Chapter 149: Escorting the Survivors
Elaine didn’t — she couldn’t stop leading...
Escorting the refugees out of harm’s way was her job, and though initially their destination was far away, Trisha had advised that if she wanted the civilians to be safe, they needed to be at least a corruption zone away from Dunn County.
That was her primary aim now. She could feel the catastrophic battle being waged far back.
Though there was a good stretch of distance separating them, her heightened perception could still pick out subtle tremors and rumbles.
"I hope they’ll be okay..." her eyes flashed with worry as she whispered to herself.
Along the way, they had rescued many stragglers. She couldn’t bear to leave them behind, knowing what was back there.
Unlike the others, she was still much in the dark about these so-called Bloodborne, and she was as cautious as one could be.
Naturally, the ragtag group of refugees had long increased to a small crowd numbering about 100+.
"Young miss, a few meters ahead and we will be stepping into a corruption zone." A young man rushed over to relay.
Hearing this, Elaine’s frame went tense. This was going to be the toughest phase of the journey for her.
Their primary aim wasn’t to clear this zone — they had to cross it. And not only that, she had to actively protect the crowd.
Naturally, that wouldn’t be enough now. The corrupted hungered for those that reeked of the origin.
And now that they were moving in a concentrated group, they would suffer swarms of attacks for sure.
"You don’t need to worry too much. As long as I point out the path and you lead, we will definitely be okay." Trisha, her blind partner, assured.
Steeling herself, they walked into the corruption zone. The cold embrace of the corrupt essence riding the wind washed over her.
...
A distant stretch at the far edges of Dunn County, far away from Killdeer...
The space suddenly started to fluctuate wildly before it bent and warped, spitting figures out of thin air into reality.
The four reeled across the terrain. They might have evaded the fiery tempest of the dragon, but waves of the attack followed them through space.
Their skin reddened from the heat, but the slow comfort of the cold wind caressing their bodies quenched it.
Everyone panted erratically as they lay on the earth, recalling what they had just encountered.
Everyone still felt both surreal awe and terror — the sight of the dragon provoking both feelings in their hearts.
"T-that was close..." Brandon sighed in relief.
The others nodded in agreement. It was a good thing Seth rushed to create a way out of that situation.
Things would have definitely become more disadvantageous for them. After all, there wasn’t only the threat of the dragon looming but more Bloodborne.
This encounter finally made them feel the true predicament of the human race.
This was merely a trickle of their foes’ might. And not to add, they still hadn’t confirmed the number of races they’d be going up against.
Plus, now that humans were still divided by various factors, it would be easier for their enemies to employ the strategy of divide and conquer.
They could now echo the sentiments of the president, and why he seemed so obsessed with uniting mankind.
It was simply because that was their only chance...
Seth stared at the sky, and the crimson expanse stared back, showing that this was a corruption zone.
"How do we get to Elaine? Last I saw of her, she was leading the refugees away." Brandon suddenly questioned, snapping everyone out of their daze.
Seth’s eyes flickered at the recollection that they still had teammates, but he wasn’t worried.
He believed Elaine and Trisha were smart enough to realize that the safe zone just beyond the Killdeer area wasn’t safe any longer.
If they wanted the refugees to have a better chance at survival, they needed to get as far away from the Bloodborne as possible.
"Finding them shouldn’t be too much of a problem." He assured, already starting to mobilize his ether.
Since his racial evolution, Seth felt like a different creature. His innate control over his essence had especially grown drastically more delicate.
So employing a method he once gleaned from the oracle crystal, he sent a ripple of essence washing through a wide distance.
With his senses delicately tied to it...
Naturally, he could never be as thorough and perfect in wielding essence as the oracle crystal, as empty gaps riddled the relay.
He still caught sight of Elaine’s location.
Due to the number of people she was escorting, missing them was impossible.
He relayed his findings to the others, and quickly they got moving. Though exhausted — not as much physically, but mostly mentally — they still decided to move.
That way, they could create another safe zone in a nearby county northeast of Dunn.
That way, there’d be a corruption zone separating the humans from the Bloodborne.
Making sure that even if the Bloodborne tried to gain access to humans, it wouldn’t be as easy.
One couldn’t forget they would still mostly be restricted to the Killdeer Mountain and the stretch beyond it.
And going further required a level of suppression Seth and the others had spent quite some time adapting to.
"Big brooooo!" A figure suddenly slipped beside him, wrapping a hand around his shoulder.
Seth rolled his eyes and sighed helplessly, Uriel and Jack tactically also slipping closer.
Naturally, they had to farm a lot of answers out of Seth.
"Hehe! Big bro, would you mind sharing what we just witnessed back there?" Brandon asked with sparkling eyes.
To him, that was as might as well the coolest sight he had ever seen.
Seth had decimated those foes like it was nothing. Not only that, he even fleshed out their weakness.
A huge boon that would prove helpful should the day inevitably come when the Bloodborne started attacking humans.
Aside from that, even now, the three all had to curb the constant natural desire their human genes expressed — to just bow before Seth.
It was an ethereal compulsion they couldn’t get rid of, making them convinced Seth had undergone some kind of racial upgrade of sorts.
Glancing at the three, who had their ears perked up and eyes brimming with curiosity...
Seth didn’t know where to start. After all, even he wasn’t clear on the process.
But if he could still enlighten them on the road beyond, they wouldn’t have to make the mistake he almost made...
"Sure, I can try..." Seth’s words made the three’s eyes brighten, with Uriel and Jack silently drawing even closer to listen.
