Chapter 28

The morning sunlight illuminated the land of Vic Village, and at the same time, it prompted Baron Francis, who had not slept all night, to stand up. His eyes were bloodshot, his brows furrowed, and his mood was clearly not good. Not far away, a confidant who should have arrived before dawn finally showed up late, and this unusual delay gave Francis a sense of foreboding. As expected, the news the confidant brought made him squint his eyes.

"Sir, ten of the orc scouts have been killed."

This statement changed Francis's expression. He narrowed his eyes, and his handsome face suddenly turned dark. He said in a deep voice, "Condon Fortress won't provide support. How could those few riffraff around her have such skills?"

The reality was even worse than Francis had anticipated. When he learned from his confidant that Sally had mysteriously escaped alone after the deaths of Old Gerson and others, the baron suddenly felt as if he had been tricked. Who? Who could it be?

It was not a simple matter to harm one's own sister. This was a path with no turning back. Sally must die. If she returned to her father, Duke Lucifer, the consequences for Francis would be dire.

Francis narrowed his eyes and clenched his fists, slamming them on the table. "Send a team to intercept her along the way. She cannot return to Holier City alive. Have Condon send troops—under the pretext of intercepting the orcs."

Behind his calm words lay a mix of anger and unease, a cautiousness that echoed the saying: behind every evil, there is always a "just" excuse on the surface. Francis was well aware of this, and in his hands, power became a weapon more terrifying than any blade.

Looking at the dark green forest on the southern horizon of Vic Village, the eldest son of the duke's face was filled with uncertainty. If Sally entered the Silent Forest, things would become complicated...

As a noble who knew the legends of that forest, Francis was absolutely unwilling to send anyone to search for her there. However, he did not anticipate that the most unwanted scenario would eventually unfold due to the special presence of Rody, who had intruded into the chaotic currents of history.

"Are you sure this won't be discovered?"

Just six or seven kilometers away, Sally, looking at Vic Village, asked Rody in a low voice. After being carried by him for five hours, Sally could finally walk on her own, indicating that her knee injury was not as severe as she had feared. However, what troubled her now was the subtle change in her relationship with Rody.

Her anger and frustration gradually subsided, and she remained silent most of the time, speaking only occasionally. The attitude between the two was somewhat cold. Sally was unwilling to believe the exaggerated reason Rody had given—saving the country might be credible for a major lord in the Kingdom of Carren, but for a scout without even a lieutenant's rank, it would be laughed off as a joke.

However, the person who told her this "joke" did not laugh, so the "joke" itself became a seed, subtly taking root in her heart...

In this rigidly hierarchical society, the gap between the daughter of a duke and a border soldier was obvious. However, when the scene changed and they shared hardships together, the gap in status and position gradually narrowed.

"He doesn't have enough manpower for a large-scale search, so he can only search along the road to Holier City in the south. Condon's troops won't arrive here until at least this afternoon, and by then, we will already be in the Silent Forest."

Rody answered her question in a low voice. They were not alone on the road. In the early morning, the main road through the village was filled with traveling merchants and cargo caravans. They were currently following a rather inconspicuous merchant caravan.

Rody put away his arm guard, exchanged his damaged leather armor for a burlap robe worn by a beggar, and removed the bowstring from his horn bow, which now looked like a twisted hoe. His saber was wrapped in burlap. Rody's appearance was no longer that of a cold-blooded warrior who had decapitated orcs the previous night; instead, he looked like a poor farmer. Sally, whose face Rody had smeared with dirt, now resembled a refugee woman. Rody had made her take off her comfortable shoes and wrap her feet in rags to alter her slim figure. Although it was difficult for Sally, who had never walked barefoot, to accept this disguise, she knew that if they did not do this, she would likely be discovered and dragged out to be killed immediately.

Although she understood Rody's good intentions, Sally always felt that this guy was deliberately going against her—was he intentionally walking so fast? Didn't he know her feet would hurt?

Deliberately... definitely deliberately... He must think I'm too delicate...

Her perception of him had changed somewhat after he carried her for hours, but thinking about this now, she couldn't help but grit her teeth. She silently cursed him many times but did not say a word, only striving to keep up with his pace.

"I absolutely cannot let him look down on me!"

Although Sally did not understand why she felt the need to "prove herself" to a scout captain, she indeed relied on her willpower to endure the pain and keep going.

"They've moved out."

