The morning arrived quickly for Red.

The sound of movement in the courtyard woke him up. The boy looked outside his window and saw that the sun was barely up. It was unusual for so many people in his sect to be awake at this hour, but then again, he supposed they had a long day ahead of them.

Red got up from his bed and stretched. The forging process from the day before took its toll on him, even with his improved stamina, but after a good night’s rest, he managed to recover.

The first thing he saw when he opened his door was Eiwin and Allen looking over an assortment of bags and equipment in the main building. The young master’s expression lit up once he saw Red.

He waved at the boy. “Hey, Red! I’m coming too!”

Red nodded. “I know.”

“How do you… Oh, right!” Allen slapped the top of his head in realization. “I forgot you were there!”

Red frowned, but said nothing. These last six months had shaped Allen into a finer warrior, stronger and more reliable in a pinch. However, the young master was still just a young child, naïve and slow on the uptake at times. Hector felt Allen would mature with time, but Red and many others in the sect felt there were certain things that would probably remain the same no matter how long passed.

Red looked over at Eiwin. “Who’s coming with us?”

He didn’t have the opportunity to talk with Eiwin the night before, as tired as he was after the forging process.

“Everyone but Master Domeron and Master Goulth.” Eiwin said.

Red was surprised. “Hector is sending so many people out?”

The woman nodded. “It’s a necessary measure. It’s possible we might have to take care of no small amount of Lesser Ring Realm beasts, so we need all the strength we can muster.”

The boy remembered how the previous confrontation with a Lesser Ring Realm monster went for him and his sect members. Then again, this time, they would be prepared for it.

“What about Domeron and Goulth?” Red asked. “Will they be safe by themselves?”

Eiwin sighed. “There is always a danger, but there is no one I trust more to hold down the fort while we are away.”

The boy supposed they had no choice on the matter.

“Oh right, speaking of Master Goulth.” Eiwin picked a bundle of cloth from the top of the equipment pile. “He wanted me to give you this.”

Red didn’t need to guess what the item was. He unwrapped the cloth, revealing the sheathed short-sword they crafted the day before. Both the sheathe and the hilt were made of unadorned dark-brown leather with a simple iron crossguard. It looked like an unassuming weapon if it wasn’t for its peculiar triangular shape.

“What is that?” Allen asked in curiosity.

“A weapon.” Red strapped the sword to his best.

“Can I see it?” The young master extended his hand.

“No.”

“Oh…”

Eiwin cleared her throat to catch Red’s attention. “Master Goulth also wanted me to leave you a message.”

Red frowned. “Why not speak to me directly?”

“… He said he’s busy.”

Although Eiwin said that, he could tell there was something else to the matter, and he could guess what it might be. However, Red didn’t try to push it.

She continued. “He told me to tell you that you did a good job, and he hopes the sword will serve you well.”

The boy didn’t quite know how to respond to this, so he just nodded.

Eiwin seemed satisfied with his response. She looked over at Allen. “Young Master, can you go fetch me another bag?”

“Hm?” Allen looked confused. “But you said we had enough bags already.”

The young woman smiled. “It’s just to make sure.”

“Right, fine!” Allen nodded. “I’ll be back in a second!”

The young master looked to make his claim true as he ran off like the wind.

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“… What is it?” Red looked at Eiwin with suspicion.

It was evident that Eiwin just wanted Allen to go away so she could tell Red something in private.

Eiwin’s entire countenance became more serious. “It’s about Miss Valt.”

Red frowned. “Did she not receive the news about her not being the commander well?”

The woman shook her head. “She wasn’t happy, but she would never jeopardize our mission because of that. I’m just worried that she might be considering doing something rash because of...” she trailed off.

“Because of the pill?” Red completed her sentence.

“Yes.” Eiwin nodded with a troubled expression.

“What makes you think so?” the boy asked.

“I can just tell. Others might think this recent bout of anger from her is just like all the other times, something that will eventually pass, but I can tell something’s different. The others… They don’t know how important breaking through is to her, so I-”

“I’m back!”

Allen suddenly interrupted their conversation, running back into their vicinity with a leather bag in hand.

“What were you talking about?” the young master asked.

“Nothing important.” Eiwin shook her head.

Although she said that, she gave Red a meaningful look.

The boy nodded. “I’ll keep it in mind.”

Eiwin gave him a relieved smile.

Allen frowned. “Keep what in mind?”

The woman ignored him. “Red, please help me check the supplies again. I’ll hand you the list.”

“Hey, don’t ignore me!”

