Across a stretch of ground over a thousand kilometers long, a vast, black mass of people was driven out from the Devil Race's main camp. They numbered in the millions, even tens of millions—ragged Hua Clan civilians, old and young alike, weeping and wailing as they were herded out.
The Winged Devils flying overhead watched them from the sky, while Ironclad Devil and Minotaur Devil Warriors followed behind, driving the Hua Clan people onward with savage expressions.
It was December, bitterly cold. The ragged Hua Clan civilians shivered in the freezing wind. Under the threat of Devil Race warriors' blades and axes, they stared blankly into the distance and trembled as they walked toward that desolate wilderness. At that moment, none of them knew what awaited them.
"Up ahead! Once you cross the Wei River, you'll be on Great Xia's territory! Didn't you say you didn't want to be citizens of the Heaven-Piercing Empire? Didn't you say you couldn't forget Great Xia? Fine! As long as you charge across, you'll be free! Great Xia's army is waiting on the other side of the Wei River. There's food, there's drink! Look at the fortress in the eastern sky—that is Xuanyuan Fortress, guarded by Hua Clan Knights..." Behind those millions upon millions of Hua Clan civilians, several people dressed in luxurious silk official robes—though in styles unlike those of Great Xia officials—shouted through tin megaphones.
Though doubt and confusion still filled the eyes of the millions of Hua Clan civilians driven from the Devil Race camp, some lifted their heads to gaze at the enormous Xuanyuan Fortress, faintly visible in the distant sky. In an instant, the light of hope rose in their eyes...
Charge across. As long as they charged across, they would reach Great Xia's territory. There would be Great