Chapter 45

Including Three-Eyed Charlie, many people had seen the Gemini sisters sometimes press an unknown object to their ears, seemingly conversing with an invisible person.

Of course, the language they spoke was incomprehensible to others, but the instructions they translated confirmed that the invisible person was indeed the Dragon Knight, Lord Morin.

Perhaps it was some kind of magical alchemical device!

The people of Cedar Town all automatically filled in the gaps in their minds with their own speculations.

Alchemists often have all sorts of bizarre or unbelievable legends surrounding them, so a small gadget with such functionality wasn't surprising; it must be a very precious item.

If scientists were compared to alchemists, their speculations, though not entirely accurate, were not far off!

"Lord Morin is holding off the Portlanders. He will soon join us. I have already informed him of our direction."

Relying on the prestige of Major Lin Mo among these people, Li Muxin did not hide anything. She noticed that her response brought a sense of relief to the faces of these natives, as if they had taken a pill to calm their nerves.

The threat of the Portland army forced the civilians of this small town to unite and face the crisis together, but all of this was predicated on the powerful military might of the Dragon Knight.

If Lin Mo was safe, they were safe. If Lin Mo met with an accident, these isolated civilians would naturally face a catastrophic disaster.

Everyone's fate had long been tied to Lin Mo's persistence and determination.

"By the gods, by the Dragon God, this is truly good news."

After the town guard captain, a fourth-rank swordsman named Blaund, irresponsibly left, Three-Eyed Charlie, with Lin Mo's support, surprisingly managed to command this ragtag group, still called the "town guard."

It was hard to believe that Morin's childhood friend in Cedar Town had such a side to him. It seemed that the Bart family, the feudal lords centered around Cedar Town, had underestimated this ordinary gatekeeper.

This news quickly spread through the town guard. With people's spirits somewhat lifted, the marching group naturally moved faster, getting farther away from the Portland army.

As night fell, the dark forest was eerily quiet.

With the advance of the Portland army, various birds and beasts seemed to sense the danger, just like the three-striped ice wolves in the cold regions of the Ice Rock Mountains, which had been driven to more distant places, leaving only some low-level, ignorant creatures that continued to hunt or rest as usual.

The firelight was deliberately kept dim around the campfire, and no one spoke loudly.

Many people, upon arriving at this campsite, hastily threw off their burdens and collapsed on the ground, unwilling to move.

After all, they were not accustomed to long journeys. After the initial long march without any rest, most people were exhausted, and many, unable to even take a few bites of dry rations, fell into a deep sleep.

The sounds of chewing and snoring rose and fell. After losing their homes, most people had no mood for conversation, each doing their own thing.

Only the sisters Li Muxin and Li Mubing were still whispering to each other.

"Sister, by noon tomorrow, we will reach Lian City."

"I wonder about the real military situation in Lian City. If it's only slightly better than Cedar Town, with Major Lin Mo's personality, we'll have more headaches. It feels like we've suddenly been thrown from a localized war into a world war. The less developed a civilization is, the more protracted and chaotic their wars become. We're in an unfamiliar place with very few resources to utilize."

"Wouldn't it be better if we had nuclear weapons? For now, we can only follow this guy, whether he's surnamed Lin or should be surnamed Mo. If I had six months, I could definitely build a basic force and wouldn't be so passive."

Sitting by the fire, Li Mubing, the younger sister, propped her chin on her hand, poking the charcoal with a stick. She and her sister were incredibly unlucky, being brought to this strange world by a series of accidents, and before they could find a way to settle down, they were caught up in this unexpected war.

There was no logistics, no team, no intelligence channels. The only ones they could rely on were her sister and Major Lin Mo, who was both a Dragon Knight and an ACE.

All the pride and arrogance they once had had no place here. Her and her sister's fates were tied to Lin Mo like grasshoppers on the same string, sharing the same fate, more closely than the town's civilians. It felt a bit like fate playing a cruel joke.

The long march was not much of a problem for the Gemini sisters. They were estimating how far these people could still go using the white cotton map in their hands.

To avoid being caught by the Portlanders along with the townspeople migrating to Lian City, this group, which had barely completed the task of holding back the enemy and left Cedar Town last, took a detour, also to mislead the Portlanders.

This detour was quite extensive, significantly reducing the risk of encountering the Portland rear forces.

In the pot over the campfire, meat soup was boiling, with thick fat and chunks of meat and plant roots visible in the broth. The people who had evacuated from Cedar Town to here needed ample nutrition to replenish and recover their strength.

The merchant representative, Usig, was very competent in preparing and managing supplies. The food they carried was enough to sustain everyone for several days, and most of it was high-calorie, high-quality food.

"Sir, the rear has been cleaned up. No pursuit has been detected."

Several figures emerged from the pitch-black forest and passed through the outer guards, approaching the Li sisters.

Cedar Town, located at the edge of the Green Mist Forest, relied on the forest for its livelihood, and it was not short of loggers and hunters who had lived there for generations. These rear guard hunters had carefully concealed the tracks of the large group, only now completing their task.

"You have worked hard. Go eat something and rest early. We need to continue marching tomorrow."

Li Muxin nodded at them. The aroma of the meat soup had already made these hungry hunters' eyes involuntarily wander, and the sound of their swallowing could be clearly heard.

"Thank you, sir!"

Being able to have a full meal after a day's hard work was a very happy thing. The hunters cheered softly and rushed to the fire where the pot was placed.

"Has the Dragon Knight arrived?"

The leader of the hunter squad was a young man in his teens, Rock Tiger's second son, Yan Shu (commoners have no surnames). He was worried that by cleaning up too thoroughly, the Dragon Knight, who was bearing the brunt of the Portlanders' anger, might not be able to find the way to follow.

The civilians of Cedar Town were mostly simple and kind, able to distinguish who was good to them and who was bad, and they also knew how to be grateful.

"Rest assured, Lord Morin has his own means and won't get lost."

Li Muxin's Silan language was becoming more fluent. After seeing the light mirror, she found it almost inconceivable for Lin Mo to get lost.

"Who's there?"

Someone outside the camp suddenly shouted. The voice was familiar, seemingly that of the archer Terry from the town guard.

This guy should change his nickname from "Black Feather Eagle" to "Owl." Being able to detect abnormalities in such a pitch-black environment was quite a talent.

"It's me! Morin!"

A voice came from the forest, and then a black figure suddenly appeared in the camp, like a ghost in the night, appearing without warning.

In the firelight, the figure could be vaguely seen. The completely black, non-reflective knight's heavy armor identified him.

"Lord Morin!"

"The Dragon Knight has returned!"

More and more people in the camp exclaimed.

Some who were still asleep were awakened, staring wide-eyed at Lin Mo in his "Dragon General" armor, their mainstay.

Finding the camp in the dark forest was not difficult. The dozen or so campfires, though not very bright, emitted infrared heat signatures that, to the "Dragon General's" reconnaissance system, were as conspicuous as lighthouses in the night.

"Seems everything is still under control."

Based on the automatic infrared human count, Lin Mo immediately obtained the casualty statistics of the people left in the town. At least one in fifty had been lost in the eastern town's defensive battle, which was within acceptable limits.

Seeing that the Gemini sisters were unharmed gave him even more peace of mind.

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