Global Game: Developing a Knight Clan-Chapter 107 - 106: Karte Continent, Fallen Professionals

Chapter 107: Chapter 106: Karte Continent, Fallen Professionals

Approximately forty kilometers east of the ruins.

Inside a cave, about a hundred humans were gathered.

A bonfire burned within the cave, its flames illuminating a collection of pale, mostly malnourished faces.

It had been over a year. Ever since the Survivor Stronghold on the edge of the Mist Forest was breached by Giant Demons, the fortunate few who escaped had been living in constant fear, hiding in the caves of the Mist Forest.

But fortunately, the group still included three Casters, five Adventurer Warriors, and even over a dozen able-bodied young adults.

Otherwise, providing for the nearly sixty or seventy elderly and infirm members in the cave would have been an impossible task.

"Elder Chuck, this is all the meat we hunted today. Let’s give it to the children first. We’ll be fine with the wild vegetables Fandi and the others gathered."

"No, Graen. You are the camp’s last line of defense. You must eat your fill first. In this cruel world, the Human Race can’t survive without Power."

Beneath the firelight, Chuck looked at Graen, at the terrifying scar on his face, his expression solemn.

"Now that the stronghold is gone, it will be nearly impossible for us to find another Survivor Stronghold, at least in the south!"

"For the future of the Human Race, the children are important, but without the Power to protect them as they grow, they have little chance of surviving in this cruel world."

"And those of us fortunate enough to still possess the Power granted by the Deities must be more ruthless."

"Let the children suffer a little for now. It’s better than having them face the dangers of the outside world directly."

Graen looked at the aged Elder, then at the longing gazes of the many children around them.

Finally, Graen closed his eyes for a moment. When he opened them, his expression hardened, and he said nothing.

He motioned for his sister and three companions behind him to sit, then picked up the roasted rabbit meat from the fire and divided it among them.

Seeing Graen and the others do this, a look of relief washed over Elder Chuck’s face.

In these cruel times, nothing was more important than ensuring those with Power survived first.

Then, as was his routine, the Elder spoke again.

"Graen, did you notice anything unusual when you were out today?"

Graen, who was taking a large bite of rabbit meat, wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and replied immediately:

"Nothing for now. The few Goblin Tribes nearby have been quiet lately."

"On the other hand, Hade’s camp, the slightly larger one, has been making some big moves. They’ve already wiped out two or three Goblin Tribes, so they must have acquired a lot of supplies."

"But they stopped accepting outsiders a long time ago. There’s no way they’d let us join now."

At this, Elder Chuck sighed.

"A larger group will inevitably attract the attention of the Giant Demons. You can’t blame them for their decision."

"Besides, there are still two large Goblin Tribes in the Mist Forest. With Hade and his people making such a commotion, I expect they’ll run into trouble soon."

"I wonder when these days will ever end."

"The glory of the Deities is well and truly gone. Otherwise, how could the great Human Countries have been breached by those Giant Demon invaders!"

At this, a sense of pessimism and sorrow fell over everyone present.

On the Karte Continent, the humans’ Deities had also vanished without explanation.

But unlike in Oakland, the Deities of this world had disappeared for a much shorter time—just under one hundred and fifty years.

One hundred and fifty years ago, the entire Karte Continent was the domain of the Human Race.

Although there was no shortage of Alien Races and Demons on the continent,

they were all merely trials sent by the Deities to test humanity.

In fact, Demons didn’t just exist on the surface of the continent.

Over one hundred and fifty years ago, a great number of Underground Cities existed throughout the human territories.

The Deities created the Underground Cities, and courageous humans could become Adventurers and obtain all sorts of Power within them!

These people were known as Professionals.

For example, Warriors, Priests, Thieves, Archers, and so on.

Every Professional had a corresponding advancement path.

A powerful combat Professional could even rival an entire nation on their own!

And powerful lifestyle Professionals could guarantee a nation’s entire supply of daily necessities.

The Human Race was incredibly powerful and prosperous in those days.

Unfortunately, one hundred and fifty years ago, a day suddenly came when something went wrong with all the Underground Cities.

Demons no longer appeared within the Underground Cities, and they stopped producing the various resources people needed to live.

And so, in a world that depended on the Underground Cities for both daily life and combat, prosperity swiftly collapsed!

However, the Professionals’ Power was not lost with the decline of the Underground Cities, so there was still a chance to recover.

Given just a few more years, the Human Race would have surely resolved the chaos.

But one fateful day, on the Northern Border of the Empire on the Karte Continent, a Giant Demon Legion from an Otherworld shattered the final hopes of the continent’s nations.

The moment this legion of Giant Demons appeared, they swiftly destroyed a human Kingdom.

Although the Human Countries actively united and relied on their powerful Professionals to temporarily hold back the enemy’s assault, it lasted for less than half a year.

With the appearance of three more portals to the Otherworld and a full-scale invasion by the Giant Demons, human society quickly began to crumble!

Powerful Professionals fell in battle one after another, with no new generation to replenish their ranks.

In the end, the Human Countries held out for a mere thirty-odd years.

