Half-elf Notebook

Chapter 169: Reverberation

There were already some scattered pedestrians on the street outside. They were dressed in rags and exuded an unconcealable stench. It was the smell of silt accumulated in the poorly maintained sewers, and sewage mixed with various excrement that seeped into their clothes.

These people are obviously not citizens of the South District, and their goal is obviously not to stay in the South District.

They were rushing through the streets, heading towards the center of the city, a place they were unlikely to go to in their entire lives, and a place they dared not go to.

Without the sound insulation in the house, the loud noise of the gunpowder explosion, which I didn't know whether it came from the city wall, became clearer and clearer.

Mixed in with the noisy bells, even ordinary people could vaguely hear it.

The second-floor windows of some houses were open, and women and children, attracted by the sound of the bells, poked their heads out and looked around worriedly or curiously.

The women who stayed at home did not dare to open the door.

Rather than asking about the situation or hearing gossip, they are more worried that the skinny pedestrians on the street will rush into their houses, hurt them and their children, and steal their property.

Rick didn't pay much attention to the situation on the street. He raised his head and stared straight at a house in a certain direction.

His gaze seemed to penetrate the layers of houses and streets in the southern district, passed the slums of low-rise shanties, and fell on the towering and continuous gray-black city walls.

Naturally, he couldn't see the specific appearance of the city wall.

No matter how strong the eyesight is, a professional's eyes do not have the ability to see through things.

But it sounds different!

The sound is not obscured.

The loud noise of artillery bombardment, the hysterical shouts of soldiers and non-commissioned officers, and the orcs' shouts and laughter in an incomprehensible language.

The sound of weapons colliding with armor and cutting into flesh and bones was consciously amplified in Rick's mind.

His expression was extremely ugly and cold, like a piece of fine iron.

At this moment, Rick seemed to see the raging sea of ​​fire reappearing before his eyes. It was a fire caused by a row of houses, which burned the city into a deserted ruin.

Around him were no longer people hurrying along in a hurry, but comrades, orcs, and corpses that were still warm.

There was no longer an empty brick and stone pavement at my feet, but a constant stream of blood.

The blood clung to his boots, making it difficult for him to tell whether it was sweat that soaked the soles of his feet or blood that flowed over the insteps.

The ruins of the house could not withstand the burning fire and fell to the ground. The flames ignited all the combustible materials around them, including corpses, wood, and the clothes of a soldier or civilian.

The suffocating smoke, the ashes blown up by the heat wave, and the smell of something burning mixed together and poured into his nostrils.

It's like a real purgatory.

Rick knew that he had to do something to stop this from spreading.

Just like back then.

He drew his sword and took the first step.

The corner of his clothes was pulled back by someone.

He looked back and saw a white-haired half-elf girl looking at him with a worried look on her face.

Almost at the same time, the flames, corpses, screams, and even the terrifying enemies disappeared into thin air.

The street was still the same street, with a few broken potholes and a road paved with dark blue bricks. There was no bright red color from the firelight that was particularly glaring.

The houses were still the same houses. They were not engulfed in flames, there were no crumbling ruins, and women and children still looked out of the bay windows.

Everything returned to its original state.

Apart from the sound of bells and the faint sound of cannon fire in the distance, there was a surge of pedestrians.

Just as peaceful as usual.

"What happened?"

Ina had never seen Rick with such an expression.

His usually gentle and calm face now showed a seriousness as icy in winter, and his grey eyes were full of indifference, an indifference towards life and death.

But when he looked at himself or discovered himself, his gray eyes were clearly mixed with panic and reluctance to give up something.

It was as if he was afraid of losing something very important to the owner of these eyes.

"Is there anything I can do to help..."

"It's okay. It'll be fine."

Rick stretched out his right hand to hold Ina's, and held her fair, slender hand with his left hand:

"Okay, we should go... to the central area, where there should be troops, magicians' associations, and adventurers' guilds stationed..."

He forced a smile and spoke in his usual gentle voice, as if to comfort Ina.

But she could tell from Rick's tone that this guardian, who seemed omnipotent in her eyes, was making an extremely difficult choice at this moment.

"but…"

She whispered, but Rick had already locked the door and was taking her by the hand, walking quickly towards the end of the street, towards the East District and the Central District.

"Feel sorry."

A whisper that was irrelevant to the question and seemed not to be addressed to her reached the ears of the white-haired girl.

Ina was stunned at first, then looked up at her guardian.

And Rick just shook his head silently.

This colonel once rushed to the front with a steel sword, led his soldiers, protected hundreds of civilians, and fought his way out of the siege from a purgatory of blood and fire.

At this moment, his back was turned to his enemy.