The Southern Border Fort, it might be the northernmost gate of the Walthart Empire but the walls had existed long before the dynasty. The fort had stood witness to the rise and fall, the past and present, of the kingdom— it was truly a place rich in history.
It might have been called a fort, but it was more of a bustling town on the border of a kingdom. Instead of the skyscrapers and citadels surrounded by big and beautiful walls, visitors often found themselves marvelling at the lively marketplace. The liveliness of the market was owed, overwhelmingly, to the sheer numbers of explorers and merchants conducting their businesses there, hoping to make a fortune.
It didn't matter if the destination was the challenging Eol Mountains or the dangerous Northern Wastelands, the Southern Border Fort had always been the last stop before an explorer's big adventure. Catering to the needs of many, the fort was less military and more mercantile. Its decreasing attention to military was the result of its strategic location— with its back protected by the natural defense of the Eol Mountains, the surrounding terrains posed difficulties for attacks and raids, regardless if the assailants were from the Northern Kingdom or the savages from the plains of the Northern Wastelands.
The Zhang brothers were evidently well-acquainted with the area, as they very quickly secured a nice and clean inn for them to stay in. The team had decided collectively that they would rest for a bit before embarking on the more daunting part of the trip.
"I didn't expect you guys to know this place so well," Baiyi commented.
"Th' selling folks 'ere are more generous than whaur 1 we come from," The eldest of the Zhang brothers, from here onwards called Big Bro Zhang, replied. "An', th' folks in th' North trains differently, sae there are certain things ye can only sell at a good cost 'ere, that's why we come 'ere often."
"So you brothers actually travel across the Wastelands often?" Baiyi's exclamation did a poor job of concealing his surprise. The brothers were innately weak, so how did they manage to do what many explorers struggled to do?
"Well, tae be honest, th' wasteland is nae as ill as tis name says. It especially treats us northerners kindly," Second Bro Zhang replied. "Just know which wey ye'r going, choose th' right time, avoid th' fearsome things, 'n' ye wull reach 'ere safely. We have tae dae tis at least two or three times a year!"
"Back in th' Northern lands, th' big families like th' Lee, or th' Wang, wid send their wee lads tae th' Wastelands tae grow up intae a big man. Ye Southerners are just easily scared", Little Bro Zhang finished. "But tis easy when there are only a few folks trying tae go o'er. It's very difficult if it's the whole group o' merchants! So maybe ye fowk aren't easily-scared either."
Baiyi nodded, agreeing with they said. The Dole family's rash decision was ludicrous even to the Northerners.
On the other hand, he had to marvel at the differences of culture between the North and South, despite both being part of the same continent. From the other Voidwalkers' memories, the culture of the North actually reminded him a bit of the Orient back on Earth.
Even their primary training method was martial arts. Not only that, he noticed that their naming convention was very different, too.
If I have a chance, I would love to check the place out. Although now is not the time.
After bidding the brothers farewell, Baiyi returned to the room to find Mia and Tisdale sleeping in their beds. The girls were fatigued two days after the start of the expedition, so after some quick bites, they had turned to their beds immediately.
Baiyi poked them on the cheeks but the girls didn't even stir. They really were exhausted.
Unfortunately, the challenging part had just begun.
Next morning, the rescue party resumed their mission. Their next destination would be the Eol Mountains.
Most of their horses were left back in the town. Only three ponies were taken as their packhorses, due to the beasts not being accustomed to the rocky roads ahead.
It was fortunate that the resourceful Baiyi was in their team. He had quietly employed Gravity Reduction Spell to lessen everyone's weight so that they would not feel like they were dragging a massive weight around while navigating the mountainous roads.
As for Mia and Tisdale, Baiyi straight-up enchanted their bodies with Levitation Spell and used his own mana to hold them close-by like two balloons.
Baiyi didn't think that he doted too much on the two of them. In his defense, he didn't think they had the necessary stamina nor would their feet be able to withstand the laborious walking without getting injured. If that happened, not only would Baiyi feel bad, they would also inadvertently drag the team down.
"Dude, you were so adamant that you're bringing them out for an outdoor training! And now look at them swimming in the air. Very training, much endurance." The Sorcerer sneered at Baiyi as he watched the scene in disdain.
They are my daught— I mean, students! What's wrong with looking out for them? What, you think the real training starts here? Do you Molochian War druids train by climbing mountains? Baiyi replied, he was really starting to turn into the kind of father that had 'My girl first, the world can burn for all I care' mentality.
The amount of indignation from the papa wolf shocked the Sorcerer into speechlessness.
