Sanctuary Paradise

Chapter 682 Corner
A dim light flickered slowly from the earth, and thick darkness slowly surged from the sky.

Desolate, dead silent, bleak.

This is the dark night of the Dark Glow Continent. When the pyroxene crystals growing on the earth and the pyroxene dust floating in the wind stop emitting light, the whole world seems to be swallowed up by an invisible giant beast. The world can only wait for the arrival of the next day in the long cold and darkness.

"What a joke! Why should we give up our food?"

"Haha, the amount of pyroxene ore you dig out every month is the least! And this time the pyroxene beast also ran out from the area you were responsible for digging. If you guys are not held responsible, are you going to let us starve?!"

"And then? That was a pyroxene beast! And we encountered a mine quake. Our people also suffered the most deaths. Why…"

A faint smell of blood filled the fetid air, and the sound of fierce quarrels rang out in the evening breeze. Antoine sat at the edge of the campfire, gently comforting the children who dared not speak beside him. He looked at the wandering pyroxene disease patients who were arguing in front of him, and then looked at the idle young man next to him. His lips moved slightly twice, as if he wanted to say something, but he fell silent in the end.

"Then what do you say we should do?! The guards sent by the tower are dead, and the mine cave collapsed due to a mine earthquake. There is only so much food left. If we don't think of a way, how are we going to survive until the next fortress comes? Are we going to rush into those medium-sized fortresses and beg them for alms?"

"I……"

Beside the campfire, two groups of infected people representing different groups of wandering pyroxene disease patients were still arguing fiercely. When some of them were unable to win the argument and the one-eyed infected person on the opposite side was speechless, they would habitually glance at the people around them, as if they were trying to find someone who was more suitable to "replace" them.

Finally, the one-eyed infected person's eyes moved, and his gaze was fixed on Antoine and the children who dared not speak at the edge of the crowd. His eyes lit up, and he pointed with his finger, and said loudly in a sharp voice with a hint of joy:

"What about them?!"

"An old man who is about to turn into dust and a dozen brats who can do nothing but eat and drink for free! We didn't lack food before, but now the guards sent by the tower are dead and the food is not enough. Why should we let these guys stay here for nothing..."

"enough!!!"

Before the one-eyed infected person could finish, a powerful and stern shout suddenly rang out in everyone's ears, interrupting the one-eyed infected person's words. A tall man with a burly figure, a naked upper body covered with hideous scars and lion-like hair opened his eyes, glanced at the one-eyed infected person, and spoke in a powerful voice:

"One-Eye, I should have said that Mr. Antoine is my benefactor. The amount they owe will be made up by our Lion Gang."

The oppressive voice came from the lion-haired man's mouth, causing the one-eyed infected man to shrink slightly, but he still gritted his teeth and refuted unwillingly:

"So what? You guys are the ones who will replenish the food? There's less than half of the food left, and there are still at least three months until the next trading day. How are you going to replenish it?!"

"It's very simple. I will lead people away from here and head to other gathering places. However, as a condition, I want to take away enough food for us to eat for half a month and a transport vehicle. Is that enough?"

The lion-haired man glanced at the one-eyed infected man, snorted coldly, and spoke.

As these words were spoken, the infected people around them, who had been relatively calm, suddenly became furious.
"Is this true? Lion Fang is going to take people away?!"

"Hey, this is not a joke. Even the nearest gathering place is half a month away from us, right? And we might encounter pyroxene beasts on the way."

"Wait, if the Lion Gang leaves, who will be in charge of the most dangerous mining area? You know, there are often pyroxene beasts there..."

A flurry of discussions rang out from all around. It was obvious that, unlike the old teacher sitting in the corner, the lion-haired man's presence was extremely important to many pyroxene disease infected people in the gathering place. The other party's sudden decision to leave was obviously a big shock to them.

"Wait...wait, Lion Fang, I was just talking about how to solve the food problem. I didn't say I was going to chase you away! You were joking just now, right?"

Not only the infected people around, but even the one-eyed infected person who had been aggressive before started to panic when faced with the lion-haired man's decision.

You have to know that the lion-haired man is the only one in their entire gathering place who has the strength of a Berserker Warrior, and he has many warlock apprentices and backbones at the level of Burning Blood Warriors under his command. It can be said that he plays an extremely important role in this gathering place built around the mining area. If the other party really takes people away like this, although the food problem can indeed be greatly alleviated, the gathering place will probably have a lot of troubles.

"Lionfang, are you serious?"

The same question was asked with a hint of surprise. This time it was the scarred woman with extremely wild outfit who had forced the one-eyed infected man to be at a loss at the beginning.

