I Like This Dream!

(fifty one)

Is Lydia laughing? Anxu thought in horror, but did not ask any questions in the end, so as not to dampen the enthusiasm of the little ascetic girl. It took her a lot of talking to make Lydia realize that words and expressions were not frivolous, nor would they cause her to be blamed by God. Therefore, even if this first smile looked as ferocious and stiff as the Terminator's bared teeth, An Xu also Keep your expression on and clap encouragingly.

So Lydia thought that the God's Favored One understood what she was talking about and stopped explaining.

They packed up as usual. Lydia skillfully climbed onto the back of the God's Favorite and fixed herself with the straps of the border military uniform's marching backpack. Anxu opened the window and "walked" out of the window.

She didn't fall, she just swayed in the air as if she were stepping on a soft rope. Tiny electric charges lifted An Xu - she didn't know if this was correct. Now she could no longer explain her ability scientifically, but she gradually used it like an arm and her fingers, as if a fish was born to swim. She opened her arms, the earth became farther and farther away, and her body floated easily above the sea of ​​trees. At this height, nothing could obscure her view but the endless sky.

An Xu was stung by the strange feeling in the morning again.

"Lydia, do you feel..." She paused at this point. She couldn't think of how to express it, so she had to change her words, "Have you ever felt something weird in the sky?"

"It's going to snow." Lydia said, frowning, "It didn't happen yesterday."

They were looking in the same direction. Far away, lead-colored clouds were rolling. It was like a giant slug, crawling toward Thebes slowly and without stopping.

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Thebans' border troops gathered in the morning light, and under the leadership of their general, they marched towards the last village.

It was the largest village near the border. It was formed from the merger of two villages during the beast tide the year before last. This decision successfully allowed Omura to avoid the tragedy of being breached, and it was a wise move. But because of this, the villagers refused to accept help and temporarily relocate several times, thinking that they could survive the disaster by sticking to the village.

In fact, there are many such villages. The small village in the mountain nest is short-sighted and stubborn, and is oppressed by the nobles and the Holy See to the point of persecution. Forcing them to relocate will cause a farce of the entire village hiding in the mountains. This year has gone so smoothly, thanks to a "Blood Anna" causing trouble everywhere, scaring people into panic and throwing themselves gratefully into the arms of the border troops. The same goes for this village. A few days ago, "Blood Anna" passed by a mile away from that village, leaving traces that could be seen by the whole village: a towering tree had fallen, and it stood out in the woods like a bald spot on a person's head. spot. The next day, the village chief quickly submitted an application, asking the border army to take them to shelter for the winter.

Jane led the team to the village and gathered the villagers who had finished cleaning up. There were hundreds of villagers, old and young, dragging packages. They didn't know how to count and couldn't tell left and right. It took them a long time to assemble into a group, and they could barely allow the border troops to surround them and protect them during the move. The general had already handed over the task of gathering the troops to his adjutant, and he hid aside, keeping his arms folded to hide from strangers.

"They are simply stupider than the pigs herded by the swineherds." Jane walked at the front and complained to the adjutant, "I would rather be surrounded by a group of strange beasts!"

"Please wait until we get back before you say such unlucky words." David smiled bitterly.

"It sounds like we didn't encounter anything on the way here." The general snorted disapprovingly, "There were so many weird beasts today, I thought they were all scared out of their wits."

"After all, the beast tide season is about to begin, and this is the last escort." David comforted, "In at least a week, the first snow will fall."

"Better come quickly, I..."

The noise interrupted their conversation, and what began as an exclamation quickly spread to the entire crowd. An uneasy atmosphere began to spread, and the line slowed down.

"What's going on?" the general asked loudly.

"Sir! Look above your head!" someone shouted.

Jane raised her head, and through the dense layers of branches, she could see that the sky not far away was covered by clouds. It was not the bright clouds entwined with lightning when a person with lightning powers summoned thunder, but a dark rain cloud, as heavy and solid as a big pile of cotton full of dirty water. Countless small black dots dart in and out of the clouds. They are ice birds that accompany the ice and snow. Their wingspan is as long as two arms, but they are as small as mosquitoes and flies on the clouds.

The beast tide season is not a clear natural season, but a period of beast tide flooding that is closely related to the weather and is equivalent to the length of a quarter. In Thebes, the furry season begins with the first snow, around mid-December.

It's ahead of schedule.

"What are you making all this noise about!" the general yelled, "You bastards are causing me to run around and get caught in a storm at the end of autumn!"

She glanced at the crowd angrily, "Shut up! Everyone obey the command and leave quickly! Whoever is holding us back and causing us to get caught in the rain should hand over all the things you have to me!"

The noise quieted down, and people who didn't know what was going on began to rush on their way. Most of them were doubtful, comforting each other that "it's a storm" and "it won't happen yet." In their hearts, they prefer to believe that it is late autumn rather than early winter, that the rain clouds are not covered with snow, and that the black spots passing through are just birds that have accidentally lost their way.

"But sir!" An old man shouted with a look of horror, "This is... ah!"