Despite what the Sorcerer had said, back in the real world, the rescue party actually secretly appreciated what Baiyi was doing. They watched him, including the girls, with much consternation, fearing that the girls might slow them down. The only reason they held their tongues from expressing their doubts was because Eugene Dole seemed to place an overwhelming amount of trust in him.
And now they could see why a big investor would trust the man so much. Baiyi's technique worked so well, that even when Xillians was so exhausted that he felt that his legs were filled with lead, the girls were still as energetic as when they first started.
The rescue party stopped to give the young sorcerer a breather.
Xillians watched Mia and Tisdale hovering in the air, positively green with envy. Now that he had seen it in action, he was kicking himself for not learning the spell sooner…
A realization dawned on him.
"Master Hope, you had been using mana to hook them to you this entire time, right?"
"Yea. What is it?" Baiyi replied distractedly as he tended to the fire. The team had decided to finish up their lunch there.
The young man shook his head. "N-nothing… Nothing really." He lied, letting thousands of questions raced through his mind quietly. If he had been using his own mana since the beginning of the journey, shouldn't his mana long be depleted? After all, wasn't his mana reserve only as much as an Intermediate Level sorcerer! Yet, his instinct was telling him that the man's mana was not in any danger of being depleted at all.
Did he really only have Intermediate Level amount of mana? Although Master Dole had told him beforehand to never underestimate Master Hope's true power— even giving a vivid description of how he had used five different elemental magic to finish off some low-level ruffians— yet Xillians honestly did not expect the man's secret to run even deeper.
It reminded him of that powerful and equally unfathomable Master Andrew.
"Sir, do you…. Do you happen to know a grand sorcerer named Andrew back in Arfin?"
"'Andrew'? That's a very popular name, isn't it? There are a few Andrews back in the Academy alone. So which one are you talking about?" Baiyi replied without averting his gaze from his task. He was preparing potatoes for lunch by using Wind Blades.
Xillians couldn't help but notice how fine the blades were as they darted from his fingers to and fro in a frenzy, leaving shreds of thin potato skins in their wake. Within seconds the potatoes were already completely peeled with all the edible parts intact.
"Um, I don't really know much about him. He was wearing— I mean, he might have a penchant for wearing black cloaks and he was quite a small man."
How skilled is this man in manipulating his mana? Xillians sighed to himself. He doubted that his own master could even come close to his dexterity. It's just… why is he using this formidable technique for kitchen work?
"Hmm? Well, I won't know him then. I don't leave the Academy often," Baiyi answered . Why does this kid still remember that last-last-last (I think?) alias that I had taken? That was ages ago!
He suddenly paused for a while, then very casually, he tossed his wind blade across the field to a faraway target. Xillians' eyes, glued to his blade, followed the trajectory of the blade.
He… he was killing off a bug that was getting close to Mia! Xillians felt the colors drained out of his face.
"How many times have I told you girls to not go near wild bushes. Can the two of you just listen for once? You too, Tisdale! Why are you joining Mia to go catch butterflies? You two, come back here right now!" Baiyi shouted at the girls from where he was working.
Uh-huh. Xillians' eyes watched the two beauties with their shoulders sagging as they returned to the fireplace and a theory started forming in his mind. What if this enigmatic sorcerer here… is actually the legendary Don't-Look-At-My-Daughter-Boy-Or-So-Help-Me kind of father?
Come to think of it, Xillians had just peeked a little at Tisdale and Mia's beautiful face for a while during the journey and he had already sensed the eyes of a powerful enemy piercing through his mind. It was so focused that even his groin seemed to shrink every time he felt that dangerous presence.
Pretty Boy Xillians (citation: Xillians himself) made a big decision in that moment. He was not going to try his luck with the girls.
They finished their lunch quickly and hurried back onto the road, stopping only when dusk had descended.
While the roads were not too treacherous during the day, the Eol Mountains were less kind at night. The party immediately set up their camp.
The company felt grateful when Baiyi announced that he alone would be enough to watch the night. Before everyone returned to their own tent, the Soul Armature announced loudly, "Before all of you leave, I would like to inform everyone that we are changing our course slightly tomorrow."
He used his mana to draw a trail in the air, outlining a simple map that was marked with their predetermined route. He pointed to one of the junctions in the west of the map and said, "This is where our detour is going to be. We are heading east."
"Tae th' east?" The Zhang Brothers exclaimed in unison. One of them with the quickest fingers even pulled out a physical map and scanned the area.
He looked up in alarm. "Sir, if we heid tae th' east from there, we are entering th' Alpine Barbarians' steid!"
"Yes, it's precisely the Alpine Barbarians' area where we are going," Baiyi nodded. "We need some extra help to complete this mission and I know just the right people."
Where