The pace of the march had increased, which allowed the townspeople of Bradford to have a three hour lead ahead of their pursuers.
Unfortunately, they still needed to travel fifteen more hours to reach their destination. No matter how Lux and Boris looked at it, the monsters would be upon them before they even arrived anywhere near the Town of Aeston.
Lux had already informed Boris of the worst case scenario, making the Guildmaster sigh.
"It is now clear that there is someone controlling the Monsters' actions," Boris said. "Now, we have two choices. Tell everyone of the approaching danger, and have those with the capacity to escape to run for their lives, or we tell everyone, and work together in order to find a solution to this problem."
Lux gazed straight into Boris' eyes and shared his opinion.
"We should tell the people about the Monsters running after us," Lux said. "Although it will cause them great worry, and some might even panic, that is still better than leaving them behind as we run for our lives."
Boris nodded. "You're right. I will gather my staff and have them spread the news of the Monster Army's arrival. Do you have anything to add that might make them less anxious about our impending doom?"
Lux thought for a while before nodding his head. "Ask them if they know of a place where we can hide, or at least, give the old people, women, and children a chance of survival. The rest can escape if they are confident in their abilities.
"Also, if you have a way to contact the Adventurer's Guild in Aeston, please do it. Even if there is no hope to ask for reinforcements, doing nothing will just be waiting for our deaths."
Boris smiled after hearing Lux's words. "Okay. I'll inform everyone. I just hope that we will be able to weather this storm."
Lux nodded before urging Jed to run towards the rear of the formation.
After arriving at his destination, the Half-Elf ventured farther until he reached a high vantage point to scan the surrounding area, looking for anything that might help him delay the monster army.
Asmodeus, who had followed behind Lux, stood behind his back, and waited for the Half-Elf to make a decision.
"Asmodeus, what do you think we should do?" Lux asked after pondering things through.
"Master, you're too kind for a Necromancer. If I was in your shoes, I would have said good riddance to these people and made my escape already," Asmodeus replied. "But, then again, I don't mind serving a kind Master like you."
"Um, thank you?"
"Hahaha."
Lux didn't expect that he would be given a pep talk by the Archlich whom he believed was the best strategist among his Named Creatures. He watched as Asmodeus rubbed his chin with his bony hands, as the glowing embers in his eyes danced with amusement.
"Right now, we have less than three hours headstart from our enemy," Asmodeus stated. "If we want to delay them, there is only one way and that is by using Guerilla Tactics. I propose that you leave a golem behind here, so you can travel back using the Boots of Teleportation in case you get cornered by the enemy. Although we would do our best to protect you, having insurance is better than having none."
Lux nodded in agreement. By doing this, he would be able to escape safely due to the Boots of Teleportation that he received from Keoza.
"Master, just know that if we are going to do this, you are not allowed to use the Dragon Token," Asmodeus said in a serious tone. "That is a life saving artifact and you can only use it two more times. Using it in this situation would be a waste.
"We do not owe these people anything, and using the token for their sake will not sit well with me. I'm sorry for being blunt, but it will truly be a waste to use it to save complete strangers. Um, have I said how wasteful it is to use the Dragon Token? Truly it is a waste. It will be best if you use it when you find yourself facing a situation similar to what happened in the past, when your fiance and grandmother got injured. "
The Archlich said the word waste several times to ensure that Lux wouldn't use the Dragon Token in this situation no matter what. Fortunately, the Half-Elf understood what his Strategist was trying to say, and nodded his head in agreement.
"Well then, since everything is settled, here is the plan," Asmodeus smiled. "First, we need to take back our Skeleton Summons, including all of our Bone Wagons. The Skeleton Make skill is quite profound, and I believe we will be able to use it effectively in the battlefield as well."
"Okay," Lux readily agreed with Asmodeus' suggestion.
In his mind, it didn't matter if the refugees were to suffer some difficulties when the Bone Wagons were gone for a chance of survival. No matter how comfortable they were on their journey while riding the Bone Wagons, they wouldn't enjoy it for long once the Monster Army overtook their march.
"Now, here comes the fun part," Asmodeus gave Lux a devilish smile, which made the Half-Elf wonder what the Archlich was cooking up. "Here is what we are going to do, Master."
The Archlich whispered something in Lux's ears, making the Half-Elf shudder. He had never thought of this method of fighting before, and it made him realize that there were indeed many things that he still needed to learn when it came to large scale battles.
"Good," Lux replied before urging Jed to run in the direction of Bradford Town. "Let's go, Asmodeus. Time to kill some Rats."
The Archlich chuckled before following behind his Master. Clearly, his plan made the red-headed teenager find hope amidst the desperate situation.
—----
"Um, Little Swordy, are you sure My Daddy went over to that town called Bradford?" Cai asked as it walked beside the Skinny Swordsman that was mounted on top of a Warg.
Lux had given Keane a mount of his own after the battle in the Gate of War because the swordsman had realized that traveling on foot was a very tiresome thing to do.
"Yes," Keane replied. "Sir Guthram said that it is so."
"Hmm… for some reason, I am having a bad premonition about the direction we are headed."
"Really?"
Cai nodded. "I can't explain it. It's like my animal instincts are telling me that following this road is a bad idea. Are you sure this is where My Daddy went?"
"You've asked me this question a dozen times already in different variations," Keane replied with a fed up gaze. "If you don't stop talking, I'll leave you behind."
"... Fine. I just really feel really apprehensive for some reason," Cai commented. "I just hope I'm overthinking things."
Cai had a very keen sense of danger. She had felt these several times when they were inside the Sacred Dungeon, but strangely enough, she didn't feel worried whenever she was with Lux.
Perhaps, as someone that had been defeated by him, Cai had recognized the red-headed teenager's strength, and felt much more secure around him. One could even call this a sense of deep rooted trust after everything they had been through.
As the two followed the path that would lead them to reunite with the Half-Elf, they were not aware that the person they were looking for was on his way to fight a large Monster Army with his own Undead Army, not only for his own survival, but for those from Bradford who wanted to survive as well.
