Adrian, less than two hundred meters away, observed the situation. Nadine and Marissa looked nervous upon seeing the monsters.Adrian frowned and said, "Get ready, everyone. On the count of three, I want you two to stay very close behind me and Rozi as we enter the tunnel. After that, Nadine, Rozi, you two head to the nearest gate, while I go to the farthest one. Rozi will provide cover after the gate is shut. Nadine, you and Marissa follow me to the control room. Understand?""Understood," the three replied."All right, One… Two… Go!" As soon as he gave the command, Nadine and Marissa dashed forward, following behind Adrian and Rozi as they raced toward the tunnel. The noise created by their rush instantly attracted the monsters in the vicinity. Some of them leaped off the tracks and chased after them. The monsters inside the tunnel also noticed them and started rushing out.Adrian and Rozi, with swords in hand, quickly dispatched the closest monsters. Within a minute, the group
Meanwhile, Rozi was battling the monsters on top of the train. Fortunately, Adrian found spare fuel on the train. Relying on his experiences, Adrian did a series of checks to make sure all of the train was undamaged.The train soon roared to life and began jerking while spewing out white steam. Adrian smiled and called out, "It's operational. I need you to tell Rozi to open the gate after the third honk. We'll then rush out of here."To reduce the train's load, Adrian uncoupled several carriages while Nadine passed on the message to Rozi. When he heard Rozi's response, Adrian took a deep breath and got ready to instruct Rozi to open the gate.However, a series of rhythmic metal sounds came from inside the tunnel. It sounded like an S.O.S. message. Adrian did not pay much attention to it initially, but the sound grew louder and louder."It's a distress signal."Nadine and Marissa exchanged glances as he continued, "There are survivors here. You two, stay here and don't move. I'm
Six survivors—four men and two women—ran out of the room. Adrian, with no time to introduce himself, simply said, “Follow me!" They all headed toward the train, where Rozi was locked in fierce combat with monsters from all directions. Some had even begun damaging the train. Over a dozen monsters tried to block Adrian's path, but he cut them down with a single swing of his sword. He protected the survivors as they closed in on the trainHe shouted, "Get in!"Without hesitation, the survivors boarded the train. Adrian looked up and said, "Rozi, grab onto the train once you've opened the stone door! We're getting out of here!”"Got it!"Adrian dashed back into the train’s control room. With three loud honks, Rozi leaped down from the train roof and began to turn the gate's lever in the opposite direction, gradually bringing up the gate.As the gate opened, the monsters outside began to pour in. Some even jumped onto the roof. Rozi smartly chose not to open the gates completely, j
"It is him!""I never thought we'd run into you here, sir!" The other survivors started expressing their surprise and gratitude too.Adrian sat down and addressed them, "Relax, everyone. Are you all okay? What are your names?"The long-haired woman who spoke first stood up and introduced herself. "I'm Elise Dubois. I was a train conductor.”The short-haired woman next to her said, "I'm Mathilde Russel, her co-conductor."The four men introduced themselves as well. "I'm Lucienne Moreau, a security guard at the station.""Theo Deschamps. I worked at the ticket counter." "I'm Laurent Blanchard, and I was also a security guard." "Me too. The name’s Maxime Durand."Adrian nodded and remembered their names. "I'm glad you're all alive. We're currently headed to Drogoton. There are many soldiers guarding the city and they’ve also put up defensive walls. You'll all be safe there.”"Thank you, Sir Draco. We would've starved to death in there if it weren't for you,” said Elise.M
In the face of disaster, life took precedence over everything else. When Adrian took over Wyvern Peak, he had sworn an oath, pledging to value life about everything else. So whenever presented with the chance to save someone, he would never abandon them.Adrian had given them hope, and they, in turn, expressed their heartfelt gratitude. It was a reciprocal exchange, and Adrian believed that one day, the disaster would vanish into thin air."Rest, everyone. It's relatively safe here, and once we reach our destination, you can rest without worry," Adrian said, not wanting to burden them with more talk.Elise and the others shut their eyes, exhausted after being tensed up for so many days. Adrian had Nadine and Marissa head to the control room while he climbed onto the roof. Rozi was sitting there, maintaining a vigilant watch over their surroundings while pondering over her thoughts. "Are you thinking about Partingia again?" Adrian asked smilingly as he sat next to her.This time,
Rather than being a coincidence, everything seemed like deliberate action at that moment. Adrian said, "The Creator probably found out about this secret and tried to use Gostia to destroy Partingia since he hadn’t recovered his powers from the last battle. Yet, he failed. Left with no choice, he had to exhaust more of his powers to change the climate of Partingia."Rozi took a deep breath. "He wants to destroy the eagle artifact, but I won’t let him. I’ll avenge my father and my citizens, even if it means my death." She clenched her fists tightly.Adrian smiled. "And I'll be right by your side. However, going to Partingia's ruins isn't our top priority right now, so you need to keep a clear head and not lose your judgment.""I've lived for over a thousand years. Do you think I’m going to just sit here and be lectured by you, you little punk?" Rozi glared at Adrian."Where did you learn that from?”"Helen."Adrian was instantly speechless. He knew that Rozi would learn every sin
Adrian and Rozi took turns keeping watch on the roof. After about ten hours, they finally reached Drogoton's borders in the morning. There was only an hour's journey left before they reached the train station, located in the middle of Drogoton.Adrian expected this last hour to be the most challenging. He stood on the roof of the train, looking at Drogoton through his binoculars. He saw that Drogoton's periphery was protected by thick, towering walls that were several meters high. Outside the walls, countless monsters pounded at it, attempting to breach the walls and enter the city. Fortunately, the city walls were highly resistant to these attacks, and the monsters struggled to make even a dent."We're almost there," Adrian said as he put down the binoculars.Rozi climbed up and took a look too. "There are too many monsters around the city. They're all over the tracks. We'll be thrown off the track if we ram into so many of them." She may not fully understand how trains worked,
They had achieved extensive coverage and could capture signals from several kilometers away. In addition, Remy had deployed remote-controlled drones to the areas surrounding Drogoton for blanket search operations. Whenever a drone spotted signs of human presence, Drogoton would dispatch soldiers to rescue them.At that moment, Gracia, who served as head of the communications department, heard someone calling out to her and asked, "What's the matter? Did you pick up something?"A female staff member pointed to her computer screen and exclaimed excitedly, "A drone spotted a train traveling at high speed along the train tracks toward the city. It's going to crash if we don't allow it access"Gracia urgently asked, "Who's operating the train? Are there people on board?""All of Navia’s trains are equipped for autonomous operation. We've provided the train with maps and rail routes, so they can operate autonomously without a signal. Monsters would know how to operate the train, so I'm s