One of the horses they had purchased from the inn was already connected to the wagon. There was a loud clank and cloud of rust as the chest filled with platinum bars were carefully placed inside. The wagon creaked and groaned in protest under the weight.
Despite hearing the wagon's complaining, Valessandria felt a wave of relief, knowing they could purchase a wagon. With how heavy it was, she knew it wouldn't be able to ride on top of a horse. She did consider removing the platinum bars and distributing them amongst all the horses. However, she felt that the bars would still be too heavy. There was also the fear of what would happen if they even lost one of the bars during the trip.
"My Lady," William had on his helmet and saluted to her, "At your command, we can depart."
Nodding at him, Valessandria made her way to her horse.
"Mount up!" William commanded the others.
There was a loud clang of metal as the students raised themselves onto their respective horses. Understanding that they would leave to return home, a few of the horses dug into the ground as though full of energy. The students riding on the energetic ones gently rubbed the horses' necks.
Placing her helmet on her head, Valessandria inserted her foot into the stirrup and hopped onto the horse.
"Take care of me," She petted the animal's muscular neck.
Like a river flooding from the side, the students began emerging from the inn's stable area onto the main road. Seeing the activity, a few villagers glanced in their direction, curious about what was happening in their quiet village. But seeing that it was them, they returned their attention to what they had been doing.
Valessanria guided her horse onto the main road, nodding as the students positioned themselves into a formation just like they had been trained. They made two long columns, ensuring to only take up part of the road and not disrupt traffic. Their armors had a dull shine, slightly dusty from the travel and late-night duties assisting everyone.
What stuck out the most as she inspected the students was how none showed their exhaustion, even after riding for a full day and arriving to work with hardly a break until the end, close to sunrise. On top of that, they didn't complain even once about the work and how they wished to be back in their warm beds, getting ready to attend class the next day. She felt proud to be leading such a group. If there was a battle she was fated to take part in, she wanted her back to be protected by them.
Reaching the front of the column, she had her horse stop next to William, though slightly ahead.
William waved an arm forward, "Once we reach the entrance, pick up the pace quickly so that we can return back to Illumin as quickly as possible!"
With her Second's words, Valessandria directed her horse and headed towards the entrance pointing towards the capital. The journey would be long, but that only highlighted how far they had pushed themselves to reach Leaf Village in time. As their horses marched through the town somewhat fast, villagers waved their hands in appreciation. There were still wagons full of household belongings frantically packed away as people had prepared to flee, but now they were slowly putting things back where they belonged. Like how her students were tired but didn't reveal their fatigue, villagers had broad smiles and hope in their eyes after surviving a nightmarish event.
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As Valessandria scanned the village, her eyes caught sight of a large shadow covering some of the houses and shops. She frowned. It made her think about the biggest difference in the village from what she knew of Leaf Village. An alien shadow belonging to an equally mysterious surreal enigmatic structure without any words to describe its presence, whether as a guardian or some symbol of horrors yet to arrive, was unknown. Many in the village talked in whispers as though not wanting to attract whatever god or demon the statues worshiped. Even with the purifying light of the sun beating its rays on it, the structure still had an ominous and eerie air haunting the land close.
When the village leaders asked her about the pyramid, she didn't know what to say aside from warning about what lay beyond it and that only those with the solid mental fortitude to handle the traumatizing image to deal with the carnage. At that moment, she also learned that the pyramid had only appeared that night, despite its weathered appearance.
As they departed the village and she could only see the unrestricted grassy fields free of any ominous structures of questionable origins, Valessandria felt herself smile. She felt the sun slowly warm her armor which was welcomed against the cool morning. However, she anticipated it feeling like she was wearing an oven after the sun reached its zenith. Knowing how hot it would get, she was grateful for the water canteens the inn provided. The wagon even had a few water jars and provisions they could use during the journey back to Illumin.
"I do not feel eager about camping outside," William said.
"If it was only sleeping outside we had to worry about, I would welcome such a thing." Valessandria chuckled.
"At least we did not see much monster activity, which may indicate that tonight will be relatively peaceful."
Nodding, Valessandria adjusted her posture on the saddle and said, "There is a chance that we may need to stop early if we spot any forests. We do not have enough firewood for more than one large fire. I prefer us to have several around to discourage monsters from attacking."
"At your command," William said. He looked behind and signaled for the columns to increase their speed. "We are fortunate that the inn had spare horses they were willing to sell on top of the wagon."
"I suspect that the inn preferred to have money saved instead of having animals that would continue to require food. With the Empire making its presence known so close to the border in the frontier, I would expect that to impact how merchants travel. The village will have difficult times ahead. Hopefully, the capital can provide aid to its citizens." She felt bad for the villagers. Life was challenging in the frontiers of the Kingdom and made receiving support difficult.
Valessandria inspected the surrounding area, happy to see it devoid of any people. She hoped that the rumors of the Empire attacking the Kingdom would discourage people from being on the roads for the moment as they traveled back to Illumin. They'd need to worry about monsters when night came, so adding bandits wasn't something she wanted. Though she felt bad for the villagers since negative rumors would make life difficult, she had to keep her students' safety in mind.
"I want you to send out scouts to see if anyone is nearby and also spot for any monsters," Valessandria turned her head to William. "Just because our luck holds, we must anticipate things turning bad fast."