Rody suddenly stopped, turning to look at the cavalry galloping across the road in the distance. His tense nerves finally relaxed. After confirming that the cavalry had disappeared from sight, Rody immediately led Sally off the main road, heading straight for the Silent Forest, which was now in sight.

"Are we really going into this forest?"

The Silent Forest, which looked quiet and peaceful, was right in front of her. Sally, feeling uneasy due to the rumors, asked Rody, who had led her here. She no longer doubted his ability to help her escape the pursuit and capture, but she was hesitant about directly entering the forest her father had strictly warned her not to enter.

"Do you know what's in the forest?"

Rody asked without turning his head.

Sally frowned, intending to nod, but seeing Rody's expression, she thought for a few seconds and answered seriously, "My father warned me... if possible, never try to step into this forest."

"Your father was right," Rody's response raised Sally's eyebrows. She had expected him to dismiss her concerns, but his sincere tone surprised her. "This isn't an exaggeration. The forest is indeed dangerous... but only for those who are unfamiliar with it."

Stepping into the shadow of the towering trees, Rody turned to look at Sally, who had suddenly stopped at the edge of the forest. He took his horn bow off his back and held it in his hand, saying softly, "If I tell you I can cross it, will you believe me?"

Believe?

When this word appeared in her mind, Sally realized that she had already made her decision.

.

Noon.

Black smoke rose from the horizon, causing many farmers who had not seen such a sight in years to stop and stare, their hearts filled with hesitation. However, in an era where communication relied on verbal transmission, most people would only gradually learn about the "migration" action that occurred last night and the raid on Finks Village this morning over the next few days.

Regardless of what the shaman Salota had promised Baron Francis, raiding a village was something the orcs would never pass up. The poverty of the orc empire was almost unimaginable to humans. Their technological level determined their low overall productivity. They relied on nomadic life and did not know how to farm, so their food production was far below that of humans. Their weapons and equipment were far inferior to those of the Kingdom of Carren. The scarcity of mineral resources made their weapons and equipment appear "rudimentary." These orcs, living in tribal form on the Nehemiah Plains, often lived in a state of hunger and fullness, and in bad years, many herders would die.

So even a deserted human village was something the orcs would strip bare.

Not only did they plunder everything, but they also set fire to the village as they left.

The thick smoke, like a beacon that had not been lit for centuries, stirred the nerves of the entire Kingdom of Carren. The villagers of Finks, who had evacuated to Broy Town, now seemed to have just woken from a nightmare. After realizing they were safe, they were extremely grateful to the scouts who had brought the news and helped them evacuate, even the steward Hall had to force a stiff smile to apologize for his attitude the previous day.

Carter and Rugar were surrounded by cheers, but they did not seem as excited or elated as they should have been. Only a few people, including the former lieutenant Soderlor of Finks Village, noticed the unusual atmosphere in the scout team.

Soderlor did not look tired. Assisting the villagers in evacuating was not a difficult task for him, but his sharp intuition told him that someone had encountered trouble.

"Where did Rody go?"

He asked Carter, who was packing his gear. Carter naturally replied, "Miss Sally asked him to follow her to Condon. He said if he doesn't appear in Broy today, we should return to Nolan Village."

These were Rody's exact words. At the time, the situation was urgent, and Carter did not think much about it. But as he repeated these words, he also sensed a problem, and his expression became hesitant...

Soderlor narrowed his eyes and asked, "He didn't say anything else? Why did Miss Sally insist on him following her alone? This is the first time Rody has met Miss Sally, right?"

"Um... maybe he had something he wanted to talk to Miss Sally about privately. I'm not sure what it was—"

Carter did not know how to explain and his words were clearly evasive.

Soderlor nodded, wisely not pressing further, and changed the subject, "I... have considered it and hope to accompany you to Nolan Village. Mainly to meet and thank Captain Rody. Without him, my men might have all died in Finks Village. I cannot ignore this debt of gratitude."

His words were polite, and after thinking for a moment, Carter saw no reason to object and nodded in agreement. The lieutenant then instructed his subordinates, who were not close to him, and mounted his horse, following the two scout teams from Nolan Village toward the northeast.

But just as they left the village, Carter saw a large cavalry force moving quickly on the horizon, numbering over a hundred, looking quite imposing. He casually asked, "Where is that team from? Condon Fortress? Or somewhere else?"

Soderlor, who had been a lieutenant at Condon Fortress and was demoted to a scout captain due to a conflict with a subordinate, immediately recognized the familiar banners. However, knowing the identity of the troops made him hesitate to answer...

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