Weed continuously shot arrows, this time changing his target to the Embinyu Priests. It was much more profitable to target the Priests which gave more experience than the harder to kill Demons. But the good times were quickly passing by.
The effect of the Great Disaster Nature Sculpting was slowly receding and the rain was stopping. But the water level around the Pyramid was still rising and the torrents were becoming more violent.
“With this much, I have done what I could.”
Weed was not satisfied with the amount of Embinyu Priest he farmed but felt that it was time to leave. The number of Embinyu forces had decreased significantly due to the siege in Serabourg Citadel and the flood. But if they stayed here any longer, there was a real possibility that the remaining forces would engage themselves fully.
Even Seo Yoon was spent, as she fought against the Demons alone.
“We should have bought enough time for the refugees.”
It would take significant time for the Embinyu forces to reorganize themselve to chase after the refugees. A large number of Cultists and Demons were cast adrift to the lower reaches of the Arud River. Even if not many of them perished, the backwash was great.
In a war between Kingdoms, the Great Disaster Nature Sculpting would cause unimaginable havoc. The only small side effect was that the skill didn’t distinguish between enemies and allies.
“Sphinx, time to go.”
“I want to keep on fighting.”
“The enemies are reorganizing themselves. We need to escape now before it becomes impossible to escape.”
Head Priest Belloni and his personal forces, the giant Demons that were scattered by the flood. When the disaster ended, they would recover and come in full force. It was wise to hurry out of where they were, when considering the kind of enemies coming after them
“I do not wish to depart from this place.”
“Why?”
“I have to protect this place. I will protect king Theodrin’s tomb till the end.”
"......."
The Sphinx chose the Pyramid over life.
A side effect of bestowing life on a sculpture! When it was a sculpture, it was meantassigned to protect the Pyramid. It was the symbol of the king’s majesty. After being bestowed with life, the Lifeform did not forget it’s duty and had planned to fight the Embinyu forces till it’s last breath.
“You will die if you stay. This precious life you received, is it not a waste to throw it away?”
“There is a meaning behind protecting what you have to protect.”
“Even then, come with me. If you do, I will prepare meat for you everyday and give two days breaks every year.”
But of course, there was no way he would keepcould guarantee his promise!
“I have already chosen my path. Go, I will protect this place.”
At the Sphinx’s faithful declaration, Weed’s eyes became wrinkled and wet.
‘It’s good that the rain didn’t stop yet. It can hide my tears.’
The tears were definitely not because Weed was touched by the Sphinx’s words. His precious Art stat and level! Weed had invested his precious experience in bestowing life on the Sphinx and now due to its extreme stubbornness, it was planning to die fighting.
“I should have thought this out before bestowing life. I should have granted it life when I had plenty of time and then beat the education into him.”
It was too late to regret now. Staying here any longer to convince the Sphinx otherwise would put him and Seo Yoon in a dangerous situation.
“Wy-Three!”
Weed activated the Lion’s Roar. And a moments later, Wy-Three could be seen flying from afar. Wy-Three woke up at the crack of dawn without being able to wash his face so he could reach them.
When Weed and Seo Yoon got on Wy-Three’s back, the flood current was weakened. The Embinyu forces that were swept up in the flood could now touch the ground. The ground was a shamble with the half drowned Demons and Cultists.
The Embinyu Magicians and Priests began to ready their attack but the Sphinx protected them with it’s own body.
“Go now!”
Weed and Seo Yoon fled on the back of Wy-Three and Torido flew away from the battlefield with his own power. Looking from far, the Sphinx was fighting bravely but soon, it would be encircled by the Embinyu forces and would fight an uphill battle.
“It looks like he won’t make it.”
Trying to escape with a Sphinx that couldn’t fly might have been impossible from the beginning. But thanks to the Sphinx, Weed could escape without any problems.
“Wy-Three, don’t fly to the refugees. Rather, fly around and take a long detour.”
“Understood, Master.”
To prevent any possible pursuit, Weed commanded his Wyvern to take a detour before heading towards the refugees.
Pass the hills and slopes was an endless procession of refugees! Seeing Weed and Wy-Three above, the refugees cheered and waved their hands.
‘Doesn’t look like the Embinyu army gave a major chase.’
There were some attacks by the roaming monsters but that much could be handled by the players and the soldiers. After Weed left to bait the Embinyu Church, many players had already logged out. But still, a decent number of players stayed behind to disconnect from another area.
Weed continued to follow the refugees on Wy-Three’s back.
“Here, I have some bandages. Roll back your sleeve a bit.”
Weed wrapped bandages around Seo Yoon’s arm, who was suffering the aftermath of the Berserker skill even after the battle had ended.
Following after them long after the sun had rose, the refugees at the forefront finally met up with the Rosenheim Kingdom’s army. This was the army that was dispatched to Serabourg Citadel after detecting the signal fire.