Read I Can Make Everything Level UP Chapter 71 - Conflict (3) online for free - AllNovelFull
Horses, ravens… Billy knew that they existed in that world, but it was rare to find normal animals since they were also targeted by monsters. Most likely, the people beyond the river were raising and protecting them from making good use of those. Still, he wondered if the others had understood what that guy meant... they didn't know that messages could be written down... yet.
In any case, from the army of six hundred, only fifty left the area and guided Billy and the others toward the East. After passing through a grove, the group opened their eyes widely when they saw many cultivating fields in the distance. Billy had already seen things like that, so he wasn't surprised, but for the others who just recently started to cultivate some veggies, that sure was a sight to behold.
"Wow… how many people can they feed all over the year with so many fields?" Alexander asked.
"A few thousand… if they only use grains, but if they also raise cattle, than a few dozen thousand is also possible," Billy replied.
"You guessed right," Pierre said without hiding his surprise. "You are his son, right? What is your name?"
"Billy," Billy replied.
"You have good eyes and quite the presence for someone so young," Pierre said. "Didn't you raise cattle and plant vegetables and grains?"
"The many tribes over that area only stopped fighting against each other recently, so we are beginners when it comes to agriculture," Edward said. "We mostly hunt to eat and get fruits from some groves across our region."
"It must be rough… but I can see a great figure ahead of you considering that you are halfway through building a bridge on that river," Pierre said. "We always had some trouble when we tried to cross the river."
That made Billy confirm that they didn't have people that could use magic. That was good to know… because it showed how much developed their territory was, considering that they could cultivate dozens of massive fields without the use of magic. In any case, a lot of people were cultivating those fields, but their strength was so-so. At the highest, the farmers were at level fifteen. There was a road between the fields, and they followed those. Thanks to it, their group was drawing a lot of attention.
After walking for two hours, they reached a village that was half of the size of their town. It didn't seem that impressive considering the size alone, but the houses were a lot neater than their own. They were also made of wood, so they didn't have that rough feeling. As for the villagers, they were wearing some clothes that were a mix of cotton and leather. The streets weren't paved with brick-like their town, but the ground still was pretty even.
"This is a pretty well developed village," Edward said. "I am surprised your lord doesn't live here."
"This is mostly a village that we use to stock food," Pierre explained. "Our lord is currently living pretty far away from his home because we are facing some problems."
Probably militaristic problems… but no one could ask since it would be the same as prying on the business of the people who might and might not become allies in the future. Considering Edward's attitude, he would be willing to accept many demands as long as he can form a commercial threat with the lord. It was so obvious that he wanted to buy iron, cotton, grains, vegetables…
"Now that I thought about it… he sure wants to improve the lifestyle of the people in that town, but… no," Billy shook his head. "His first intention was to explore the regions beyond the river, this meeting with another society happened purely by chance."
"We will use some carriages on the other side of the village, I hope you don't mind staying inside them for a few days," Pierre said.
Aside from Billy, no one knew what carriages were, but they could imagine that it was some sort of means of transportation. In any case, while the others were imagining that, Billy saw a shop selling knives to a random person, and that person paid gold coins for those… even in their town, they didn't have gold coins. Only copper and silver. Still, it was weird that they used the same currency. Was it a coincidence, or did someone who lived in that area move to the region beyond the river? If that were the case, some histories should have passed down… unless the people who moved had moved a very long time ago.
In any case, the group found two carriages and several horses waiting for them. Considering the number of horses, the guards were planning to escort them for those five days. Regardless, the group entered the vehicles, and most of them looked pretty excited since it was like a house that could move. The seats were even more comfortable than their beds.
"You are awfully quiet, Billy," Drew said while looking toward his friends, enjoying the softness of the seats.
"Would it be better if I were to act like them?" Billy asked.
"No, but…" Drew frowned.
"I am just thinking that the world really is vast like you said," Billy said.
In fact, Billy was more worried about the future. He had yet to know everything about this new area, but he had a feeling that it wasn't as peaceful as it looked. Most likely, the tribes would have to get involved in the conflicts and politics of that new part of the world, and considering that their size was small, they probably would end up being targeted as the weak link in any possible alliances they might make.
"I suppose I can't be so negative about this…" Billy thought. "It is not like I dislike fighting and I can't just lazily live my second life. Let's enjoy the hardships and the easy times of this new life to the fullest."
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In the beginning, pretty much everyone loved the idea of moving without having to use their legs. The carriages were that useful. However, they couldn't wait to leave the damn place after a couple of days. It shook too much, and it was too for their butts, even with cushions. Fortunately, during those four days, they stopped at two other villages and used the military posts that had enough beds for them.
On the morning of the fifth day, they finally reached their destination. It wasn't a town… it was a city that was at least two kilometers large and wide, and every single spot had walls made of concrete. Billy recognized that, but the others thought it was just another type of material.
