For the next day, most people followed alongside Snow. Pushing their way into the forest as they trekked towards the direction of the leading group. A few people stayed behind the camp, stating that they were going to wait until reinforcements arrived.

Snow didn’t push them to follow as she knew that they would probably bring more problems if she forced them.

The journey was abnormally silent. The whistling wind slithered through the air, bringing with it an uncomfortable feeling of heaviness, causing Snow to have an awkward time.

Luckily for them, the path was cut down and cleared, allowing them to take vehicles. There weren’t many people left alive, allowing them to easily fit into all the cars. The more they continued forward, the more the forest started to thin down, opening the field to open plains.

Deeper they continued forward, the trees were now scattered a lot more sparsely than before. Tall grass that reached up to her knee was present all around them, making traveling a lot easier.

“How far is it?” Jose asked.

They were both in a jeep, letting the hot air sting their faces. A few of the people sitting in the same jeep as Snow wondered how Snow could be so indifferent about the ride. Mostly because they were all stiff and worried about what could pop out from the open plains that they were going to go through.

It took a moment for them to find a spot where they could park the cars. Allowing them to get off and take the rest of the trip on foot. They couldn’t take the car any further, mostly because there were no pathways that could push the weed-like stalks down.

Snow jumped out of the jeep, landing softly compared to the others who made quite a racket. Some even tumbled around, trying to get out of their vehicle.

They pushed through the weed-like field, making their way through the open plains.

Snow reached over, pushing the plants aside. Her mind deeply thought about her guildmates. She knew that they were a strong group of Players, but she couldn’t help but wonder what was causing them not to come back. It wasn’t like they were the types to get easily slaughtered.

Jose reached over, grabbing her hand. Snow jerked, she noticed Jose, worriedly grabbing a hold.

“Jose?” Snow asked. Her tense reflexes cooled down, allowing her to carefully observe him. It wasn’t often that he would act his age and come to her. Most of the time, she was impressed by the kid’s reasoning and judgment more adult-like than a child.

“Yes?”

“Is something wrong?”

Jose was silent. Too engrossed in his thoughts to reply back.

Snow could only silently wait. There was nothing that she could do. Olgom was missing, which was strange. In the past, she had seen him by his side constantly. Even when she asked him where Olgom was, Jose didn’t answer.

She wasn’t good with children. Honestly, she felt helpless. She never had any younger siblings to know how to treat them, making it challenging to figure out. Even if she did want to hand him over to a more appropriate person who understood children, he would stick to her like a lost puppy.

“Saintess…” Jose's voice called out with a bit of sorrow.

“Yes?” Snow gazed down, wondering what he had to say.

“Do you think Olgom is dead?”

Snow didn’t know what to say. She didn’t even know where he was or where he died, making this difficult for her to answer. It was as if she was pushed against a wall with a knife on her throat if she said the wrong answer.

“I-”

“You can tell me the truth. I can handle it.” Jose said with as much force he could muster, which Snow could tell that he wasn’t really ready.

“I don’t know, Jose. I was sick for a while and don’t know what happened.”

Jose nodded, understanding what she meant. He knew that she was sick. The only reason he asked her was to look for clues of the whereabouts of Olgom. Even if the answer he wanted might be ugly.

“But, what was the last thing you remember him saying?”

“To stay alive,” Jose said, he gazed up towards her, wondering where she was going with this. “That he will come back and get me.”

Snow said, “Exactly. He is a man of his words. I’m sure that he will come back in whatever way possible.”

Jose slowly nodded, agreeing with her words. “I hope so.”

They continued on with their long walks, Snow was getting quite bored with the endless hours of walking, so she talked with Jose to pass the time. For a while, they enjoyed their moments, talking about anything that they could think of. Others joined in as well, learning and having fun conversing with one another.

The afternoon sun started to hung low, slowly but surely becoming night.

Suddenly, a thundering sound of gunshots could be heard from a distance away.

