You May Be Our Hope.

Could it be said that Theresa was also a leader who emerged from the disaster of that year?

After her initial attempts, she quickly realized that this was definitely not a simple matter of some madman appearing or some kind of riot occurring.

This bizarre and unprecedented enemy quickly reminded her of the strange event that occurred when the Kazdel Allied Forces summoned Gordan...

She had witnessed the scene after Gordan appeared, where the 400,000-strong Allied Forces turned into monsters... and she knew that such a thing could never be fought head-on.

So she almost immediately began to defend herself.

The first step was to destroy Kazdel City's defenses... Thanks to Maria's arrangements, after the ropes binding the iron gates were cut, Kazdel became an isolated city.

"At first, Kazdel had many safe zones, but now, only one shelter remains in the Banshees -gathering area."

The man spoke while keeping his head down.

Upon hearing these words, the soldiers suddenly felt a sense of desolation.

Just a few months ago, Kazdel was still as prosperous and powerful as ever, but in less than three months, the entire Kazdel has become like this.

For a moment, everyone felt a pang of heartache.

Immediately, someone made a suggestion.

"Shall we go and support them?"

Regardless of their stance, they are all Sarkaz, part of the Sarkaz... They are not mercenaries, but properly trained soldiers, and naturally they would like to help their fellow countrymen under these circumstances.

In fact, this is exactly what Maria and Theresis wanted to do.

But... there's one more thing to figure out before we set off.

"Since you say the Banshees colony is the last refuge..."

Theresis spoke, her gaze fixed intently on the man before her.

"Then... how did you end up here?"

"The distance from here to the area where the Banshees gather... is quite a distance..."

As he spoke, he took a small step back, his eyes narrowing slightly.

371

Chapter 371 You Might Be Our Hope

Theresis's tone gradually turned cold.

Although his heart was with Theresa, he remained clear-headed.

According to the man, the only relatively safe place in Kazdel right now is the sanctuary near the Banshees colony... If that's the case, how did the man end up here?

Keep in mind, this is right next to the city gate, while the Banshees's gathering place is near the castle... which is the northernmost part of Kazdel...

The distance between the two places, without using any tools, would take at least a day to walk directly across.

Given the constraints of avoiding monsters and needing to eat and rest, how could a man possibly end up in this place?

Accident?

He didn't think there would be many unexpected events in a place like this.

The man was stunned for a moment, his pupils suddenly dilated, and he looked down at the trembling hands, murmuring in a daze.

"Yes... why... why am I here?"

"I..."

"Oh right... I remember now, I was planning to leave here with my wife and children..."

The man whispered, but his body trembled uncontrollably.

Beneath the skin, strange layers of things began to wriggle, seemingly trying to break free of this physical form.

The intense pulling gave his body an unsettling, eerie appearance, with writhing, almost finger-like movements spreading across his skin.

Upon seeing this, everyone frowned and stepped back, except for Maria, who stood there with a sorrowful look in her eyes.

"And... what about your children and wife?"

Although the Doctor was shielded and stepped back by the priest, she couldn't help but look at the man and ask a question.

The man, as if waking from a deep dream, suddenly raised his head.

An empty, lifeless face stared at the Doctor, murmuring something.

"My... my child... my child says they're very hungry..."

"I want to eat... but I have nothing to eat..."

"There are monsters all around... I'm going to find something."

"And then... and then I came back..."

"They... they said they don't need to look anymore... they've found food..."

The man whispered softly, his chaotic memories like trying to extract clear water from sewage; each extraction made the changes in him more obvious.

By this time, everyone could see the human face protruding from under his skin!

Two children, and a woman who had already emerged halfway from behind him, silent but whose every movement conveyed her pain...

Such a bizarre scene, coupled with what the man had just said, made everyone gradually realize what had happened to him, and their expressions changed in various ways.

Maria listened quietly to his whispers.

But just as the man was reminiscing about the past, she ruthlessly brandished her knife!

"Sulfone--!"

The Blades flashed, and a head flew off!

"This?"

Everyone was taken aback by what they saw.

The Doctor standing nearby cast a puzzled look at them.

"He should be realizing what he's done by now... Rather than letting him die in agony after he understands, it's better to let him drift off into a deep sleep in his daze."

Maria responded softly, her gaze fixed on the fallen head, her calm tone carrying her own unique tenderness.

Maria may not know how to do things right in normal life, but she certainly knew how to leave in the most peaceful way possible under such circumstances.