"If they can create walls like these, they certainly could have created a bridge… I suppose they didn't want to spend too many resources on a place that they knew nothing of," Billy thought.
Edward was furrowing his eyebrows as if he was thinking along the same lines. Still, he soon got rid of it when he left the carriage. Even the entrance of the city was bustling with people. Many people were coming and leaving and following the many roads around. Things looked pretty medieval instead of stone-age, like Billy had lived in his first village or the copper age in that town.
"This is Vergena city," Pierre said. "Our city that is closest to the border of our neighbor, the state of Toles."
During the trip, Pierre told them that their state was the Hiloh state, and there were many others around and across the continent. However, he didn't mention any, probably because he would end up telling that they are at war against their neighbor. Even if that was the case, it was evident while looking at the faces of the travelers. They looked pretty uneasy but not afraid. Considering that was the case, states losing wars and being annexed to others probably was something common.
"Maybe the first people who crossed the river and headed west ran away from this kind of situation," Billy thought. "Still, that doesn't explain how come the tribes are so different from one another."
When they crossed the gates of the city, they saw a city completely overtaken by people coming and going. The commerce there truly was quite intense. All the stalls and shops had several customers lined up and ready to spend their coins.
"Maybe I can sell one or two rings here and get a lot of money, even if the merchants can't tell how powerful they are, they should feel by wearing it," Billy thought.
The only downside was the fact that Billy would look suspicious since his rings were way above the gear of the ordinary shoulders. In any case, Billy looked at the weapon shops and the armor being exposed in the blacksmiths and confirmed that they granted at least the same extra bonus as his spear… but they didn't have extra effects.
"To have so many people in a single place and to have such an intense commercial district…" Edward said. "How many people actually live in this state?"
"I think that the last time we counted our numbers, we should have one hundred and twenty thousand," Pierre said.
That was a shockingly high number, considering that Edward's town had just a few thousand. In the end, confrontation would be suicide. The answer truly would be to create an amicable relationship. After crossing the city for a few minutes, they managed to find a building that really looked out of place in the center of the town. It was a fortress… a building that was rough looking and rectangular, but it also seemed pretty reliable. A few guards were guarding the entrance of the place, but they didn't do anything because they saw Pierre.
"Usually, soldiers have to leave their weapons behind, but I will let you carry them inside," Pierre said. "That being said, don't do any suspicious movements like grabbing them."
"Understood," Drew said.
Drew looked at everyone else, and then they nodded in agreement. He made sure to look at Billy's group for a long time just in case. Regardless, they entered the building, and they didn't find many guards, much to their surprise. Instead of that, they just saw some kids between the age of ten and fifteen carrying boxes of equipment or arrows.
After a while, they arrived at the command center of the fortress, and the door was open. In there, they found a man who seemed to be in his fifties reading a map. A lot of his head's hair had fallen, and only some near the ears were left, and even those had turned white already. The man didn't have the body of a soldier either. In fact, he was quite round, the sign of a very comfortable life that he had lived. Still, the annoyed look in his brown eyes made those who look at him feel a bit Uncomfortable and slightly nervous.
"Sir, Pierre reporting," Pierre said. "I have brought lord Edward and his guards."
"Ah… the leader of the wildlings that we didn't know that existed until recently," the man said. "My name is Jean, I can't say that your group appeared at the best of the times, so I won't have much time to spare with you."
"Is that so… My name is Edward," Edward said. "Before talking about the motives of this visit, I would like to ask about this title… wildlings. you said that You didn't know about us, and yet you already had a title ready to use."
"That is because there are many groups like yours out there," Jean said. "Usually, they live in mountains and they don't interact with the people in the nearby towns and cities. I heard that you just recently United your tribes, so you aren't exactly like the others, huh."
"That is interesting… Anyway, if you don't mind, I would like to talk about how we can help each other now," Edward said. "Now that you know about our existence, others soon will learn as well, and I would feel bothered if I weren't to help our neighbor in times of need."
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"... You just came to realize about our existence and you already want to get involved in our wars?" Jean frowned.
"While it sounds weird, I believe that we both can benefit from this and it is also a good chance to show you that we truly want to get along with your state," Edward explained. "Our tribes have many specialties, so I am sure we can be useful even with our small numbers. In exchange for that, I only want some good rewards for my men."
"That can be done, but while I heard that you have some unusual skills, I am not so certain that they are fit for the battlefield," Jean said. "How about some demonstrations?"
"That is also what I wanted to hear," Edward said with a giant smile on his face.
In the end, the group left the fortress to show what they could do. It seemed pointless from Billy's perspective… a duel had to be something where people had to bet their lives on the line, or when they wanted to improve themselves by fighting stronger opponents, it wasn't something one had to do just to show up their strength. Still, in that kind of situation, there was no other option.
"At least Edward isn't acting while lowering his head… if things keep going like this, we will probably maintain our independence," Billy thought.