Human civilization became a thing of the past.

The entire Karte Continent became the Giant Demons’ backyard—or perhaps more accurately, their Colony.

But this colonization was anything but merciful.

In less than ten years, the Giant Demons had slaughtered nearly eighty to ninety percent of the original human population.

As for the remaining humans, they either became servants to the Giant Demons, slaves who could be crushed at a whim, or even raw materials for the Giant Demons’ evil Magic.

The rest of the Human Race was forced into hiding on the fringes of the continent.

Perhaps the Giant Demons enjoyed a game of cat and mouse, so they never completely hunted down the "wild" human survivors.

They adopted a crueler, more "interesting" form of pastoralism, repeatedly culling these humans for sport.

To this day, most of the remaining humans have nearly lost all connection to their civilization’s heritage.

But it had to be said that even in desperation, humans still possessed some Extraordinary Power.

Even though the Professionals were gone, they still had Meditation Methods written by Wise Persons and combat techniques passed down from the era of Professionals.

During this desperate, post-Professional era, some decent Transcendents emerged from among the survivors.

But their rate of advancement was nowhere near as fast as it was back when the Underground Cities existed.

Now, most human Casters and Warriors were so weak they were barely on par with Low-Tier Demons.

For instance, the five "Adventurers" in the cave now struggled to kill even a few ordinary Goblins.

After all, while Goblins were weak, as surface-dwellers, they still retained certain traits from the age of the Deities.

Some powerful Goblin chieftains and kings could even rival the Silver Level Adventurers of the past.

In terms of combat strength, you could say that humans were now even lower than Low-Tier Demons!

After all, the plight of the Human Race was far more difficult than that of the Demons. The Giant Demons from the Otherworld were constantly hunting them.

They were given no time to breathe, let alone produce powerful Transcendents.

Sorrow spread, filling the dark cave with an atmosphere of despair.

’Does the Human Race even have a future?’

No one knew.

Just as this somber mood settled over them, a tremendous noise suddenly came from outside the cave!

"No! It’s bad! Goblins! So many Goblins!!!"

The lookout from outside suddenly ran into the cave, his face fraught with panic as he screamed!

"What?!"

"Did the Goblins find us?"

In an instant, everyone shot to their feet!

"Quick! Put out the fire!"

"Elder, stay inside and protect everyone! I’ll take the others to check outside! And we’ll seal the entrance!"

Graen made a snap decision.

The Caster Elder nodded hurriedly and instructed:

"Avoid a fight if you can! Don’t engage!"

"Assess the situation first. If those Goblins are really coming for us, then Graen, you and the others must not worry about us!"

"Run! As long as you escape, there’s a sliver of hope! Hade will welcome you!"

"I’m old and tired. I can’t let a group of old and infirm people drag you down! Take the able-bodied youths and children with you!"

"If it really comes to the end, I will collapse the entire cave. Let us old folks rest here in peace."

"Elder Chuck!"

"Go! Don’t worry about us! Perhaps the situation isn’t as bad as it seems."

Faced with the old man’s firm yet gentle gaze, Graen’s expression froze.

"Let’s move! Bruno, you’re with me to check the situation!"

"Finir! You lead everyone else and wait for me at the entrance!"

With no time to hesitate, Graen drew his greatsword, its blade chipped and uneven, and sprinted out of the cave with his companion.

"Quick! All who can move, follow me!"

"Don’t hesitate! I believe my brother won’t abandon us!"

"Elder Chuck, let’s go! No more sad words! No matter what, we have to try and save ourselves! Even if not many survive in the end, it’s better than sitting here waiting to die!"

In the end, everyone in the cave began to move, including the Elder.

They gathered at the mouth of the cave, ready to run the moment things looked bad.

As for how many would make it, that was up to fate.

The sky was full of stars, and a red moon hung high above.

Graen and his companion, Bruno, had climbed a large tree.

From the treetop, they used the faint moonlight to peer toward the source of the continuous commotion.

"It’s Goblins, but something’s wrong! Why does it look like they’re fleeing?!"

Using their Extraordinary eyesight, the two of them saw the Goblins.

But the Goblins weren’t on a large-scale raid to cause trouble for the human stronghold.

Instead, they were scattering in a clamorous, panicked retreat.

In the next moment, the two finally got a clear look at the source of the immense noise. It was a pack of Demons they had never seen before in the Mist Forest.

They were a pack of single-horned black panthers. The panthers were relentlessly devouring and tearing at the fleeing Goblins.

At the front of the pack, there was also a gigantic black panther that stood nearly three meters tall at the shoulder.

Every one of its charges was accompanied by the sound of collapsing trees! 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

It completely ignored the panicked counterattacks from the Goblin Archers.

The two of them could only stare, dumbfounded and terrified, at such a horrifying Demon!

It wasn’t a Goblin attack, but this was far more terrifying!

By the time the two came to their senses, they suddenly realized that a massive Demon Bird was hovering above their heads.

The Demon Bird had a wingspan of over eight meters. A single glance at its immense Body Type was enough to plunge Graen into despair.