Hubert stopped the walker outside the destroyed Church of the God of Souls.
After tying the reins to the still well-preserved column at the church entrance, he looked up at the building which no longer resembled its original appearance.
The mourning birds flying above the town made shrill cries, as if complaining that this human was disturbing their meal.
Hubert looked at the corpses buried under the rocks and the stench that filled the air, and sighed wearily again.
The secret order he received was to 'find the priest of the God of Souls.'
Skare is a multi-religious country, with different religions representing different magical factions.
There is also a Church of the God of Souls in the capital of Skare, but the priests there have all passed away. After investigation, it was found that there is also a Church of the God of Souls and priests in this small town on the border of Skare.
When Hubert finally arrived at his destination, which was outside the church... his last bit of hope disappeared along with the collapse of the church.
It is unknown how long ago Crescent Moon Town was destroyed by the Blood Crystal Beast.
Most of the residents in the town who were not killed by the blood crystal beast chose to flee to big cities, and not many people would stay in this small town and wait to die.
The priests of the God of Souls must have thought so too.
Hubert picked up a glowing crystal stone and stepped into the rubble-filled interior of the church.
This was an impossible mission in itself. Hubert just felt sorry that the king would let so many young people accompany him to die, even one of them was his daughter.
"General Hubert, there seem to be living residents inside!"
Elena followed behind the old general and spoke.
These words made Hubert's body tremble slightly, and he immediately raised the bright crystal in his hand.
The light completely dispelled the darkness, illuminating the messy hall and the refugees huddled in the corner.
"Someone is still alive? That's great... That's great..."
General Hubert muttered to himself as he looked at the residents. He had seen too many villages and towns destroyed by blood crystal beasts along the way.
Crescent Moon Town was one of the first cities destroyed by the Blood Crystal Beast, but there were still survivors in the church, which was enough to surprise Hubert.
The excitement surged in Hubert's heart for less than three seconds before disappearing instantly.
But what’s the use of having survivors
Hubert quickly calmed down, and used the light crystal in his hand to see the survivors in the building.
If it were the previous situation, Hubert might have said something like "Don't worry! The Royal Army has come to rescue you!"
But now Hubert himself didn't know whether he could return to the capital safely, and he had no energy left to save these survivors.
"I am Elena, the seventeenth princess of the Kingdom of Scarre."
Elena was not as pessimistic as Hubert. She stated her identity directly at the beginning.
The identity of a princess can actually have an inspiring effect on people, and she has also learned this!
She wanted to use this method to cheer up the refugees living under the shadow of the blood crystal beasts.
But... no one responded to her.
These refugees did not feel any emotion when seeing the arrival of the princess of their country. Some of them even silently took a bite of the fresh meat buns that they had not finished eating.
The fresh meat buns in their hands were still hot, and the aroma of the gravy filled the entire church for a long time.
Elena wanted to say one or two encouraging words, but her sense of smell was attracted by the fragrance floating in the air...
In order to go to Crescent Moon Town, Elena ate dried meat for almost half a month, which was so salty that her tongue hurt. She ate it once a day, and only a little at each meal.
The food these surviving refugees were holding seemed to be a little better than dried meat, and more than a little better!
"What are you eating?"
Elena took a deep breath, suppressed the hunger in her stomach, and asked the refugees.
None of the refugees present answered Elena. Even the refugee who was eating a meat bun in front of Elena quickly stuffed the bun into his mouth when he heard Elena's question.
"As the seventeenth princess, I will not compete with you for food."
Elena said seriously.
"Princess Elena, this is a small token of our appreciation."
The middle-aged man who was the leader of the refugees was very smart. He took out a piece of fresh meat bun he had received and wanted to give it to Princess Elena.
General Hubert standing next to Elena had a tall stature and was intimidating enough. The princess was obviously interested in the food in their hands... If they really turned a blind eye, there was no telling what these royal soldiers would do.
"Really."
Elena waved her hands to refuse. Judging from the shabby clothes on the refugees, their lives were already very difficult...
Even though she was thinking this, her stomach started to growl.
"There is no need for you to refuse, Your Highness Elena." Hubert said.
"Of course there is a need to refuse, General Hubert... I can still hold out for a while."
Princess Elena suppressed her hunger and pushed back the food handed to her by the refugee.
"You shouldn't be stubborn in a place like this."
General Hubert knew that the princess was very stubborn in some aspects, including her attitude towards the people.
In peacetime, this attitude would be well-loved by the people, but in this desperate situation, she still sticks to her own ideals... Apart from General Hubert thinking that this princess is very principled, the rest of the story is just stupidity.
"You guys did this?"
Princess Elena ignored General Hubert. She returned the food to the refugees and then asked about the origins of the food.
She could tell at a glance that the living environment here absolutely made it impossible to produce... this kind of cooked food.
It could be that a merchant from a neighboring country passed by here, or it could be that a kind-hearted lone magician gave alms, etc.
Either way, it was an opportunity for Elena to exchange for food.
"Of course not, this was given to us by the messenger of the God of Thunder." The refugee replied immediately.
"The God of Thunder?"
This answer made Elena a little confused. She turned around and looked at General Hubert behind her, hoping that General Hubert could give her some advice.
"This should be the temple of the God of Souls... Are any of you priests of the God of Souls?"
Hubert didn't want to find out how these residents got their food. The most important thing now was the priest of the God of Souls.
As long as the priest of the God of Souls can be found, the seriously injured soldiers under his command can still be saved.
"The priest of the God of Souls? We have indeed seen him." said the leading resident.
"Where is that priest?"
Hubert asked aloud with some excitement, but the moment he finished speaking, a strange roar suddenly came from outside the building.
Hubert, who had originally seen some hope, felt as if his heart was being tightly grasped by a dead man's arm the moment he heard this voice.
This kind of coldness and despair that penetrates deep into the bone marrow.
Everyone present clearly remembered those strange roars. These were... the roars of the Blood Crystal Beast!