After calling some guards, Jean asked them to spar with Drew and Sarah. As for Leo, he just had to hit a few targets one hundred meters away to show that he was the real deal. Regardless, even though Drew held back, the opponent didn't have the chance to do anything against his barrage of thrusts. He raised his left arm and gave in because the furry of attacks broke his arm. Sarah did something similar, she fired two Earth arrows at the opponent's feet, and when that broke his defense, she knocked him out with an Earth Bullet in the chin.
"Hmm… I suppose your group have enough power to defeat an average guard, but what about the others?" Jean asked. "Those here are basically the strongest, right?"
"Yes, but while we don't have high numbers, all of them had plenty of combat experience and practice with each other daily," Edward explained. "Since your soldiers are trained to fight as a group, then you probably can't defeat them in a one-on-one battle.
"I suppose… Since you have your elite here, you can help me right now and show that you mean it," Jean said. "There is this one enemy commander who is causing me a lot of trouble recently, his tactics are pretty solid and with each passing day, he corners my men. However, he has a son who is guarding their deposit of supplies. I want you to capture him."
That was a pretty cowardly tactic, but everything is fair in war times. Regardless, the real issue was the fact that they would reveal their existence while doing something like that… they would become known for such a thing. Not to mention, that kind of mission would be dangerous… very dangerous.
"Do you think you can pull that off?" Edward asked while looking at the tribe leaders.
"We can't tell until we know some things, like the location, the number of guards protecting the place," Leo replied. "We might also need some tools and a distraction."
The usual Leo would say no to such a crazy plan, but he couldn't voice his opinion like that. Billy, on the other hand, was wondering if that was some sort of tactic to leave the people back home without their leaders and their best warriors… the possibility existed. However, what would Jean gain by using such a tactic when he already had dozens of times more soldiers? The chances of Jean truly wanting to get in the commander's head but not having the means to do so we're actually high.
Jean guided everyone back to the commander's room, and then he showed the map of the region. At the points east of the current position, there were three armies of two thousand. Half a day behind them, there was a small spot where the son of the commander could be found. He had a unit of two hundred under his command.
Usually, a group would have to take a roundabout way to attack the supply warehouse. Still, a large unit would leave traces behind and could be found from a distance, even at night, but with a group of five or six… they probably could take the shortest route at night and then get the enemy. Leo realized that, but he still was thinking of a way in which they wouldn't have to rely on the kids of the group. It would be better to call for reinforcements that were left on the river, but it would take too much time.
"How much time do we have?" Leo asked.
"Even with some small skirmishes, I am losing one hundred soldiers every day, so…" Jean replied.
It wasn't something that they had a significant amount of time to prepare. They needed to take some risks in order to show that they could be powerful allies now and then. Fortunately, it seemed that they could on Jean to offer a minimal amount of support.
"We will depart tonight and attack the warehouse tomorrow night," Leo declared. "If you don't mind it, sir, we would like some supplies and tools."
"Naturally, that can be provided," Jean smiled.
While Leo was looking for the tools they would need, the others went to rest. The trip to Vergena city had been quite rough, and they would need all the energy they could muster to succeed on that mission.. As for Billy, he was more worried about what he should do to make sure that things would end up well for his people and also to make sure that their future wouldn't be so chaotic due to that mission.
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Even though they had some meals together and slept in the same rooms, the group didn't talk too much, probably because they feared that they would be heard by the people around. Weirdly enough, Edward would stay behind as a guest of Jean. Drew felt troubled over leaving their leader behind, but again, he couldn't protest.
When night came, they left the city toward the enemy's location and as soon as he had the chance, Leo let out a long sigh. He could understand the necessity of starting a relationship with another state well. Still, that mission was way too reckless and sudden.
"Sorry, guys. It seems that our lord asked us to do something more unreasonable than usual."
"It is the part of the work… still, it would be less stressful if he weren't to do such a reckless thing again," Leo said.
The leader of the guards of the hammersmiths also shared the same opinion with the others, but there was nothing he could do. The other leaders had already thrown away their complaints as well. Instead of wasting their energy and time with that, they would rather save it and then use it to complete the mission.
"Against one hundred guards we might be able to win, but not without giving the enemy the chance to escape," Leo explained. "So, we will avoid a direct confrontation. A few of us will invade the warehouse and capture the target and the rest of us will work as diversion. The team who will attack the warehouse from behind will be me, Drew and Lucy. The others will attack the enemy soldiers and damage the warehouse."
Billy nodded when he heard that those three were the fastest, and they had the skills to help each other in case something happened while they captured the target.
"Once we approach the enemies armies, we will rely on Lucy and Natalie to make sure that no enemy will spot us," Leo said. "Theu will stay a few hundred meters on the side of us with someone else to pass messages if something happens. Let's see, some ranged fighters would be the best option to offer them support in that kind of situario. So, I will work with Lucy and Billy will work with Natalie."
"Why not me?" Lily protested.