…

A few hours passed by as everyone made their last preparations. The trip to the river would take a few days, but in truth, no one really knew how long they would be out there fighting the horde.

Rog, who had the most experience with monsters, told them that the worst of the fight would be when the waves first hit. That was when the beasts would be at their most ravenous, and the fight would be at its fiercest.

If they managed to beat back the horde at this point, then it’s very likely the few surviving beasts would run away and hide, and the group would need to hunt them down so they wouldn’t disrupt the province. That task could take much longer, but it also wasn’t as dire as surviving the first assault.

According to the information they received, the first wave of the horde would arrive tomorrow at the river, near the night, which meant that Red and the others would need to walk through the night if they hoped to make it in time. Thankfully, this time around they could stick to the road, which meant their trip would be much faster.

The second wave, which was the Skycrown Wolves one, would arrive three days after the first one. This also meant they would have some time to recover and prepare before the biggest challenge arrived. Of course, this was all assuming there would be no surprises along the way, and according to Hector, this was very unlikely.

The elder gathered everyone in the sect at the front gate. Red noticed the absence of Goulth, who remained in his workshop, but the boy knew better than to approach the blacksmith right now.

Everyone carried different expressions as they prepared to set out. Rimold looked unwilling, Allen looked excited, Rog looked indifferent, Eiwin looked serious, and Narcha looked angry, more so than normal, that is. They were all carrying large bags of equipment and supplies in their bag, more than enough to last them a week out there. If even that wasn’t enough, they had the Baron’s soldiers and Rog’s hunting skills to provide for them.

As for other more special items, they had a handful of them. More specifically, they had seven talismans in total and about a dozen pills of all sorts, easily more than half of the sect’s total treasure, or so Red had been told. The boy even had a few of those in his possession, including the fireball talisman he intended to use the other day during his heist with Rimold.

He had also brought all his sensitive items with him, including the insectoid crystal and his treasures from the trial. It just so happened that the New Moon would arrive in ten days, which meant it was quite possible he would need to deal with his curse in the middle of their voyage.

He only hoped that no one would take notice of it out there.

As for Hector, the old man was actually not carrying anything with him. Red wondered if he had some other way to store treasures on his person, but the elder dodge any such sort of questions.

“I have already told this to all of you, but I will do it again.” Hector said. “We are going out there to help the province deal with the horde. However, if things go awry, I command you to prioritize your own survival. The Baron still has his own last line of defense in the form of this town, and it’s pointless to throw our lives away for nothing out there.”

Everyone nodded, except for Narcha, who snorted in contempt. The elder glared at her, but neither of them said anything.

A few seconds passed by before Eiwin spoke up. “We will do as you say, Master Hector. I promise I will make sure we all get out of this safe and sound.”

“Good.” Hector nodded in satisfaction. “The communication talismans we got from those imperials have a range limit of fifty kilometers, so it’s quite possible we won’t be able to communicate with each other, in which case Eiwin has absolute authority during my absence. She knows what needs to be done in case of any incidents.”

The elder seemed to be directing these words at Narcha in specific, but the woman simply continued to glare at him in silence.

“As for back here in the sect, Domeron will be taking care of things while we’re gone. You are to get in contact and meet with him as quickly as possible if an accident is to happen.” The elder pointed at the swordsman, who was sitting by his rocking chair and drinking from his mug as if nothing was happening.

Domeron nodded back at them and closed his eyes again as he sipped from his cup.

Hector continued. ”I will walk with you to the outskirts of town. After that, we will split ways and I will hurry east to meet with that big wolf.”

“Do you know of its location already?” Rimold asked with a troubled expression.

Hector shook his head. “No, but I have a good eye. If there’s really a horde of nearly a thousand snow white wolves out there in the middle of the forest, I don’t think they will be very hard to spot.” The elder looked at the others. “Any other last-minute questions?”

No one spoke up. Despite how dysfunctional and strange this group seemed at times, they were composed of strong and experienced warriors - including Red and Allen, to some capacity. They were cultivators raised and trained under masters of their craft, and each of them was probably worth ten normal soldiers, which was why the Baron prized their presence in the front lines so much.

If the town had any chance of withstanding this attack, they would need the Water Dragon Sect’s help. Unless the cause was lost from the beginning, of course, in which case Hector made it quite clear to them they were to flee.

“Then we are off.” Hector nodded and waved his hand, turning to walk out the gate.

Red and the others followed behind him. From their fluctuations, the boy could tell that some of them were more confident about this trip than others.

Red himself didn’t know in which camp he fell.