“How did it slip from your hands and fall twenty meters away?”

“My hands are sweaty.”

Kaitrine wasn’t convinced, but she decided not to pursue the talk. In the end, it was better than the previous atmosphere of the conversation. Aleph returned to the carriage's roof and did some math. Considering the damage that he had caused, his strength probably needed to be five times higher in order to destroy that kind of rock… With that much in an iron ball, he probably would be able to stop even a heavy cavalry unit.

  Health:

610/610

 

  Magic:

100/100

 

  Stamina:

500/500

 

  Strength: 

33

 

  Vigor:

28

 

  Precision:

22

 

  Wisdom: 

10

 

  Resolve:

10

 

  Traits: 

Regeneration Lv 43

 

 

Aleph progressed more than a little bit during the trip… in the six weeks he had been free, he had made as much progress as he did last year. Still, it wasn’t enough; he needed more, and he needed more planning as well. 

The next few days passed rather fast. Things had been pretty lively since everyone had gotten used to each other and because they didn’t have to worry about a prisoner with them who was also a very valuable war prisoner and dangerous as well. Irlan was still deep in thought, but he wasn’t as much as quiet as before. As for Aleph, he remained the same way, focusing single-mindedly on his training, with the exception of a few rare moments like when he was cooking, eating, or hunting. Without Elmer around, he could hunt as many rabbits as he wanted… even though they had a decent stock of food… that meant that he could also for seconds again and again. Seeing that was enough to make Kaitrine feel full with only half a meal.

“How that boy eats so much but doesn’t get fat… he doesn’t exercise enough to justify so much food.”

“Boys need some extra calories thanks to their body constitution. He also gained muscle mass, so he would need more to sustain what he had and gain more. You are a bit too slim, and while that benefits your trait, it limits your stamina.”

“Irlan isn’t like that…”

“I prefer to eat just enough to grow without excess and without the risks of injuring myself in the process. My traits don’t need me to be massively big; they are more about experience than anything else.”

At times like this, Edea felt left out. When it came to warriors, most of their conversations ended up like that, and she couldn’t jump in without feeling like she was about to say something weird. That was a bit sad… even more so when they were about to enter the territory that her clan belonged to. She was usually mindful of her words, but she ended up saying something that she didn’t plan to.

“I am going to miss all this…”

“Are you going to miss even that?”

Kaitrine pointed at Aleph, who was rolling on the ground even though he had eaten for four people five minutes ago… after he rolled, he threw an iron ball at different marks on a nearby tree. The kid didn’t know the meaning of relaxing at all.

“Hahaha, even noise can sound lively. You can just that is the sound of someone trying to forge their own path in life.”

“You sure are lenient… or perhaps have too much patience for kids.”

After another peaceful night, the group resumed their journey, and Heirina checked her map and some landmarks to confirm their location. It looked like they were two days away from Edea’s hometown. With that in mind, it was safe to assume that the mission would end in five days. They would arrive just in time for the test of those who wanted to join the clan.

While thinking about that, Heirina looked at Aleph still juggling with the iron balls… now he had eight of them at the same time. He was skillful in some ways but pretty bland in others. He should have, in theory, the right requirements to join, but he was still a kid. Heirina thought that it would be nice to create her own unit on the clan using Kaitrine, Irlan, and Aleph as the base, but she would have to find an excuse for that.

In the end, the day came and ended without her finding a solution… and she went to sleep feeling like she never would find it. However, Aleph woke her up and the others in the middle of the night.

“We have company,”

Heirina got up while grabbing her spear, wondering if she messed up by letting Aleph stay on guard duty alone… she told him not to do any training, but maybe he disobeyed her. Still, when she looked around, she found nothing aside from the darkness of the night… The others also couldn't see anything, but there was something in the air.

“Stay close to the horses, everyone. Edea, stay inside the carriage and don't leave no matter what.”

“Captain… Do you think that they are bandits? We avoided villages and towns even on the way back… so how come we were found?”

“They knew that we would come here to bring back Edea. That should explain that… to be attacked as soon as we arrived on this territory. Still, they aren't good if we found them already.”

“They will probably wait until we get tired… I can dispose of them with my speed.”

“No, Kaitrine… they probably know what you can do, and attacking them in the darkness wouldn't do us any good. They could have laid traps, and fighting in the darkness should have been their bread and butter. We will have to stay alert until sunrise.”

Aleph was at the top of the carriage, looking around. Still, he couldn't see anything well because of the light of the campfire nearby. He wasn't doing anything, so it seemed that he followed his orders, and that was why he was able to sense them.

“Captain, should we head for a more used path tomorrow? They might attack tomorrow at night, after all… we can counter their strategy like that.”

“Perhaps that is the best option, after all…”

“Let them come to us. That way, we will be able to tell who they are and who they might be working for.”

Heirina considered Aleph’s idea. He had a point, but they didn't know how many enemies they were dealing with and how many more could join them. Still, she soon realized that more enemies could be hidden in the towns and villages, and that would only increase their numbers. More of them would join the enemies anyway, but they shouldn't make things easier for them.

After thinking about that, Heirina considered the reason why they were being targeted now of all times. The prisoner was no longer with them, so most likely, they wanted to know where he was exactly… Another reason for their attack would be to target Heirina herself to weaken her clan. There was also the possibility that they just wanted to kill Edea as well… 

In the end, nothing happened, but morning came, and the group looked pretty tired… when they checked the surroundings, they only saw empty hills but still could feel they were being watched.

“The territory until Edea's hometown is filled with hills… the enemies will have plenty of places to follow us and remain hidden.”

“We can always force the horses to move a bit more… It is the final stretch of the journey. Once we reach her hometown, we can ask Captain Lua to deal with the bandits. She won't like there are people acting like that in the territory she is meant to protect.”

“Even if we hurry up, I doubt that we can cross the distance before midnight… if the enemies attack, then the horses will be exhausted… we will keep proceeding as usual and then wait for a chance to turn the tides of the situation.”

Everyone nodded, and soon, they began to move again. Aleph stayed at the top of the carriage while checking the surroundings. Now and then, he would see some points in the hills moving, but the enemies were smart. They only appeared for a moment, and they did that when the carriage was going downhill as well.

“They know the area well…”

“Do you think that they have been here for long, Aleph?”

“Who knows…”

Irlan sighed… that was very like Aleph to say. In any case, they were too far away from anything and the main roads that they could use to gain speed as well… so the scenario didn't change at all. Soon, noon came and passed, and the group didn't find anything that they would use.

“They are following us from the sides as well… we can't just suddenly move faster and try to gain distance from them.”

The wind was against them, so Heirina couldn't say for certain… but she couldn't hear any signs of horses, so the bandits must be on foot. Still, she decided to check it.

“Can you hear horses, Aleph?” 

“No, they must be on foot.”

“Edea, what do you know about the existence of bandits in this territory?”

“... I knew that they existed, but they don't act often… like once every six months. We always failed to track them down since they don't use horses.”

 

The author here, everyone. Thanks for reading the book. I hope that you have fun reading the book as much as I have writing it. If you want to join our discord, this is the link: https://discord.gg/AQsYm99A

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