"Because I know you have been skipping on your training at night," Leo said. "Besides, I am not confident you can keep your cool if something happens. Billy probably can and he has enough skills to act in many ways in this scenario where everything can happen."
"Ugh," Lily groaned since she didn't realize that her father was aware of her shortcomings.
Nevertheless, Sarah probably would be a better support in that situation. Still, Leo knew that those two didn't get along well. Putting Sarah with Lucy wouldn't work either, since her husband was killed by the elementalists. Regardless, everyone nodded at those words.
For the first few hours, the group walked together. Still, around midnight, they assumed the formation to spot enemies as Leo had told them. Even in the darkness of the night, Billy saw his father nodding at him as if he was telling him to keep his guard up. Not like he was the type to drop his guard at any moment anyway.
"Congrats, your skills are finally being recognized since you have been given such an important job in this mission," Billy said.
"Be quiet, I need to concentrate, otherwise, I will fail to notice any changes around," Natalie said.
Billy shrugged. He realized that she was more tense than usual, probably because the adults relied upon her skills. Nevertheless, she had a point. Idle chat might cause problems, so they better stay quiet most of the time. Although sensing things from a distance wasn't something he was good at, Billy could tell that the atmosphere was pretty eerie the more they advanced. There was something weird in the air… something creepy. It was probably because they were close to battlefields where thousands had already died. Despair, pain, fear… all those emotions explode in the moment of one's death, so it wouldn't be weird in a world where magic exists for the land to be sulled by those dark emotions.
Regardless, they didn't find anything out of place during the first night, and when the sun was starting to get brighter, they decided to look for a shelter where no one would find them. However, the border between the states was essentially made of grasslands that had small hills. There was nothing around them that they could use as a shelter… Leo didn't consider that. However, Billy and Sarah worked and created some fake boulders in certain spots to hide their presence. They weren't exactly easy to find around, but they do exist. Besides, no one will feel strange the presence of a few extra ones in that area. Everyone could tell that those lands were rarely used, and even though the states were at war, they had proper roads connecting them.
"You look exhausted, Natalie," Lily said. "You should rest as much as possible."
"Yeah… that is because someone couldn't shut up for five minutes," Natalie said.
Billy shrugged. As expected of a kid, blaming her own exhaustion on others when she was just too fearful of failure. Still, Billy decided to keep quiet about it. He didn't mind being looked down on by the adults. Still, Natalie was someone who wanted to be recognized by them since she was following a path different from the others of her tribe.
Although the group was nervous due to the fact that they were using fake boulders to hide themselves, they soon began to relax since there were no signs of enemies for several hours. They also failed to realize that Billy and Sarah used the ground below them, so their resting spot was on a depression in the land.. Unless the enemies approach, they would never see or feel them.
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As soon as night fell again, the group moved and increased the pace because they needed to reach their destination that night and attack it at the same time. Maybe it was due to their hurry, but Billy and Natalie found their first obstacle pretty soon and it was beyond what they were expecting...
"I am sensing something approaching… it is a monster," Natalie said.
Natalie drew her swords and Billy touched the ground while sending mana in it. It didn't take long for him to feel some vibrations. He looked toward that direction and didn't see anything aside from the darkness of the night. The beast wasn't that big, but he couldn't drop his guard.
When Billy finally saw a shadow, he fired an Earth Arrow toward it and since he didn't hold back, the projectile flew while making a high pitching sound and upon impact, it made the flesh of the creature splash around. Billy didn't know if it was dead yet, but there was no point in waiting, so he impaled the monsters with three Earth spears that were raised from the ground.
Natalie frowned since she knew that the monster died on the first strike and because Billy didn't let her do anything. Regardless, they approached the beast and checked its species. It was a giant scorpion that had a tail three times longer than its body.
"For this type of monster to be in this area…" Billy frowned. "I will warn the others just in case."
The scorpion was one and a half meters long, so its tail was quite the weapon. If Billy had tried to fight at night using his spear… things might have become messy. Regardless, he did the right thing in going all out from the beginning. The others also got a bit more tense after hearing about such a monster that they had never seen. And Leo clicked his tongue since Jean didn't even warn them of tha possibility. Nevertheless, they continued their trip.
Fortunately, the attack of the giant scorpion only happened once. So, their traveling speed didn't decrease and around midnight they found their destination. It was located on the largest hill in the area and at least fifty soldiers were guarding the place. However, Lucy and Natalie could feel the presence of several lookouts hidden in the darkness of the night. They will have to get rid of all of those before the attack.
"Lily and I will deal with them, Lucy will. come as well to tell us their exact location, wait here," Leo whispered.
Billy began to feel troubled again and he wondered why… was it because that wasn't a fight, but an assassination? The results would be the same, so why was that bothering him so much?
"It has been twelve years since I was reincarnated, but the morals and conduct code of the other world still bother me, huh…" Billy thought.