Snow snapped towards the direction of the unexpected sound. Her ears perked up, and her eyes squinted, straining to hear any other sound that she could pick up. Everything went silent, leaving them uncomfortably weary.

A burst of birds flew out from the field, followed by a trembling underneath their feet. Confused, Snow gazed down, trying to figure out what was going on. Her instincts were on high alert until finally, she heard animals screeching and grunting, getting closer and closer.

Large numbers of blue raptors rushed in from the side, swiveling through the tall grasses, making a wave of stampedes. There were just one or two, but a slew that came in large herds. What was mind-numbing was that there were other reptilian creatures with varying sizes, groaning and shouting in rage at the sight of whatever they were being chased from.

Thundering footsteps headed straight towards Snow’s group. She could feel the ground tremble with vigorous motion, shaking everyone to their core.

“Quickly! I need all earth casters to build a thick wall in front of us now!” Snow shouted. She would use her magical power, creating a tight circular magic formation in front of her.

The earth mage castors came forward, they raised their hand in a hurry. Realizing that whatever was coming to them was rushing at them at full speed.

It was a stampede.

Many of the earth mage summoned their magical power, creating a large earthen wall to divide the monsters coming towards them in a rush. Some were lucky enough to enter into the earthen barrier, heading straight at them.

Some of the earth mages screamed, realizing that a rhino creature was coming straight at them with lowered horns.

Snow ran forward, her sword summoned before her. Magic swirled into her sword, giving it power that she needed. With a forward slice, she cut the monster in half.

A splatter of blood freshly poured outwards, but Snow raised up her hand to put a small barrier around herself so she wouldn’t get splashed. The others, who weren’t able to put up their own shield, were doused with blood, leaving them shaking in their knees.

“Snap out of it!” Snow ordered. “Keep the barrier up in place!”

The frozen mages nodded, they moved forward in a hurried state. Raising their hand again, they continued to create more and more slab earth barriers in front of them, helping to reinforce against the wave.

The monsters thrashed and slammed into the very walls, continuously. Shaking the very core of the people. Everyone huddled a bit closer together behind the walls that only kept them safe. Nobody knew when the barrier would fall, but at the same time, they could not leave for fear of being killed underneath the footsteps of the rampaging monster.

Snow poured as much magic to hold up her barrier. The thundering cries of the monster made her bite her lower lips, making it bleed. The Earth mages’ magic started to waver as they were being depleted of magic.

Until eventually, the monsters broke through, causing the wall barriers to collapse. The only obstacle that now stood in place was Snow’s. Her hand up, shaking. She gritted her teeth, furrowing her eyebrows as her muscles tensed in recoil. She couldn’t stop. She had too many people to protect.

It took everything out of her as the magic that she had was not enough to continually cover them against the rampaging monsters for a long time. She was still too weak, making this event exhausting.

But even still, she stood her ground. The moment she let go and allowed her barrier to fall, it would be the end for many.

The constant strain, the roaring of monsters rushing by, her breath became heavy, and her mind started to give her an aching pain. Even her eyes blurred.

She counted down, praying that it would be over quickly.

It took a while for the stampede to pass by.

The ground was littered with multiple footsteps and trampled grass.

Snow kept her barrier up a bit longer, just to make sure there was no more. Eventually, with exhaustion, she slipped onto the ground. Exhausted at the ordeal. The barrier crumbled, leaving her dazed and even confused.

What were they running from?

Her eyes started to fade, making it difficult to see. Jose came over, placing his hand on her shoulder, worried about her predicament.

“I’ll be okay. Just give me a moment to recover.” Snow replied to Jose, trying to wash away his worries. “I’m stronger than many.” Her reassurance gave Jose a slight smile. He rushed over and glomped on her, making Snow tumbled backward.

“Good,” Jose said, softly in her ears. His tears silently streaming down his cute face. “I don’t want you to disappear too.”

Snow gently patted Jose softly on his head. He cried in her arms, wetting her shoulder as he sniffled.