"I have already told you, I can walk perfectly fine." I gently patted my right thigh, now adorned with a fading scar rather than the deep cut inflicted by the lieutenant's ice. Tapping the scar sent a twinge of pain, but unlike before, I could move my leg freely. The rest of my body, including the wound on my shoulder blade and disfigured face, had essentially returned to normal.

After three days on the road, we had confidently ventured into the forest of Corith. The peculiar flow of mana in the air had triggered numerous peculiar reactions among the caravan members. As a native, it evoked a nostalgic sensation within me. The concentration and direction of the mana were distinct, unlike the more loosely flowing currents I had experienced in Corith. It bore no resemblance to the mines, where the air was saturated with unstructured and chaotic mana.

"You do realize how irrational you sound, don't you? It hasn't even been a week, and you claim to be completely fine," rebuked Sera, who was currently riding the strig.

I groaned, leaning back against the piles of supplies surrounding me. "I simply wish for all of you to cease worrying about me. You're escorting me as if I were some noble."

Of course, there was no way to verify that assumption. I had never witnessed a noble's entourage, relying solely on assumptions and the stories I had heard or witnessed through occasional village performances during festive occasions.

"They requested us to stay in the backline. I understand your reservations, but we currently serve as the central leadership," Sera remarked, stealing a quick glance at the individuals surrounding the cart—Ruby, Mell, Alex, Silva, and even Wanderer—forming a protective circle around us. Wanderer had volunteered to be my personal guard, an offer I gratefully accepted.

"Silva, you held a leadership position, correct? Were you treated in the same manner?" I leaned over the side of the cart, getting closer to her.

She offered a wistful smile and patted my shoulder. "Yes, they did. Although I must admit, I didn't particularly enjoy it. I prefer being on the battlefield rather than the backlines. I suppose that's a common trait shared by Nacilians and Ash Hairs."

Ash Hairs... Ireborians?

Confirming my suspicion, Wanderer chimed in. "Battle is where we both belong. We may be eternal enemies, but that's one point on which we can always agree."

"Indeed..." My voice trailed off. "If not for our shared cause, the two of you would likely be trying to kill each other, correct?"

Alex, Silva, and Wanderer fell into silence before nodding in unison.

"Is it really that bad?"

"North, there hasn't been a period in our history where we haven't been at war with Nacilia before Arlin's invasion. Neither side has managed to fully conquer the other, and just as one party appears close to victory, the other innovates in a way that pushes them back. It's a brutal cycle, but one that has bestowed strength and unity upon our respective peoples. There are no periods of peace, only temporary breaks to recuperate and prepare for the next conflict."

"Doesn't that become tiresome?"

Wanderer shrugged, his gaze shifting westward. "For someone like you, it probably would. However, many warriors from our homeland share the same mentality as Elina."

Oh no... is she the norm?

“If you are worried about whether or not I plan to attack them when our mission is over, do not be. I believe that Alex and Silva are comrades, not because they are Nacilians, but because they are fellow slaves. I would like to believe their viewpoint is the same.”

Alex seemed rather apathetic at this, simply saying “Sure.”

“Just making sure, but does anyone else here have any direct blood feuds with another person’s nation?” I loudly asked the people around the cart and the few caravan members in front of me. The message got passed up to the front, but nobody came forward with anything.

“Sir, while I don’t think we have anyone from there, I would like to say that Asarn really hates Pluma.” Mell solemnly admitted. He looked somewhat embarrassed to admit the fact.

“Oh please.” Ruby scoffed. “Everyone hates Pluma. Hell, I bet even Arlinians hate Pluma.”

“I mean, Elm hated Nicole a lot.” I pointed out. A naive part of me hoped that Nicole was an exception to how people from Pluma were.

Our banter about nations and who hated who continued for a bit. My knowledge of world history was limited, but the more everyone talked, the more complex the bizarre web of hatred grew ever more complex. Corith was hated by several nations for being a bunch of cowards, but everything appeared rather quaint compared to the eternal hatred of Irebor and Nacilia.

If we go to liberate the camps in those places, can I do both? Would that mean I’d have to get those two places to work together?

I shook the thought out of my head to avoid the inevitable headache it would cause. We didn’t have the manpower nor the foresight to even begin to start questioning that. Corith was already a massive headache in itself.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

To help clear my thoughts, I decided to check up with Ruby on our location.

“How far are we from our next stopping point?”

Ruby immediately perked up hearing this, clearly pleased to get a chance to show off her cartography skills. Pulling out the map, she began to trace her finger across the line.

“We shouldn’t be too far. I can do a check of our surroundings to make sure. Sorta forgot to since I got so caught up in our conversation.” Ruby turned over to Mell beside her and stretched out her arms, and he quickly picked her up and put her on his shoulders. After she closed her eyes, I could feel a soft breeze emanate from her direction. After only a few seconds, she opened her eyes and turned back to me, looking puzzled.

