At this time, other workers also noticed the abnormality and stopped, discussing the dark mass of flying birds.
Cham, however, recognized the urgency.
That wasn't the city's alarm, but the First Army's wartime alert. This meant that the enemy was approaching the army, and battle could begin at any moment... or rather, the moment the alarm reached here, they were already engaged with the enemy.
Could it be that the demons had returned?
That would be too preposterous!
He had followed his father from the Misty Forest all the way to Outpost Ten, and he had a basic understanding of the situation in the north.
The main purpose of the First Army's reconstruction of the Tarachi Ruins was to prevent this. On the open plains, a towering watchtower was enough to see areas ten kilometers away. Not to mention the time it would take to establish a Red Mist outpost, the distance from the ruins of Holy City to this Winterless frontier was three to four hundred kilometers. How could the enemy break through to a position so close to the new royal capital without any warning?
But now wasn't the time to delve into that.
The outpost responsible for Frontier Two had at most a hundred soldiers stationed there, all of whom were rotating recruits. If they were really attacked, could they successfully repel the demons and guarantee the safety of this place?
Cham was completely unsure.
Boshan suddenly ran quickly towards the platform.
"Hey, where are you going?"
"Xia is still on the train, I'm going to pick her up!"
This answer also reminded Cham that, according to evacuation regulations, everyone should retreat to the nearest shelter after hearing the alarm. But the loading and unloading platform was located on the outermost edge of the frontier, and it would take a considerable amount of time for them to run to the residential area, let alone turn back. Instead of taking Xia to the shelter, it was better to leave directly by train.
"Everyone look here!" Cham tore off his badge and held it high in his hand. "I am Cham, a soldier of the First Army. Frontier Two has been attacked, everyone drop your cargo and follow me—this place is too far from the shelter, we'll take the train to safety!" After speaking, he added in a low voice, "Former one."
But no one heard his whisper. The moment the First Army's name was spoken, the workers regarded him as the leader, and those who were already running south stopped and gathered around him.
This scene surprised Cham, but what followed was increased pressure.
When he was in the First Army, he was just a lookout on the Black River, a lackey under his father. He had never had the experience of leading others. Now that he suddenly had a group of people to be responsible for, he couldn't help but feel uneasy. But since the words had already been spoken, he could only bite the bullet and persevere.
"This way!" Cham led the workers all the way to the train, and ran straight into Hanke, who looked at a loss.
"Du-dude, what the hell happened? I just went to find a corner to relieve myself..."
"Don't worry about so much," Cham grabbed his shoulders. "Have you added coal and water? How's the boiler pressure?"
The latter nodded frantically, "It's ready to go, it can be started at any time..."
"Good!" He loudly instructed, "Now go quickly and turn the switch back, we're going to drive backwards to Station One. Remember to sound the whistle before releasing the brakes, understand! Also, load the gun and keep it where you can get it at any time!"
"What about... you?"
"I'll arrange the others first, and then meet you at the front of the train."
Half an hour later, the train spewed out billowing white smoke and slowly drove out of Platform Two.
During this time, more platform workers noticed them and climbed into the carriages before the train started, including even a militia team guarding the storage yard—although there were only a dozen or so people, they were at least equipped with firearms, which made Cham feel a little more at ease.
Although he wanted to be by Xia's side, the most important thing at this time was to transport everyone to a safe area. Therefore, after confirming that she was safe, he returned to the front of the train along the aisle.
It was at this moment that Cham saw the enemy attacking the frontier.
A swarm of Evil Beasts!
"God above, didn't they say they only appear during the Evil Moon?" Hanke muttered as he lay on the window.
"Who knows what's going on in this damn place." Cham took out his rifle from the storage cabinet, and then skillfully climbed onto the roof of the car—since the train was moving backwards, he could clearly see everything that was happening behind. Many evil beasts were rampaging like crazy, including both ordinary species and mixed species that were obviously larger. They were attacking faster than he expected. He hadn't left the platform for long before he saw a black shadow cross the rails and rush into the loading and unloading area.
If everyone escaped on foot, they might not be able to outrun these berserk monsters.
—He made the right choice.
The thought made Cham breathe a sigh of relief.
But doubts still remained.
Evil Beasts had been defeated under the barrage of cement walls and firearms several years ago, and could no longer enter the hinterland of Winterless. Now the First Army was far stronger than it used to be, how could it be invaded by evil beasts?
And the next few shots only intensified his confusion—several mixed species noticed the rumbling train and chased from the north, then were shot down one by one in front of the Vana Rifle, and finally only left a pool of black blood. These years hadn't brought earth-shattering changes to them. The attacking methods of the evil beasts were still the same as those of wild beasts, nothing more than fangs and claws, and the threat was far lower than that of the Mad Demons who could throw spears. He really couldn't understand how such an enemy could silently capture the Tarachi garrison.
"Bang!"
Accompanied by a loud noise, the train suddenly stopped slightly, as if it had hit something.
Cham almost fell off the front of the train. He turned his head angrily, and was immediately shocked! He saw a strange monster appear next to the train at some point. Half of its body was connected to the freight car, obviously dented in. Blue blood spurted out, wetting half of the car skin. The monster had many appendages and reptile-like shells, and the scythe-like claws on the side of its head proved its status among predators.
The strange thing was, he hadn't noticed any monsters in front of the train before. Where did this guy come from?
But Cham didn't have time to worry about that.
Because he found that the track not far away was broken into two sections!
"Hanke, brake!" He shouted as he got into the car, and grabbed the handrail as quickly as possible. Although his companion looked puzzled, he pulled the brake immediately. The sharp whistling sound echoed throughout the train, and Cham even smelled the burnt smell from the heated wheel brakes.
But it was too late. The train rumbled over the broken track, and the heavy body instantly caused the wheels to sink into the gravel, and then plunged off the roadbed. The carriages that lost the track constraint collided with each other, and finally overturned in the violent shaking.