Realizing the danger they were about to face, Thorian immediately looked back inside the cart.

"Father Francis, stay here to protect Lord Elian in case this is a diversion," Thorian directed. He then looked at Nox and said, "Nizari, we will have to go and face the monster horde to buy time."

After giving his orders to his subordinates, Thorian looked back at the coachman, whose face was as pale as a sheet. "Sir, you will have to take a detour to reach the capital. Push these horses as fast as you can!"

With a nod from the driver, Thorian and Nox leaped off the cart, leaving Elian terrified and confused. Vigil immediately jumped out of the cart and sat next to the coachman before he blessed the horses with his spells. With a whip from the coachman, the horses ran at an unimaginable speed, dragging the cart into a small trail that branched off the main road.

Seeing that the cart was on its way to the capital, Thorian focused back on the direction of the monster wave. By this time, he could clearly hear the thumping.

"What’s the plan, Thorian?" Nox asked. "Should we just annihilate them?"

"We’ll see about that," Thorian bit his lower lip. "For now, I'll just block their charge."

Jumping atop a tree, Thorian got a better view of the incoming horde. Hundreds of tigers, giant boars, dire wolves, fire foxes, and white bears were rushing toward them. However, those were not the most dangerous threats. In the sky, giant bald eagles soared, led by a pack of half-griffins.

Aerial monsters too? That's going to be a hassle, Thorian gritted his teeth. But what could have caused such a large monster wave? Someone must have definitely triggered it.

Pushing thoughts of the perpetrator aside, Thorian refocused on the issue at hand. Thankfully, the aerial monsters are less numerous, so we can focus on them last.

With a plan in mind, Thorian looked back at Nox. "Do you think you could deal with those overgrown birds?"

"That would be easy," Nox chuckled. "Just leave them to me and focus on stopping the monsters on the ground."

With the tasks delegated, Thorian’s attention fully shifted to the land monsters. Raising his staff high in the air, he conjured his first spell: Earth Wall.

At his incantation, the ground shifted, and a massive wall of dirt was erected, blocking the path of the incoming monsters. However, without wasting much time, they split into two groups and sidestepped the wall entirely.

Seeing this, Thorian furrowed his eyebrows. Well, at least half of them are no longer on a collision course with the cart. They don't seem to be intentionally targeting it.

With these thoughts, Thorian rushed from one branch to the next to gain some ground on the charging monsters. At the same time, he looked up to the sky to see Nox's progress.

The old man used his high agility to jump into the sky and, using his spider silk ability, cut down one giant bald eagle after another. After taking care of all the eagles, he imbued his spider silk ability with his shadow manipulation, turning it even more deadly. In a dance of thin shadows, he slashed through the half-griffins with ungodly speed.

Looks like I was worried about nothing, Thorian smiled, focusing entirely on his own task. Glancing at the segment of the monster horde diverted towards the cart, he quickly formulated a plan in his head.

After predicting their path, Thorian gained some distance from the monsters before raising three earth walls in the shape of an incomplete square. The moment the monsters were herded into the structure, Thorian conjured the last earth wall, sealing them inside completely.

However, this was only a temporary measure. The monsters were strong, and they could easily break through the earth walls with their power. As such, Thorian jumped atop one of the earth walls and began casting his old combination spell.

Tornado. Fire Pillar.

The screams of pain as the fiery tornado seared the monsters’ skin and burned their flesh echoed to the heavens. Yet, Thorian was not finished yet.

Flame Fury.

Raising his staff high in the air, he conjured twelve great fireballs, launching them into the monster trap. The explosions were continuous, and any monster not already obliterated by the fiery tornado was certainly destroyed by Thorian’s second spell.

"Are you done here, Thorian?" Nox landed next to Thorian, having finished off all the aerial monsters.

Looking back at the destruction inside the earth wall trap, Thorian nodded. "Yeah, the monsters are dead. I just need to take care of the fire before we go back to the cart."

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With those words, Thorian conjured an Aqua Vortex, extinguishing all of the flames raging between the four walls. Soon, the earthen walls crumbled, leaving behind only a square area of black mud and soot. Where trees once stood, only the charred bones of the monsters now protruded from the ground.

Without a word, Thorian and Nox hurried back into the forest, following the cart's trajectory. Using his Elemental Sight, Thorian scanned the area ahead until he could discern the bright silver and golden mana signature of Vigil.

