Knight and Wand

Chapter 205 Dark Clouds
In the eastern part of Baldim County, just southeast of Mamor County, outside the "Shatai City" built by the big lake, there is a bustling crowd of people, with broken tents and shabby huts connected to a large area.

If it were in previous years, a large number of people would have poured into the territory, which might have been a wonderful thing that made the lord who ruled the place ecstatic.

But a few months ago, this area had been plundered by thousands of Uriah mercenaries who passed through.

In the city of Shatai, which was saved from attack only by repeated extortions of money and food, survival supplies are becoming increasingly tight. The situation is now so dire that the city must open its granaries and take out the grain stored by the lords in order to provide relief to the victims who have gathered.

Looking outside the city wall, at the refugees wearing worn iron helmets, holding swords and axes on their waists, holding spears and farm tools, and pulling away relief food, the fat baron on the top of the city kicked the parapet in indignation.

Opening the granaries and releasing food as "alms" was certainly not out of kindness on his part.

The fat baron only regretted that he had not sent soldiers promptly and decisively to kill all the untouchables outside the city when there were fewer people around.

He had to give it now.

Thousands of untouchables outside the city actually followed suit and imitated the extortion practices of the Uriah people. A few daring leaders united together and threatened them that if they did not release the food, they would rush into the city and rob the city.

".Ungrateful lowly animals, when Lord Aberle returns the army, I will hang these bastards outside."

The fat baron cursed and watched the precious food being dragged away by the people from the disaster relief organization, feeling heartbroken.

In response to King Aviut's call to war, he used almost all of the military assets he had accumulated over the years in the previous grand eastward invasion.

The treasures and gold and silver that were looted were indeed gratifying, but unfortunately before they could even warm up to the surface, most of them were snatched away by the Uriah people who inexplicably turned against them.

The soldiers sent out were also taken with the Duke of Aberle, saying that they were to protect the injured king and bring him back to the court. There were only two hundred guards in the city. Even if they conscripted the residents as soldiers, they were not enough to deal with the Uriah people who were looting and returning to the southern grasslands, nor could they deal with the thousands of disaster victims outside.
Some are happy and some are sad.

The baron on the city wall was furious.

The refugees under the city saw that their leader's men had "received" more relief food from the lord, and the crowd immediately gathered together with joy.

However, they were soon pushed away by a group of men wearing crude, patchwork armor and carrying swords.

A strong middle-aged man wearing half armor led his men and quickly rushed to the cart carrying grain and drove away the impatient people.

The strong men in armor drew their swords and sorted out the order of the crowd before starting to organize the distribution.

They had experienced this several times before. When the chaos broke out earlier, they had killed several looters who led the looting. Now, the refugees, looking at the bloody weapons under the leader, soberly accepted the camp order established by the other side.
A young boy with a dagger on his waist was helping the leader distribute food with nimble hands and feet. As the weather got warmer, he soon became sweaty.

The refugee leader was supervising the crowd seriously. He took a moment to glance at the little guy beside him, smiled faintly, and patted his head: "Little Gold Coin, take your share and go back to the tent. I see that you always wake up in the middle of the night these days. Go back and catch up on your sleep."

The boy held up the rough hand on his head and couldn't help but raise his head to complain: "Uncle Ron, my name is Brandon, not Little Gold Coin."

"I still think small gold coins are more palatable."

Ron rubbed the boy, who was about the same age as his child when he was alive, and urged him repeatedly: "Okay, stop talking nonsense and go back."

Knowing that the leader was concerned about him, Brandon did not continue to act stubbornly. He had indeed been disturbed by nightmares these days and was in low spirits.

Obediently receiving enough food, the young man clutched the dagger at his waist and hurried back to the chief's camp. With the lighting of the cooking fire, he mixed crushed black bread crumbs with wheat and wild vegetables and put them into a clay pot to make porridge. After a good meal, he went back into the leaky tent, rested his head on the dagger, and closed his blue eyelids due to insomnia.

For several nights recently, he didn't dare close his eyes in the silent dark night.

It seemed that whenever he closed his eyes, the horrible scenes in his dreams, those monsters and evil spirits, would appear in his mind.

Only in broad daylight when the sun is shining brightly can I fall asleep peacefully without being disturbed by nightmares.

Although the camp was noisy during the day, Brandon's tense nerves couldn't help but relax away from the monsters in his dreams.

