Chapter 415 - 15: Supersonic Raid

A city-slaughtering sacrifice. The Water God Believers’ madness was appalling, but not incomprehensible.

Su Zhou, at least, immediately understood why the evil thoughts clinging to the Armored Soldiers and Elite Tier Professionals he had seen were as dark and condensed as those of a Demon Army and its Demon Generals who had pillaged and plundered for a century, weighed down by countless Curses.

He figured that in places he didn’t know of, they must have already slaughtered other Shelter Cities, or perhaps some small settlements in the Maze, using those lives as sacrifices.

As for the reason, it was simply to restore their God’s power and to completely eliminate any potential resistance. They probably lacked the time and patience to manage a large city, so it was easier just to kill everyone.

Furthermore, they had Dead Tutors among them, similar to the Shepherd of Spirits, who could likely control the Undead in battle. To these remnants of a past Era, the lifeforms of the current Era were probably as terrifying as alien monstrosities; perhaps they even looked better dead.

"We need to prepare at once."

Knowing the enemy was about to launch a full-scale invasion, Su Zhou and Elias couldn’t just stand by idly. The two immediately began discussing countermeasures.

Thirty minutes later, an evacuation order was issued from the Duke’s Mansion. All commoners living scattered around Naisel City were summoned back inside the walls, while adventurers received the message through a wide-area broadcast, telling them to halt their exploration of the Maze and prepare to return to defend the city.

Within the city, the large underground shelters—originally built to protect against sieges by the Undead and Magical Beasts—were reactivated.

Unlike other Shelter Cities, Naisel City was shielded by three surrounding lakes, so few Magical Beasts or Undead would go out of their way to attack it. The last similar siege had been decades ago, so the vast majority of the populace was unfamiliar with evacuation procedures and needed guidance.

Su Zhou became one of the guides, leading groups of people into the underground shelters, calming the somewhat panicked crowds and maintaining order.

"Thank you, Lord Su Zhou!"

"Lord Su Zhou is truly the savior of our shelter..."

"If it weren’t for Lord Su Zhou, I doubt Duke Elias could have successfully inherited his position and stabilized the Elemental Array."

"I heard Lord Su Zhou was the first to detect signs of the enemy’s attack this time, too. Otherwise, we wouldn’t have had this much time to enter the shelters so calmly."

As Su Zhou led group after group of citizens into the vertical underground shelters, which were connected like beads on a string, he would occasionally hear people respectfully greeting him or praising his every action.

There were old and young, men and women, and all of them sincerely thanked Su Zhou for his recent actions, showing him the utmost respect.

Though incredibly powerful, Su Zhou was kind and approachable in person, with a witty and gentle way of speaking. To better learn the local language, he would visit the city’s taverns to chat with adventurers every time he returned from the Maze—a stark contrast to the cold, aloof demeanor of other Elite Tier Professionals.

Because of this, many of the city’s common people had quickly warmed up to this seemingly very young Powerhouse, even calling him the ’Guardian of Naisel City’.

This title was originally exclusive to the line of Dukes. Elias, of course, had no objections. After all, with his level of strength, he was indeed incapable of protecting the city’s people beyond using his own bloodline to stabilize his family’s inherited Elemental Array.

Su Zhou quite enjoyed being praised, especially when it was a genuine affirmation from others.

In truth, he didn’t fundamentally care about the opinions of others. Whether he was doing good or punishing evil, he always followed his heart’s guidance, and no one else’s view could change his mind.

However, if people did approve, it gave him even greater motivation.

So, as he listened to their praise, Su Zhou didn’t reply aloud, but silently made a vow.

’If I can’t even protect these ordinary people who respect me here in this Otherworld...’

Smiling, he took a little girl’s hand to guide her and her family into the shelter. After she gave him a sweet "Thank you, Lord!", Su Zhou couldn’t help but continue his thought, ’...then in the future, how am I supposed to protect Earth and my home?’

’Besides, a Water God that slaughters the innocent and massacres cities for a sacrifice... If I don’t grind it to dust, my spirit will never be content!’

A content spirit was reason enough. Besides, he could also test the effects of his newly developed Dragon Scale on the enemy.

Su Zhou was already itching for a chance to try it out.

Naisel City had a population of 1.14 million. There were eight large shelters and nineteen small ones, but even that wasn’t enough to accommodate everyone. Therefore, a portion of the residents would have to take refuge in the Maze, accompanied by some of the adventurers.

Su Zhou believed the Maze was likely the Water God Believers’ primary target, making it even more dangerous than staying in the city. The adventurers, however, were confident, insisting that the Maze was so vast that even a battle between Near-God Powerhouses wouldn’t affect them while they hid in some corner.

That being the case, Su Zhou couldn’t force them not to go. Besides, he was only one person; he couldn’t possibly lead every single citizen into the shelters. If some people were determined to go into the Maze, he couldn’t stop them.