As expected, the refugees were devastated by the news that their salvation had slipped away from their grasp at the last moment. Many of them looked like they were about to give up, but strangely, the terrible change did not end up being as crushing to their already crumbling morale as Sunny had thought it would be.
The reason… he was the reason. Or rather, his status and reputation.
Although being found by a Master was not really comparable to boarding a rescue ship, Ascended were a kind of symbol among humans. Saints were too mysterious and distant, so it was the Masters that dwelled in the human subconscious as the epitome of valor, achievement, and might.
Sunny did not know about valor and achievement, but Ascended were indeed immensely powerful. And he was more powerful than most.
So, when the refugees learned that Master Sunless of the First Irregular Company had taken command of the convoy, many of them were elated despite their extreme exhaustion. He had a fearsome reputation, after all… in fact, Sunny felt that the mundane soldiers had gone out of their way to embellish his achievements as much as they could when they delivered the news.
Their purpose was transparent — the soldiers, too, wanted to keep the morale of the civilians from reaching the very bottom of despair.
As a result, the refugees regarded him as some sort of intrepid hero, who was both the scourge of Nightmare Creatures and a dauntless savior of men. When they looked at him, their eyes were full of hope and reverence.
Sunny was weirded out by these gazes.
'Fools. How easy are you to deceive?'
Did they not hear the part of the story where a whole settlement that he had been stationed at was completely destroyed? But no, they didn't. People just wanted to believe in something that would give them solace, no matter how far removed from the truth their belief might be. It was strangely easy for them to ignore anything that conflicted with such a belief.
In the end, making people lie to themselves was the best and most effective kind of deception.
…Regardless, Sunny was not going to dispel their mistaken impression of him. Not only did it make the refugees easier to control, but there were other things to consider. Namely, the spreading plague of the Spell.
Now that Sunny knew that a First Nightmare was born of a tiny Seed, as well, he couldn't help but feel that it could only be planted into fertile soil. Wouldn't a soul that was full of fear and despair be more fertile, while one illuminated by hope less so?
If he thought about it like that, it was no surprise that the Nightmare Spell had descended during the height of the Dark Times. Back then, the whole world had been drowning in desperation.
Maybe by managing the morale of the convoy, he would be able to reduce the number of mundane humans succumbing to the Nightmares.
'Look at me, thinking strategically.'
Shaking his head, Sunny walked back to the Rhino and climbed inside. Remembering the mangled corpse of an Awakened Demon that rested under the snow less than a hundred meters away, he wanted to leave the terminus of the coastal highway as soon as possible… but there were a few things he had to do before that.
"Professor Obel, can I speak to you?"
The old man had lived through the havoc of the First Generation, so he would have valuable insight about the task facing Sunny, without a doubt.
And indeed, speaking to the Professor gave him a few good ideas. However, something like the Chain of Nightmares had never happened in the history of the world before, so there was no handbook on how to survive it. He had to come up with his own solutions.
Ten minutes later, Sunny gathered his cohort, as well as Professor Obel, Beth, and Sergeant Gere in the command suite of the Rhino.
He didn't waste any time and got straight to business:
"The situation is far from being perfect, so I'll be brief. Our first task is to inspect the vehicles of the convoy and service them as needed, to make sure that they will be able to make it across the mountains. However, we can't do it here in the open. There is an abandoned military bunker not too far from our position... if all goes well, we will reach it within a day and make camp."
His thinking was rather simple. He couldn't have the civilians sleeping in the cramped transports, since the consequences of someone turning into a Nightmare Creature inside one would be devastating. So, ideally, they needed to find a well-protected campsite every time they needed to rest.
The old bunker, which had stood empty since the Dark Times, was hidden in the mountains at a sufficient distance from the ocean. It was a good place to accomplish a lot of pressing tasks.
Sunny paused and looked at his subordinates with a grim expression.
"For now, we will assume a standard march formation. Our immediate task is to reach the bunker without suffering any losses. There are two types of threats we need to be wary of: those from beyond, and those from within. I won't say anything about the former, since they just mean that we must enter battle with the enemy. The latter, however… I want soldiers keeping eyes on the civilians at all times.
Don't let anyone fall asleep."
He lingered for a moment, and then added:
"Clear one of the transports completely and move all passengers to the other four. That will be our mobile infirmary. If someone does fall asleep, wake them up. If they don't wake, transfer the sleepers to the infirmary and get ready to put them down, should anyone fail the First Nightmare."
Sergeant Gere shivered, but remained silent. It wasn't easy for mundane soldiers to fight Nightmare Creatures, especially not without working exoskeleton armor suits and inside a moving transport with no space to retreat and maneuver.
Sunny had thought about it in advance. There were five civilian transports and four smaller army vehicles escorting them, so the math wasn't too hard.
He looked at his soldiers.
"Luster will drive the Rhino, while each of you is to be stationed inside one of the transports from now on. Keep the refugees safe and observe your surroundings. If the convoy is ambushed and the enemy gets past me, it's your job to make sure that no one dies… or at least as few of them die as possible. Belle, you will watch over the infirmary. The others, divide the transports among yourself.
Sergeant Gere, the crews of the military vehicles will be responsible for themselves. The same protocol applies."
The soldier nodded.
"Yes, sir."
After that, they all stared at him in silence.
Sunny raised an eyebrow.
"What are you waiting for? Go! I want to get off the coast as soon as possible."