The refugees in the famine years were just as scary, but Uncle Ron had found a way out for everyone. At least the boy no longer had to worry about being thrown into the pot by some hungry green-eyed starving people in his sleep.
I slept so comfortably that I didn't even notice when it got dark.

Night falls.

Brandon opened his eyes and looked at the campsite with only the flickering campfire. He felt nervous instinctively, but when he heard a deafening snoring nearby and turned around to see Uncle Ron sleeping soundly, the boy felt relieved.

He turned his head to look outside the tattered tent, at the uncle's men who were sitting by the campfire keeping watch. He simply didn't want to sleep anymore, so he opened his eyes wide and helped the leader beside him to keep watch for safety.

However, the boy overestimated his energy. The long-term survival pressure and malnutrition made him fall asleep again with his eyes wide open.

I don’t know how long I was in the cage, but Brandon was suddenly awakened by a pair of large hands shaking him hard.

When I opened my eyes again, the environment was still as dark as night.

The outside of the tent looked as if it was shrouded in gloomy weather.

"Wake up! Little gold coin!" Ron returned to the tent and hurriedly woke up the boy, then ran out again.

Brandon rubbed his sleepy eyes and felt that he had never had such a comfortable and sweet sleep.

It seemed like I had slept for a very long time. Not only did I not dream about the corpses and evil spirits in those stories, but my body even felt a little sore from sleeping for so long.

He slowly came to his senses and heard the noisy sounds coming from the crowds surrounding the refugee camp. Everyone outside seemed to be discussing something.

Reaching out to put the dagger back on his waist, Brandon walked out of the tent.

The temperature outside is different from the usual summer heat, it is particularly chilly at the moment.

The dim visibility was like the beginning of night, or like the semi-darkness just before dawn.

Is it almost dawn? Or did he sleep until dark again? The boy who just woke up couldn't tell the time.

Looking around, everyone in the camp seemed to have woken up long ago.

Is it going to rain heavily in this weather?

Brandon looked up at the sky.

As expected, the sky was covered with thick dark clouds, and because the sunlight was blocked, the surroundings seemed to be shrouded in night.

He just hoped that the wind and rain would be less severe because he didn't have any extra clothes to change into.

The boy prayed and looked around for Ron.

Not seeing where the leader had gone, Brandon didn't dare run around and could only wait where he was.

After a long while, he saw Uncle Ron holding a long knife and hurriedly returning to the camp outside.

However, the faces of his companions were filled with fear and panic.

"Everyone - call everyone! Bring food and weapons, gather at the foot of the city wall and call me at the gate! Quick! Go!!"

Uncle Ron ordered his men to gather the refugees with a cold face. When he saw the boy in front of the tent, he shouted, "Brandon! Come and follow me closely! Don't leave!"

The boy shuddered, having a bad feeling, and immediately followed the leader. Amid the chattering noise, a large number of people in the camp quickly gathered, and under the gloomy sky, a large number of refugees arrived at the foot of Shatai City.

The guards guarding the battlements were startled at the sight of the aggressive group of victims, and the sergeant quickly ran to inform the lord that something was wrong.

The one who arrived before the fat baron was the knight who was in charge of leading the guards and was also the second son of the local lord.

When the young knight saw the huge army surrounding the city, he remembered the threat of siege by the refugees not long ago, and his face suddenly showed anger.

"Ron! What do you want? My father has already agreed to the threats from you rioters. Do you still want to go back on your word?" The young Knight Kantadar roared on the top of the city.

Hearing this, Ron shouted angrily, "Damn it, we are not going to attack the town, open the city gates!
There are monsters in the east! Monsters are everywhere! They are coming! Open the city gates and let everyone in! Otherwise, you will die too!!”

In a cave halfway up the mountain.

Leon broke free from his deep dream.

With slightly blurred vision, he swept across the bonfire that had long been extinguished, and looked at the bright sunlight projected outside the cave entrance.

He yawned, feeling like he had had a strange yet familiar dream.

After traveling through time, I haven’t had a dream for a long time. This is a long-lost experience.

But no matter how hard he tried to think back, he couldn't remember what he had dreamed about.

There seemed to be only a vast expanse of light.
"Leon, are you awake?"

Hearing the girl's call, Leon scratched his cheek, rested his head on the soft touch of her thighs, turned over on the camping blanket, and looked at Olivia's smiling face.

The griffin lay on its side in the cave. The girl leaned against its warm side, sat on the mat, and used her legs as a pillow for her lover.

