Chapter 17- A Soldier for Myself!

I was startled to the sound of the door to the carriage opening. The sunlight invaded through the large opening the door created until a silhouette covered it. The silhouette sauntered forward in slow heavy steps.

"I believe you have made your decision?" Cade's voice followed my readjusting eyes as I saw the familiar chubby appearance. He was draped in clean clothes that puffed up around the sleeves. As always his mana was overflowing to pressure those around him.

"Yes, I will cut off my ties, leave, and have you pronounce me dead. However! I will go on two conditions. Can you at least give me these?" I had already made my decision earlier, but leaving like this would burden my mind or mother.

"Fine, I guess this can be considered your final words in a way." Cade thought for awhile and sighed before conceding to my demands for the conditions and urging me to speak.

"First, I don't want you to erase me from mother's mind and give this to her when she wakes up." I pull out a piece of folded paper in my pocket and handed to Cade and watched him put it away before I continued, "Second, if I can solve this problem with my blood and come home I want to see my mother."

"Fine. I fulfill your first condition and your second condition is close to impossible, but I'll give you the benefit of the doubt. However on the off chance you do come back you will no longer be the third prince you will just be a citizen of Thant. Now that that is understood get your stuff ready we're leaving soon. Any longer here and we'll waste too many supplies." Cade briskly left again seeing that I made my decision, but I stopped him before he left.

"What is it?" Cade had an annoyed tone as he turned around.

"I want to know more about the peculiarities of my body. For example, why no monsters attacked me when I was growing up, or if I have to worry about monster hordes popping out randomly everywhere I go?"

"Don't worry too much. If you think monsters can sense you perfectly from across the world then you'd be greatly mistaken. I would think of it like this: what is easier to find a target in one spot or a moving target. As such most of the time you'll run across wondering rouge monsters, but hordes will mostly treat you like a normal human. The reason that kingdom was ransacked was because they were holed up inside there too long. That horde that you decimated earlier was the result of that giant Nightstalker's planning. As for why you had no attacks in your six years of childhood that would be because of the Queen." I turned to look at mother again when I heard Cade's statement. I thought of all those times where I had stayed at home and cultivated while she might've been outside protecting me with her life. I vow to repay mother some day, but my mind was set on leaving. This may be the only way to protect her.

I feel that father will protect mother at least seeing how he uprooted the people who plotted against her. So I needn't worry about her for now. I just need to make sure she goes home safe and sound, and for me to accomplish that I need to make sure monsters don't swarm them every step of the way. Resolving myself I continue to question Cade.

"Wait, what do you mean hordes will treat me like a normal human?"

"I'm saying that the only monsters that will recognize your importance would be those that have some intelligence and inclination to mana. Normal monsters don't know how to control or utilize mana, so they will simply attack you if you intrude on their territory." Cade told me simply. He was quite a wellspring of information, so I continued to question him and get more out.

"You said that that giant Nightstalker had planned to kill me what do mean?"

"Theoretically yes, monsters with mana should be swarming over you like flies, but we don't really know much about why monsters target reincarnated people. As for the Nightstalker it probably was afraid of your mother's strength, so it waited for her to become weak and also give itself time to build up it's horde." Cade's words enlightened me on the level of intelligence I should expect from the monsters that are after me.

"One last question, if what you said is true then wouldn't that mean that when I went outside for the first time I would be swarmed by other monsters and not just that Nightstalker?" I wanted to conclude my questioning because it looked like Cade was getting tired of my constant queries.

"Hmm, let me explain it like this, if you had a powerful medicine that can only be used once and would exponentially increase your abilities would you want to share it with other or keep it to yourself? Simple it killed it's competitors." Cade shot me a light smile as he finished his analogy and quickly left the carriage seeming to fear more questions.

I fell into thought after Cade left and started to plan my next set of actions. If Cade's words were true the first thing I would need to do is become nomadic. Thinking so I began to plan for when I reach the next village as I left the carriage. Something was bugging me about that giant Nightstalker. If it had so meticulously planned to get me when I had left home then why did it suddenly abandon its knowledge and recklessly try to get me?

The sounds of dragging feet fill my ears and brought me out of my thoughts as I covered my eyes and let them adjust to the sunlight. I was greeted by soot covered villagers carrying bags of scavenged items as they traveled along a dirt road towards the nearest village. Guards in armor were scattered in the crowd and warily looked around for any signs of trouble. However when everyone saw me walk out of the carriage an invisible tension rose in the air.

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"Prince Glen!" Garrison's voice broke the tension and I found the guard captain jogging towards me in full armor. He grasped my hand with a smile. The crowd saw this and returned to their marching.

"Please don't mind them understand that they just lost their homes and previous lives. They're just putting unreasonable anger onto you. Consider this an apology from them." Garrison handed me a double edged sword roughly three feet long wrapped in roughed cloth. He gave me a wry smile as I took the sword and studied it a little.

"Sorry, that's the best one I could find. I need to go, I wish you the best. Hopefully we will meet again!" Garrison left as fast as he came and gave me no time to begin a conversation. I waved goodbye as I saw him jog back to the crowd of moving villagers.

