Nothing but ruins and craters surrounded them.

“Where are we?” William murmured, looking around while driving his truck across the uneven terrain. This city had seen better days, that much was obvious.

“I thought you knew where we were going?” Lily asked, exasperated. She looked out of the window, checking their surroundings.

“You’re the one that guided us to that spot. I thought you were the one that knows.”

“So it’s my fault?”

“Quite frankly, yes.”

Feodora smiled wryly as she sat in between the two. William noticed.

“You smiled a lot more often now.”

“Is that so?”

“Yeah. Well, I haven't known you for long, but you looked much more cheerful compared to when we first met.” William let out a little laugh.

“Hmm....” Lily inched closer to Feodora. “He’s right. You smile a lot more now, Feo… When I first met you, you didn't even know how to smile.”

“I am glad that you find that change as beneficial.”

“Of course it is.” William lightly patted her head, keeping the truck on the road. The scenery surrounding him refused to change, however. It was the same destroyed buildings as far as the eye could see.

William brought the truck to a stop, hiding behind another damaged structure. The destroyed buildings provided a lot of great cover, but at the same time, greatly limited the truck’s mobility. It was frustrating, to say the least.

“How long before we can fire again?” William asked. This time, Lily didn’t bother pulling her clock out, letting Feodora tell the time.

“Around ten minutes,” Feodora confirmed. The encampment that was previously filled with knights was now empty. They had taken a circle around, driving all over the place, unsure what to look for. Haleo Berena was much, much smaller compared to a city on Earth, making the travel time from one point to the other relatively short. Still, it was frustrating, as the scenery changed very little in the quick journey they went through. For now, though, William decided to wait in place.

“Where did all the knights go?” he muttered. If the enemy had any more long-range weapons, they should have fired them by now, no reason to wait until the city was clear to do so. Plus, the ballista was gone. There should be no more threat.

“Lily, can you ask where the other knights are?”

“On it.” Lily brought out her paper again.

“... There’s already some text on it.”

This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

“... Maybe you shouldn’t have put that in your bag?”

“My bad.”

On it were written several lines.

‘4th regiment currently clearing a path south - Colonel Ika Haju’

‘The 5th regiment managed to find a route through the forest. Will be joining as well - Colonel Nianka Mundar.’

‘Who’s with the adventurers? - Brigadier General Ktala Zarez.’

‘Anyone can contact them? - Colonel Ika Haju’

‘William, Lily, Feodora. Please reply - Brigadier General Ktala Zarez’

Lily quickly utilized her magic pen to write her reply.

‘Sorry for the delay. We’re back in the encampment - Adventurer Lily Atores’

‘Head south. We’re regrouping there. We’ll find a way to get you across the crater - Brigadier General Ktala Zarez.’

‘Affirmative - Adventurer Lily Atores.’

This time, Lily put the paper on the dashboard. William turned the wheel, and the truck went out of its hiding, driving past the empty tents. The encampments placed inside the city remained relatively intact. Most of them still had their furniture, albeit many were thrown into the ground or damaged. The same couldn’t be said for the ones outside the southern gate, though.

A massive crater around two hundred meters in size lodged at the center of the road, taking out the entire road along with the area that surrounded it. The tents that stood on both sizes were gone, reduced to tiny burnt remains. Even the ground that surrounded it cracked, with some trees on the side leaning into the crater.

“How are we going to pass?” William asked. The crater was far too steep for the truck, and he doubted the cracked dirt surrounding it could even support the weight of his vehicle.

“So we’re stuck on this side?”

“I think?”

From the other side, Ktala waved toward them. William turned the truck off and the three got out. They were forced to walk around a hundred meters from the edge of the crack, stepping carefully above the shaky ground.

“You can hear us!?” Ktala yelled from the other side.

“Yes, we can!” William yelled back, proceeding carefully.

“Are you going to be alright!?”

“How did you cross!?”

“We walked down!”

When they arrived at the end of the crater, William kneeled down and observed the damage. The ground underneath them shook, fragile thanks to the force of the previous strike. The crater was around seven meters at its deepest point.

“It’s way too steep for the tru- I mean carriage,” William said. Feodora turned toward the truck and extended both of her hands. Her hands glowed light green, and the truck shook lightly. A light green aura surrounded the truck. It did nothing else, though.

“Too… heavy…” Feodora clenched her fist, gritting her teeth, her eyes square on the truck. By the time the aura dispersed, the truck moved only a few centimeters forward.

“You’re trying to lift it up?”

“Sorry, it is too heavy.”

“It’s alright. We can find another way to cross.”

William looked around. The tree that surrounded them gave them no space. The truck couldn’t force its way through them.

They could probably fill the crater with dirt, but that would take too long.

“Is there another route!?” William yelled toward Ktala.

“There’s a fork in the road heading west, but it’s inside demon-controlled territory!”

William looked toward Feodora and Lily.

“I am staying with you.”

“Sigh… fine. Let’s do this.”

“Alright, that’s decided, then.”

“Wait! You three aren’t thinking of taking that route, are you!?”

“Just prepare a stack of cash for when we return! Oh, add some chocolate onto it too!” William yelled and boarded the truck. The truck reversed and headed back to the city.