While he was thinking that and waiting for the others, Billy studied the enemy's base. The place had many tents, but only two ones were massive and those were loaded in the center of the hill. Those were the commander's tent and the warehouse. Most likely, the food was being stored in hundreds of crates. Destroying those from afar would be easy and probably would force the enemies to retreat, but Jean didn't want that.
"Burning all those tents should be easy," Sarah said.
"No… we need to corner the commander, if we suddenly use magic, they will raise their guard," Drew explained.
In the end, Leo and the others returned after just ten minutes. They looked fine and since the group didn't hear any noises, it was safe to assume that the enemies weren't alerted in any way.
"Put on the helmets and armor and then fire the arrows in twenty minutes," Leo said. "Once the soldiers began to march toward you guys, you do the same, but then soon began to retreat. That will make them think that you had underestimated them. When that happens, we will sneak behind the enemies and capture their commander. Don't fight for long, or they will see that we aren't Jean's soldiers."
The armor and helmets were basically tools to hide their appearance and not to make the enemies realize that they were wildlings… like Jean liked to call them. It would be better if they think that they are just a new force of Hiloh state… even if that weren't true. In any case, Leo sure had a good head for that kind of plan, even though he was short-tempered most of the time. Billy certainly could learn a thing or two from him.
Once the preparations had been made, Drew, Leo, and Lucy left the area and began to circle the hill. Although it wasn't exactly uncomfortable, Billy felt a bit weird wearing so many pieces of armor. They weren't that heavy either… so, it was just a matter of being used to keeping them on. Still, that would decrease their speed, even if a little, so they had to be careful.
"Billy, focus on covering us with magic, all right?" Alexander asked. "I would feel a lot more safe knowing that we had more than a few people watching our backs with long-ranged attacks."
Billy furrowed his eyebrows when he heard that, still he could understand where Alexander was coming from. Few of them actually could use long-ranged attacks with pinpoint precision and only they could make the enemies think twice before charging at them.
"All right," Billy said. "Try not to move much to the sides, though. I can more or less decide where my earth projectiles will come from, but it will be better to control their power from up-close. It would be a pity if you were to be hit by them."
Alexander laughed a little, but it was a forced one.. He didn't see Billy using magic with its full power, but he could imagine since Billy trained magic more than anyone else.
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After fifteen minutes, the group began to move. At first, everyone used bows and fired arrows, and while some of those landed on the guards that were awake, only Billy and Lily actually managed to hit those they aimed at.
"Enemy attack!" A random soldier shouted
As soon as the first guards began to fall dead, the others shouted and quickly raised their shields. Despite being small, that group had some specialists that could hit enemies in the head, even when they were one hundred meters away. So, the guards hide behind the shields until everyone was wide awake and ready to fight.
However, even before all of the guards were ready to fight, some individuals dashed at them with superhuman speed. Billy used Appraisal on them and confirmed that they were level eighty…
"Of course, someone like the target would have sole elite guards," Billy thought and prepared his magic.
Lily fired her arrows toward those five individuals, but armed with swords, they easily repelled the projectiles. They weren't run-of-the-mill guards...
When they got close enough, Billy and Sarah fired Stone Bullets toward them and this time, the enemies were forced to slow down. Three of them managed to block the projectiles, but the other two that failed were rolling on the ground while agonizing in pain since they were hit in the stomach. As for the other three, they could tell that their weapons wouldn't last long if they kept blocking.
Although those guys stopped moving, their arrival mobilized the others and they soon began to run toward Billy's group. Alexander, Natalie, and the guard leader of the hammersmiths stepped forward to face them, but they wouldn't win.
"They are stronger… focus on defending, remember our mission," Billy said.
"I know that," Natalie said while sweating cold.
Most likely, Natalie could tell that the enemies were way stronger than her. Winning wasn't an option since she could tell that wouldn't be able to block the Earth Bullets that Billy fired, but those guys did it. Although they approached slowly since they didn't see what knocked down two of them, once they entered they got close enough, those three charged. Natalie, Alexander stopped their charge, but it was clear that they were struggling just blocking their attacks. Billy had to help them, but Sarah grabbed his shoulder and then pointed toward Lily who was trying to decrease the number of soldiers approaching. If those guys get close enough, then escaping will be impossible.
Without any other choice, Billy left those three to his friends and pointed his index fingers toward them. Without holding back, he fired Wind Bullets toward the guards and every time he moved his fingers, a guard died after having their heads pierced.
Sarah opened her eyes widely when she saw that, but then she realized that wind magic was the best option in such a situation since it couldn't be seen. When the guards saw their allies falling for no apparent reason and with their faces covered in blood, they slowed down their charge. However, while the ordinary guards couldn't understand that, the three elite guards saw Billy moving his hands suspiciously and the girl on the side of him doing the same thing. They had to get rid of those two…
However, before they could come up with a way to do that, they noticed that things were getting noisy behind them… all the way to the tents. Some soldiers began to retreat for some reason and eventually, the message arrived at them.
