This is an age of suffering.
The formerly peaceful and prosperous empire no longer exists. The people are suffering, and natural disasters are devastating.
And in the far north, this place soon became a dead land, dry and full of decay.
In this place, let alone animals, there weren't even many insects, if any, there were only white skeletons scattered everywhere.
As for whether the remains were human or animal, no one cared anymore.
As for whether it was a human or an animal that ate all the remaining flesh on the pile of bones, no one cared anymore.
This is real poverty, when they don't even care about the moral values that are always preached.
They just need to live.
In this situation, there is a group of people wandering aimlessly in this dead land.
They are human, but their home is gone, everything is gone.
So they had to run, run away from the disaster, they wanted to find a new place to live, so they could settle down and make a living like before.
But that is also far-fetched.
Just look at them.
Their clothes were torn and dirty, their bodies were rotten, and their skin and bones showed that they had lived in this harsh environment for a long time.
And all they could do was limp, like a zombie.
Occasionally someone would collapse to the ground, but in most cases they could not get up again.
Maybe they were exhausted and died, but for some people who were not dead yet, but they could not stand up, then what awaited them was a terrifying fate.
You must know, in this barren place, even the dry roots of trees are hollowed out to fill one's stomach. So, let alone... people.
It can be said that hunger can really make people abandon their humanity.
And then, in this barren place, new skeletons will appear again.
Noid's face was dead and cold, his eyes dull and unfocused.
His body swayed forward. A strong wind blew, making Noid feel like he was about to fall.
But Noid tried to resist.
He couldn't fall, especially under these circumstances.
Noid had no choice but to cling tightly to the pile of tattered clothes that covered him layer by layer. These were all the clothes of the dead that Noid had snatched from him before.
All just so his body can retain heat. Even just a little bit is fine.
Because Kain knew that if he fell ill now, even a simple cold would be enough to take his life.
It can be said that Noid's body at this time was like a water balloon, sealed but thin, not knowing when it would burst.
He could not remember how many days he had been in this world. That's right, Noid is not from this world, his world before was an extremely happy place, even though he was happy before but didn't know how to enjoy it…
But it doesn't matter anymore.
He had only one thought left.
Hungry, want to eat.
But there was nothing for him to eat here. Even the bark had been stripped clean, leaving only the wood inside, and the leaves had also been plucked clean.
There is not even a blade of grass.
This is a dead land.
With no other choice, Noid could only continue to walk forward.
Not knowing how long they had been walking, a small, somewhat tattered tent appeared before Noid's eyes.
Noid was not happy because of that, he glanced behind him, where a somewhat shorter person was standing not far from him.
This person looked even more ragged than Noid, her body, or his, was also covered in rags.
Noid actually didn't know this person, he didn't even know this person's name or gender.
But in this painful and dangerous situation, they tacitly formed an alliance. After all, in this situation, having a companion by their side was better than going alone.
He doesn't want to become "food" in other people's stomachs.
Two people supporting each other is also much safer. If someone gets too hungry and wants to take a risk, most of them will give up when they see two people together, because they are not sure enough to bet.
Anyway, this place is full of refugees, they just need to find another target.
Of course, this alliance is not that tight.
Because in addition to watching out for others, they also watch out for each other.
The person walking behind Noid was not his first ally.
There were people who were so hungry that they recklessly attacked Noid and were killed by him.
There are people who die of exhaustion. They fall asleep and never wake up again.
And so that the allies could initially trust each other, Noid established a treaty.
Here, he seemed to be the bigger and stronger one, so Noid would go in front. The other one, because he was shorter, would go behind.
Simple and effective.
"There..."
Noid said softly, his eyes turned towards the tent.
The allies behind Noid remained indifferent, even numb, not showing any expression at Noid's words. They were so exhausted that they were too lazy to even spare a glance.
However, this person still understood Noid's meaning.
Seeing that, Noid felt a little reassured and slowly walked towards the tent.
Although it was said to be a step, Noid's movements were more like he was creeping closer.
As he approached the tent, Noid saw someone coming out. This person seemed to be a bit taller than Noid. Seeing Noid there, he did not avoid him, but instead actively walked forward.
Noid saw that and immediately became alert.
Having been here for so long, most other people would avoid or maintain their distance when they saw Noid with two people.
Even the Noid faction. Because no one wants to become food for the other faction.
Yet the enemy dared to approach them.
"Does he have allies hiding around to ambush him? No, the only place he could hide here is behind that tent. And as soon as that guy flipped the tent over, I looked inside, it was empty."
The thought in Noid's head appeared very quickly.
He took a deep breath, gathered his strength, and shouted.
"Stop! What do you want?"
After saying that, Noid puffed out his chest even higher, trying to make himself look threatening.
At this point, the strange man stopped. His eyes swept over Noid and the person behind Noid, seemingly assessing the relative strength between the two sides.
However, when Noid focused on his bulging eyes through his thick beard, he still saw something that made him shiver.
That is aspiration.
Craving for food.