Chapter 750: The Forest Fire
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
How many priests were in the woods?
That was a difficult question to answer, but also a question that no one dared to think of. Benjamin had no idea what Divine Spell the bishop casted just seconds before his death, but, there was a high possibility that they would be surrounded by gold flames in the woods. Almost a thousand of them.
Benjamin clenched his fist.
He never thought the bishop would sacrifice himself for a counterattack even if the situation was immensely disadvantageous to them!
Due to the high temperature of the flame, the entire forest would start to burn, and the people trapped within would be swallowed by the fire no matter if they were Icor’s army or knights from the Kingdom of Helius. Only the mages could escape from that dire fate with their flying spells.
This was almost too cruel.
"Quick! Retreat! Everyone, leave this area!"
At this point, Benjamin had no other choice. The strength of the gold flames would not allow him to extinguish the upcoming forest fire even if Benjamin were to activate the Descending of Water. There was at least 40 thousand Icor soldiers alive in the woods!
That was not even considering the supplies and injured.... If the fire started, all of that would turn into dust.
At that moment, Benjamin summoned ample amounts of steam and pushed them towards the surrounding soldiers that were dumbstruck by the events. Benjamin never tried to fly so many people with his magic before, but he knew that 40 thousand was never a feasible number to work with.
He must save as many of them as he could....
Simultaneously, the golden flames that sprouted from the priests’ bodies grew stronger and stronger, and as a result, the priests’ bodies seem to deteriorate, as if their soul and bodies were the fuel for the fire, and the catalyst for the coming of a devil between these trees.
Even if it has the many characteristics of a sacrificial ceremony of a cult, the process somehow seemed to feel holy, as if the priests were really doing the God’s work. Even the knights, who were forced to die alongside the attack, were affected by the eerie atmosphere.
"You’re not allowed to leave! This is the Light of God, and you shall be cleansed with us under His glory!" Some commanders shouted, "Knights, the mages shall not leave the forest!"
The knights were no longer on horseback, and now, they pounced at the mages nearby with abandon, attempting to drag these mages down even if they were preparing a flying spell. They had no self-preservation of any kind.
"You.... You maniacs!"
Although these were ordinary knights who posed no threat to Benjamin, but their interference in this inherently chaotic situation only served to make things worse. Benjamin did not even have the time to eliminate them; after all, he still had 40 thousand lives to save.
Every second he wasted on these knights would mean losing dozens of lives!
Now, the forest was doused in indescribable heat, and the temperature was still rising. The barks of trees started to smoke, and some places even had sparks in them already. The soldiers were running, avoiding the self-immolating priests, but they still became red from the scorching heat.
Benjamin’s effort enabled him to lift only less than a thousand soldiers to the sky. The rest of the soldiers ran aimlessly. They were located quite deep in the woods as they needed to bait the people into it, thus it was impossible for them to escape from the clutches of the fire.
Furthermore, the injured littered the ground, but no one was available to lift the stretchers anymore. Some of them were surrounded by those fires until their body parts have blackened from the heat, their limbs flailing listlessly, their lips spilling broken moans.
"Sir mage.... Sir, please, help me... Save me, please...."
Benjamin’s heart twisted at the sight.
Why would this happen? Was there no way to save everyone now?
However, at this very moment, a voice that was evidently amplified by magic was heard in the forest.
"Quick! Don’t run aimlessly, run to us!"
Benjamin froze. That voice....
He looked down to search for the source of the voice, and amidst an unassuming bush, he saw a huge hole from the ground. When was it dug? Who dug it?
Beside the hole was a familiar old man, waving and shouting.
It was the Guild Master of the Mage Guild.
Even Benjamin was shocked. During the political coup in Icor, the Guild Master was already kidnapped, and Benjamin has tried to search for any trace of his location to no avail. In his heart, he was already preparing an eulogy for the Guild Master.
"Senior.... You’re alright?" Benjamin flew towards the Guild Master and asked.
"Of course he’s alright." Another silhouette appeared from the hole. It was Miles. "I was the one who informed you about the coup in Regina, and I was the closest person of interest in that area. You think I disappeared all this while to take a holiday?"
Benjamin stood, frozen and speechless for some time.
"We’ll explain later. Now, it’s more important to rescue these people." The Guild Master dismissed the conversation with a wave of his hand. He then chanted a string of Wind Magic, summoning strong currents of air that carried the Icor soldiers to the hole.
More soldiers found the slight ray of hope and were now scrambling to grab it. They did not need further urgings as they rushed towards the hole dug by Miles and the Guild Master as fast as they could.
"Don’t push! Calm down, there’s a space for everyone! The hole is very wide, all of you could fit in it, no problem!"
"I’ll take care of the injured, you go and deal with those maniacs...."
The Guild Master fired order after order amidst the chaos, and Miles headed right into the forest, swinging his blade at the knights of the Kingdom of Helius’s cavalry. They were unafraid of the golden flame, but Miles were merciless with his blade as well.
"Th-Thank you, you’re...."
"Never mind who I am! Run towards that direction, and there’s a hole for you to escape this forest!"
At the directions of Miles, these soldiers regained some of their composure and sprinted towards the hole before the fire swallowed the entire forest.
Benjamin felt a huge burden lifted off his shoulders when more people assisted in the rescue mission. He went airborne and circled the forest, only saving the soldiers that were too far away from the hole. Retreating 40 thousand people was not an easy feat, and there must be so many people that did not manage to leave through the hole before the fire took hold. Benjamin had no intention to give them up so easily.
At the same time, Benjamin was generating snow non-stop in an attempt to decrease the temperature in the woods which might slow down the spread of the fire. Other mages managed to fly to the sky, and they joined into Benjamin’s effort to cool down the forest. Hundreds of snowstorms were summoned, and that was almost powerful enough as Benjamin’s storm if he casted it himself.
However, the forest fire was still unavoidable.
Still, a life rescued is a life saved. From the moment the golden fire appeared, Benjamin knew that a horrifying loss was unavoidable.
The injured was handled by the Guild Master, the opposing knights by Miles, the mages rescuing as many people as possible while the rest that could run ran towards the hole.... Even though the fire continued to spread in the woods, but the support from all sides provided them some hope in the situation.