Calamity Dragon, Starting with the Cultivation of Knight Families

Chapter 108 The Continent of Calter, The Fallen Professional

About forty kilometers to the east of the ruins.

At this moment, about a hundred humans were gathered in a cave.

Inside the cave, a campfire was burning, and the flames illuminated pale faces, most of which appeared to be malnourished.

More than a year.

Since the survivor stronghold on the edge of the Misty Forest was breached by the trolls, those who were lucky enough to escape have been living in fear and hiding in the caves of the Misty Forest.

Fortunately, among the people gathered here, there are currently three spellcasters, five adventurer warriors, and even more than ten young adults.

Otherwise, the lives of the nearly sixty or seventy elderly, weak, sick, and disabled people living in the cave would become a problem.

"Elder Chuck, we've only hunted this much meat today. Let's give it to the children first. We'll just have some of the wild vegetables that Vandi and the others picked today."

“No, Grein, you are the last line of defense for the camp. You must be fed first. In this cruel world, without power, it will be difficult for us humans to survive.”

Under the campfire, Chuck gazed solemnly at Grein, whose face bore a horrific scar.

"Now that the stronghold is gone, at least in the south, we should have a very hard time finding any surviving strongholds!"

"Children are important for the continuation of our human future, but without the power to protect them as they grow up, they will find it difficult to survive in this cruel world."

"And those of us who are fortunate enough to possess the power bestowed by the gods must also be ruthless."

"Let the children suffer for now; it's better than making them face the dangers of the outside world right now."

Grein looked at the aged elder before him, and then at the longing in the eyes of the many children around him.

Finally, Grein closed his eyes briefly, then hardened his gaze and said nothing more.

He gestured for his sister and three companions behind him to sit down, and then picked up the rabbit meat that had been roasting over the campfire and distributed it to his companions.

Seeing the state of Greyn and the others, Elder Chuck's gaze softened with relief.

In today's cruel world, nothing is more important than ensuring the survival of the capable.

Then, the elder spoke again as if it were a routine matter.

"Greece, did you notice anything unusual when you went out today?"

Upon hearing this, Grein, who was taking a big bite of rabbit meat, wiped his mouth with his hand and immediately said:
"Not for now. The surrounding goblin tribes have been very quiet these days."

"On the other hand, Had's slightly larger camp has been quite active recently, having wiped out two or three goblin tribes in succession, and should have obtained a lot of supplies."

"However, they no longer accept outsiders over there, so it's definitely impossible for us to join now."

Elder Chuck sighed at this.

"With so many people, it's bound to attract the trolls' attention, so it's no wonder they're acting this way."

"Furthermore, there are two large goblin tribes in the Misty Forest. With Had and his group making such a big commotion, I think they're bound to run into trouble soon."

"I wonder when this kind of life will end."

"The glory of the gods is gone forever; otherwise, how could the vast human kingdoms have been breached by those troll invaders!"

At this point, people around us all seem somewhat pessimistic and saddened.

On the continent of Calter, the gods of humankind also mysteriously disappeared.

But compared to Auckland, the gods of this world disappeared for a very short time, less than 150 years.

One hundred and fifty years ago, the entire continent of Calter was practically human territory.

Although there are many alien races and monsters on the continent.

But all of that was merely a trial imposed on humanity by the gods.

In fact, monsters exist not only on the surface of the continent.

More than 150 years ago, there were still many underground cities in various human territories.

The gods created dungeons, and courageous humans can become adventurers and gain various powers within these dungeons!

These people are called professionals.

For example, warriors, priests, thieves, archers, and so on.

Every professional has a corresponding career advancement path.

A powerful combat professional can even single-handedly take on an entire nation!
Strong professional life support providers can guarantee a country's supply of all its necessities.

Humanity at that time was very powerful and prosperous.

Unfortunately, one hundred and fifty years ago, one day, all the dungeons suddenly went wrong.

Monsters no longer appear in the dungeon, nor do they produce the various daily necessities that people need.

Thus, in this world where both life and combat depended on dungeons, the prosperous scene quickly collapsed!
Fortunately, the power of the professionals did not disappear with the decline of the dungeon, and there is still a chance to make amends.

If humanity is given a few more years, the chaos will surely be resolved.

But one day, suddenly, on the northern border of the empire on the continent of Calter, a legion of trolls from another world shattered the last hopes of the continent's nations.

These trolls, upon their first appearance, swiftly destroyed a human kingdom.

Although the human nations actively united and relied on powerful professionals to temporarily withstand the enemy's offensive, it lasted for less than half a year.

With the appearance of three more interdimensional portals, and even the full-scale attack of the trolls, human society began to collapse rapidly!
Powerful professionals kept dying in battle, and there was no replenishment of new forces.

Ultimately, the nations of humanity only lasted for a little over thirty years.

Human civilization has become a thing of the past.

The entire continent of Calter has become the trolls' backyard, or even a colony.

