Chapter 1300 - 708: Black Clouds Over the City

Chapter 1300: Chapter 708: Black Clouds Over the City

Hamlet, ruins.

In the dungeon below, Lance lit the Hands of Praise on the first Iron Crown, causing a great disturbance with the uncontrolled power.

No one knew what was happening in that dungeon; to most people, it was just another day arriving.

The Scorpion Mercenary Group passed the night and prepared to begin today’s exploration, while Hamlet’s Army also began mobilizing. The Honor Guard, Barbarian Mercenaries, and various heroes had already entered the ruins to carry out their tasks.

Countless adventurers poured into the ruins with the rising sun, attempting to find their treasures.

Along with the sun rising over the Hamlet ruins was hope.

Initially, no one noticed the disaster, thinking it was merely the morning light obscured by thin clouds, as if a gust of wind could bring daylight back.

Until the eerie power solidified into increasingly thick clouds over the ruins, casting patches of shadow.

The trend of expansion grew stronger, as if the power of the ritual that once sacrificed the entire city was re-emerging, determined to drag Hamlet back into darkness.

In the new town, several powerful spellcasters seemed to sense something.

Alhazred awakened from his unending meditation. Lance had come to him early this morning to discuss some matters, as well as to inquire about the possibility of the Hands of Praise sealing ritual.

The Mystical Scholar stepped out of the room and looked at the beginning formation of dark clouds in the sky. He didn’t know what had happened in the dungeon but knew a wicked power was rapidly spreading and action must be taken. He immediately stepped outside.

Meanwhile, Brother Martin, who had previously planned to delve deep into the ruins to showcase the Church’s power because of a "great ambition," also seemed to feel something, looking at the increasingly heavy dark clouds and letting out an exclamation.

"Damn it! How evil is this place?" He said as he turned to call out to the Candlelight Priest, "Let’s go, we can’t stay here."

An old hand remains wise. Although he doesn’t have the unique gift of a Mystical Scholar, he is a Legendary Caster, and when uncertain, retreating is always the best decision.

Similarly, many Transcendents lurked in the town. Though perhaps not as keen as legendary heroes or as specialized as scholars, never underestimate these curious and peculiar Transcendents...

At this point, Alhazred found Barton, where the military command was preparing to mobilize the army, Reynard also appeared here.

"Something has happened, perhaps there’s a problem with the Lord’s sealing ritual, or maybe adventurers triggered a ceremony. Anyway, it’s not our concern.

An evil force is awakening in the ruins and spreading rapidly. If it continues, undoubtedly, darkness will engulf Hamlet. The undead in the ruins will likely grow stronger, threatening the town.

The priority now is to inform the city and control the town to prevent chaos. Those creatures aren’t easy to handle, should we evacuate? "

"Evacuate? Evacuate to where? You should be aware of what could happen if so many people flood into the city.

Moreover, behind the town isn’t wilderness, along the way are plentiful outcomes from wildland development and various farms, medicinal fields, lumber yards... thousands are within.

Nothing’s truly happened yet; acting this way might cause unnecessary panic. "

"Indeed, we must avoid falling into chaos ourselves first. Now there are over a thousand troops around the town; can it be defended? "

"There’s a new recruits camp with three hundred, a hundred navy who arrived today, and the largest contingent is thirty artillery teams, though some are also new recruits... "

Barton quickly calculated the army distribution around the town, evidencing that although the numbers aren’t small, most are new recruits.

Recent army recruitment campaigns meant the rear training camps completed only basic training before sending recruits to the front lines for further training.

Target practice pales in comparison to fighting skeletons, so does artillery, combining real combat with training prevents wasting resources while ensuring steady immersion into battle rhythms without significant danger.

Daytime skeleton fights and evening studies supplemented the aggressive recruitment, the total force nearly doubling, but diluted the old soldiers.

The saving grace was the quality of seasoned soldiers being robust; few were illiterate, recognizing at least a hundred words, executing orders clearly, maintaining good combat capacity with them as the army backbone.

"Regardless of this disaster’s nature, we must prepare, first gathering construction workers as they possess orderliness and understand deployment.

Simultaneously, prepare those sites against potential attacks, mobilize armed patrols, bring all frontline soldiers back to establish defenses... "

Reynard was initially beside Lance, aware of the cataclysm’s details, understanding that too many dying would feed the Evil God.

Of course, there’s one more crucial task.

"Most importantly, we must be ready to retreat at any time. As the Lord has said, as long as people survive, hope remains."