"The Captain was captured!"
That was fast… still, Billy smiled when he saw those three hesitating. Since the other soldiers weren't approaching, Billy and Sarah attacked those three with Earth Bullets and forced them to move away from Alexander and Natale they dodged.
"Hey… my magic is two times higher than Sarah… How come they can dodge my Bullets so easily?" Billy asked himself.
Billy wasn't holding back, so perhaps the difference in strength was higher than the levels. Nevertheless, it was time to take the kid's gloves and fight for real. Instead of Earth Bullets, Billy fired Fire Arrows toward the enemies, this time, those three were forced to move away as they blocked since their speed was higher.
"Go for the tents, I will keep those three busy," Billy told Sarah.
Lily was about to run out of arrows, so Sarah nodded and began to shoot Fireballs toward the tents. Those easily began to burn and the guards panicked without knowing what to do or what was going on. The fire quickly spread, but for some reason, Sarah didn't put on fire the tent where the food was. Not only those weren't their orders, but she disliked doing that, Billy had heard that life in the desert was hard, so the elementalists didn't have much food aside from the meat of monsters.
Those three elite guards tried to move, and rescue their leader, but whenever they turned around, Billy bombarded them with Fire Arrows. They didn't have any other choice but to retreat slowly.
"They are coming from the East, we can leave now," Natalie said.
She was probably talking about Drew and the others. Nevertheless, Billy nodded, but before leaving he fired a wave of fire toward the sides of the hill. Thanks to that, the quantity of smoke increased tremendously.
"This should slow them down for a while…" Billy muttered and began to run.
Billy, Sarah, and Natalie stayed on the backline to stop the enemies in case the pursuers find them. It wasn't simple to find traces at night, but they eventually would connect the dots and begin to chase his group.
After a couple of minutes, they reunited with Drew and the others and he was carrying an unconscious figure on his shoulders.. The captain was just a kid who wasn't older than seventeen, so Drew looked even more troubled than Billy in doing that kind of thing… Still, orders were orders and favors had to be repaid.
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Even though they had to carry an unconscious person, their movement speed wasn't something to laugh at. Drew and the guard leader of the hammersmiths carried the target throughout the night, but even though they hurried, they only reached half of the path back when the sun was starting to rise. They were a bit tired as well since they weren't used to that kind of task.
"We can't just stop here since we are close to the frontlines, we will have to keep moving," Leo said.
Moving during the day would make them easy to spot while moving in those long grasslands. Still, they didn't have any other option. They moved hard for four hours, but eventually, they found a pursuing party behind them.
"We are only ten kilometers away from Vergena, to think that they would us this far…" Leo said while clenching his teeth.
"We tried to make the horses run away toward all directions, but they recovered them too fast," Drew said.
The enemies had horses, so it wasn't possible to outrun them while carrying a prisoner and the target was already awake and even though his hands and feet were tied up and his mouth was covered with a piece of clothing, he still was struggling to free himself.
"I suppose you defeated some of them, so we have some chances of defeating them…" Drew muttered.
Soon he changed his mind when he saw that the number of the enemy cavalry was too high… they had at least three hundred of them. It was another thing that they didn't consider… of course, they would inform the commander of the armies and ask for Reinforcements.
"I guess we will have to take some drastic measures…" Billy said and then looked at Sarah.
Sarah understood what Billy meant by that and while she didn't have recovered all of her mana, she still could do what Billy was thinking. Hopefully, it will be enough to make the enemies forget about the young master that they just lost. However, things were just about to become messier… another army was coming from the East. It was another cavalry unit.
"Well…" Billy said while showing a nervous smile. "There is no shortage of opponents."
The group prepared to fight because they have been training during their whole lives to fight no matter the odds. However, much to their surprise, the second unit of cavalry changed directions and then began to head to the first. Billy finally realized that the second was allies instead of enemies. They probably saw a weird action on the enemy side and decided to check. In the end, the pursuers didn't have any other choice but give up.
"I suppose Jean had informed his soldiers to pay attention to any weird movements on the enemies' side…" Leo said and then sighed. "Let's keep going, we can leave this place on their hands."
Although they had time to rest, the group still hurried to Vergena city, they just wanted to get that job done and then go home. Even those who enjoyed staying near the bridge site disliked the fact that they had to help someone else like that… they could do pretty much everything, but taking hostages was too much.
As if they had been received a message about their success, Edward and Jean were already waiting at the entrance of Vergena when they arrived there. Edward seemed pretty proud while Jean looked shocked and pleased, but the group didn't share their feelings.
"Well done, everyone," Edward said. "Please rest for the day and leave the rest of the work to me."
Drew handed over the prisoner and he was sweating bullets while he was being stared down by Jean. His father caused a lot of trouble to the people of the state of Hiloh, so they had accumulated quite a grudge against his family. He certainly wasn't innocent since he was participating in the campaign.
"I wonder if back in the day, people had to do things like this in war times on Earth…" Billy thought.
