With Daliphen's urging, dinner was over in less than 10 minutes.
Everyone returned to their tents and started to pack up. A while later, even the tents were packed and placed on top of their travel bags.
Daliphen nodded in satisfaction when he saw how fast the young men packed up.
However, when he saw Kieran, or more precisely, the backpack that was taller than a person, his eyes twitched uncontrollably.
After dinner, Daliphen made up his mind to not pay attention to Kieran for the sake of his heart.
But …
The backpack was too big.
It wasn't just tall, it was wide as well. With the backpack, Kieran was extra eye-catching, it was hard not to notice him.
Daliphen, who was standing at the front of the group, saw Kieran right away.
When he saw Kieran naturally standing at the back of the group, Daliphen completely forgot the script that he had prepared in his mind.
Whenever he saw Kieran, his mind kept thinking about the insulated box in his hand.
It smelled so good!
Daliphen quickly recollected his thoughts and suppressed the hunger in his stomach when he felt his saliva secrete again.
"Let's go!"
The script that he had prepared for several days turned into the most direct words at this time.
Daliphen walked to the campfire, picked up the torch that he had prepared, and walked away.
The young men quickly followed.
Without any means of transportation, all of them were traveling on foot.
In the dark of the night, torches after torches were wriggling in the wild, like snakes slithering in the dark.
The group wasn't long, but it wasn't short either. No one made a sound, all the young men were nervous and anticipating. Even when they arrived at their destination, the nervousness didn't fade away, instead, it became more obvious. Each of them forced themselves not to look at others, adjusting their breaths, trying their best to calm themselves down so that they could handle what was coming next.
Only Kieran was an exception.
Kieran had been through a lot, so his heart wasn't affected at all.
He didn't just have time to size up his surroundings, he also had the time to size up the people around him.
At this moment, after two hours of hiking, they had arrived at a true wilderness. In front of them was a mountain.
He wasn't tall, but in the dark of the night, he looked like a monster crawling on the ground, making people's hearts tighten.
Daliphen was standing at the foot of the mountain, talking to a middle-aged man.
The voice was very low, but to Kieran, it was clear.
"The mutant camp and the monster camp have begun to gather. They are waiting for you to enter first."
"Those guys really can't wait."
"Of course, the Battle of Winter Night this time is extraordinary. It has surpassed the definition of the previous Battle of Winter Night.
"That's why I don't recommend these young people to participate."
"Daliphen, there are things that you and I can't stop."
The unfamiliar middle-aged man looked helpless.
Kieran watched as the man handed a box to Daliphen and retreated to the side. Daliphen walked over with the box.
"Hey, guys."
"This is the last thing I can do for you."
Daliphen stood still and opened the box.
Inside the box, there were many neatly arranged watches.
Daliphen picked up one of the watches and said.
"This is a locator, your last hope. Of course, you can use it as a watch, but the most important thing is here — see this white button?"
"When you run into unavoidable danger, remember to press it!"
"Although it will disqualify you from the Battle of Winter Night, it can save your lives!"
Daliphen looked serious when he spoke.
"Daliphen, are you telling us to surrender?"
Lucan, who was in the group, showed dissatisfaction.
In the education that this Northland youth received, there was no such thing as admitting defeat or surrendering.
"No!"
"This isn't surrender or surrender!"
"Just like I said, this is hope!"
"Your last 'hope'!"
Daliphen shook his head, his voice unconsciously getting louder. The white-haired but buff old man glanced over the young men in the group.
His voice continued.
"True …"
"Ours."
"I'm not married, I don't have a wife, I don't have children, I'm a Herder who is about to retire but has no children."
"There are many old fellows like me among the herders."
"I'm lucky because I didn't have them from the start."
"But some are unlucky. They had them at the start but they lost them in the end. Believe me, if you don't experience it yourself, you can't imagine the pain. "
"Fortunately, they have you guys."
"You call them teacher, uncle, aunt, etc. You address them differently but they treat you the same."
"You are their children, their hope."
"You are the last light in their lives."
"You don't want the light to be extinguished and plunge them into darkness, right?"
"So before you do anything, think about them."
"They are waiting for you to go home."
"One watch per person, come and get it yourself."
After that, Daliphen tried his best to turn his body around and tossed the watch to Lucan.
Daliphen looked at each of the young men who came over to get the watch.
He didn't know how many of these young men would make it back alive after the Battle of Winter Night.
Although he and a bunch of old men tried their best to fight for the last hope, the battle was ever-changing, who could guarantee that they would have the chance to press the white button?
'I hope you all come back safely.'
Daliphen looked up at the dark night sky, wishing them well in his heart.
Then …
A shadow covered the night sky.
Daliphen was stunned when he saw the night sky covered by the big backpack.
Then, an unknown feeling rose in his heart.
He couldn't tell what it was.
One thing was for sure, there was a tinge of hunger mixed in it.
"Kid, your family owns a restaurant?"
Daliphen asked when he saw Kieran sizing up the watch.
"Em.
Leaf Dining. "
Kieran answered.
"If there's a chance, I'll go.
"When the time comes, you must give me a discount."
Daliphen smiled.
"No discount."
Kieran replied seriously.
Daliphen thought Kieran was joking with him when he saw how serious Kieran was. The old Herder's mood turned better right away.
"Be careful, go ahead."
Daliphen pointed at the mountain further away.
Kieran didn't say anything else and headed down the mountain like the other young men.
This time around, they didn't line up.
Everyone got their watch and started to climb the mountain.
The middle-aged man who talked to Daliphen saw the young men off, and when Kieran also started to climb the mountain, he picked up the communicator and wanted to report the situation.
