Chapter 219
Anton and his family and friends prepared two carriages for their departure from the city of Zalnothel. In the first carriage would himself, his father, Anna, Colin, and Anna’s two maids, Ramona, and Belinda, who insisted on coming with them. On the second carriage would be Nermina, Lucas, Devon, Lunelle, Frederick, and the three vampires.
It was a good thing that the two carriages they were going to use were very large and were enough to hold all of them. They weren’t even bringing any guards with them and not only that, they were bringing very few possessions and little food. They were planning to purchase food from the towns and villages that they would pass through.
Everyone was moving in a frenzy since they could hear the explosions from the city and the south gate and according to what little they knew so far, the explosion from the city was the battle between the powerful mages in the city and the ones who joined the Undead Coalition and betrayed the living. They also knew that soon the north gate would also be besieged by the undead army from the North.
A lot of people from the mansion were helping them so after a few minutes, the two carriages were ready. Anton thanked the two old tutors, Mr. Tenor, and Ms. Damby, again for helping them settle the matters and people that would remain in the mansion.
Anna looked sad but resolute. Anton could understand that. He thought that they would spend a long time in the city living their lives, learning the customs of the city, and making themselves part of the rich and powerful citizens of the city but the Undead Coalition was just too powerful and had a goal of conquering all the cities in their way. Anna was also becoming happy joining her elite classmates in the magic school and she might have thought that she would have the time to enjoy the magic school life. But right now here they were, on the run again. Anna also looked resolute because Anton knew that his sister also knew that right now, nothing was more important than family.
When Anton was traveling towards the city of Zalnothel, he remembered deciding that he would fight it out with the Undead Coalition. It actually came from his ignorance and pride that he was becoming very powerful and would be able to contend with the most powerful beings in the coalition but learning that there were powers that had reached unimaginable heights amongst the undead opened his eyes to the truth that he was a frog at the bottom of the well.
That meant that the best thing he could do right now was to focus on using his Diablo II system to make himself very powerful as fast as he could to make sure that he and his family remained safe.
Soon, two carriages from the Oak Sage Manor departed towards the East Gate, leaving the people in the manor looking at them and the two old tutors were there looking at them as well. The manor had been their home for a few weeks and Anton had hoped that they would be able to stay there and have enough time to grow but unfortunately, this world caught up with them.
Anton was glad that the carriages were big enough that even though there were a lot of them it wasn’t too crowded.
Their carriage was being driven by Colin and he saw that Lucas was driving the second one. There were a lot of people on the road fleeing and Anna even recognized some of them as the families of her classmates. That meant that some of the elites in the city were not confident that Zalnothel would survive the crisis.
When they reached the gate, there was a long queue so everyone exited their carriages to wait it out with the others.
Anton suddenly saw something peculiar. He saw Ecturne and Luminetta behaving oddly. They were looking at Zenoxus concernedly.
Suddenly, the elder vampire turned very feral and flew towards Anton. He was so glad that the vampire chose him to attack since even if he was hit, his defenses were high enough to withstand Zenoxus’s attack.
Anton used Telekinesis to hold the elder vampire but everyone in the surrounding was terrified. They could feel the aura of the powerful vampire but when they saw Anton holding the vampire using a spell, they calmed down.
The people in the area recognized him since a painting of his visage circulated in the city.
“Ecturne, Luminetta, what happened?” Anton asked while the others looked on concernedly.
“I’m sorry Lord Anton, Master Zenoxus must have been cursed by the powerful Emperor Liches in the coalition,” Ecturne said sadly.
The vampire knew the repercussions of the attack. The oath’s backlash arrived and Zenoxus was enveloped in a fire so hot that after a few seconds, nothing remained of the powerful elder vampire.
Ecturne and Luminetta looked on sadly then they started to burn until nothing remained of them as well. Zenoxus and his line were now gone from this world.
Anna cried and ran towards Ander to hug their father. Anton was shocked but ever since he learned about the powerful being in the Undead Coalition, he had an inkling that something like this was possible so he never fully trusted the vampires but they were with them for a while and he was beginning to treat them as his companions.
Anders and the others looked on sadly but they all knew that their situation was precarious. Death could come anytime to any of them. It was just sad that it came so suddenly and to the three of the most powerful beings in their group.
Anna and her two maids, Ramona and Belinda kept on crying. They had been close to Luminetta and were already considering her as their friend.
Lunelle was also crying and Devon looked both sad and angry. Ecturne had been their companion during their caravan travel and the vampire did everything he could to save Lucas and Nemina’s children.
Anders looked very sad as well and Nemina started crying. Zenoxus was their guard and had been close to them all the time.
When they saw the queue began to move, they all silently entered their carriages and exited the city of Zalnothel.
Their journey towards the East began in grief of losing some of their companions. They were all grieving silently because they wouldn’t be able to do anything about the beings who caused the death of the vampires.
While they were moving, Anton looked back at the marvelous city of Zalnothel. A city full of magic and mystery. He planned to explore the city once they were stable but now they were running from it as it was being torn down by its enemies from the inside and out.
For a moment, Anton wished that he were powerful so he could help in defending the city and he thought he already was. But the beings that were attacking the mighty city were powerful beyond belief and the only thing they could do to survive was to run.
Anton hoped that the people in the manor and the two old tutors, Mr. Tenor and Ms. Damby as well as the archmages that became his friends like the Archmage Voduria and the others survive the city’s crisis.
After looking back at the city for a few minutes, Anton turned his gaze forward and looked toward their future. He hoped that their family would find a place where they could live in peace but knew that it would be a long journey before they could reach one.