There were many refugee columns like the one
In most cases, Aya simply had to summon her courage and venture into the abandoned villages and overgrown farmland to搜寻 supplies house by house. That was the reason she could stay with the group — having to deal with corpses and death-stricken dwellings was extremely dangerous work, and few were willing to do it.
However, once this year's reserves ran out, the famine that followed would be devastating. There were no farmers left to work the land. This plague had dealt a catastrophic blow to the social order of Sakatekaz.
Of course, among the natives who were merely praying to survive until tomorrow, very few thought that far ahead.
"Ahh… Ayeyasana! Ayeyasana is coming…"
At that moment, a commotion erupted at the front of the column, and Aya instinctively tightened her grip on her younger brother's arm.
The instant they heard the name Ayeyasana, both siblings' faces went taut.
Among the fleeing refugees, the imperial army's pursuit and the dangers of the wilderness were minor concerns. What truly terrified them was the attack of the plague!
In the native tongue, Ayeyasana meant "an elusive, omnipresent demon" — and it signified the arrival of the plague itself.
"Is someone up ahead infected?"
Aya had seen several people who had been walking along just fine before suddenly coughing up black blood and collapsing on the spot. That already meant death had come for them.
The siblings gave the gathered crowd a wide berth. Through the throng, they could barely make out a small figure crumpled in the snow. The streams of refugees on both sides parted around it like people skirting a trap.
"That's Adudule… I was playing with him just a few days ago…"
Aya's brother let out a shocked whisper. Then he lowered his head.
In this moment, with the plague demon bearing down on them, life seemed so fragile. Aya could only hold her brother's head tightly and murmur soft words of comfort.
For these refugees, death had long since become numbingly ordinary. After bypassing the body, the column slowly pressed onward.
Aya thought of the collapsed figure and felt a quiet sigh rise in her heart. "We're almost at Hope Fort… it would be such a pity to fall here…"
"I absolutely won't let my brother end up like that. Once we cross this mountain range… we'll be within Hope Fort's sphere of influence…"
Aya silently steeled herself.
And just then, another commotion erupted at the back of the column. Densely packed voices rippled outward in every direction, triggering massive chaos.
"Someone else has collapsed? No — it's…"
Aya's pupils contracted.
"It's the imperial army! Those damn bastards — turn and fight!"
A burly native warrior stepped forward, gripping a fishing spear designed for spearing fish. Other native men brandished makeshift weapons as well.
As the men rallied to hold the line, the elderly, women, and children immediately scattered and fled.
Aya dragged her brother along in a desperate run, dodging the imperial army's pursuit from behind.
For any ruling power, a massive exodus of the population was intolerable. Even amid the raging plague, they had ordered garrison forces at every strongpoint to intercept the refugees.
Of course, what happened to these refugees once they were trapped on the empire's land was not something those nobles cared about.
Normally, even the native empire's soldiers were reluctant to carry out such a mission — let alone with the fear of the plague spreading.
However, after a certain divine oracle was issued, virtually every guardian spirit and totem joined forces to block refugees from entering Hope Fort's sphere of influence.
"Hurry…"
The faint sounds of combat drifted from behind. Aya's heart clenched as she kept pulling her brother forward, running for their lives.
But just then, she suddenly felt a heavy weight on her hand, followed by the muffled thud of a body striking the snow behind her.
"What's wrong? Did you fall? Get up quickly! Ah!"
Aya turned to see her brother collapsed in the snow. She immediately spun around and turned his body over — but then she saw that he had already slipped into unconsciousness, the black bloodstains around him glaring and unmistakable.
"He's been claimed by the plague demon too…"
In an instant, that thought flashed through Aya's mind, and two lines of tears streamed down her cheeks unbidden.
She paid no mind to the risk of contagion. She pulled her brother into her arms: "Save him… Someone, please save him…"
The sounds of fighting drew closer, but to Aya they sounded like hope: "The army has priests… he can surely use divine magic to save my brother…"
"Careful — he's infected!"
The imperial forces caught up quickly. The other soldiers looked at the siblings lying in the snow, clearly stricken, their faces full of revulsion and fear. None dared approach.
