As soon as Noel and the others reached the surface, they found the rest of the people who were thinking about their next move.
"What should we do?"
"The bridge has been destroyed, right?"
"We have to use the Wind Element Spirit Users to carry us!"
However, Jonathan suddenly shouted, contrasting his gloomy appearance. "Go to the bridge, a bit further away from the one you know. Our Demon Relief Squad has built another bridge for an emergency!"
"!!!" The moment they heard it, they looked at Jonathan for a moment.
Stella took the initiative to rush forward as she had to lead the rest of the group. "Follow me."
These people nodded their heads. Since there was an alternative, they immediately followed her. Ben was carrying Noel on his shoulder, knowing that he would return to the hole if he didn't carry him like this.
Noel could only look at the hole while gritting his teeth.
'What improvement? Have I even improved? No, the result is far worse than the previous defeat. I…'
Noel wanted to keep regretting his choice, but he saw multiple Devil Bishops emerge from the hole. It seemed that they had prepared for this as some of them had the ability to carry people to the surface.
All of a sudden, a huge ice wall was erected, separating the Demon Banner Army and the Supreme Devil Organization. They seemed to have brought several Devil Bishops with them. Without their captains or vice captains stopping them, they wouldn't even last for a few minutes fighting against them.
If they truly chased after them, they would definitely die sooner or later.
That was why this ice wall was like a blessing for them. They wanted to question it, but they had to hasten their pace if they didn't want to die.
Noel gritted his teeth, 'It's impossible for us to fight against multiple Spirit Grandmasters. Even six of us can't win against them… If this continues…'
Even though he was filled with anger and helplessness, Noel knew that if he continued to be like this, he would just put others in danger.
So, he tried his best to calm down before saying, "Ben. Let me down."
"What are you talkin—" Ben didn't allow it, but when Noel actually said, "Please."
The tone was far different from the rash Noel, so Ben ended up releasing him.
Noel continued running with them and said, "There are a lot of Spirit Grandmasters. Our group can't even hold a candle against one of them, so it's better if we remain together."
Stella glanced at Noel while furrowing her eyebrows. "What do you mean? If we split up, some of us will be able to survive, right?"
"I don't mind if other groups split up, but the Demon Relief Squad has to remain together." Noel shook his head as though he had come up with something.
Since she was the one who took the commander of the group, she had to make a decision. After some thought, she said, "Alright. The Demon Relief Squad will remain together."
"Thanks." Noel nodded with a sigh of relief. They had arrived at the second bridge. It seemed that the Count and the Fist Arbiter didn't destroy it. Or they might not be aware of the situation.
There were already a lot of people who crossed the bridge. They also crossed it without hesitation. As long as everyone had crossed the river, they could destroy the bridge.
But when the Demon Relief Squad was about to reach the other side, a few attacks were flying in their direction.
"Incoming!" Ben warned them.
Jonathan clicked his tongue and said, "I'll remain here and stop them for as long as I can. You guys can—"
Jonathan wanted to sacrifice his life to stop the enemies. However, he failed to even complete his words as a lightning strike came from the left, hitting all these attacks.
As a result, all the spirit abilities exploded in the air.
They were shocked and tried to see who it was. Surprisingly, Anna was sitting under the tree, not far away from the bridge. She was waving her hand as though she was saying 'hi' to them.
Noel hurriedly used his Phoenix Wings to come to her. "What are you doing here?"
"Before you say anything else, do you mind carrying me out of here? That ice guy is somewhere around here, so it's better if we leave first."
"…" Noel wanted to say something, but he ended up lifting her body and began carrying her on his back. He then ran with the others.
As soon as they left the mountain, all the people from the Demon Banner Army scattered in all directions. It wasn't that they were deserting the mission. They had to scatter in order to increase the chance of them surviving the onslaught of multiple Spirit Grandmasters.
However, only the Demon Relief Squad remained together.
Obviously, their group became the main target, considering Noel was there and the Supreme Devil Organization could kill a lot of people just by going in one direction.
Three Spirit Grandmasters decided to pursue them with the help of a few Spirit Masters.
Noel saw this from afar. His expression turned grim as this was the first time he ran away just to survive.
Anna, who was on his back, could feel his emotions. Anna said, "You must be angry right now. You must feel disappointed in yourself. If only you were stronger, if only you knew what was going to happen, you would definitely choose something different.
"I know it's not what you want to hear, but you need to hear this. Right now, you are weak; we are extremely weak."
"It seems that you have been beaten by the enemies before this mission. You have become even more careful since the last time we met. And I'm sure that makes it all the more frustrating."
"That's why, are you listening, Noel? Remember this feeling. There will surely be times in your life when you will feel this way again. There will come a time when there won't be anything you can do. Whenever that happens, pay attention and etch it into your mind."
"You now can see that there are walls that you can't overcome with just being careful and extra preparation. When that time comes, what you need is knowledge and strength. This is real life. There is no such thing that everyone can be happy. You have to overcome strife and carnage. Never turn your head away from the sacrifice that you have to pay and get even stronger!"
As she said those words, Damian suddenly appeared behind them, standing between the group and the Supreme Devil Organization. It seemed he was planning to kill all of them here.