Obviously, she was also caught off guard by the departure of the lion-haired man.

"Of course, I have no interest in joking about such things."

In response to the two people's questions, the lion-haired man simply admitted it calmly, and at the same time glanced at the one-eyed infected person and the scarred woman in front of him, and said:

"Why? Are any of you going to leave here with me?"

"..."

After he finished speaking, the one-eyed man and the scarred lady fell silent at the same time. In fact, they both knew very well that from a long-term perspective, it would be most useful for the lion-haired man to leave and go to other gathering places. After all, such a big accident happened here, and no one could guarantee whether there would be another fortress coming here on the next trading day.

Moreover, due to the large scale of this mine earthquake, the amount of pyroxene ore they can mine will be greatly reduced. This means that even if the fortress arrives as scheduled, they may not be able to gather the amount of pyroxene ore that the other party needs, causing the other party to directly abandon this mining area.

However, even though they knew that staying here would most likely lead to death, they still had the courage to cross the wilderness together at the risk of their lives. It was really...

"Hey, are you discussing where to go for a trip? How about including me?"

"?!"

A somewhat frivolous voice sounded, causing the infected people present to turn around in surprise. They all saw the imaginative young man standing next to the old teacher. Bewilderment and doubt appeared in their eyes, as if they were wondering where this stranger came from.

"You are……"

"Well, can you call me A-dong like them?"

The lion-haired man looked at the imaginative young man with a slightly frown on his face, and was obviously wary of the stranger in front of him. The imaginative young man just smiled and pointed at Antoine and the seventeen children beside him, and said casually.

The people Antoine brought?
Hearing this, the lion-haired man looked at Antoine beside him, while the old teacher stared at the imaginative young man beside him in a daze. It took him a long while to come back to his senses. He realized that everyone else was looking at him, so he coughed lightly and introduced the lion-haired man:

"Well, this Mr. Adong just arrived here two days ago. He knows some pyroxene magic, and the children like him very much."

The one who just came two days ago...

Hearing Antoine's answer, the lion-haired man frowned a little more, but eventually he gradually relaxed, nodded, and said:

"Well, since you plan to come along, I'll count you in as one."

Although they were somewhat confused about the origins of the imaginative young man, their next action would be risking their lives anyway. In this situation, having one more person who understood pyroxene magic would be the best thing for the lion-haired man.

Antoine was slightly stunned when he saw this scene, as if he had not yet reacted to the fact that the imaginative young man was about to leave. Finally, the old teacher fell silent, looked down at the children beside him who had followed his instructions and did not speak, and then looked at the eyes of the infected people around them. Finally, after moving his eyes back and forth between the imaginative young man and the lion-haired man several times, he took a deep breath as if he had made up his mind, stood up and said to the lion-haired man:

"Lionfang, the children and I will leave with you!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the infected people and the lion-haired man around him were stunned. They obviously didn't expect that the old professor in front of them, who looked like a candle in the wind, would make such a choice.

"Mr. Antoine, you don't have to..." The lion-haired man looked at the old teacher whose entire arm was covered with pyroxene crystals. He was about to tell him that there was no need to take risks. He would send key members to stay here to protect him and let him spend the last two months of his life safely. As a result, he would let his savior have a decent ending. However, the old teacher seemed to have predicted his thoughts and spoke in a hoarse and obscure voice due to the pyroxene crystals seeping into his throat:

"My life doesn't matter...but the children need a place to survive."

"..."

After saying this, the lion-haired man fell silent. He lowered his head and looked at the 17 children beside the old teacher who were looking at them timidly, without saying a word.

"Boss, it's dangerous for us to go on the road alone, and if we bring children with us..."

A thin infected person behind him looked at the silent lion-haired man, moved closer to him, and whispered with some concern.

The lion-haired man did not give an answer. He just crossed his arms and lowered his head in deep thought. After a long while, he raised his head in the dead silence, took a deep look at the old teacher in front of him and the children beside him, the oldest of whom was no more than nine years old, and nodded:
"it is good."

As he spoke, the lion-haired man looked at the one-eyed man and the scarred-faced woman and said:

"I have nineteen more people here, so I need another transport vehicle and enough food for the nineteen people to eat for half a month."

"Wait, we need a transport truck?! They're just a bunch of kids, Lion Fang, you…"

"no problem."

Facing the lion-haired man's request, the one-eyed man looked anxious and wanted to bargain immediately. The scarred woman next to him agreed directly, which made the one-eyed man pause in his words, but in the end he nodded somewhat angrily and said:

"Forget it, two is enough. We won't need so many of these things later anyway."

