Herag’s driver was temporarily hired from the caravan. He was a slave named Ed, a man around thirty years old, relatively thin but experienced in driving.
Herag was quite satisfied with his driving skills; the journey was smooth.
Ed was a rather silent person, always driving the carriage in silence. If Herag didn’t call him, he wouldn’t make a sound.
There was a brand mark on his face, a symbol of slavery.
Herag paid the caravan ten silver coins to rent Ed to drive for him for three months.
Of course, not a single copper coin of these ten silver coins would end up in Ed’s pocket.
Slaves like them were merely objects, and objects wouldn’t have possessions of their own.
As night gradually fell, the caravan also stopped moving forward.
One by one, the carriages began adjusting their positions, forming a defensive formation, including Herag’s carriage.
The people of the caravan started to light seven or eight bonfires, and set up pots on them to cook, providing meals for everyone.
The entire caravan ate dry food at noon, and only had hot meals at night.
Herag also ate the food provided by the caravan. He had water and food stored in his carriage and space ring.
These were for emergencies; if anything happened to the caravan, this food and water could support him for a while.
Half an hour later, Herag received his dinner: potato stew with smoked meat, and half a smoked fish.
This meal was considered good, as meals in the caravan were divided into different grades.
Herag, who paid for his food, ate the best, while the adventurers ate slightly worse.
Slaves like Ed ate even worse; they were fed leftovers mixed together, and it was from several days ago, basically slop.
There were quite a few nobles in the caravan who despised the caravan’s food and often left a lot uneaten.
The caravan was very frugal, not wasting any food, collecting these leftovers to feed the slaves.
After eating, Herag returned to his carriage to continue studying the knowledge stored in Shenlan.
Lately, he’s been reading some magic history. There are too few direct records of ancient magic, so he could only learn more from some historical accounts.
After Shenlan scanned and recorded the ancient magic stone slab, it could start analyzing the content.
However, analysis required the consumption of his own magic power. Now, during a long journey, he had to maintain his state at all times, so he couldn’t use too much magic power.
The analysis of the stone slab content and the experiment with magic potion formulas both needed to wait until he reached the Doris Kingdom to begin.
Dragon Ridge Highland’s climate was harsh, with the sun itching the skin during the day and temperatures dropping sharply at night.
Herag was using a quilt sent by Lillian, which suited this weather well.
In the deep night, Herag closed his eyes to meditate. The seventh star in his mind was solidifying, and he estimated it would take about two more months to complete the meditation.
As the night deepened, it became especially quiet around.
There were no long-term residents on Dragon Ridge Highland, and few animals as well, making the nights tranquil.
The caravan’s location was bright, with several bonfires burning throughout the night. The watchmen sat by the fires to keep warm and fend off the night’s chill.
Early the next morning, as the sky just brightened, the caravan prepared to set out, and the surroundings became bustling.
They had to seize the daylight to quickly leave Dragon Ridge Highland.
It was now September, and Dragon Ridge Highland could enter snowy winter at any moment.
Usually, snow starts in October, but if the weather is unusual, heavy snow could block the way in September, which would be dangerous.
Fortunately, there were no such signs at present.
The caravan had been traveling safely in Dragon Ridge Highland for twenty days smoothly, with about five days left to exit this region.
The caravan advanced slowly in the thick white mist.
Due to the clear road traces, and only one road in Dragon Ridge Highland, there was no worry about getting lost in the white mist; they just needed to follow the road.
Herag lay in the carriage, initially resting his eyes, but suddenly opened them.
There was nothing unusual in Shenlan’s environmental detection, but Herag heard some uncommon sounds.
Having traveled on Dragon Ridge Highland for so many days, Herag was familiar with the surrounding sounds.
But at this moment, he heard the distant sound of hooves, and quite a lot of them.
The caravan remained peaceful, proceeding as usual, obviously unaware of this unusual noise.
After a while, as the hoofbeats got closer, a voice suddenly came from the front: "Enemy attack!"
It was Kaleem’s voice, the leader of the Putis Adventurer Group, known for their full-body armor.
He commanded all the caravan’s guards, and they all had to obey his orders.
Of course, this was only theoretical; adventurers were notorious for not following orders and liked to act on their own thoughts.
Kaleem had strength close to a Great Knight, ready to take that crucial step at any moment.
It was said that he came from a noble family, but preferred adventures over enjoying his family’s estate.
He treated his adventurer group well, with benefits far exceeding ordinary adventurers, evident from their full-body armor.
Wealthy and powerful, Kaleem’s reputation grew, often taking on big jobs caravan escort.
Kaleem was the first among the caravan’s guards to hear the distant hoofbeats.
He decisively judged it as an enemy attack and ordered the convoy to establish defensive formations.
Kaleem divided the other adventurers into several teams, each led by a member of his adventurer group.
After his warning, adventurer group members immediately commanded their adventurer subordinates to arrange the carriages, defending against the approaching hoofbeats.
The defensive formation was quickly set up, with guards gathered beside the carriages, weapons in hand, eyes fixed ahead.
The elderly, sick, and noble non-combatants were placed at the back to avoid the battle.
Herag and Ed were in the rear, lying on a slope. He had a smoked fish in his mouth, chewing slowly.
He wasn’t planning to join the fight, having paid for his protection, even though it was Milo’s money.
Still, as a paying customer, why should he have to go to the battlefield?
Minutes later, though the white mist still hindered visibility, everyone heard the dense sound of hooves. Follow current novᴇls on novel⸺fire.net
The hoofbeats sounded like war drums striking fear into everyone’s hearts, darkening their expressions.
The large scale of the hoofbeats indicated a probable military force.
Only a military could have so many horses; in this place, no bandit could possess such resources.