He knew Jiang Chen was strong enough to protect them. He was also relieved that Jiang Chen wasn't as he had feared; his conscience hadn't been completely extinguished.

Jiang Chen didn't know where the five hundred people were. However, he knew where Patrick's dozen or so companions were, so all he had to do was follow them.

These dozen individuals moved swiftly through the woods, with Jiang Chen trailing closely behind. Moreover, Jiang Chen noticed something: their clothing was very similar to Patrick's, meaning it could block True Qi attacks.

At that moment, the woman leading the group stopped, turned to look back, and furrowed her brows. The dense white fog obscured everything.

"Captain, what's wrong?"

"Could someone be following us?"

The woman said coldly, "Keep chasing."

The dozen people quickly departed. The woman then whispered to a few, "You all continue the chase; I'll catch up." With a swift jump, she climbed a tree, held her breath, and remained perfectly still.

After waiting for a good while without anyone appearing, she wondered, Is it my imagination? Is no one actually following us?

At that moment, Jiang Chen was leaning against a tree. This woman's perception is indeed strong; she could sense me from over fifty meters away. Too bad her perception can't escape mine.

Seeing that no one followed, the woman quickly left.

Jiang Chen did the same, maintaining a hundred-meter distance as he swiftly caught up.

「An hour later.」

Through his perception, Jiang Chen detected hundreds of breaths. Their breathing was rapid; some gasped heavily, others coughed, and the cries of babies could even be heard.

This must be the main contingent of The Fallen! They really are all elderly, women, and children. Could these Heroes truly bring themselves to act against them?

Two of The Fallen sensed someone approaching and wondered if their leaders had arrived.

Just then, an arrow shot out swiftly, piercing through one of The Fallen and pinning him to a tree. The other, a woman, drew her Longsword with a pale face and quickly hid behind a tree.

WHOOSH.

Two more arrows flew by. The Fallen woman quickly dodged and turned to look at her attackers.

"Mom, it looks like they've caught up!"

One of The Fallen yelled, "Everyone, get down!"

Over five hundred people quickly crouched, their eyes filled with terror as they watched the dozen figures approach, their faces draining of color.

"So, the main group is indeed here."

"Over five hundred of them. That's a lot of heads!"

"Haha… We're going to be rich!"

"Stop fooling around! Kill The Fallen. These are all for the Commander. He needs to kill them himself to earn enough merit for a promotion to [Cataclysm]."

The Fallen woman said angrily, "How can you bring yourselves to do this? They're all elderly, children, and women—just ordinary people!"

"No, they are The Fallen."

"The Fallen deserve to die."

"Enough talk. Let's do it!"

WHOOSH! WHOOSH! WHOOSH!

Several arrows streaked past. The Fallen woman dodged swiftly and charged forward, trying to kill her attackers. But these Heroes were no pushovers; they quickly fired more arrows, and Explosive Arrows detonated nearby.

The force of an explosion flung her away.

Blood immediately spurted from her mouth.

It's over. Everything is over.

The Fallen woman looked back at the group behind her, her eyes filled with despair.

A man stepped forward, smiling. "She's not dead yet. I'll cut off her hands first, then her head and feet, and then torture her slowly."

"Be careful. Even an injured Fallen isn't easy to deal with."

"I know that. Don't worry. As if she could kill me…"

The man had barely taken a step forward when his legs were suddenly severed from his body. He fell to the ground, letting out a terrible scream.

The faces of the dozen or so attackers changed dramatically. Who could it be?

There was a flash of sword-light, and the second person met the same fate—his feet left the ground, followed by another scream…

The third…

The fourth…

The fifth…

The Fallen woman's face lit up with joy. Have reinforcements finally arrived?

An Archer exclaimed angrily, "You're a Hero under the Alliance of All-Gods! How dare you kill your own people?"

Sigh… The thing I hate most is clever people.

WHOOSH! WHOOSH! WHOOSH!

With flashes of his sword, Jiang Chen swiftly severed the feet of the remaining attackers, preventing their escape. This couldn't be helped. They carried Resurrection Scrolls; if they died and resurrected, they would know they'd been killed by someone from the Alliance of All-Gods.

Jiang Chen certainly didn't want his identity exposed.

A dozen or so Heroes lay on the ground wailing, no longer a threat without their feet.

The Fallen woman was stunned. Someone from the Alliance of All-Gods? How could that be?

"You can still fight, can't you? They're powerless now. Go and finish them off," Jiang Chen said.

The Fallen woman asked, "Are you really from the Alliance of All-Gods?"

"Is it better to discuss this now, or kill them first and then talk? We don't have much time. If you hesitate any longer, Patrick will catch up."

Hearing this, the Fallen woman gripped her sword and charged. With swift slashes, she cut them down one after another, severing their heads.

After the dozen attackers were killed, Jiang Chen finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"Who are you? My name is Ame."

"Have your people continue on. Wait for me further up the road; I'll show myself when the time is right," Jiang Chen said.

Ame nodded and quickly directed her people to move. The five hundred got up and hurried forward, while Ame waited for Jiang Chen to appear.

From the dense fog, a young man emerged, holding a Thin Sword and also wearing a robe.

Seeing Jiang Chen's face, Ame exclaimed in shock, "It's you!"

Looking at Ame, Jiang Chen suddenly remembered: this woman was the Black-robed woman he had encountered in the Garna Rift. Clearly, she recognized him too.

Jiang Chen finally understood: the person this woman had been waiting for back in the Garna Rift was the tavern keeper.

Jiang Chen smiled. "Yes, it's me."

"Are you a Swordsman under the Alliance of All-Gods?"

"Yes, you guessed correctly."

Jiang Chen tossed a jade pendant to Ame. "The tavern keeper asked me to give this to you."

"I believe you."

"Alright, let's go. Patrick should be here soon, and we don't have much time. You should understand, I'm a Hero of the Alliance of All-Gods, and I don't want to reveal my identity."

"Okay, let's go together."

Jiang Chen nodded and followed behind, looking at the five hundred people—all elderly, weak, sick, or disabled.

He could only shake his head helplessly. As for killing these people, the thought had never crossed Jiang Chen's mind. He was a man of principle, and that principle was never to harm children, women, the elderly, or the infirm.

Besides, they all had black hair and black eyes; Jiang Chen couldn't bring himself to harm them.

Jiang Chen asked, "Why are you all in this place?"

"We originally sought refuge with the Patrick Clan. We were stationed here and lived peacefully, helping the Patrick Clan build military merit. We would handle those they couldn't act against, and eliminate those they couldn't kill."

"In return, they promised to protect us and ensure we wouldn't be hunted by the Alliance of All-Gods."

Jiang Chen nodded. So that was the arrangement.

As for why the Patrick Clan was now trying to wipe them out, they must have been discovered.

Patrick had no choice but to act. Killing them would not only solve that problem but also allow Patrick to earn military merit!

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