Chapter 125: The Preparation Before the Escape
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
If the crowd on the day of execution was considered massive, the situation at the city gates was so chaotic the throngs of people would easily cause a claustrophobic outcry.
It could not be helped. After experiencing the Water Ball flushing the city and swept by the "plague", the citizens were at their last straw and if there was going to be another unfortunate event, it would cause a complete meltdown in the city.
Therefore, when they saw the notice put out by the Church that the gates would be reopened, many cried tears of joy as they saw the light at the end of the tunnel. They gathered at the gates anticipating the opening of the gates according to the time stated in the notice. They could not bear another second to leave the capital.
Well, it was fortunate that the capital had four gates, to divide the traffic flow or else there would be deaths by stampede.
As for Benjamin and Michelle, they had not blended into the crowd as of yet. They were hiding in a housing nearby a gate, making preparations.
"The North Gate... Is it really a good choice?"
Benjamin lifted his head to look at Michelle who had used a weird dye that turned her hair ginger. It was not that he had doubts about Michelle’s judgment. Rather, he was well aware of the ins and outs of the capital. The pathway was narrow on the North area with little divulging lanes. It was not a good area to divert away any possible chase. Although the Church was now going to open the gates, it was only because they were forced to. They would not easily let Benjamin go.
He would still be required to be on high alert, even after leaving the capital.
He believed that the East Gate would be a better choice. The road works were complicated in the East with wide land and a lot of divulging roads. Most importantly, if they were to escape the Kingdom of Helius and shake off the Church, East would be the way to go.
The Academy of Silence was hidden within the mountainous West of the city. However, as Michelle had already told the Church its location in details, it was no longer a safe place to be.
There was a towering mountain range in the North of the City, past the Perseus Lake and Pearl Valley. The mountain was so high that nobody knew what laid on top of it. Nobody knew, because never had anyone ever succeeded in traversing the peak. The hikers who tried and failed would say that they had tried their best and could never peek the cloud penetrating peak no matter how high they climbed.
That was why, the mountain range was named "Sky", as the sky was the limit, literally.
Benjamin did not think that they would be able to cross the Sky Mountain Range. So that would be a dead end for heading towards North. The South area would not even be worth considering.
The South of the Kingdom was a vast ocean. The mainland inhabitants did not have much interest in the ocean, and there never lived an explorer like Columbus. So, if there was anything in the ocean, no one knew.
Even if the East of the Kingdom was the Valley of Broken Armies towered with the Crusader Gateway; across those gates was the Kingdom of Icor — the Kingdom that rejected the Church and opened their arms to mages and was built by the queen eight years ago.
Benjamin unitentionally took away the letter from the Church, which ruined their plan to spread their religion to the East. The Church had to temporarily cease any advances to the East so the three Kingdoms in the East would now be a safe choice.
Claude even mentioned in his letters that a mage was able to hone their skills abroad. To Benjamin, it seemed that this would be his current best option.
So when Michelle chose the North gate as their escape route, he was puzzled.
North Gate? What was there? Even if this was a diversion tactic, it should not work this way. If it was to cloud the Church’s judgment, it would not be worth the time as each gate would be guarded by men anyway.
There must be another explanation for Michelle’s action.
"The senior mage’s hidden treasure includes this underground stone path." Michelle threw a map towards Benjamin. "The stone path is long but the senior has already investigated and there is no danger. As long as we could get through the path, we will be able to reach a cave nearby the Valley of Broken Armies through the Perseus Lake."
Underground stone path?
Benjamin raised his eyebrows upon hearing the news.
He grabbed the map and took a look. The map was an ordinary map of the Kingdom. The only difference was that there was an additional line towards the North East. One end of the line was the Perseus Lake in the North while the other was close to the Kingdom’s border frontier. Both ends of the line were marked with the detailed locations of the entrances and exits.
This should be the underground stone path that Michelle was talking about.
There was such an extraordinary terrain within the Kingdom? He wondered if it was natural or man made.
Benjamin was not sceptical on exiting through the North Gates after learning of this. The stone path would be safer than fleeing on land. It would confuse the Church in case the troops were camped out at the Crusader Gateway to prevent their journey out of the Kingdom.
He had the System to record the details on the map. He then started his preparation to escape by working on his disguise to blend in the crowd.
They took around an hour to complete the camouflage. Michelle obviously had the upper hand, showcasing skills that was eye opening to Benjamin. She dyed her hair red after cutting it short, used glue to stick her lids together imitating squinty eyes, a special dye to create freckles on her nose, as well as knocked off one of her front teeth... The final result was as though she was a different person.
Benjamin could not help but marvelled in amazement. With these skills, she needed not be a mage, she could be a special effect makeup artist back in his original world.
Michelle did a complete makeover for Benjamin. She gave him an odd herb which quickly turned his skin pale white and his hair colour took a lighter shade like an albino. His healthy tan that resulted from military training was nowhere to be traced.
If it was not because Michelle told him that these effects could fade in half a month, Benjamin would find it hard to accept his new look.
Benjamin felt a sense of security after recovering from his shock at his looks. The Bishop would probably not be able to recognise him if he was standing before the Bishop.
This really was..... a rebirth-liked disguise technique.
After completing this amazing transformation, they left their hiding spot with Michelle pretending to be infected by the "plague" while Benjamin was pushing a rundown cart. They quietly joined in the crowd, heading north.