I returned to my thoughts as I waited for our group to move. I conversed with some of the soldiers as I moved around asking them various things. My questions ranged from things like monsters that they have fought to questions about mana and magic. Many of them seemed to want to brag more than give me reliable answers, so I quickly gave up trying to find out concrete details.

"Prince Glen, no wait should I just call you Glen now?" Jared came over to me with a smile. Apparently Cade's word had spread through the ranks and reached everyone's ears.

"I don't mind, I'm not one to care for titles anyways. Is it time to go now?"

"Yeah. Our destination is a larger village known as Willowsburrow." Jared gave me a simple answer as he urged me to go. Everyone was gearing up and a little after midday we set off. Cade had returned to his carriage and the knights gathered into their protective formation. Although everyone had rested, they were still on edge from the recent encounter with the Nightstalker horde.

The village was not in the same direction that the Rivensdale villagers were headed and I was told that our journey would be at least two days. I was glad that I wouldn't have to deal with unreasonable villagers, but I was apprehensive about the journey. What would happen if we ran into a sudden threat. I may have a single tempered Meridian and a body at the 3rd limit of the Breaking Body stage. However that means nothing in front of a truly strong monster. I was once again hit by the feeling of gaining strength only to realize that you are ultimately weak.

I put those depressing thoughts out of my head as I begin to concentrate on myself. Technically I could begin cultivating Qi into my dantian as soon as I have a single tempered Meridian, but that would defeat the purpose of building my foundation. I need to at least temper half of the 12 main Meridians before I even begin to assail the higher levels. That is the path of cultivation; it has many paths that branch in a multitudinous amount of ways each with its own apex.

"You look in deep thought." Chad's voice awoke me as I found him moving next to me. I also saw the boy with him as well.

"Did you seriously kidnap this guy?" I shot Chad a suspicious glance as I looked at the boy and him.

"No! Geez, he came along with me besides I looked around the village to see if he had a family, but instead of accepting him most of the villagers shot disdainful looks at him. However I don't think I can take care of him. I already have a family back in the capital to take care of." Chad looked at me with eyes full of hope as he nudged the boy closer to me. The boy was dressed in his usual rags and was holding some torn pieces of paper in his hands.

"Denied."

"What why!? come on Glen. He needs someone who can protect him and a family to lean on. I've already asked around and no one wanted to house him. You're my last hope please." Chad whined hoping I would abide by his demands.

"He'll be a nuisance I cannot take him with me."

"Not." The boy suddenly joined in the conversation as he held out the ripped paper in his hands. He urged me to take them with large eyes. He nearly stumbled on some rocks as he walked with outstretched arms. I sighed as I took the papers he presented to me and skimmed over them.

On the pages were rough drawings of the Nightstalkers and the giant Nightstalker along with some barely legible words. He wrote in charcoal so some words were smudged and unreadable. However what I could read shocked me.

The boy outlined the abilities of the giant Nightstalker as well as the weak points that I had noticed. Albeit roughly written and most of it was illegible I could get the gist of what he had written. The problem was that I never told him about those weaknesses. I gave the papers back to the boy and began to think a little bit.

"Hey, you said you name was Cooper right?" Cooper nodded and Chad held a smile on his face, but I ignored him at the moment.

"Did you draw and write those?" I pointed at the papers and asked him while studying his movements. He nodded and I gave him a smile. Normally people would give small unconscious movements when they lied. I'm no pro at studying people, but I can at least say that children are easier to read. He was telling the truth.

"Ahem, anyways where I go is going to be wrought with danger and there is no promise of your life. However I will guarantee you one thing only. That is strength! It is the only thing I have to offer you; do you accept?" The boy simply nodded in response as Chad was celebrating near us. Originally I wouldn't accept the kid under any circumstances, but if he has a talent in understanding monsters then I can use him. As well as my promise of strength that is the only thing I can guarantee him. Albeit I was an immortal, but I disregarded nearly everything in the pursuit of strength and even then I was only a soldier.

"Tell me how you found out all that information." I directed this at Cooper while still disregarding Chad.

"Don't, know. I just, know." Cooper still had problems putting together his speech. And his ambiguous answer didn't really answer my questions. I chose to believe him nonetheless. If he becomes a hassle I can always drop him off at the nearest village, and if he is a diamond in the rough I'll obtain a useful ally in my struggle against hungry monsters.

"By the way what are you going to do now that you are supposed to be dead?" Chad suddenly joined in.

"Get stronger. I have no other goals other than survive." When I spoke Chad's smile wavered a little.

"Geez, you make it sound like you're going to war..." Chad said solemnly and drew away from us slowly as night fell. Luckily we ran into no monsters on our first day and we opted to continue moving in the night with prepared torches.

I gave Cooper a simple foundation manual through the information transfer method and told him to keep it a secret. He immediately began to study it as he grew even more unresponsive than usual. I smiled at my studious disciple and began to think about me coming future.

Chad's words continuously rang in my ears. I began to think that maybe what I'm doing is no different from going off to war. It's not like I mind it I was a soldier fighting for a lost cause in my previous life. Now I am soldier for myself fighting for myself only and not some overbearing general or some unjustifiable cause! Unbeknownst to me a large grin spread across my face.