Escape

When the Sauron soldier poured out like a flood from bursting dams, rushing towards the central square through smashed windows and broken doorways, howling, the final and most desperate defensive battle inside the castle reached its climax.

Behind the second-floor corridor and the remaining firing ports, the remaining Musketeers and archers, disregarding the danger of exposing themselves, desperately poured their last remaining ammunition and arrows down at the crowded enemy below.

Bullets whistled and arrows rained down, with Sauron soldier falling to the ground as they charged, their blood instantly staining the cobblestones of the square.

However, more enemies, stepping over the corpses of their comrades, surged forward like an endless tide!

They rammed their bodies against the heavy wooden door of the Lord's Hall and hacked at the remaining bars on the windows with their Battle Axe. Each heavy thud and the loud crack of breaking wood struck the heart of everyone in the hall like a hammer blow.

The atmosphere inside the Lord's Hall was oppressively suffocating.

Everyone who could still stand, including wounded soldiers, craftsmen with tools in hand, and even some civilian staff, gripped whatever weapons they could find, their faces pale but their eyes resolute as they stood guard at their posts.

Behind them were women and children huddled together in a corner, shivering, their desperate cries being desperately suppressed in their throats.

Everyone understands that the moment the gates are breached will be the final moment. No one will be spared.

Karl personally led Brendan and several of his most loyal guards, holding the rear of the gate firmly.

He held his longsword aloft with both hands, his eyes fixed on the door that trembled and groaned from the violent impact, preparing for a final showdown the moment the door broke.

Meanwhile, on the stone steps leading to the second floor, Konrad clenched his hands, his face filled with struggle and pain.

Every impact and every scream coming from downstairs felt like an interrogation of his soul.

Reason told him that as a mage, and especially as the mentor of two exceptionally gifted disciples, his most important duty was to preserve the flame of knowledge and the hope for the future, not to engage in meaningless, doomed martyrdom here.

He had to conserve enough mana to cast the extremely difficult and time-consuming group teleportation spell; this was his bottom line for getting Lina and Morian away safely.

Just as his internal struggle reached its peak, finally, cold rationality struggled to overcome his burning emotions. He slowly loosened his fist, preparing to turn around and go upstairs to carry out the evacuation plan.

"Teacher!"

Two hurried, trembling voices rang out in front of him. Konrad looked up sharply and saw Lina and Morian, pale-faced and panting, rushing out of their makeshift room, which they had been using for treatment and rest.

Both were clearly exhausted; Lina's robes were stained with blood and medicine, and Morian needed to lean against the wall to stand, but their eyes burned with a resolute determination that disregarded everything.

"What are you doing out here! Go back!" Konrad's heart tightened, and he shouted sharply.

"Teacher! Lord Karl... he can't hold on any longer! This is the final battle! We must go help him!" Lina cried urgently, her voice sharp with emotion and weakness. She pointed to the sounds of fierce fighting coming from downstairs, her eyes filled with tears. "He's your brother! Teacher! Are you really going to just watch him... watch him be..."

Lina's words were like sharp thorns, piercing the softest and most conflicted part of Konrad's heart, causing him to sway almost imperceptibly.

How could he not want to help? How could he not want to live and die alongside Karl and these soldiers who fought so valiantly? But he was a mentor, and he bore a heavier responsibility...

"Nonsense!" Konrad forcibly suppressed his turbulent emotions, interrupting her with an unprecedentedly stern tone. His piercing gaze swept over the two students. "War is the soldiers' business! It's not your turn! Your battlefield isn't here! Go back immediately! Don't come out without my orders!"

"Teacher!" Lina looked at him in disbelief, tears finally welling up in her eyes. Morian also bit his lip tightly, his face turning even paler.

"Go back!" Konrad commanded again, his voice carrying an undeniable air of authority.

Faced with their mentor's unprecedentedly harsh words, Lina and Morian were stunned.

Looking into Konrad's eyes, which held complex and unspeakable emotions yet were unusually firm, they were ultimately overwhelmed by resentment, disappointment, and a chilling sense of abandonment.

The two lowered their heads, gritted their teeth, and silently retreated into the room, step by step, before closing the door.

Konrad stared at the closed wooden door, as if all his strength had been drained. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and without further hesitation, turned and strode upstairs to a relatively quiet little living room.

He locked the door behind him, shutting out most of the noise from downstairs.

Immediately, he reached out with his left hand and a thick-covered magic book, exuding an ancient and weathered aura and inlaid with silver runes, appeared in his hand.

He quickly flipped through the pages, eventually stopping at an incredibly complex array diagram on a particular page.

Then, he raised his right hand, and pure, gentle blue magical energy began to flow between his five fingers.

His expression was extremely focused, and he chanted ancient and obscure incantations while his right hand moved slowly and precisely in the air.

As he moved, an incredibly complex circular magic circle, composed of countless luminous lines and runes, began to slowly emerge and rotate in the open space in the center of the small living room, emitting a stable spatial fluctuation of light.

Meanwhile, inside the room.

Lina and Morian slumped against the door, their backs to the floor, and slid down to the floor.

The shouts of battle and the sounds of impact coming from downstairs, as well as the faint magical fluctuations emanating from their mentor chanting incantations and constructing magic circles in the next room, all reached their ears clearly.

Lina buried her face in her knees, her shoulders trembling slightly, and cried silently.

Morian stared blankly out the window at the sky, which was reddened by the firelight, his hands gripping his robes tightly, his nails digging deep into his palms until they bled.

They understood that their teacher was preparing to lead them away from the teleportation array.

This means that the teacher has abandoned Carnford, abandoned Lord Karl, and abandoned all those still fighting bloody battles downstairs.

A tremendous sense of powerlessness and profound disappointment, like an icy tide, overwhelmed them.

They longed to fight, to live and die with their comrades, but they were too weak to even have a choice.

They could only run away like cowards, under the teacher's protection...

"Do we... have no choice but to run away?" Lina asked, her voice hoarse as she raised her tear-filled face, as if she were asking Morian, or perhaps herself.

Morian did not answer, but clenched his fists tighter, his eyes flashing with flames of humiliation and resentment.

At this moment, the shame of fleeing was perhaps more painful to their souls than death itself.