Souta's group arrived in the Dry Gulch Town. They saw that the town was in ruins. Boulders of rock crushed the plaza and the houses of the residents here. People were panicking all over the whole town.
The Head of the town was nowhere to be found, so no person could guide them in this time of crisis.
Souta knew that the Head of the Dry Gulch Town died at the hands of Julius Reinhar, the Love Commandment of the God's Will.
Souta looked at Lumilia and said, "We should go now. We wouldn't be able to properly rest in this place."
Lumilia looked back at Jusmin and Fred. The two nodded at her before she agreed at him. She then opened her mouth and said, "Actually, we brought a caravan here."
"Really?" Souta looked back at her. If she really has a caravan then that good news.
"But I don't know if it's still here," Lumilia said with a slight hesitation.
"Okay, let's check it first." Souta nodded at her.
The group went inside the Dry Gulch Town. The effects of Julius spell was really devastating. It even destroyed most of the houses here in the Dry Gulch Town.
The inside of the town was a sight to behold. Corpses were scattered everywhere. Blood dyed the ground. Some people were crushed into mincemeat. Some were burned because of the fire that came from the rock.
The boulders of rock crushed the house and it includes the people that lived there. Some houses had smoke rising in it because of the burning rocks.
Some of the people were plundering the merchandise of some shops. Chaos spread in the whole town as no one had the authority to command these people anymore. With the loss of their leader, the people of the town panicked.
Even now, the people were still in a state of panic because of the vibrations from the battle of the two Commandments and the Pale Hors.e.m.e.n. Every minute the ground would tremble twice of thrice.
Bryan had a blank expression on his face when he saw this scene.
Souta noticed Bryan's look, so he said, "Bryan, ignore them. We're injured too, so don't try to help them. Even if you really wanted to help, you would not be able to because of your condition right now. If you collapse you would become a burden."
"...I know." Bryan opened his mouth and said.
Souta looked at everyone's face and sighed. If they were feeling nausea from something like this, then they wouldn't be able to handle the future version where the whole continent was in the war.
The first big event that will hit this continent was the Demon Invasion. This event was really brutal as the demon would mercilessly slaughter those people from small countries. Those small countries that weren't included in the map will be annihilated.
Those small countries and the towns or villages that weren't under the protection of large countries were slaughtered by demons. It was truly brutal considering that hundreds of millions of people perished at the demon invasion.
Souta's group arrived at the place where Fred parked their caravan.
They saw that the place was still up. The problem was that it looks like some people ransacked the place.
They went inside the lot and found that the caravan was gone. As expected, some people already took it away.
"With the state of the town, it's only natural that people will take whatever caravan they saw," Souta said with a sighed.
Fred and the rest couldn't help but nod their head at his words.
"Let's find a place to stay." Souta suggested to them.
"Let's do that," Lumilia said. She knew that Souta and Bryan were exhausted and they needed a lot of rest before they could regain their energy.
Souta's group went around the town and found an abandoned house. They decided to stay for a night inside the house.
Jusmin stayed up as she guarded the house while everyone was resting. Even though she didn't have enough power, she still could wake up everyone when some people enter the house.
Souta and Bryan collapsed when they relaxed their tense muscles. They were too tired and exhausted from all the things that happened today. They instantly fell asleep when they laid down.
Also with their current condition, they wouldn't be able to go to another town. They needed rest more than anything.
Lumilia didn't ask Souta about what happened in the forest as she knew that he needed rest right now. Her questions could wait until tomorrow.
"What a tough day it is," Lumilia muttered while looking outside the window. She then opened her bag and took out the Mystical Light Cherry.
She raised it in front of her face and looked at it with a dazed expression.
After a few moments, she sat down in a lotus position and took a bite of the Mystical Light Cherry. She decided to eat the cherry right now and see its effect on her body. She slowly digested the nutrients of the fruit inside her body.
"I hope I could gain my father's recognition..."
...
Souta and Bryan woke up at noon. They went downstairs and found that everyone was already awake.
"It hurts... My whole body..." Bryan complained. The wounds that he received was far greater than Souta. He was lucky that he was still alive after taking the [Bestrou] head-on.
Souta ignored Bryan and he walked outside. He jumped on the rooftop of the house and looked at the direction of the Desolate Woods.
The Desolate Woods dried up. All the trees inside it withered and there's no trace of life anymore in the woods. It truly fitted the name, Desolate Woods.
"The battle was over," Souta muttered while looking at the forest.
"Since a big event happened here in this place. One of the Three Great Countries will send people to investigate this place."
The True God's Holy Kingdom was the one that's closer to this place, so he thought that they were the ones who were going to investigate this place along with the countries near this place.
"The Pale Horseman..." Souta muttered as he recalled what he saw yesterday.
The Pale Horseman was sealed inside the Desolate Woods for twenty thousand years. Only the people from God's Will knew this information. They wanted something from the Pale Horseman and that's the Authority of the Creator.
Later, they will turn the whole continent upside down just to find the other three Authorities.
Souta rubbed his chin and remember that the Red Horseman was still alive, but the other two weren't. The two Authorities were passed down to other people that suited its power.
He doesn't know much about the Authorities. He only knew that it was a special power and those people that wield it was extremely powerful.
Souta shook his head and put those thoughts in the back of his mind.
He went back inside the house and found that Jusmin already prepared the food. As expected of a maid, he could count on her with things like cooking.
It seems that Fred woke up early in the morning to hunt some wild animals. It was hard to find food in this town now that people were packing up.
He noticed that Lumilia's aura changed. He guessed that she consumed the Mystical Light Cherry and this made her aura grow stronger.
...
Souta's group traveled from village to another village until they found a place where the place wasn't affected by the battle in the Desolate Woods.
It took them a whole day before they found a proper place. There they bought a carriage using Lumilia's money.
Well, she had a lot of money so it's not a problem for her.
They stayed in that village for a night before they continued their journey to the Ladros City. While on their way, Lumilia asked him what happened in the Desolate Woods.
Souta explained to them that the two people that appeared were part of the God's Will cult. They were shocked when they heard this. They heard the rumors about how terrifying the God's Will cult.
He explained how those two people killed the nobles inside the forest. This incurred the wrath of some noble family from Melosa Country. Also, the Head of the Dry Gulch Town came there with the noble head. They fought the two people from God's Will cult.
Souta said that he identified them because of the symbol in their clothes, the symbol of a hand holding the world. That's the symbol of the God's Will cult.
Lumilia, Fred, and Jusmin gasped from his story. They finally knew what danger they were facing in that place. They would die easily if they made one wrong move.
At the end of the day, Souta's group arrived in Ladros City. It feels like they haven't been here for a long time due to what happened in the Desolate Woods.
"We're back!!" Bryan exclaimed loudly.
"The class already started this morning, so we missed one day of class," Souta said. He looked down at his bag with a satisfied expression. He gained a lot from this quest.
-End of Volume 2-