After that, they received the free pass to stay in one of the best inns of the city, but on the very next day, the group got up and headed toward the fortress. Upon arriving there, they saw Edward and Jean laughing about something. Drew said that debts have to be paid, but he was starting to consider rebelling or at least leaving Edward's camp. He was being too easygoing lately considering that he put his soldiers at risk in a crazy mission.
"We have good news, everyone," Edward said. "The enemies agreed to pay quite the sum for the head of the prisoner. With that much money out of their pockets, they won't be able to sustain this campaign and will have to retreat and won't attack again for at least two years."
"I owe you a debt that can't be paid with money alone," Jean said. "Naturally, you will receive a payment for your hard work and the people of Hiloh state will consider the people of the Heinhall state our allies."
"We are glad that we managed to help… but what is this Heinhall state?" Drew asked.
"That would be us, while we are small in number, we will grow from now on and since in our lands everyone is working together, I decided that it was time to name ourselves," Edward said. "We will respect each other's tribes and leaders, but together we will be a new state."
That was bound to happen, so no one was surprised at the sudden declaration. Most likely, they will have to help Jean and his people here and there, but that was fine. Life would be boring once the bridge was completed, after all.
"I have to reward you as well," Edward said. "Everyone aside from Billy can ask me anything and I will do my best to give you what you want."
Those words didn't echo right in everyone's ears...
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Billy frowned when he heard that… was he being punished for some mistake? He didn't remember doing anything wrong or messing up during the mission. The others also looked a bit confused, but they probably couldn't question Edward's authority in front of Jean.
"Calm down, everyone, it is nothing like that," Edward said. "It is just… this isn't a topic that we should discuss away from home."
Edward was being creepily ambiguous, to the point where Billy was starting to get really suspicious and uncomfortable. In the end, Edward laughed and then shrugged. There was no point in hiding that, even Drew looked troubled. It was better to solve that matter right now instead of putting doubts in everyone's minds.
"I suppose it can't be helped…" Edward said. "I don't have male heirs, only one daughter. So, I was planning to make Billy take my place someday. He is a brilliant kid, after all."
"I don't think you are going to die anytime soon, sir," Drew said. "You are in your forties and you look strong as a bull."
"Maybe, but as you know, I am a widower, my wife died due to a rare disease that slowly drains the strength of those afflicted by it," Edward said. "Unfortunately, my daughter also is afflicted by the same disease and I am afraid she won't live long. So, I was planning to make them marry. I am not planning to get married again, after all."
Billy was wondering if he was lacking the common sense of that world… to force his daughter to marry someone just for him to take his place. If she wasn't going to live for long, he should stay by her side at all times instead of making a stranger take his place. Everyone looked surprised, Natalie was particularly shocked… even her mouth was hanging open.
"See? That was why I was planning to tell this back home," Edward said. "Don't worry, Billy. I told her many stories about you and your talents, so she wants to meet the youngest prodigy of our town."
"I am not sure I have that many stories and accomplishments for others to talk about me so highly," Billy frowned. "Regardless, things here are more developed than back home, so maybe you could find a medicine for her."
"Edward mentioned that two days ago, we know that disease, but we don't know any method to treat it," Jean said.
That was… even though he never mentioned her existence, it seemed that despite his actions, Edward tried to heal her. Still, the idea of arranged marriage existed in that world, but Billy was still speechless… for him to marry a girl who had a deadly disease. That was way too cruel for both parts.
"You can always say no, I am not going to force you," Edward said. "What do you think, Drew?"
"I have to talk about this with my wife… but I am going to respect Billy's decision," Drew replied.
"I suppose that is fine as well…" Edward said. "In any case, you have time to think about it, Billy. Don't feel forced to do anything."
"... All right," Billy said.
"Sir, I forgot to mention, but we were attacked by a giant scorpion two nights ago," Drew said. "More specifically, Billy and Natalie were. I assume that kind of monster is rare to find out…"
"Ah, yes… it probably happened while it was under their control," Jean said. "While the Toles state also wanted to take over our territory, they began the invasion when the scorpion's dungeon appeared. That monster probably left the dungeon"
Billy's head was starting to hurt… first he had to do something unreasonable, now he had to think about marriage and now he just heard that dungeons exist. Things were moving way too fast… In the end, Billy spent the rest of the day in his room trying to organize his thoughts while his friends were sightseeing.
Fortunately, on the next day, they departed toward home. During the trip, Billy was having mixed feelings about finally being able to see his family after several months, and about his future. Truth to be told, the marriage never crossed his mind because all the possible partners would be kids around his age. Considering his mental age, he would be almost twenty years older than them… which would be way too weird.
Meanwhile, Alexander and Lily were looking forward to their return to Vergena city. After hearing what dungeons were, they wanted to try to clear. Dungeons were basically places where large concentrations of mana existed and lured some species of animals and monsters and mutated them. The mix of so many monsters created a weird environment to the point where mana started to gain a certain level of sentience. Their goal was only to lure monsters and make them stronger by feeding them with mana and in exchange of that, they multiplied inside at fearsome rates and became completely obedient to the dungeon itself.
