Chapter 229: Thank You
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Thus, the largest exodus ever recorded in mankind's history began.
The King blew his conch shell horn again, and a thick, black, mass of people marched, from different directions, into the royal garden where the transporter portal was located.
If the people were only able to travel on land, then a hundred million people would not be able to escape together, making the scene resemble the one which the Lich had predicted. It would not matter how fast the Scholar worked; 12 hours alone would still not be enough to save everyone.
However, Gouve had the sky.
At the King's command, the sky suddenly darkened as a blanket of skycruising rays hovered above the formation. Each ray had at least a dozen passengers on its back, and they fell into orderly line columns according to their individual heights, leaving the air above the transporter became completely packed with skycruising rays.
Due to the Gouvian ecosystem, a skycruising ray was very prolific in every household in the society. Almost everyone owned a ray of their own, which they rode to join the Harvest Festival. Even if the rays were terrified, they would not flee too far from their masters. Hence, when the disaster struck, the beasts took to hovering in the sky above the capital city.
Baiyi had noticed the rays earlier. This tied into his plan to use the airspace to travel. Land travel would not be enough to save everyone, so there had to be a way to place some of them in the sky.
That was another one of Laeticia's missions. When she had calmed the public down, she had helped them find their rays.
The transporter portal was designed specifically for emergency purposes. Its width was the size of two basketball courts, and after activation, the transporter portal formed a gigantic cube with a height so tall, it went way into the sky. Anything that was caught within the cube would be included into its massive trans-realm transportation spell. Hence, using the air above the transporter was reasonable because everyone would be able to fit in 1 .
The skycruising rays were not the only beasts for humans to ride on. The dragon knights and griffin riders could only carry some extra passengers on their back, but their most important purpose, at that very moment, was to fasten lassos over the rays that were too slow so that they could drag them into the transporter formation territory.
The sorcerers and mages who were on the ground also helped by releasing wind magic, drawing the wind to propel the rays in the direction of the dragon knights and griffin riders. The physical fighters, who were not able to help as much as they had hoped, mimicked the dragon knights' actions. They lassoed the rays and sprinted, dragging them quickly, improving the efficiency of their escape.
These were all Baiyi's plans. He had made sure that every part of the plan was accounted for, and at this moment, all they had to do was watch it work. This was the reason why the Lich had to begrudgingly admit defeat. The King had also lost every reason to doubt or disrespect Baiyi's capabilities.
With a foolproof plan like this, how could this mass evacuation not be successful?
"Okay, this plan is crazy!" The King blurted out, upon watching one of the strongest commanders of his royal guards drag five rays towards the transporter formation, making the guard's face and neck redden from the effort.
"What about the authorities in Isythre…?" The King furrowed his brow as his mind wandered.
The last time they contacted Isythre to request for help, their ally had not expected the number of people coming in to be this massive. Ten million refugees would have been acceptable, but when they heard that the number of refugees to be saved could reach hundreds of millions, Isythre was thrown into a daze.
The Sorcerer Association had hastily dispatched three almost-hermit-like Holy-level sorcerers to move the Isytherian side of the transporter portal to the Great Gobi Desert, which was located in the west of the Southern Land. Meanwhile, the military and the Church of Isythre rushed to the receiving portal, without rest. Even the Emperor of Walthart had not slept a wink; he summoned all of his trusted advisors, politicians, and vassals for an emergency conference for their impending refugee influx 2 .
"They're saved, of course. But, what about us?" King Rowan muttered as he stared at the commoners on top of the rays, watching their faces beam with joy. Then, he turned his gaze to down to his vassals, and seconds later, he took off his own crown and examined it intently.
He had a feeling that he will soon not be king anymore.
The King's melancholy did little to hinder the migration. Excluding a few unplanned mishaps, most of the process was very smooth, to the point that they were ahead of their schedule. After the very last batch of refugees were safely sent off, there was still an hour left before the total collapse of the capital city island. The feat was already very outstanding.
"Alright. Let's go."
The Soul Armature took the girls with him and walked towards the transportation portal.
Rays of light tore through the collapsing sky. Little Mia, who was still in a daze, looked up and watched the Gouvian sunrise from the horizon. It was so dazzling. It was the last time she could ever see a sunrise in Gouve.
Baiyi was not the last to leave, however.
Behind them, a few men — who all belonged to the noble families — were still grabbing every valuable and treasure they possessed. They even snatched up possessions that had been left by those who had already escaped!
The treasure boxes were too taxing to bring along, but these people just could not let them go.
Of course, Baiyi did not give a damn about the misers of the world. If they wanted to die with their money, that would suit him just fine.