But before he could pick up …
Daliphen snatched the communicator away.
"Not in a good mood.
Drink with me. "
Daliphen said in a concise manner.
"Daliphen, you know it's pointless.
Even if I don't report, HQ will inform the Inhuman and Monster camps on time. "
The middle-aged man pointed at the communicator in Daliphen's hand and said with a bitter smile.
"Then?"
Daliphen rolled a white eye.
"Then …"
"I'll drink with you."
The middle-aged man looked at Daliphen and sighed.
Then, he took out two bottles of liquor from his backpack and tossed one to Daliphen. Then, he opened the other bottle and gulped it down.
The middle-aged man's face turned red instantly.
His eyes were clouded by the alcohol, and he laid down on the ground, leaning on a rock and looking at the mountain behind him.
"Drag it out for as long as you can."
"Good luck!"
The middle-aged man raised his bottle high.
A moment later, he started to snore.
The whole process happened in an instant, and when Daliphen came back to his senses, the middle-aged man was already unconscious.
Daliphen was stunned.
He couldn't help but kick the middle-aged man.
"You insincere bastard."
Daliphen sat beside the middle-aged man and looked at the not-so-tall mountain.
At night, the late autumn wind was blowing.
However, a wisp of mist suddenly appeared on the mountain peak.
The mist was so thick that even the cold wind couldn't blow it away.
"It's starting."
Daliphen muttered to himself.
The snoring beside him got louder after a pause.
…
When the mist appeared, Kieran frowned.
It wasn't just because of the sudden appearance of the mist, it also blocked his senses.
Not just his sight, but his hearing as well.
Inside the thick mist, all Kieran could see and hear within a 2-meter radius around him was his own footsteps.
The strange thing was, the mist remained within a 2-meter radius around him, moving together with his steps forward and backward.
It felt like there was a formless barrier covering Kieran's body.
It felt like the mist was alive and had its own consciousness.
Kieran halted his steps and squinted his eyes at the rumbling mist around him.
A moment later, [Gordor's Chain] appeared around him in its mimicry form and crawled towards the mist.
This time around, the mist didn't move.
[Gordor's Chain] easily touched the mist.
It was like a common mist, rumbling and dispersing under the stirring of [Gordor's Chain].
It wasn't just the part that was stirred, but the whole mist was gone.
The thick mist vanished as if it had appeared out of nowhere.
The sunlight shone down and shone on Kieran's body.
Sunlight?!
Looking at the warm light in his hand, Kieran's squinted eyes started to shine with an unusual glare.
It was midnight just now.
He was sure it had only been 20 minutes, it was impossible for the sun to rise.
Besides that, not only did the time change, but the environment around him changed as well.
He was on a hill in the wilderness before this.
However, at this moment, there was an abandoned street in front of him.
It was mottled, cracked, and covered in moss.
Collapsed or intact buildings were also shrouded in vegetation.
The closest trash can to him had long been rusted to the point where its color could no longer be distinguished.
There was no one around.
There was no sound either.
It was quiet.
Kieran looked down and checked the moss that covered the street. After making sure he was the only one, he carefully moved towards the shadow.
When the shadow covered his body, Kieran sized up his surroundings with a more meticulous gaze.
It was similar to the architecture of Ai City.
But there was a slight difference.
The age of the architecture was very similar.
There were street lights, bus stop signs, trash cans, etc., but as far as Kieran could see, there wasn't a single car, be it a public bus or a private car.
"Leaving in an orderly manner?
"Is this another place?"
Or … "
"Another world?"
Kieran wondered.
Then, he looked at a building in the distance.
It was a tall building with fifty floors.
Even though he was standing in the corner, he could clearly see the building.
No doubt, the building would be a good observation point.
At the same time, if other people entered the city, they would surely choose the building as a observation point.
Of course, there would be 'watchers' as well.
Among them, there would definitely be people with ill intentions!
One thing worth noting was that it wasn't just the Herders who entered the city.
There were also … monsters!
Kieran didn't want to be watched by others or monsters, so he took the initiative to become a 'watcher'.
For the sake of safety, Kieran didn't go straight to the building.
Instead, he chose a building near the building as a observation point.
The building should be an office building, and the location that Kieran chose was a shopping mall.
The reason why he chose the shopping mall, other than having a good observation point, was because the mall was big enough. As long as he could find a suitable observation point, he wouldn't be noticed even if there were a lot of people swarming into the mall.
Kieran believed that only a small number of people would become 'watchers'. Most of them would become 'watchers'.
After becoming a 'watcher', there weren't many spots that he could choose.
Compared to the few buildings that were easily noticed, the shopping mall was more suitable.
Along the wall, Kieran arrived at a coffee shop in the corner of the shopping mall. He carefully put down his backpack and hid behind the counter.
The whole coffee shop had floor-to-ceiling windows.
It was the same for both inside and outside the building.
In simple words, Kieran could easily see what was going on outside and inside the shopping mall from a slightly adjusted angle. If the people outside wanted to see Kieran, they would have to enter the coffee shop and get closer to the counter.
The moment Kieran stepped into the coffee shop, a tall and buff figure appeared on the street outside.
Lucan didn't even look around and strode towards the tall building.
His personality determined his way of doing things.
Besides, he didn't want to waste time.
He wanted to settle everything before those troublesome fellows came in.
As for the possible danger?
Lucan had absolute confidence in his own strength.
Lucan looked at the tall building in front of him and walked in without stopping.
Then …
Bang!
A loud thud later, Lucan, who had just entered the building, was sent flying out of the building, crashing into a street lamp.
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