“Something is wrong…”

Those words immediately caught Silva’s attention, and she moved forward in front of Alex.

“Do you see movement?” She warily asked.

“No. The opposite. I don’t feel any movement. All the last few times I’ve checked, I’ve seen some movement. There’s always a few animals I can sense, but I don’t feel anything outside of the trees and plants.”

Something feels off.

Before we could continue to question everything, I heard a male voice yelling from the front of the caravan. We were currently on mostly flat ground, so I got up on my knees to see the person. They were standing on top of the cart, waving their hands in the air.

“Hey, we think we saw something up ah-” The man’s words were cut short as a blue beam sliced through the air. It removed the upper part of his skull, and he quickly slumped over.

We were under attack.

Burner fire came from all around us on both sides of the road. I looked ahead to see soldiers seemingly popping out of the dirt on the sides of the road with their weapons in hand. They had covered themselves up with tarps to hide and set up the ambush.

Three men appeared at my sides, and they were all quickly dispatched by Silva launching ice at them and Ruby hitting the other with her own burner. I jumped out of the cart while grabbing one of the burners, still searching for where I had left my personal igniter. Sera had already hopped off of the strig and met me at the back.

“What do we do?” Mell asked, clearly panicked as he crouched down beside us. We’d always been the ones with initiative before, which meant it was new to everyone except for the experienced soldiers.

Silva responded before I could.

“We hold the position in the backline. No point in moving forw-” Her speech was cut when we felt the ground beneath us rumbling. The sound of a turning engine and spinning wheels told me all that I needed to know. Soon, an Iron Chariot broke through the horizon and began us down. The gunner on top took shots at the carts, piercing through and hitting the members of the caravan who were already struggling to fight back. I felt trapped and overwhelmed, and I could see more soldiers start to exit from the forest’s edge and enter the road. Mell and Ruby were off on the sides, taking shots with their weapons, but to no avail.

My hands gripped tightly onto the burner as I steeled myself, only to feel Alex’s hand grab onto my shoulder.

“Stop.” His tone was affirmative.

“We need to fight! We’ve gotten this far, and we can’t just stop now.” I pushed his hand off my shoulder as I moved closer to the edge of the cart.

“Yeah, but this? Look around. We need to retreat.”

Where?

“I’m not leaving. We fight or die.”

“The Iron Chariot is moving towards us!” screamed Mell.

I felt Alex move closer to my ear. His voice rang out above above all of the other sounds of battle.

“If you die now, this will all be for nothing.” His grip on my shoulder tightened, pulling me back towards him. “Mell! Everyone! We’re retreating!”

As the large Asarnian began to move, Alex seemed to whisper something in his ear. Before I could even react, Mell had grabbed onto me by the collar and hoisted me up under his arm. I was being forced to retreat whether I wanted to or not.

The crew began running.

Directly into the forest.

***

Time lost meaning as we ran. I had no way to know how far or how long we had gone, only that we were now a good distance away from the road. When we finally stopped, everyone collapsed to the ground panting for air.

I looked around before checking all of the items on my person. The only things I had taken with me were my burner, my canteen, the timekeeper and the key which had been tied to a necklace. None of us had carried bags when we had decided to run.

We had no supplies. We had no strigs.

“How many of us are left?”

I surveyed everyone and counted the number in my head.

Alex, Silva, Sera, Wanderer, Mell, Ruby and myself.

Mell and Ruby were both comforting each other, trying to handle the sudden shift. Sera, like myself, was sitting with her back placed against one of the dense Corith Trees. Alex and Silva were off to the side, quietly talking with each other.

Seven people out of nearly seventy were all that was left.

“Is there anyone else?” I could feel my voice wavering. I didn’t want to accept the reality of the situation in front of me.

“No.” Sera solemnly admitted, her eyes glued to the forest floor. “The last one to get here was Wanderer.”

My eyes were wide as I looked at her. We had just gone from enjoying our trip to being in the worst possible situation. We were more screwed now than we were in the camps. Everything had been lost, and we were in the forest of Corith.

Alex and Silva had been talking the entire time I was ruminating on how fucked we were, but started to get ready to stand. I didn’t know what, but my gut told me something was wrong. I slowly made my way to my feet just as the two of them finished and began approaching me, side by side with one another.

“Were you discussing any plans that you’d like to share?”

“Sorta…” Alex scratched at his rust. Silva stepped in front of him, and stared down at me. She looked completely emotionless.

“Things have gone far enough to the point where I believe I need to step in. I’m sorry North, but I refuse to let you lead anymore. I’m taking control of this group.”