But this kind of colonization was utterly devoid of mercy.

In less than ten years, the trolls slaughtered almost 80 to 90 percent of the original human population.

The remaining humans either became servants of the trolls, slaves who could be crushed at will, or even consumables for the trolls' evil magic.

As for the remaining humans, they have been hiding in the fringes of the continent.

The trolls, perhaps also enjoying the cat-and-mouse game, didn't completely hunt down the remaining 'wild' humans. Instead, they employed a more cruel and intriguing form of herding to repeatedly plunder and kill these humans.

Today, most of the remaining humans have almost lost the transmission of their civilization.

However, it must be said that humanity still possesses some extraordinary strengths even in dire circumstances.

That is, although the professionals are gone, they have inherited the combat skills they gained during their professional days by relying on meditation methods written by some wise men.

During the desperate period for non-professionals, some decent superhumans also emerged among the survivors.

But this advancement speed is definitely not as fast as it was back when there was a dungeon.

In fact, nowadays, most human spellcasters and warriors are as weak as low-level monsters.

For example, right now, the five 'adventurers' inside the cave are finding it somewhat difficult to kill even a few ordinary goblins.

After all, although goblins are weak, as surface goblins, they still retain some characteristics from the time of the gods.

Even some powerful goblin chieftains and kings were comparable to silver-level adventurers among humans back then.

Nowadays, humans can be said to be even less powerful than low-level monsters!
After all, humans are in a more difficult situation than monsters, as the trolls of the other world have always been hunting and killing them.

They won't have time to catch their breath or develop powerful superhumans.

The sadness is spreading.

The darkness of the cave only amplified the atmosphere of despair.

Does humanity really have a future?
No one knows!

Just as these people were in a state of grief, suddenly, a huge noise came from outside the cave!

"No!!! It's terrible!!! Goblins! So many goblins!!!"

Suddenly, the man on guard outside shouted urgently and ran into the cave!

"what?!"

"Could it be that goblins discovered this place?"

Instantly, everyone stood up!
"Quick! Turn off the engine!"

"Elder, you stay inside and protect everyone! I'll go outside with Finier and the others to take a look! And we'll seal the entrance while we're at it!"

Grein made a decisive decision.

The elder who cast the spell also nodded hurriedly and gave the following instructions:

"If you can avoid using your hands, then absolutely do so!"

"Assess the situation first. If those goblins are really coming towards us, then Grein, you can leave us alone!"

"Run! There's always a glimmer of hope if you escape! Had will welcome you!"

"I'm old and tired, and I can't let a group of elderly and infirm people become a burden to you! Take along the able-bodied young people and children around here!"

"If it really comes to the last moment, I will blow up the entire cave, so that we old and weak can rest peacefully here!"

"Elder Chuck!"

"Go! Don't worry about us! Maybe things aren't so bad after all?"

Faced with the old man's firm yet gentle gaze, Grein's expression finally froze.

"Let's go!! Bruno, you come with me outside to check the situation!"

"Finyl! You all lead the others and wait for me at the cave entrance!"

After saying that, there was no time to hesitate.

Grein drew his dimpled greatsword and, with the other man, quickly ran out of the cave.

"Quick! Everyone who can move, follow me!"

"Don't hesitate! I believe my brother will never abandon us!"

"Elder Chuck, let's go! Let's stop saying those sad things! We must save ourselves no matter what! Even if not many of us survive, it's better than sitting here waiting to die!"

In the end, everyone in the cave mobilized, including the elder.

These people gathered at the cave entrance, ready to run away as soon as they sensed something was wrong.

As for how far it can run, that's up to fate!
At this moment, the sky is filled with stars, and the red moon hangs high.

Grein and his companion Bruno had already climbed up a large tree.

Reaching the top of the tree, the two used the faint moonlight to look in the direction from which the sounds were coming from.

"They're goblins, but something's not right! It seems like they're on the run!"

With their extraordinary eyesight, the two spotted the goblin.

However, the goblins did not seem to be coming in large numbers to cause trouble for human settlements.

Instead, they made a ruckus and fled in panic.

At the same time, in the next moment, the two finally realized that the source of the huge commotion was actually a group of monsters that had never appeared in the Misty Forest before.

It was a pack of one-horned black panthers, which kept devouring and gnawing at the fleeing goblins.

Meanwhile, to the side and in front of this group of black panthers, a giant black panther with a shoulder height of nearly three meters appeared.

Its impact always resulted in the collapse of trees!

At the same time, they completely ignored the goblin archers' hasty counterattacks.

The two were stunned and terrified by the terrifying monster!

Although it wasn't a goblin attack, it was even more terrifying than a goblin attack!

When the two realized what was happening, they suddenly discovered that a huge demonic bird had appeared above their heads and was hovering there.

The demon bird had a wingspan of over eight meters, and its enormous size alone was enough to plunge Grein into despair.

(End of this chapter)