Five armored snowmobiles departed from Arkhanghelsk at the first light of dawn. They hoped to arrive at their destination before nightfall.
In other words, they needed to cover a distance of 800 miles within the span of 12 hours. That is why they decided to travel as fast as possible.
Viktor and his companions all got in the car in the middle, so the other cars at the front and back could tightly guard them should something arise.
During their travel, the old butler tried to get them to talk, as they were curious on how Viktor could safely survive and go to Arkhangelsk, a small town around 500 miles north from the bunker.
Not wanting them to be suspicious, Viktor started to explain about how they were helped by a rogue army group led by a suspicious captain name Andrei. He then decided to take off and separate from them, as he felt they couldn't be trusted at all. Then, Viktor talked about meeting a group of Templars who helped them and taught them to survive until they managed to reach Arkhangelsk.
He added that he initially planned for the group to stay in the Arkhangelsk bunker, but then he decided to visit the nearest pillar and advance to the Earth Realm.
The old butler may look weak, but he was a loyal servant of the Romanov family for generations, and he was more cunning than he looked. Viktor was half-expecting him to not believe the story, but to his surprise, the butler found it plausible. The part about the Templars teaching them how to survive was a believable half-truth.
All the others confirmed his story, even Barry. It was surprising as Barry's father told him to always be loyal to his master, which he just did.
The others followed suit, and no one mentioned the fact that they cleared 30 levels and managed to take first place in a particular pillar.
He was lucky that his group managed to get the [Witch's Pendant], as it made his story much more believable. Viktor just couldn't explain his ability to quickly reach Sky Realm.
During the trip, the snowmobile stopped one time as they came across a group of rabid mutated wolves.
Luckily, the vehicle was apparently fully equipped with machine guns. Within minutes, the wolves were dead, and 10 Sky Realm guards walked out of the vehicle and cleared the incoming wolves easily before they continued their journey.
Viktor watched them work and sighed. He was a bit tempted to join the action, even kill some of the wolves himself to get some stat points. However, he didn't want to make anyone suspicious, so he decided to stay still.
Afterwards, their journey continued with no interruptions. As the sun started to dip into the western horizon, they saw some landmarks marking their destination. Viktor spotted a few patrol groups, all lit up under the reddish-golden light of the setting sun.
They were all a group of 20 to 30 Earth Realm fighters, led by a few Sky Realm fighters. A few hours passed, and halfway into the night, they finally arrived just at the outskirts of Novgorod city. It was one of the largest cities 250 miles east of Moscow.
The old butler explained that most of the survivors from Moscow and St. Petersburg all gathered in this city.
"There are around 70.000 survivors in here, and many came at the beginning of the apocalypse," the old butler explained.
The snowmobile drove into the city, careful not to spray too much snow around. Viktor could see hundreds of tents along the road, and from the outfit of those walking in and out, Viktor could recognize them as soldiers.
Seeing that Viktor was interested, the old butler explained, "That is right, young master. We have trained more soldiers, and there are almost 15.000 of them in this city now. They have gathered in this city and every day, they are going back and forth trying to take back Moscow from the undead."
After a few minutes, they finally entered the gate into the city. People were living in the dark remains of a once bustling town, and they looked sickly and tired. Their face was sunken and dark, while the tattered remains of their clothes clung to their frame like spiderwebs.
Again, the old butler explained that now electricity and fresh water were considered a high-value commodities. Hence, these people were perfectly happy to be given daily rations to survive.
"We do our best to try and attend to the people's needs."
Not long afterwards, they entered the inner part of the city. In contrast to the ruins before, this part of the city was fully lighted, and the buildings looked new and maintained. Then, they stopped in a hotel that had been turned into living quarters for the VIP residents.
"We shall stay here for the night, and in the morning, we will continue to travel down south."
Boris, Torri, Kosta, and Barry were given one of the crew quarters in the basement. Meanwhile, Viktor and the three ladies were given one of the VIP rooms at the top. The rooms were lavishly decorated with what remains of the luxury from before the apocalypse.
It seems that the old butler thought the three girls were part of Viktor's usual hobby, hence all of them were placed in one room.
Viktor preferred it to be that way, as he could remind everyone to still be careful and be prepared for any troubles that may arise.
However, it turns out that they were able to spend quite a relaxing night in the room. They were given room service, hot water, and a goose feather bed. The comfort was a complete opposite to whatever chaos was happening outside.
Unfortunately for this night, Eva forced Viktor to be a gentleman and sleep on the sofa so the bed could be used by the three ladies. Viktor decided to comply. Besides, he had decided to be on the lookout tonight since the bodyguards were all on a different floor.
Early morning came quickly, and Angus knocked on the door, before telling them to follow him and continue their journey. However, as soon as they walked out of the hotel, a group of Sky Realm fighters stopped them.
One man looked at him and said, "Young master Viktor, My master wishes to see you before you leave."
Considering the number of people trying to stop them, Viktor could see that it was not a request.
"Who is your master?"
"Master Garron Romanov, your brother."
The source of this c𝓸ntent is fr(e)𝒆webnovel