Chapter 239: Plea for Aid

Chapter 239: Plea for Aid

In the silence, the light cocoon enveloping the High Tower in Twinwing City quietly faded away. Lily checked herself upon waking, but did not notice many changes.

Bran still hadn’t woken up, but his consciousness was gradually returning. As his consciousness returned, his Mana Resonance with Huahua renewed. The heavy footsteps within Northland City finally ceased, and the moment the sounds disappeared, Danny rushed towards the High Tower. The tower was still shrouded in Mist, but Huahua was no longer anxious. She narrowed her eyes as if nothing was wrong, squatting in front of the tower and lightly swishing her tail.

Seeing this, the people who had arrived one after another couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief—it was good that nothing was wrong!

Bran always said that Mana itself would find a way, but he always used his innate abilities to do some unreliable things according to his own will, ending up covered in wounds.

In his slumber, the Mana within his body finally broke free from his stubborn control and began to circulate naturally. Mana, this double-edged sword, also began to repair his battered body.

Compared to Bran, Lily was much wiser. Many things simply couldn’t be figured out; going with the flow was the best choice, and besides, she couldn’t act recklessly like Bran. The difference in their innate abilities actually allowed her to avoid a lot of unnecessary trouble.

Bran could wake up at any time, but like a child reluctant to get out of bed, he kept delaying opening his eyes.

…

The weather had turned cold. When the first heavy snow of the year fell, a plea for aid from the Dragon Riders arrived at Northland City. The letter described their miserable plight. Attacked by unknown Monsters, the Dragon Riders suffered heavy losses. It wasn’t until the deep winter arrived that the Monsters reluctantly retreated.

The plea for aid wasn’t sent only to Northland City. Although the content was similar, the tone was completely different. It was humble and pleading towards Northland City, but not so polite towards others.

The Dragon Riders didn’t expect to receive substantial help from Northland City; this was just an indirect way of informing them. The plea for aid sent to Northland City was more like a list for plunder. If the people or things Northland City cared about weren’t on this list, the Dragon Riders were ready to take action.

The Dragon Riders were also forced into a corner with no other choice. A natural disaster had turned their strategy of concealing their strength into nothing.

No one knew if that Monster would return after winter. So, during this winter season, the Dragon Riders planned to relocate as many people outward as possible.

Their years of management on the East Coast now paid off, ensuring that the migrating Dragon Riders wouldn’t be left destitute. There were many things to do, but in the end, it all boiled down to supplies, large quantities of supplies.

It wasn’t that there were no supplies on the Archipelago, but trying to relocate both people and supplies simultaneously by sea was an impossible task for the Dragon Riders, whose ships were severely damaged. The land route became their only choice. They had to seize enough supplies before the true harsh cold arrived.

Since Bran occupied Northland City, although the Green Kingdom had favorable weather, man-made disasters continued unabated. This year, just as people were hiding by their warm firesides, ready to enjoy the fruits of a year’s labor, the Dragon Riders appeared violently.

Plunder and killing gradually spread. Driven by hunger and cold, the people raided by the Dragon Riders turned their eyes to the even weaker. People always had to survive, even the weak would fight desperately for it.

Green, which seemed peaceful, had long been in chaos. With Northland City’s powerful force suppressing things, a new order couldn’t be established promptly. The seemingly solid old order had actually long lost its effectiveness.

Today’s Green still had many soldiers and generals, but without order to hold them together, they were merely a heap of loose sand. This heap of loose sand, under the impact of the disaster, quickly became a part of it. This added much power to the disaster.

The Dragon Riders’ plunder was very successful. Disregarding others’ lives, their powerful force often yielded huge gains initially. The accumulations of years for others changed hands in an instant.

While the Dragon Riders were joyfully counting their gains, and after they had prepared ample supplies for their migrating clansmen, the disaster in the Green Kingdom had become unstoppable.

…

Niels stood together with his daughter Zhuoma, armored and sword in hand. He wasn’t sure if he could survive this crisis. At first, he had taken in some refugees, not out of goodwill but for profit. A batch of free slaves, as long as they didn’t starve this winter, would bring him good returns next year, either through enslavement or resale. But as more and more refugees appeared, he began to grow tense.

The family’s Knights and private army were assembled; even the commoners took action spontaneously. Everyone understood it was time to huddle together for warmth. The refugees were also huddling together for warmth, but their way of doing so was too treacherous. During probes, both sides gradually suffered casualties. As casualties increased, a fierce and cruel atmosphere also gathered.

Looking at the bloodthirsty eyes across from him, Niels knew there was no turning back. He somewhat regretted, if he had stayed in the Royal Capital, could he have avoided this calamity?

What he didn’t know was that outside the Royal Capital was also packed with refugees.

In recent years, Green hadn’t lacked food production. If the refugees had some organization, some order, if someone could have stepped forward to guide them and distribute everything they plundered reasonably, these people wouldn’t have ended up in this state. After the frenzied plundering, disordered fighting caused massive waste; more than half of the obtained supplies were destroyed in the scramble with each other.

Hunger drove them mad, and madness further destroyed order.

…

The Green Kingdom was in turmoil, but Northland City remained peaceful and serene. By now, Bran had already awakened. News of Green’s collapse kept pouring into Northland City, making him a little restless.

Refugees had already surrounded the Royal Capital. If they stood by and did nothing, they would soon threaten Twofold Mountain. The team sent to fetch the White Robes’ families was told to stay temporarily within Anya, awaiting news.

Many others were also awaiting news, and more and more eyes were turning towards Northland City…