Chapter 82 — Response

Several soldiers stood guard in tight formation before the great central tent of the camp, and the few serfs who had been lucky enough to escape had already been brought inside.

Apart from Sir Philip, who had to maintain order outside, every person in charge of the camp had gathered here.

The two injured serfs had been laid on a soft cushion. Their backs and arms bore claw wounds of varying severity, and because of the corruption's erosion, these fresh injuries had already begun to fester and degenerate badly. Fortunately, the camp now had a druid. Pi Yun was using his own concoctions and druidic spells to treat the wounded, and the two unfortunate serfs had at least kept their lives.

The other two serfs, uninjured, stood trembling before Gao Yang. Fear still squatted in their hearts; even though they had fled back to the safety of the camp, they could not stop their bodies from shaking. But they were, after all, survivors of the disaster from months ago, and they at least retained the courage to speak a complete sentence.

"After... after we entered the mountains, we went west... at the fork, monsters—those blood-red demons—there were several of them, and we ran right into them face to face!" one serf stammered. "We ran for our lives, but Tok was caught by a monster, and in a few moments he went still..."

Sir Byron, standing beside Gao Yang, was plainly displeased with such a disorderly report. He frowned. "Several—how many is several? Where exactly is the fork leading west? Those monsters move fast. How did you manage to get away?"

The two serfs were startled by the knight's harsh questioning and grew even more flustered at once. Gao Yang spoke up sharply: "Don't ask them like that—when they get nervous they can't explain anything clearly. You two, relax. Tell me how you got away."

The two serfs exchanged a glance, and one of them swallowed. "At first the monsters didn't seem to see us. They were just... wandering along the mountain path. It was only after we started running that they suddenly came after us. The path was narrow, and the monsters got stuck on the rocks, so we got out..."

"How many monsters did you run into? Be specific," Hedy pressed.

"Three... no, four," the other serf said, counting on his fingers. "At the time we only saw three, but the ones that chased us later numbered four."

"So you only saw part of them," Hedy said, glancing at Gao Yang with worry in her face. "In truth, there could be a great many."

"Wandering..." Gao Yang pinched his chin, brows tightly knit, while in his mind he reviewed the "gas giant activity parameters" gathered over the past two days from the surveillance satellite's view. There had been no alarm of rising gas giant activity lately, nor any sign of magic upwelling—so how had those monsters appeared? Where had they come from?

Just then the little old man Pi Yun, who had been treating the wounded, finally finished his casting. He stood and let out a long breath. "These two are out of danger now... They drank my medicine, and with the druid's purification spell, all that's left is rest. As long as there's no fresh infection, they'll be fine in a few days."

Though this fellow normally wandered the camp cadging food and drink, swindling people with fortune-telling, and peddling piles of strange potions that did nothing at all, his druidic skill was genuine. Especially now, Gao Yang was all the more glad the man was here, and he nodded with real sincerity. "Thank you for your trouble."

"Don't mention it—we're on salary terms, and talking about trouble hurts the money," Pi Yun waved a hand. "But I should warn you: I can heal these two men's wounds, but I can't cure the panic of the eight hundred outside. These four came running back wailing all the way, and these two injured ones made even more noise. By now the whole camp probably knows..."

Gao Yang gave the seemingly unreliable old man a long look, and could not help feeling a little grateful to him.

He had had no obligation to remind him of this at all.

"Hedy, see to arrangements first—halt all outside exploration and gathering for today. Work inside the camp proceeds as usual, food distribution continues as usual. Keeping order is the first priority. Sir Byron, take men and strengthen the patrols; polish the armor and weapons bright. And pass word to Sir Philip—that newly recruited squad of militia is to be armed as well."

Having given his orders for the camp, Gao Yang turned to Amber. "You..."

Amber started clamoring before he could finish. "If I say I won't go, are you going to smack me into the wall with that greatsword of yours?"

"I would. And so hard you couldn't be pried off."

Amber pursed her lips. "Fine. Then I'll go."

"I wasn't finished," Gao Yang said, standing up. "I'm going with you."

Amber's eyes widened in surprise, and beside her Hedy immediately cut in: "Ancestor, you should stay in camp—for you to rashly go and scout the monsters' movements is too..."

"Too what?" Gao Yang turned and glanced at Hedy. "Have I been drawing blueprints here so long that you've all forgotten what I did seven hundred years ago?"

Everyone in the tent was struck dumb for a moment, and only then did they suddenly recall the combat prowess of this master of the Xuanmai Sect before them...

Lately Gao Yang had been holed up in his tent drawing design plans and layout diagrams, studying strange "alchemical formulas," and they had nearly forgotten what this fearsome man's true profession had been back in the day... he had made a living hunting little monsters along the kingdom's borders!

It was fortunate that Gao Yang had never told anyone the truth about his "level loss." Now its value showed: so long as Gao Yang stepped forward, everyone around him, however nervous, would be filled with a mysterious confidence...

"If there really are only those three or four aberrations wandering the mountains, I'll go and finish them off on the way. If it's a whole horde, then Amber and I can still withdraw intact and have time to come back, set up defenses, or lead you all in evacuation," Gao Yang said, wearing an expression that said, Don't panic, it's all a technical adjustment, trust me, at worst I'll bring out the max-level Xuanmai Sect account and carry you all—while glancing at the two serfs standing before him. "As for you two... I need you to guide the way."

At these words the two serfs nearly collapsed to the ground in terror, even bursting into tears. "Master, master, no!" "We don't want to die!" "Those monsters eat people!"

Those who had lived through a Cecil disaster firsthand feared facing the monsters far more than those who had only heard rumors of them.

And they had only just escaped death today.

Yet Gao Yang had to make them face those monsters again—and if necessary, make everyone in the whole domain face them again.

"Stand up. You must guide the way. This is an order from the lord," Gao Yang said in a tone that brooked no doubt. "And you needn't worry about your safety. I will fulfill a noble's duty and protect you until you return safely."

The two serfs exchanged a look. Of course they knew what "a noble's duty" meant coming from Gao Yang's mouth—it was exactly what the noble lords preached all day long. But preach as they might, how many took it seriously? When it truly came to life and death, were the lives of wretches like them ever as precious as a noble lord's?

But even so... disobeying the lord's command seemed like a dead end too.

Seeing them hesitate, Gao Yang said calmly: "I am Gao Yang Cecil, a legend who slew hundreds of thousands of horde monsters seven hundred years ago. Do you think those mountains hold hundreds of thousands of monsters come to take your lives? Know this—if the monsters really do come, then being with me is the safest place to be."

Gao Yang's thinking was simple: no one here could beat him anyway, so he might as well boast all he liked.