikedas Fortress to the south. Only the city of Karen to the west was still under the control of the Ancient Dragon Dynasty.

However, Karen was the direction where Radagan was personally in charge. When the conquest of the Northern Gemir region had not yet been completed, Karen, who was only backed by Southern Gemir, was attacked from all sides and had no strength to confront the Yatan head-on. Theoretically speaking, the choice of moving westward was nothing but a slow death.

"Tell everyone to rest here for four hours, and then the entire army will march westward to Karen." Folsanks instructed Eggkiss and Christopher beside him.

The three of them looked at the exhausted team in the temporary camp behind them. Strictly speaking, it was hard to call it an "army". The temple knights and priests certainly had better tactical qualities than regular troops, but most of this team of nearly 5,000 were members of the caravan that fled with the temple.

Although all the foreigners outside the sea of ​​fog were grateful to the temple members who saved them and strictly obeyed their orders in all their actions, the gap in physical strength, willpower and equipment was inevitably exposed after several days of escape.

"Many people have been in a state of exhaustion since the day before yesterday, and they have only managed to get here through sheer willpower," Christopher said with a frown. "If things continue like this, I'm afraid that within twelve hours, at least one-third of the caravan members will die of exhaustion on the road."

"We can't do anything. In the southern border, we can still let the flying dragon warriors transform into dragon bodies and carry those exhausted people on their way, but this is Yatan, the ancestral land of the Golden Dynasty for fifty years," Aegkiss showed deep helplessness. "The soldiers patrolling the road, the people working in the fields, and even the dead who are about to return to the trees are all their spies. After the warriors transform into dragons, they can't fly more than fifty kilometers, otherwise our movements will appear on Ladagon's desk."

Christopher fell silent, looking at the people who were slumped on the ground, sharing cold water and dry food with each other, with a deep struggle in his eyes.

With his current abilities, except for Priest For, even Lord Aegkiss is only comparable to him in the entire team. It is very easy for him to escape to Karen when being surrounded and blocked. Even if Karen is breached and Nangemir is completely destroyed, he is confident enough to protect himself and survive in the chaos.

But the Knights of the Ancient Dragon Temple are fundamentally different from those elite soldiers who only have the title of "Knight". Before rescuing those who should be saved from danger, they will not even consider their own survival.

This creed came from the oldest and most heaviest knight's code. Looking throughout the border area, perhaps only the Sixteen Crucible Knights and the Twelve Kalia Knights still regarded it as a guiding principle, but this was what the Ancient Dragon Temple taught them.

This is what she demanded of them from the beginning when the temple was founded, when they were rescued from the slums and the hands of slave traders by the priests of Lance and began to practice the way of knighthood as apprentices.

The teacher told them that they were apprentices baptized by her personally, future Knights Templar, the sword that enforced order, the shield that defended justice, and the claws and wings of the Ancient Dragon King who would eventually come.

He once thought that his king would be Platon Shanks, until he met the equally young Lucia in that alley, he realized that she was his king.

Now His Highness is still fighting in the North. Saving the three thousand caravan members is not only the knight's creed, but also His Highness's request before leaving. But if we just flee all the way and let the old and weak in the team die halfway, can it really be called saving?

"Master Priest, Master Aegis, and Master Knight." A polite call interrupted his thoughts, and a girl dressed in men's clothes came up to the three of them and bowed.

She was an extremely beautiful woman. Even the loose outer coat made of coarse cloth could hardly hide her exquisite figure. Dust and fatigue could not overwhelm her beautiful face. Over the past few days, almost everyone in the team knew this girl named Tanis and knew that she was the niece of one of the thirteen caravan leaders.

But this was not because of her beauty, but because every day since their escape, she would tirelessly appear in every position in the team where she was needed - going out with the exploration team to collect food, helping to bandage wounds in the wounded camp, and always staying at the end of the team to assist the knights in counting supplies and destroying traces.

There was a rumor in the caravan earlier that the second son of King Elden, His Highness Lakkad, the Deputy Minister of Justice, had met Tanis once while studying in the south, and had fallen in love with her ever since. Even if she did not flee with everyone, she would be safe in the capital. However, as Tanis ran around in the team day after day, the rumor soon disappeared, and everyone silently regarded her as the fourteenth leader of the caravan.

Her appearance here at this moment to negotiate with the head of the temple represents the attitude of the entire Ahara caravan.

"What's the matter, girl?" asked Fule.

"That's it." Tanis seemed to find it difficult to speak. She lowered her head and rubbed the corner of her robe. She mustered up the courage to raise her head.

"The leaders just discussed it and everyone agreed that we can't go on like this."

"If we drag along so many of our burdens, it will bring too much danger to the adults in the temple, especially now that many of the elderly and injured can no longer run. If we forcibly protect us, we will all be blocked by the pursuers."

"So the leaders decided that all members over the age of 25 in the team should lead the injured who are unable to run and pretend to flee to the east, south, and north to attract the attention of the pursuers. They only hope that the adults can take the young children away while ensuring their own safety. If that doesn't work, they can also give up on them."

Eggis's red eyes narrowed slightly, "You mean, you don't plan to go with the main force?"

Tanis bowed deeply again and said with an apologetic smile: "My uncle and other leaders wanted me to stay and lead the children to follow in the footsteps of the adults, but as the heir of the Lana clan, I really can't choose to live in disgrace at this juncture."

"The Ancient Dragon Temple has already paid so much for us foreigners along the way. I didn't expect that I would have to trouble you for one thing in the end. If there is still hope for the future, I will leave those children in your care."

(End of this chapter)