"Ho ho ho! The location has been changed to the Great Gobi already? Gosh, gotta praise that speed, man!" Baiyi exclaimed quite cheerfully after exiting the transporter portal.
However, the situation was out of control. The refugees were running riot everywhere; screams and cries reverberated across the desert, and countless skycrusing rays filled the Southern Land's sky, completely blocking out the sun. It was worse than before they had left Gouve.
The pitiful Walthart soldiers, who were garbed in their military armors, were already nursing migraines from trying to keep things under control.
'Nah. I don't care.' These after-credit issues were not Baiyi's to handle anyway. He led the girls through the chaos, determined to give them a good night's rest. The poor children had stayed up all night! Whatever needed to be discussed could be done after a good rest.
He whistled, and a griffin zipped down, flapping its powerful wings. The girls who felt so tired that they almost fall asleep while standing were lifted up onto the griffin.
They fell asleep as soon as they got to sit on something.
Just as Baiyi was about to climb aboard the griffin, he heard a very soft cry behind him:
"Master Hope?"
He turned. Aya was standing bashfully before him; her face was bathed in a sort of girlish sheepishness. However, her eyes were different; they were brimming with determination. It was as if she had made up her mind about something.
"Ha! Looks like everyone's in one piece, after all. Not bad, huh?" Baiyi replied, grinning slyly as he waved his ice-chunk of a left arm in greeting.
Aya took a large, courageous step forward towards the Soul Armature. "Thank you, Master Hope. Thank you for saving us all."
She gently placed a hand on her chest and the other behind her back. Her watery eyes gazed deep into Baiyi's…
He felt her fiery passion, and it was starting to embarrass him a little again. "Oh! Er, glad to help. Yea, glad to help."'Didn't you switch back to formalities already? …What's with this now?'
"Mr. Hope, I know you're probably worn out, but I… There are some things in my chest that I must let out." Aya tilted her head downwards slightly, attempting to slow down the speed at which her face was reddening.
Then just as quickly, she raised her head. Her eyes contained emotions so strong, anyone could tell exactly what they were. "May I express my feelings?"
What could the Fifth Walker do at this point? He only nodded.
"Mr. Hope, I really like you."
Aya looked up at him and brought her palms together before her chest. Her face held an earnest expression and was fresh with candor.
Chaos continued to ensue around them, yet as the sun rose and shone, brightening up a side of their faces, the stiff confession was suddenly filled with a hazy air of affection.
"Aya… you know, don't you? I —" Baiyi was just starting to explain himself when the girl gently placed her hand on his mask, cutting his sentence off.
"I know." She couldn't hold back her tears anymore.
"I know you can't feel the same for me, but it's alright," she added, softly, allowing herself to be pushed forward by the sudden momentum of courage, and she pressed herself into his embrace until her forehead was resting on his chest plate.
"I like you, and that's all that matters."
Baiyi sighed. What else could he say?
"If you could, would you hug me? Jus—just think of this as a request from a despicable flirt who has no knowledge of boundaries…" Aya said very quietly after she summoned another bit of courage.
Baiyi nodded and hugged her gently.
Her ears were still teary, but her lips curled into a contented smile. She closed her eyes tight and placed her hands on his chest.
Wearing a pair of black heels, she stood on her tiptoes and planted a gentle kiss on his mask.
"Thank you, Mr. Hope."
The girl turned and ran, leaving a trail of tears behind her, until she became a silhouette in the distance.
Baiyi wanted to stop her from leaving, but he was equally lost on how to do that. When he had extended his hand to grab her, all he saw was a long chunk of ice, which her tears had dripped on.
The Voidwalkers understood that he was having a complicated moment and supported him with their silence; each feeling sad for the dragon girl on their own.
Only one voice, like a whisper, remained in Baiyi's ears. It was the oft-taciturn Warrior.
"Did she smell good?"
"Mm."
"Was she soft?"
"Mm."
"...Hmph!"
"Hey now! It's nothing… like what you are thinking! I can explain!" Baiyi tried to clarify, but the Warrior went quiet. He tried to poke her with his consciousness, but she slapped the poke away instead.
'What can I even do?' Baiyi had no idea.
After a while, the Warrior spoke again.
"What is it that you like about her? Soft and cute? Docile?"
"No, nothing like that —"
"Is it the golden-blond hair? Is it the horsetail? Is it the black half-transparent long dress?"
"Don't fixate on the details! And… as I said, it's nothing like what you're thinking!"
"Hmph!"
This time, the Warrior stayed quiet.
'The mind of this sprite-like lady is truly unfathomable…'