"Please! Save my brother!" Aya unconsciously tried to lunge forward but was immediately driven back by a wall of spears. "Don't come any closer…"
The guards fanned out, forming a circle around her as if containing a monster.
"Send for the priests and the commander at once! There's an infection source here!"
That cold, clinical resolve slowly drained the last of the young girl's hope.
With the sound of hooves, the officer and a priest adorned with multicolored feathered regalia soon arrived.
When they saw Aya's unconscious brother in the snow and the black bloodstains on the ground, both men's expressions turned grim.
"Kill them immediately! Pile on dry wood and burn this place!"
The order was passed down, and Aya's final shred of hope was cruelly ripped away.
"Brother… I'm sorry…"
The girl's tears fell drop by drop onto her brother's cheeks, his neck. Then she slowly closed her eyes.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Arrows hissed through the air, yet strangely, there was no feeling of pain.
Aya opened her eyes in astonishment. The officer across from her had an arrow buried in his neck, the fletching still trembling at its tail end like a small snake trying to burrow into the earth.
"Enemy attack! Enemy attack!"
Battle cries erupted from every direction. Shadowy figures surged from the dense forest on all sides.
"It's the armies of foreign gods…"
The priest's face drained of color. He wheeled his horse around and bolted. The other natives abandoned their spears, their ranks collapsing into panic.
"It's the people from Hope Fort!" Aya clutched her brother and staggered toward the suddenly appeared priestly corps. "Kind and merciful people… please save…"
Thud! Having already exhausted her strength and energy — and likely infected herself — Aya collapsed as well.
Just before consciousness plunged entirely into darkness, a faint voice reached her ears: "It's a pair of civilians! Lady Saint
…
Warmth spread through her limbs, as if strength was seeping back into every bone in her body.
She slowly opened her eyes and saw a warm campfire, with a large tent sealing the cold outside.
"What's your name? How are you feeling?"
A fellow native girl sat by her bedside and asked. She had long black hair and dark eyes, with a golden mark on her forehead that radiated a sacred glow.
"My name is Aya. Thank you for saving me!"
Aya blushed as she offered her thanks, then her expression shifted sharply: "My brother — where is my brother?"
"Don't worry! He's here too. He was just infected a bit longer and needs further treatment…"
Saintess Barbara gently restrained Aya's struggling. "This is Hope Fort… you're safe now…"
Three days later, having recovered some of her strength, Aya emerged from her brother's tent with a face full of joy. Gazing at the enormous winged-serpent statue in the nearby town, she earnestly knelt and began to pray.
"Great deity… thank you for saving my brother. From this day forward, Aya will be your devoted follower…"
Scenes like this unfolded in every corner around Hope Fort.
And wave after wave of fervent, devoted faith power flowed steadily into Leilin's hands.
"The number of followers has grown again! Sending troops to the surrounding borders to receive refugees was indeed the right decision!"
His divine sense withdrew from the threads of faith, and Leilin turned his attention to the other statistical reports.
With the hope of healing and the gains from expeditions on all sides, the territory centered on Hope Fort had now gathered over three hundred thousand native inhabitants.
Under the weight of life-saving gratitude, these people's faith in and devotion to Leilin were remarkably sincere.
To solidify the threads of faith from this population and transform them into true believers through regular prayer and worship, Tifa and the priestly corps would need to put in sustained effort.
"At this rate, once we fully absorb this population, igniting the Divine Fire won't be a problem at all. It might even be nearly enough to ascend to True God…"
A faint glimmer of excitement shone in Leilin's eyes.
With Hope Fort's expansion — and particularly the destruction of several surrounding tribes — Leilin had seized a great deal of divinity from their totem spirits.
With the aid of that divinity, the Slaughter Power within him had boiled to its absolute peak. His entire being radiated the sensation of being on the verge of combustion.
At this point, anyone who looked at Leilin could see a layer of sacred golden radiance around him — the external manifestation of divine nature fully merged with his own being, amplified to its utmost limit.
Moreover, with the deaths of nearly a million natives, Leilin had made initial contact with the powers of the death domain. Although he had only obtained a fraction of the information, and the Chip had been unable to fully digitize it, the progress was already remarkably fast.
"This wave of refugee intake has concluded. It's time to commence the next round of war…"