Maria's words, however, made Theresis glance at her again.

He truly hadn't expected that beneath that cold-blooded record and ruthless exterior, Maria would actually care about these things...

This allowed him to not only admire Maria's strength but also gain a deeper understanding of her character.

But that's a story for another time.

Although they still didn't quite understand what had happened to the man, they shook their heads, regrouped, and headed towards the Banshees camp.

Inside the camp.

In the only remaining relatively intact room, three people sat around a round table.

A candle was lit in the center of the round table, illuminating their slightly uneasy faces.

Theresa, Kal'tsit, and Lamaline.

At this moment, the three people with the highest authority in Kazdel were all somewhat silent.

"The latest search team has returned, but this time the food harvest is much less than before. If this continues, we may not be able to hold out until next week..."

Lamaline spoke up, recounting the situation of the special task force sent out by the Banshees... After encountering problems, they immediately began preparing and storing food.

Unfortunately, Theresa's initial plan was to build three large shelters within Kazdel, so she deliberately divided up many areas for people in other shelters to search for food.

Theresa's original intention was to distribute food so that everyone's survival rate would be roughly the same.

But what she didn't expect was that after collecting the food, those camps basically disappeared without a trace.

If nothing unexpected happens, they should have been captured.

They had just finished collecting food when they were destroyed...

To be honest, even if there were any unexpected events, it's still too much of a coincidence.

At least Lamaline found this statement hard to accept.

The only reasonable explanation...

"It was the enemy who deliberately arranged this, wanting to see us fight and struggle because of food shortages."

She spoke, her gaze serious.

Theresa, standing to the side, frowned and slowly nodded.

She realized this too, but... unfortunately, it was already done, and there was no room for regret. They could only consider how to continue facing the problems ahead.

Thinking this, Theresa's gaze also fell on Kal'tsit standing to the side.

At this moment, the large green cat also lost her usual strength and energy. Although she was still trying her best, anyone could see that she was struggling.

"The Babel is also doing its utmost to save the refugees, but... due to the current shortage of supplies, some are still dying because they cannot receive timely treatment, and others are experiencing deterioration in their health..."

Kal'tsit deliberately didn't make the details too clear. She knew that too much detail would upset Theresa, so she chose to be vague.

Even so, through Kal'tsit's words, Theresa could still sense the somewhat cruel process involved.

Because there are not enough medical supplies, the medical operators have to rely on Originium Arts to treat patients.

However, Originium Arts is a double-edged sword... During this period, not only the patients, but also many of the doctors on their side experienced a certain degree of physical and mental breakdown.

Furthermore, Kal'tsit has received more than dozens of reports of Babel members being corrupted by Originium.

But... there's nothing we can do about it.

If the doctors of the Babel n't step forward, the injured patients will die... but if they do so, the doctors' safety will also be jeopardized.

Faced with this dilemma, even Kal'tsit couldn't make a decision.

She could only issue orders for the doctors to do their best... and even if they couldn't, she wouldn't blame anyone.

But such orders didn't seem to have any effect... the doctors' conditions didn't improve.

After all, those who can Babel are a group of people willing to dedicate themselves to their ideals... For them, no one was prepared to be martyred earlier than them.

Especially in today's extreme circumstances, their mutual support has amplified the spread of this sentiment.

Normally, Kal'tsit would think this is a good thing, that everyone can work together as one.

But this time, she felt her own weakness.

Because she couldn't order these doctors to stop risking their own lives to save others, she could only watch helplessly as one by one, those who had joined the Babel journey, collapsed on the path of treatment.

And yet, I can't do anything about it...

"... Um."

After listening to Kal'tsit's brief report, Theresa remained silent for a while before nodding in response.

The situation was terrible, but she couldn't offer any solutions.

What saddened her even more was that she could no longer appear before everyone as usual to encourage them.

For the Sarkaz are truly in trouble, what they need is not actually moral encouragement... In fact, the fact that they have gathered here without rioting is itself a testament to their enduring spirit.

What they need are substantial resources.

Food, water, medicine, rest area...

Everything urgently required her to issue an order for a swift resolution, but when faced with life-or-death choices, she found it difficult to provide genuine answers.

A choice often means giving up one group of people and choosing another.

The decisions made in just one week were more suffocating than the decisions made by Theresa during her more than two hundred years of rule.

Her mental and physical well-being was gradually reaching its limit...

Even so, she did not give up.

"Then... Kal'tsit, is there any research on this Catastrophe outbreak?"