Knight and Wand

In the difficult journey across the wilderness, the group's progress was much slower than expected. They only had one pair of boots left, which they had taken from the mercenary, so one person had to wear them while the other two had to go barefoot.

Despite being extremely cautious, not long after they set off, Azerian was injured when his foot was pierced by a sharp object hidden in the grass. As a result, the only pair of boots had to be given to him to wear.

Thanks to Leon's hunting experience, they caught rabbits, birds, and fish along the way—anything they could get their hands on. At one point, they even fought off a wild wolf that attacked them. However, when luck was not on their side, they had to rely on wild fruits and plant roots to stave off hunger.

With no map to guide them, they could only guess the general direction, but they frequently got lost, missing their bearings. After several days, they finally stumbled upon a small country road, which made travel a bit easier.

This was the first sign of human habitation they had encountered since fleeing from the mercenary camp.

When Leon first found out that Azerian could speak Urian, he had hoped to find a village soon and exchange the silver coins they had for some survival resources. The experience of walking barefoot for so long in the wild was excruciating, and the exposure to the cold night winds while sleeping without proper clothing was unbearable.

The group quickened their pace, and as they reached the edge of their sight, they finally saw a small village with thatched-roof cottages. Their spirits lifted at the sight, but instead of heading straight for the village, they dove into a nearby forest.

According to their plan, Azerian—equipped with chainmail, a sword, and a shield—was to go alone into the village with the coins and scout the situation. If all went well, Leon and Lohak wouldn't need to go and cause any trouble due to the language barrier.

Azerian, with his refined appearance, could easily pass as a knight's attendant. After all, as the son of a noble from the Holy City, his manner and speech were more than enough to impress the rustic villagers.

Leon and Lohak climbed a nearby hill to keep watch over the village from a distance.

As Azerian's figure gradually disappeared from view, entering the village, Leon suddenly realized something was off. Despite it being broad daylight, he couldn't see any sign of villagers moving around, which struck him as odd.

Before Leon could probe further, Azerian appeared again at the village entrance and waved to them, signaling them to approach.

The two exchanged a glance, puzzled, but still made their way to Azerian.

"What happened?" Leon asked once they arrived.

"There are no living people left," Azerian replied, handing Lohak back his sword. "The village is in disarray, with a few corpses lying around. The villagers have all fled."

Leon finally noticed the numerous horse tracks at the village entrance and the few broken-down wooden fences.

"Raiders did this?" Leon asked, his voice laced with suspicion.

"Not sure," Azerian said. "But we shouldn't stay here too long. The corpses look like they've been here for days. If any villagers managed to escape, they might have gone to seek help from the local lord to send soldiers. While no one's around, we should quickly look for anything useful and leave."

Leon couldn't help but feel the bitterness of this lawless, war-torn world. Without wasting more time on conversation, they entered the village to gather what they could.

The wooden doors of the cottages were all wide open, with some even smashed down violently, which made their search easier. The group split up and began to raid the houses from a distance.

Although the houses had been ransacked by the raiders, it was clear that the thieves hadn't taken everything. After rummaging through several houses, Leon finally found what he had been hoping for: a pair of shoes.

Though they were simple, poorly made shoes with a straw sole and tattered leather, they were still a huge improvement over walking barefoot.

With his feet finally covered, Leon's efficiency in searching the houses increased significantly.

Inside one of the already ransacked homes, Leon found some rough linen clothes and a pair of torn-up pants. They were uncomfortable, but at least they provided some cover from the wind. Even the raiders hadn't bothered taking these useless items.

After filling a ragged sack with some hard bread and scattered grain, Leon couldn't help but curse the thieves for leaving so little useful material behind.

When he entered another house, the foul stench hit him first. Looking toward the inner room, he was horrified by the sight of a woman's corpse, already showing signs of decomposition. She was naked, her body contorted in a position that suggested unimaginable abuse. Leon's anger surged—this woman appeared to be young, and seeing such brutality made his blood boil.

Then, he saw another corpse—this time a man, decapitated, his hands tied behind his back in a kneeling position. From the appearance of his age and the face of the decapitated head, the man seemed to be the woman's father.

The sight made Leon sick. He couldn't even begin to imagine the horrors the man must have gone through, forced to witness such violence against his own daughter.

Leon, unable to bear the sight any longer, backed away and shut the door.

The tragedy inside the room stirred memories of the original owner of this body—memories that filled him with anger and pain. There was nothing more infuriating than having personally experienced such a situation.

Lohak, who had finished searching another house, came over and saw Leon standing in front of the door with a grim expression.

"Is there something inside?" Lohak asked, noticing Leon's strange behavior.

Leon sighed and shook his head. "Don't bother with this one. There's nothing useful left in there."

Lohak, confused, opened the door to take a look. The moment he saw inside, his expression darkened even more than Leon's. He quickly stepped back and took a deep breath, trying to calm himself.

Even though Lohak hated the Kantadalians with a deep-seated passion, seeing the same kind of brutal atrocities committed against innocent civilians still shook him to the core.

"Let's go," Leon said, placing a hand on Lohak's shoulder.

After spending considerable time searching the village, the three had managed to gather enough food for several days, along with some makeshift clothing. They also found two rusted pitchforks, which meant Leon could finally discard the crude spear he had been using.

With their bags packed, they didn't linger and quickened their pace as the daylight waned. By evening, they prepared a simple meal of barley porridge and bread, but there was no joy in the meal. The brutal scenes they had witnessed kept them in a dark mood.

The next morning, with new shoes and some food, their pace picked up again.

At noon, Leon felt a faint tremor in the ground. Initially, he was a little disoriented but quickly recalled a technique his father had taught him. He dropped to the ground and pressed his ear to the earth.

It wasn't a trick of the mind—the ground was vibrating from the rhythmic pounding of hooves. A large cavalry unit was approaching.

"Hide!" Leon quickly signaled his companions.

Without hesitation, Lohak and Azerian followed Leon as they sprinted toward the nearby forest, putting as much distance between themselves and the road as possible.

They didn't dare look back. Once hidden in the forest, they crouched low behind a mound of earth, holding their breath.

When the sound of hooves finally faded, they relaxed and cautiously peeked out.

"Who were they? Raiders?" Lohak asked, his mind racing.

"Could be," Leon replied, his tone unreadable. "Or it might have been the local lord's army."

"Do we keep going along this road?" Azerian asked, his brow furrowing with concern.

Leon fell silent, conflicted. He had originally thought heading north would be safer, but now they had encountered a cavalry unit.

The steady, orderly rhythm of the hooves told him that these were well-trained cavalry, and he couldn't tell if they were the vanguard of a larger army or if more troops were following.

He hesitated to turn back, unsure if retracing their steps would lead them right into the arms of a military force. The threat of the Kantadalians' soldiers was always present.

After brief discussion, they decided to keep heading north through the woods, as they had no better options.

"Stay alert. If anything seems off, we'll head deeper into the forest," Leon instructed.

And so, in silence, they continued, hearts heavy with the uncertainty of what lay ahead.