After saying that, the one-eyed man felt in his bosom and pulled out a bunch of keys. After a click of the tongue, he took out two keys and threw them to the lion-haired man.

The lion-haired man didn't say much about this. He just nodded, looked at the two people in front of him who had worked with him for more than ten years, and turned to walk towards where the transport truck was parked.

"Teacher Antoine, are we leaving here?"

A childish voice of inquiry came from the edge of the crowd. A child about six years old looked at the crowd with a somewhat subtle atmosphere, blinked, looked up at the old teacher next to him, and asked curiously.

"Well, we are going to a new place. When we get there, there will be new friends who will tell you stories. Remember to listen carefully to Uncle Lion Fang."

Antoine looked at the child who was pulling at the corner of his clothes, at those lively eyes full of curiosity, a touch of tenderness appeared on his wrinkled face, he reached out and touched the other's head, and gave instructions.

"New friends? What about you, Mr. Antoine?"

"The teacher will be going to a very far place and won't be able to come back for a long time."

"Hmm... How far is far?"

"This... is probably about a world away."

"A world so far away... I understand. Teacher Antoine is going to live in the sky, right? Teacher Antoine once said that when people get old, they will live in those invisible stars in the sky!"

The child rolled his eyes when he heard the old teacher's answer, and then answered excitedly as if he had thought of something, with a smug expression on his face.

When Antoine heard the other party's answer, he was slightly startled and his lips moved slightly, but in the end he looked at the endless black sky in the distance. The tiny lights formed by the pyroxene dust in the air were reflected in his pupils, and he didn't say anything after all.

……

"Ryan, look at the sky. Doesn't it look very similar to the starry sky described in the materials that Lord Black Sword showed us?"

In the conference room, the blond young man Anwen leaned against the window, raised his head to glance at the dark sky in the distance that was twinkling with stars, and smiled and teased Ryan who was standing beside him.

"Don't make a fuss. It's just pyroxene dust. You won't breathe the stars into your lungs."

"Haha, I'm just saying. After all, according to the information given by Lord Black Sword, our world can't see the starry sky at all. Then, can't we just find something similar to look at to make up for the regret?"

An Wen smiled with that very sunny voice and teased in a relaxed and comfortable tone.

Ryan showed a hint of helplessness when he heard that, but he still followed the other person's gaze and looked out the window. When he saw the sky reflecting the twinkling stars, his eyes moved slightly and his thoughts began to wander.

Starry sky?

According to Lord Black Sword, as long as this war ends, their world may have a chance to see the real starry sky, and this war will determine which force will have the qualifications to breathe freely in the world that welcomes the starry sky.

"Speaking of which, it's really incredible. In the past, I never thought that one day I would be able to stand in the upper area like this and see so many things that I could never have imagined in my dreams."

A sigh was uttered with a hint of light laughter, and the blond young man was seen leaning against the window, looking at the dark sky outside the open dome and the swarms of drones flying quickly in the sky, muttering with twinkling eyes.

Can't even dream of it...

When Ryan heard Anwen's words, his eyes moved. He didn't refute anything, but showed a look of reminiscence.

Indeed, the scene before him was something he had never dared to dream of in the past.

Although it was only three short days, the life during these three days made him feel more fulfilled than the past twenty years combined.

Especially the unimaginable things brought by the black-haired young man, which often made Ryan feel unreal. Intelligent AI that was smarter than humans, epoch-making communication and reconnaissance technology, various tactical data that opened his eyes even though he claimed to have a lot of understanding of war, and war technology that was like a work of art and made people breathe hot at a glance...

It can be said that the experiences brought by the other party even made Ryan feel that the Order Tower where they lived was actually full of barbarism and backwardness. The last time he had this experience was when he heard that the Gusa Alliance was still using the slavery system.

"Lian, tell me, if we help Lord Black Sword win this war, what will the world be like in the future?"

"Well, I think..."

【bite--!!】

[Warning, close movement detected at the coordinates of the Xiulan Fortress! ]

Suddenly, a clear electronic sound rang out from the radio, causing Ryan and Anwen's expressions to change. After looking at each other, they quickly sat down at their respective seats, put on the helmet-like equipment that could greatly increase the thinking speed and information processing capabilities of ordinary people like them and warlock apprentices, and gave an instruction very skillfully:
"Nott! Inform Lord Black Sword! Tell him that the enemy seems to be planning to take action!"

[Command confirmed, begin notifying the highest command authority: Black Sword]

……

(End of this chapter)