After Lin Lichuan put a shield on Xu Lilei, the team continued to move forward. Just as they reached the edge of the defense zone and were about to turn back, the sharp-eyed Nilia pointed to a pile of rocks a thousand meters ahead and said, "I saw someone behind the rocks. He just popped his head out, but now he's retreating again."
When everyone looked, there was an empty pile of rocks and sparse trees.
"They saw us hiding," said Nilia.
"That's right." Lin Lichuan has been releasing the Dream Tower's spiritual detection magic. Although this magic cannot penetrate the surface, people close to the surface can sense it a little, and it can ignore invisibility and detect people's spiritual fluctuations. "I noticed that there were two people just now, and now they are hiding again. They should be ordinary people, not very strong."
"Platoon leader, do you want to just charge forward?" a soldier asked.
"Charge for nothing! There are many secret passages and other things under this ancient city. They are intricate and complicated. They are all used by nobles to escape. Even the city defense barrier can't stop them. Are you going to play hide-and-seek with them? Of course, lure them out and catch them." Xu Lilei turned his head and saw a small slope not far away, so he said, "Xiao Lin, release a wizard's eye, and we hide behind the slope. Let's see who is causing trouble there."
Lin Lichuan calmly released a Mage's Eye, and then the group pretended to leave calmly, but actually went around to the back of the hillside.
Everyone dismounted and waited, while Lin Lichuan used the Mage's Eye to observe the pile of rocks. He was also observing whether there were any balls of light appearing in his mental field of vision.
They waited for about thirty minutes without any progress. Another soldier asked, "Platoon Leader, could it be that they have already left?"
"Be patient. We just found them and didn't react. They may think we didn't see them and are just waiting for us to go far away." Xu Lilei rubbed his forehead with his hand and said, "If they take other passages, we can't control them. Naturally, there will be patrol teams in that area to take care of them, but we have to make sure they don't come out from here again. Wait another quarter of an hour. If no one comes out, we will go check the secret exit."
After waiting for another ten minutes, Xu Lilei was right. Lin Lichuan said, "There is movement. I saw spiritual power spots. They came out. There are twelve people in total, men, women, young and old. They all look like civilians. There is an old man, nine adults, a child about six years old, and a baby. They can't walk fast."
Xu Lilei said: "Wait a little longer, until they are far enough away from that exit."
After a few minutes, Lin Lichuan continued to report: "They are about a hundred meters away from the exit."
"Get on your horses and prepare to attack! Remember to stop the people first, and don't use force if you can convince them. Don't shoot without my order." Xu Lilei said.
"Wait a minute." Lin Lichuan stretched out his hand to stop Xu Lilei, "Old Xu, the entrance to this tunnel is very ingenious. It is actually an automatic door that opens with magic power."
"You mean..." Xu Lilei immediately understood what he meant, "Well, Xiaolin, you stay here. I'll give you four people. You guys should be prepared for a surprise attack to prevent any unexpected accidents. The rest of you follow me."
Xu Lilei's cavalry rushed out from behind the small slope, and then split into two groups, one on the left and one on the right, to block the enemy's retreat. Nilia cast a loudspeaker spell and shouted, "We are the guards. No one can leave the city. Stop now, kneel on the ground, and hold your head with both hands, otherwise we will use force."
While they were talking, several mounted soldiers surrounded the fleeing civilians, circling their horses and confining them to a small area.
"They are indeed civilians." Xu Lilei quickly saw through these people's true colors from their rough skin, thin bodies, and bewildered looks.
The soldiers waved their sabers to drive away several people who were still trying to escape. For the locals, this kind of cold weapon was much more deterrent than air guns.
Two slightly stronger men tried to run into the woods on the side, but were caught up by the guards and knocked to the ground with their scabbards. One fell with a bloody head, and the other hugged his thigh and screamed. The soldiers drove these people together, and Xu Lilei walked up to them, looked at them, and asked, "Tell me, who are you and why are you running away?"
The civilians looked at each other, not daring to speak. Finally, the oldest man spoke up: "Sir, we want to survive. Hundreds of people have died in the city in the past two days. More and more people are getting sick. Everyone says that this is a punishment from the God of Nature. Anyone who doesn't leave Green Forest City will die. That's why our families are trying to find a way to escape."
"Who told you that? Who said hundreds of people died in the city?" Xu Lilei asked.
The old man's eyes began to evade, and he said, "They all said so."
"Nonsense! Most people in Green Forest City are staying quietly where they should be!" said Xu Lilei.
"Really, this is true, sir." A middle-aged woman next to the old man said, "The neighbors are all spreading this, but no one dares to move. We... we are trying to encourage each other and then come out to try our luck. The way those people get sick and have black spots is so scary. My husband's cousin's family all died of this disease. I heard that several villages in the south have been affected this year, and many villages have died out. We, we can't go on like this."
Nilia said: "We have invested so many magicians to study this disease. If there is a place where you are most likely to be cured, it must be Green Forest City. You are all people who are very likely to be infected with the disease. If the disease really breaks out, staying in Green Forest City will be the most likely to survive. If you escape to other places, you will only spread the disease further and further!"
"When we are about to die, how can we care so much about other people's affairs?" A young man with blood on his head said, "Besides, Sir Karno told us that magicians would dig out the hearts of patients for research, and I don't want that."
"Shut up, Prot!" the old man in the lead yelled.
"Who is Sir Karno?" Xu Lilei asked.
"We've all been caught, why are you still protecting him?" the young man said angrily, "Sir, I want to report it. It was Sir Carnot who asked us to escape. He said he was helping us to escape together. But in fact, he wanted us to draw your attention! He was the one who led us into this passage."
"Oh? Where are he?" Xu Lilei asked.
"I don't know. We didn't see them when we came out," said Prot.