A flame exploded around him, igniting the goat carrying luggage beside him. His family scrambled to put out the fire, and in the end they could only throw the burning package to the ground and rescue the frightened goat.

"Do you think I'm farting?" the general said harshly, "What are you looking at? Let's go!"

No one dared to speak now. The threat that was so close in front of them left them no time to think about anything else and they started running in a hurry.

The maroon horse rubbed its owner's hand and snorted restlessly. Jane walked ahead sullenly, patting her horse reassuringly. This horse is also a domesticated beast, and it has already felt the disturbance in its blood.

People who have never been on the border cannot understand what a beast tide is like. The tide is a very apt metaphor. The continuous flow of alien beasts is like waves one after another. At the same time, the speed at which it gathers and surges is as visible to the naked eye as the tide.

A spotted dog poked its ugly head out of the forest and twitched its nose. Just like the moon drives the tides, driven by unknown forces, this kind of ghoul who did not dare to attack large groups of living people in the past looked at the long queue greedily and hesitantly. The general didn't wait for it to make a decision. With a wave of his hand, the archer's arrow pierced the beast's head. There was a loud noise in the forest, and the spotted dog's body with the arrow stuck in it shrank back and disappeared into the bushes, and then there were the terrifying sounds of scrambling and chewing.

The general wasn't throwing fireballs there, her lips were pursed into a thin line and her hands were clenched until their knuckles turned white. The memory of the last great beast wave emerged in her mind. Ten years later, she still remembered the ground soaked in blood. At this time, every ounce of supernatural power must be used with caution. It is impossible for a human being to resist the tide. All that can be done is to hold on as long as possible until it recedes.

The clouds are getting closer.

From the sky, the clouds seem to be crawling slowly, but only when you are below it can you realize its hugeness and speed. The cloud just looked clumsy, traveling at a speed that was completely inconsistent with its size.

They had already started running. A group of villagers were driven away by soldiers holding sharp weapons. At first glance, they looked like soldiers bullying others, but the soldiers' faces were even more nervous. Unlike the villagers who hurried on with numb faces, they knew what would happen if they stayed outside the fort when the snow fell.

Jane was already on the horse, and she rushed to the front of the entire team, rushing out of the way like the tip of an icebreaker. More and more strange beasts are being tested, and some bold ones have gathered around and pounced on the crowd fiercely. The general's fire scorched the daring outposts, and the natural fear of fire drove most of the beasts back. The trees thinned out, and after walking a little further you could reach the trail leading to the fort.

But it was too late.

Everyone felt the sudden chill. The dark clouds were frighteningly close, and with the howling wind, the dark clouds were like a rolling blanket that was about to sweep over the head. They could see heavy snowfall in the distance, as if the world was split into light and dark, and the bright world they were in was about to fall. The frightened villagers had lost the courage to run around, and some fell to the ground.

"David!" Jane said in a deep voice, "Did we just pass by the village with the big cellar?"

"I just passed by River Valley Village. You can see the house not long after walking east from the tree stump." The adjutant replied, "What do you think?"

"Except for us, everyone with special powers should return to the defense line and leave behind anything that can mask the smell." Jane said quickly, "It's too late, take a gamble!"

David moved his lips and wanted to say that this was too risky. However, other methods were bound to sacrifice a large number of civilians and soldiers, and the general could not agree. He nodded heavily and passed on the order.

The cavalrymen without powers let their horses out, and the soldiers with powers and the villagers with powers got on their horses and left. Their departure caused another commotion, and the general galloped around the crowd, silencing them with flames.

"We can't get back to the fortress before it snows!" she said loudly while riding on her horse, arousing a murmur of fear. "There is a cellar in Riverdale Village. Many of you here know it! If you want to survive, pack up and hide in with me." ! Someone will pick us up after the snow stops!"

"Why did they leave!" someone shouted, and many people immediately responded.

"Being exposed to the beast tide with so many superpowers, don't you think you can die quickly enough?" Jane yelled back.

Just as the crystal core serves as a "battery" and is needed by people with superpowers, people with superpowers also attract strange beasts in reverse. The strange beasts in the beast tide devour the corpses of their own kind, and regardless of the greater threat posed by the superpowers, they attack the superpowers first like crazy. People with superpowers who lack the ability to protect themselves and cover up are like jewels dropped on the street. They are not even as safe as ordinary people against the beasts.

"But, but the superpowers are gone, what should we do?" Someone else screamed.

"Yeah, who will protect us?"

"They want to run away on their own and remove the useful superpower users!"

"Take us out and let us die..."

"It's better to stay in the village..."

There was a chorus of echoes, and resentful eyes were cast on Jane. The fiery general was not angry. Ten years of guarding the border were enough for her to meet all kinds of people. She glanced back coldly, and this momentum made her complaints quieter.

"You have only two choices now!" she shouted loudly, "either continue to complain here and wait to die, or hide with me in the cellar. I will stay and guard the outside and die in front of you!"

The villagers looked at each other in confusion, and soon started to move again.