When Fish Ball climbed over the rugged hilltop, the view in front of him suddenly became clear.
Orange-yellow wildflowers were blooming all over the ground, forming a sharp contrast with the barren mountain path. When the autumn wind blew, waves would appear in the sea of flowers. This kind of beautiful scenery created by nature would always be able to lift the spirits of tired travelers.
The town in the middle of the sea of flowers was their destination — Frost Town.
This was the sixth time he had crossed the valley.
Although Fish Ball was the squad leader of the High Gear Squad, he was also a soldier of the First Army. With the order to speed up the evacuation, many soldiers like him also joined the emergency rescue.
Since the evacuation, the demons had not attacked this route. Perhaps it was because it was too far away from the Red Mist, or the demons did not care about the refugees. But no matter what, every person he brought back to Neverwinter was a force to be reckoned with in Neverwinter.
Meanwhile, he had already brought nearly a thousand people to the rear.
According to the usual practice, this team would set up camp outside the town and then send someone to negotiate with the remaining refugees before evacuating them in batches. When they first came here, the First Army had warned the residents that the road ahead was dangerous and it was best not to go south without permission. As long as they waited in the town for a few days, the army of Graycastle would escort them out.
Of course, not everyone would believe this. In fact, Fish Ball had encountered many refugees on the way. They either ran out of food or were driven into a corner by wild beasts. However, this was already a relatively lucky outcome. Those who were even more unlucky died silently in the valley.
But this time, Fish Ball noticed something different.
Looking down from the hillside, he saw that the Frost Town, which had always been sparsely populated, was now crowded.
"Did a big city collapse?" Hanson, a scout in the same team, whistled. "So many refugees in just ten days. We're going to be very busy."
Fish Ball was also very excited. Previously, he had only gathered about a thousand people after one or two months. This time, he believed that they would be able to catch up with or even surpass the previous number.
Although he did not know why these refugees did not choose other routes but gathered in this town at the bottom of the valley, as long as they were here, the First Army had the obligation to take them to a safe place.
Thinking of this, everyone couldn't help but quicken their pace.
Going downhill was much easier than going uphill. Half an hour later, the team arrived at the camp in Frost Town. The refugees in the town also noticed their arrival. Many people rushed to the streets and quickly gathered into a stream of people, rushing in their direction.
"These people … aren't they a little too impatient?" Someone joked.
"Didn't I tell them to wait in the town?"
"Could it be that they've run out of food and are hoping to get some food from us?"
Most of the people agreed with this statement.
"If it's really a disaster in a nearby city, it's normal that they didn't bring enough food," Fish Ball quickly made a decision. "But it's not good for us to do a headcount and maintain order, so we still have to stop them. Ten of you will help me set up the checkpoint. The rest of you will be on guard. "
He knew very well how terrifying it would be if the crowd went out of control. If they could not stop the refugees, the begging would turn into a robbery, and these people would be no different from bandits.
Most of the time, these two types of people were separated by a thin line.
"Yes!"
The soldiers quickly spread out and held the guns on their backs in their hands.
As the distance between the two sides shortened, the figures of the refugees became clearer.
Fish Ball raised the megaphone, turned it to the loudest volume, and shouted, "This is the rescue team of the First Army of Graycastle. Please don't panic. Stop immediately and stay where you are for further instructions. We have enough food and medicine, but we need your cooperation to distribute them! I repeat, stop, or we'll take forceful measures! "
The crowd hesitated for a moment, but soon they started running again as if something was pushing them from behind.
Fish Ball frowned and asked his teammates to aim their guns at the sky, ready to fire a warning shot.
Just then, Hanson let out a soft cry.
"Huh?"
"What's wrong?" Fish Ball asked.
"Monitor, their clothes seem a little strange …" Hanson said while observing through the telescope. "Have you ever seen a refugee carrying a roll of cloth?"
"A roll of cloth?" Fish Ball was puzzled. He snatched the telescope and looked at the crowd. The distance between the two sides was about 300 meters, and he could roughly see their clothes and belongings through the telescope. From the way they were dressed, they were indeed a group of runaways in dire straits. But just as the scout had said, most of them had a long or short strip of cloth on their bodies. Some of them were carried on their backs, while others were hung at their waists. It was strange no matter how one looked at it.
It was human nature for refugees to take all their belongings with them before they fled. The First Army would usually ask them to abandon their luggage and travel light, but they would not interfere with things that would not cause trouble or inconvenience to the migration, such as gold royals. Over the past two months, Fish Ball had seen many strange "belongings", but this was the first time he had seen a roll of cloth.
But the more he looked, the more he felt that something was wrong.
The refugees were dressed in rags, and they were all wearing shoes. Their ragged clothes did not look old at all, but looked like they had been damaged recently.
The distance between the two sides was now less than 200 meters.
"Bang —"
His teammates fired a warning shot.
The crowd immediately dispersed, and a scene that made Fish Ball's blood freeze appeared. Probably startled by the gunshot, several people at the front of the line hurriedly pulled off the cloth, revealing the standard-issue rifle of the First Army!
This action seemed to set off a wave in the crowd, and the others followed suit. Those cloth strips of different lengths were actually used to hide weapons, and the things wrapped under them ranged from swords to halberds. It could be said that there was everything one could think of.
He suddenly realized that this was a trap!
"Retreat to the camp!" Fish Ball shouted at his teammates. "Run!"
Before his voice died away, a series of gunshots came from the other side!
Fish Ball could even hear the whooshing sound of bullets flying past his ears, and from time to time, the surrounding grass splashed with mud. The other nine people also came to their senses, and they all turned around and rushed back to the camp.
The team had camped there several times. Although there were no blockhouses or trenches, the simple sandstone barracks were still there. It was originally built to defend against the demons, but now it was the only shelter on the empty hillside.
When Fish Ball crawled and ran into the barracks, there was no one left standing. Compared to the incessant gunshots from the opposite side, the return fire from the camp was very scattered. Compared to the nine people who had set up the barracks, the team of more than 40 people was obviously a more eye-catching target. Fish Ball's heart almost jumped out of his throat when he thought that they would probably be shot at while they were defenseless.
He grabbed Hanson and said, "Quick, go and check on the others!"
After Hanson ran away with his body crouched, Fish Ball raised his gun and aimed at the "refugees" who were surrounding them from all directions.
No … they were definitely not refugees, but nobles who had defected to the demons!
Only the demons could have so many weapons from the First Army!
"Damn it," Fish Ball thought bitterly. He never expected that his own kind would use the refugees to set up such a trap. "Don't they know whose accomplice they are?"
"Squad Leader," Hanson came back faster than Fish Ball had expected, and it only took him a few seconds. "Everyone is fine. Only one person is slightly injured, but it's been bandaged. It won't affect the battle."
Fish Ball was stunned. "Only one person is injured?" The gunshots were so fierce just now.
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