Chapter 514 - The Fiery Plains
On the Great Forest's eastern outskirts, the last batch of tribesmen had already left the forest and followed the crowd in the distance, treading over their first hill.
The elven warrior army followed closely behind them and on both sides, guarding the tribesmen against all sides.
Meanwhile, many more elven warriors flew above the distant rat walls while observing the rat tide's movements outside.
Rumble…
At that moment, the elves all felt the subtle rumbles of the earth before they all gazed back at the Great Forest in surprise.
However, they could not see anything.
Nevertheless, it did not take long before the clouds of black smoke parted, revealing the towering Elder Tree following after them.
"T-The Guardian Spirit is moving!" A male elf exclaimed. He was shocked, but more than that, he was excited to see the Elder Tree moving!
He had lived at the bottom of the Elder Tree his entire life, worshipping the Guardian Spirit every day, and had long grown attached.
One can only imagine the emotions bottled up inside him to learn that he did not have to part with the Guardian Spirit, who had been his symbol of hope and security.
Many tribesmen shared the same sentiments.
"…It must be the Savior! The Savior convinced the Guardian Spirit to follow the tribe!"
"That must be the case! Only the Savior can move the Guardian Spirit! Long live the Savior!"
The tribesmen cheered.
At the same time, the elven warriors urged, "Alright, don't delay the trip, people! Keep moving! You won't have an easy time once the Guardian Spirit catches up!"
"What if we want to wait for the Guardian Spirit so we can catch a ride along with our Savior?" A male elf asked curiously.
"If you want to wait, then wait. However, we will not be staying with you. You'll be on your own." The elven warrior stated.
"Eh?" The male elf was surprised. He wondered why the elven warrior was not interested in riding on the Elder Tree before asking, "Why not?"
"If you are interested in seeking death, and it doesn't affect the rest of us, why should I stop nor join you?" The elven warrior responded before pointing, "Can't you see what's happening?"
The tribesmen peered at the Elder Tree in the distance with strained eyes before noticing objects getting thrown out from the treetop.
They were the homes of High Elves.
Gulp!
"On second thoughts, I will just continue walking." The male elf said wryly.
Many tribesmen who shared similar thoughts with the male elf also abandoned their ideas of riding on the treetop with their Savior. They were not sure their hearts could endure such thrills.
Meanwhile, Leon observed the situation outside with his [Spirit Eyes] while the Elder Tree moved out from the Great Forest.
After noticing the distant rat walls shaking from the tremors of the Elder Tree's heavy movements, he immediately communicated his wishes to the Guardian Spirit.
"Eh? Why did the Guardian Spirit suddenly stop?" Faelyn looked outside and asked curiously after the tremors stopped before turning to face Leon while snuggling in his arms, "Did you say something to the Guardian Spirit?"
"Yeah, I'm afraid the rat walls might collapse if we continue at this rate. We will wait for the tribesmen to gain some distance before we resume the journey—"
Leon suddenly paused.
Seeing Leon seemed to have noticed something with narrowed eyes, Faelyn remained silent for him to concentrate.
"Oh? This looks pretty bad, doesn't it? Did you account for a situation like this in your plan?" Duna suddenly said teasingly after she also happened to notice the situation ahead.
In the darkness of the night plains, the rat tide could be sensed rushing towards the rat walls on either side of the traveling tribesmen.
"What's happening?" Princess Thessalia inquired with a frown.
"The rat tide is being attracted to the tribe's scent from both sides. They are rushing towards the rat walls as we speak." Leon calmly explained, despite the elven warriors failing to lure away the rat tide further.
He sensed Faelyn's anxiousness as she tightened her grip on his sleeve before he smiled at her reassuringly, "A large tribe like Elvengarde cannot go unnoticed by the rat tide, even if we have two big rat walls obstructing them. However, there's nothing to worry about. Such a situation has been accounted for. There's no way I would have overlooked this point."
As Leon finished speaking, Duna, Faelyn, and Princess Thessalia all gazed outside.
In the far distance plains beyond the rat walls, the scouting group luring away the rat tide were the first to notice the situational change before the sentries stationed above rat walls did.
"Captain, the rats are no longer following us! They have caught onto the scent of our tribesmen!" an elven warrior at the 9th Awakener Realm informed urgently.
"Un, I know. Light the signal immediately!" The captain barked.
Shortly after, all members of the scouting group immediately tossed out their crushed exploding pills at the rat tide below.
Boom! Boom! Boom!"
Explosions after explosions went off in various parts of the plains, briefly lighting up the night skies in their area.
No matter where the sentries were stationed on the long route toward the Great Wall, all of them saw the bright exploding signals in the distance.
"That's the signal warning us of the rat tide's movements! Proceed with the plan!" A high-level elven warrior at the 5-Star Ranked Awakener Realm immediately urged his men.
"Yes, sir!"
The sentries answered.
Very shortly, the elven warriors stationed in various parts along the rat walls used their exploding pills and set the two rat walls on fire, creating two long flaming walls that brightened up the night sky!
The Wingrats leading the charge immediately halted their steps at the sight of fire.
However, the brethren following closely behind them were slower to react and forced them to tumble forward into the fast-spreading flames!
Screech!
The rats cried in burning agony.
Duna, Faelyn, and Princess Thessalia all watched with astonishment as the flaming walls immediately halted the rat tide's advancement.
At the same time, the fire spread to various parts of the plains like a chain reaction as an increasing number of Wingrats caught on fire.
The High Elves were awed by the beauty of the fiery plains.
"Now, we are really pressed for time," Leon said softly.