She raised her hand and gently stroked Leon’s cheek: “.Good morning, do you want to sleep more before leaving?”

Leon smiled and shook his head.

He had to hurry on his way as soon as possible. He had been feeling uneasy ever since he learned from Laura two days ago that the mages from Atias might have caused trouble in the Holy City.

Leon straightened up, woke up, got up and packed his bags, then he and Olivia helped each other put on the armor they had taken off before going to bed.

Although he was not sure of his exact location at the moment, Leon roughly estimated from the map he carried with him that he should be not far from the eastern border of Kantadar.

We took off from Avalon Castle on a griffin and found this cliff cave to rest before dark yesterday. It should only take a few moments today to reach the original owner's hometown, Rolandar.

Leon only hoped that the fallen religious holy city had been recaptured by the Kingdom of Serian, just as the captive nobles of Glade County had guessed.
After waking up the snoring Death Claw, they flew down the cliff on it, found a river to wash up, and continued on their way.

Since the distance was not close, Leon did not let the griffin fly too high this time, but only maintained an altitude of around one thousand meters so that it could overlook the earth and identify the flight direction.

"So you traveled such a long distance."

Olivia looked down at the mountains and rivers below, and was amazed at the long journey Leon and his party had come.

“It’s not that far.”

Leon turned his head and said, "We spent most of the journey in the mercenary's prison car. Moreover, I was unconscious for several days when I was taken from the Holy Land City to Mamor County."

Hearing him say this, Olivia realized the unfortunate situation he was in during that period, and she couldn't help but feel guilty for her slip of the tongue: "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have mentioned this experience."

"It's nothing, it's all over." Leon waved his hand to comfort her.

After all, he was not the original owner. His memories of the destruction of the city and the loss of his family were more of sympathy and indignation, but not so vivid and unforgettable. Although the days trapped in the slave cage were indeed torturous, he ran swiftly with the help of Laura and did not have time to leave any psychological trauma. To be honest, the days of survival in the wilderness with Lohak and Azerien were even more difficult.

Olivia listened to his answer and couldn't help but tighten her arms around his waist.

Leon patted the girl's arm armor and felt ashamed that his lover was worried about him.

I should find a chance to explain my true origins to Olivia. The girl behind me will soon become his wife, so there is no need to hide some things.

As he flew, he looked out and found that the end of his vision, the skyline about ten kilometers away, was covered by gloomy dark clouds, and there was no end in sight from south to north.

Is it a coincidence that there is bad weather ahead?
This is the first time.

But it seems that the top of the dark cloud is not very high.

Leon turned his head to look at the griffin's huge wings. Flying in the rain would not have much impact on the giant beast, but the Deathclaw certainly did not like being caught in the rain. When he got closer, he might as well let it rise to a height above the clouds.

Just as he was thinking this, he suddenly heard Laura say: ".Look at the shape of the dark clouds over there, they are not formed naturally."

Leon's heart trembled.

He looked at the endless range of dark clouds and was deeply surprised.

The coverage area is at least hundreds or thousands of square kilometers!

"Lola, aren't you saying that there is a spellcaster performing celestial magic ahead?"

Leon now has some understanding of magic. Such a large-scale celestial spell is very difficult to perform, not to mention the Atias mage whose level is unknown, even for a Lorelit mage of standard, it would be very difficult to perform.

Laura didn’t answer immediately, but urged: “Come closer, I can’t sense through you at this distance.”

Leon immediately ordered the Death Claw to speed up.

The griffin cried, soared to a higher altitude, and then dived to accelerate.

But as they got closer and closer to the airspace shrouded by dark clouds, Leon also sensed the uneasiness coming from the Death Claws.

The griffin's senses detected the strangeness of the environment ahead, and it quickly flew sideways at a distance, seemingly unwilling to get close to the range of the dark clouds.

Leon looked up and was surprised to find that the dark clouds extended to the east as if there was no end. The scope of this celestial phenomenon far exceeded his previous estimate.

Laura seemed to understand something: "A strange domain of magic, formed by some large-scale ritual, the purpose is to block the connection between the living world and the Dead Sea."

Before Leon could ask, he felt Olivia patting him.

"Look there! Is there a war going on there?"

The girl pointed to the land under the dark clouds in the southeast.

Leon looked up and could barely make out the town of Kantadar by a lake in the distance.

There were dense black spots moving around the town, as if it was being attacked by a huge army?

(End of this chapter)