They ran toward the place where the royal family was hiding. Once there, William explained everything that had happened—including the fact that they had managed to kill the person leading the royal spy network inside the city.

The king was quite pleased by the news. “Excellent, excellent. But now we have a problem. What if they’ve blocked the roads? How are we supposed to get out of here?”

Now that William, Kier, and Nathan had killed someone inside the castle, everything had changed. The city’s leaders would be desperate to find the assassins—and that might mean blocking every road out.

“If they try to block the roads, we’ll unblock them,” William said. “We’re not going to let fear stop us. What matters now is gathering everyone who’s coming with us.”

All they could do now was wait. No one managed to sleep that night. Everyone stayed alert, keeping watch for any unusual movement nearby.

They put out the campfires and made sure no one would find them in the dark. To do that, they used a mix of spells and magical artifacts for camouflage.

It wasn’t the best concealment in the world, but it was good enough to fool the city guards patrolling the outskirts. Those guards were searching for the counselor’s killers—and if they happened to find the royal family hiding in the forest, that would be a disaster.

The hours dragged by painfully slow, and everyone breathed a sigh of relief when the sun finally rose and a new day began.

“Finally,” Nathan said with a long breath. “Now we just need to find the others.”

They had arranged to meet everyone at a secondary route near the city. It was much better than having the entire group gathered at the city gates.

That would only draw the attention of the guards and other townsfolk. After all, only 500 candidates had been chosen to escape with the royal family and leave the demon island behind.

William couldn’t deny it—he was a little afraid. He believed most of the people Nathan had spoken to would end up backing out at the last minute.

It was all too strange, after all. How could anyone so blindly believe that the entire island would be destroyed—and that only they, the chosen ones, would survive? It just sounded insane.

But to William’s surprise, when they arrived at the meeting spot, the people were there!

Some were on foot, others had horses. Most of them carried large bags full of supplies—enough food for several days of travel—and those who had more were sharing with those who had less.

William saw a merchant offer water and bread to a farmer who didn’t have much. It was a beautiful sight. Everyone there was helping each other.

“Go ahead, William,” the king said. “Let them know not to get too excited when they see me. That kind of reaction could attract unwanted attention.”

It was already surprising that no guard had noticed the strange movement. Maybe it was because they had gathered so early in the morning—and the meeting spot was in an area rarely patrolled.

Nathan, being a former city guard, knew that well. That was exactly why he had chosen that specific place for them to regroup.

William went ahead. Nathan walked beside him.

As soon as the group saw William, there was some confusion—but the presence of someone familiar like Nathan helped calm them down.

Then, William spoke to the first row of people. He didn’t want to shout, so the best approach was to speak softly and let the message spread down the line.

“The king and the royal family are on their way. But he asked that no one make a scene when they arrive—at least not right now. You’ll have time to speak with them during the journey, but for now, we need to leave quietly. We have to get away from the city first,” William said.

“Pass that message to everyone. I’m going back to meet them, and we’ll be right behind you.”

The front row nodded and began passing the message along. After all, there were a lot of people spread out along that secondary road.

William met up with the royal family and soon returned with them. When the citizens saw the royal family, they wanted to cheer, cry, and embrace the king again—but no one did. They stayed quiet, just as William had asked.

And so, they left, following the secondary route Nathan had told them about.

“These roads are almost deserted,” Nathan said. “We’ll be able to get far from the city without drawing attention. It might make the journey take a little longer, but it’ll be safer.”

The hardest part was ensuring the safety of everyone there. To do that, the royal family, Kier, Nathan, William, and anyone else who was strong acted as if they were guards.

Some watched the front, others kept an eye on the sides or rear. They stayed alert for any magical beasts or ill-intentioned people that might appear.

Since they were still near the city, things were relatively calm. They didn’t encounter any beasts or anyone trying to cause trouble.

Of course, along the way, a few cabins in the forest near the road had their lights on, and William could see people peeking through their windows, confused by the sight of such a large group moving along that path.

“Let’s hope our position doesn’t get exposed too soon,” William thought. “We still have a few more hours before we’re off this road.”

No one complained about walking or kept asking for breaks. Everyone there was strong and determined to survive.

When someone became too exhausted, another would carry them and keep moving.

Most were on foot—only a few had horses. Those who rode were the ones strong enough to fight off magical beasts. The horses would help with that.

Not even the royal family used carriages or anything like that. Everyone walked together along that road.

After several hours, they finally left the road behind and reached the Wildlands. From that point on, magical beasts would begin to attack.

But that also meant their journey was progressing—and that soon, they would reach the palace again.

*

“Are you sure about that? It seems strange—such a large group of people.”

“I’m sure. I saw them walking through here early this morning. They passed along this road right in front of my cabin. And they all looked like people from the city. I don’t know why they’re fleeing like that!”

A special unit of guards was tracking William and the others, and it seemed they had found their trail.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep