In the small forest!
The eight members of the team were all sitting together. They looked at the simplified map in Chris's hand, which showed some of the terrain they had recorded on their journey.
"Everyone, look at this mountain," Chris pointed to a large, steep mountain and said seriously, "We passed by there earlier. From here, it will take six hours to reach that spot. It's our only chance to shake off the beastkin knights."
"Yes, if we climb that mountain and use the snowboards, we can definitely escape easily." Number 2 said confidently.
"Do you all remember where the snowboards are hidden?" Chris asked seriously.
"Yes!" The others replied immediately.
"Good. If we get separated, meet at the second gathering point. This time, everyone must survive and return." Chris said, clenching his fists.
"Hee hee hee... Captain, don't worry. We have the things the city lord gave us. There's no way anything will go wrong." Number 5 said with a smile.
"Don't be careless. If anyone dies, I'll make sure to tell all the new recruits about their embarrassing moments." Chris warned.
"Uh..." The others were momentarily stunned.
"No! I'll definitely make it back alive," Number 4 quickly shouted, as his embarrassing moments were the most.
"Hahahaha..." The others laughed, and the tense atmosphere was eased.
"Alright! Let's move! We still need to do some camouflage." Chris stood up and said.
"Yes!"
The eight of them immediately started moving. They walked back and forth in the snow, creating the illusion that many people had passed through the area, even leaving footprints that led off into the distance...
Half an hour later!
The eight members of Chris's team had all prepared their equipment and were standing at the point. Each person had a recurve bow, which was initially used to attract aggro.
"They're coming!"
Chris put down the binoculars as the gates of Blade Edge City opened. More than two hundred beastkin knights surged out, fully armored, though none of them had warhorses.
"Remember, don't get into close combat. Just keep your distance and harass them from afar." Chris instructed, nocking an arrow and aiming toward the small forest.
"Understood!" The others followed suit.
"Shoot two rounds, then retreat," Chris ordered.
"Yes!"
Five minutes later, in front of Chris and the others, appeared Karl and the fox beastkin with soldiers. They had also spotted Chris's group.
"Fire!"
At Chris's command, arrows were swiftly released. All eight arrows hit their targets. Two or three struck vital spots, killing the beastkins, while the others were mostly blocked by the beastkin knights' armor, reducing their impact.
"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh…"
The second round of arrows was quickly fired. The distance was still a bit far, so only two or three beastkins were killed.
"Retreat! It's the beastkin knights, quickly retreat!" Chris shouted at the top of his lungs, deliberately shouting loud enough for Karl to hear.
After shouting, Chris and his team immediately turned and ran, leaving Karl dumbfounded. Weren't they coming for a fight? Why are they running now?
"Damn humans, more cunning than that filthy fox woman. Go after them! I want them dead!" The knight's leader, Karl, shouted in frustration.
"…"
Thus, Chris and his team led the beastkin knights deep into the forest, deliberately walking on areas with thick snow, like luring them with a bone on a stick.
Half an hour after the beastkin knights left the city, Aiden felt that they wouldn't be turning back. He immediately began organizing people to cook wheat porridge. The slaves were so hungry they could barely move. Without giving them something to eat, it would be impossible to keep them going until they reached the stopping point.
"Send people to the small forest over there to intercept any beastkins carrying messages, and also send thirty people to block the gates of Blade Edge City. I don't want any beastkins disturbing us." Aiden ordered.
"Yes!" The veteran soldiers, armed with crossbows, immediately set off.
Aiden knew that there were certainly still beastkin knights inside Blade Edge City, but after their main force left, the beastkins wouldn't dare to come out. They would only remain inside, guarding the city, and wait for the main force to return.
This was their opportunity. While the beastkins were cautious, they could immediately move the slaves. The beastkin knights wouldn't return for at least twelve hours, and by the time they came back to track them, the slaves would already be on the ship.
"Start the operation. Tell the slaves there's wheat porridge here. If they don't want to die, tell them to come over." Aiden said in a deep voice. At this moment, there was no need to promise anything to the slaves. As long as there was porridge, they would definitely follow.
"Yes!"
The new recruits immediately set off toward the dilapidated houses. Their job was to persuade or lure the slaves.
At the moment, the slaves were hiding inside the houses, gathering around small fires for warmth. They dared not light a large fire, as the wooden and clay houses, hastily put together, would likely catch fire quickly. Such tragedies had already happened many times in the past few days.
Bang, bang, bang…
The new recruits knocked on the doors of the rundown houses, or the makeshift doors made from branches. In the stunned, numb, and fearful eyes of the slaves, they slowly began speaking.
"Everyone, there's wheat porridge to drink in that forest. If you trust us, you can go over there and have some wheat porridge."
"Don't worry, we're not trying to trick you, because there's nothing left to deceive you about."
"Want to live? Then go to that small forest and have some wheat porridge. There are people there who will take you in."
"…"
Similar words echoed repeatedly. After each new recruit spoke, they moved on to the next house. They were only responsible for delivering the message and didn't force the slaves to make a decision.
After days of destruction from the heavy snow, only about eight hundred slaves remained alive. If Aiden and the others hadn't arrived, in just over half a month, half of the slaves would be dead. By the time spring arrived, only a few might survive.
Therefore, the slaves had no real choice left. Everyone stumbled out of their drafty, dilapidated houses and made their way toward the small forest. Even if they had to crawl, they would do so, as it was the only hope for survival.
Bang, bang, bang!
A new recruit pushed open the door of a house and was stunned by what he saw inside. There were seven or eight small figures huddled in the corner of the room, staring at the recruit with fear in their eyes.
"Uh…" The recruit froze for a moment. He hadn't expected to find so many slave children who had survived in the heavy snow. Someone must have helped them.
He scanned the room and, in the dim light of the room's corner, spotted an elderly man who had already passed away.
"Come with me. Our Lord will take you in," The recruit said softly.
"Grandfather, he's dead," Said a little girl with gray hair, standing up with an emotionless expression on her face. "Can you save him?"
"Uh… I can't." The recruit said, his eyes dimming as he shook his head.
"Is your lord going to raise us and then sell us?" The little girl with gray hair asked directly.
"Absolutely not. This time, he sent us to rescue you." The recruit assured her.
The gray-haired girl was very unusual. The recruit didn't know why, but when he looked into the cold, lifeless green eyes of the little girl, his voice unconsciously softened.
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