"Oh, we've found them," Nox smiled, looking in the same direction.

Beastly senses, huh? Its area of effect is decent, considering it's a lower-ranked skill.

As they approached the cart, Elian poked his head out, asking in a terrified voice, "What happened? Are the monsters dead? Are they no longer coming for us?"

"Don't worry," Nox chuckled. "All the monsters heading towards the cart are dead."

While Elian let out a sigh of relief, Thorian walked over to Vigil and asked, "Did any bandits come and attack you in the meantime?"

"They did," Vigil nodded, his eyebrows furrowed. "And not just bandits, assassins too."

Sighing at this revelation, Thorian turned back to Elian. "Someone wants you dead badly. What kind of information do you have that they would go to such extreme lengths?"

Hearing this, Elian clenched his fists. "Like I said, this is a very secret mission. I can't say much, but I can tell you that a conspiracy is brewing within the capital; one that reaches much higher than you could imagine."

Seeing that Elian was not going to say much more, Thorian let the matter rest. Looking back at the coachman, he said, "Let's go. We aren't far from the capital now."

The coachman felt a wave of relief wash over him at Thorian's words. Without waiting another second, he whipped the horses. Vigil also used his blessing magic on the horses to increase their agility, constitution, and strength.

"What an unusual blessing, Father Francis," Elian remarked. "I've rarely seen a golden and silver blessing. By any chance, is your patron deity Miraphor, the goddess of the sun and the moon?"

Hearing this question, Vigil was stumped. He didn't have enough knowledge about the world to know if it was safe to answer.

While Vigil stumbled over his words, Elian shook his head. "It's fine, you don't need to say. I understand that some priests prefer to keep their patron deity a secret."

"Thank you for your understanding," Vigil let out a sigh of relief.

While the two were talking, Thorian focused on training his wind manipulation. There was still some time before they reached the capital, and he wanted to use it fruitfully.

After ten minutes had passed, they could finally see the great walls of the capital in the distance, eclipsed only by the high palace that stood above everything in the city.

However, Thorian was not captivated by the beauty of the capital. Instead, his focus was on the notification that hovered in front of him.

[Congratulations. Your skill "Wind Manipulation I" has been upgraded to "Wind Manipulation II"]

Wind Manipulation II

Description: Advancing from the core competencies acquired in Wind Manipulation I, this upgraded ability empowers users with heightened finesse and variety in manipulating air. With Wind Manipulation II, practitioners unlock first-advancement level wind skills, marking a considerable enhancement in both prowess and manipulation. This stage enables the creation of more complex and powerful wind-based techniques, limited only by the practitioner's imagination, increased mana capacity, and enriched comprehension of wind manipulation.

Proficiency: 0%

"Looks like we've arrived at our destination," Nox announced with a smile as the coachman led the cart to the end of the line of people trying to enter the capital.

"Finally," Elian's eyes widened as he looked at the capital before them. His eyebrows then furrowed as he noticed the line in front of them. "And why are we standing behind these peasants? You're carrying a noble, so take the right lane."

Nodding at Elian's command, the coachman steered the horses to the side. The right lane was empty, save for a few large carts that exuded nobility. Within a few minutes, they reached the front of the line.

After the guards checked their identities, Elian, alongside Thorian and his group, stepped out of the cart. As they entered the capital, a cascade of notifications appeared in front of Thorian.

Floor Quest Cleared

Congratulations, you have successfully cleared Hidden Quest #1: Kill all bandit groups.

Congratulations, you have successfully cleared Hidden Quest #2: Discover the hints of the Conspiracy.

Reward Updated

+200,000 Experience Points

+100,000 Arcane Coins

Reward Distributed

Level up!

Level up!

"We're done now?" Nox asked, browsing through his notification.

"Yeah, we practically are," Thorian nodded. However, just as he was about to leave the area, he noticed something alarming. A young boy with a determined gaze was rushing towards the unsuspecting Elian.

Realizing the gravity of the situation, Thorian dashed towards the young boy in an attempt to intercept him. But the moment he tried, his hand passed through the young boy's body as if he were insubstantial.

With a look of shock on his face, Thorian turned around to see the young boy plunging a knife deep into Elian's heart.

"Long live the revolution!"