Another weird thing was that even objects were occasionally affected by the mana of the dungeon, so they could become magic weapons or magic tools. Since these places were where people died often, it wasn't rare to find a magic item. In any other situation, Billy would feel excited about it, but he had other worries in mind, right now.
During that week, Billy managed to make his rings reach level ten and now he was recovering ten times more mana passively than before. He had finally achieved one of his middle-term goals, but again… he wasn't that excited. Fortunately, when he arrived home, he saw his siblings practicing, he felt like his worries had disappeared. Billy could tell that their skills had improved just by looking at them… his tips helped them.
"Billy!" Samuel and Samara said in unison and then jumped on Billy's arms.
"Hey, it has been a while," Billy said.
"Where is my welcome?" Drew asked. "Could it be that I lost my place for Billy?"
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Unlike the usual, Samuel and Samara didn't ask him to play with them. Instead, they asked him to watch them practice and point out what they were doing wrong. Samuel was stronger, but Samara didn't hesitate in attacking anymore and her counterattacks were landing more often as well. Also, they sure were good at dodging and parrying.
"Not bad, you both are on the right path," Billy said.
"Really? Yay!" Samara said.
"No, we can't be satisfied yet! I want to defeat Billy and then I will be the new prodigy of the tribe," Samuel declared.
"Do you even know what prodigy means?" Billy frowned. "In any case, you sure are ambitious, but I can't let my younger siblings surpass me."
"Did something happen?" Camilla asked while she was watching her children playing. "Billy seems a bit different."
"Well, actually…" Drew said and then explained what happened in the last three weeks.
"... Billy is just twelve, he isn't ready for that kind of role," Camilla said. "Besides, marrying someone and watching them die… shouldering the destiny of two tribes… that is too much. Why didn't Edward marry again?"
"I asked him the same thing, and he said that he won't because he won't love any other woman like his previous wife," Drew said. "Even if he has to pass his role to someone else not connected by blood, he won't marry again. Besides, he wants to give his daughter as much attention as possible while he can."
"I respect his devotion, but in the end, he is only causing trouble to Billy," Camilla said. "If he says yes, he will be burdened by the rest of his life, if he says no, then he will make the life of the girl even more miserable."
"Yeah…" Drew said while scratching the back of his head. "I don't know what is the right answer in this scenario either."
Drew said that he would respect Billy's decision, but now that he thought about it, he realized that he had just put more pressure on him. Camilla wanted to protect her son from those kinds of troublesome situations, but they will never stop coming as long as Billy continues standing out. As for Billy, he decided not to think about it for today, he just enjoyed his day off with his siblings.
However, he was forced to think about it again the next day when everyone left home. Anna went to her job, the twins went to the training grounds. Camilla and Drew left to oversee the area where the villagers were raising some crops. It looked like they wanted to give some privacy to think things through, but some time alone wasn't something he wanted right now…
"Let's see what my options are… accepting without a care, that will mostly cause problems to me but not to Edward and his daughter," Billy thought. "Going to meet her and accepting, she will probably think that I accepted to marry her out of pity. Going and not accepting… she will think that I thought that she was ugly. Not going… I won't have to worry about anything, but that will probably trouble her and Edward."
There was no perfect answer as expected… Billy wondered if he could help her with his powers and then give her the chance to find someone else, but until now, he didn't find any skill or effects that worked against diseases or negative effects. So, the possibility of working was quite low.
"I suppose I should at least try… I have to visit her anyway," Billy said and then got up from his bed.
While Billy was waking toward Edward's mansion, he recalled that he forgot to check if Jean had books or if the other states had the habit of documenting things. Perhaps he should study medicine… or maybe he should ask Anna. Even if she and the healers of the world didn't know how to treat the girl's disease it might give Billy some insight. Regardless, the guards didn't try to stop Billy, even though he came without telling anyone. In any case, he found Edward on his office studying a map.
"Billy? You came a lot sooner than I expected," Edward said. "Have have already made up your mind?"
"No, not yet," Billy said.
"Are you planning on deciding after you see what she looks like?" Edward asked. "Well, you will be astonished, but she is a beauty like no other."
"I see, so she takes after her mother," Billy said.
"Hahaha, that was a good one, but it is true…" Edward said and then showed a sad smile. "She is pretty like her mother…"
"I am not worried about her appearance, I am more worried about what will happen once I made my choice," Billy said.
"Well, I am glad that you are thinking things through," Edward said. "Even if you refuse, I won't resent you, but it would be great if you could become my daughter's friend.:
"That is not a problem, but having a single friend is fine?" Billy asked. "I can't imagine you letting her receive many visitors."
"I let some of them visit her… but those kids were too insensitive, they had some things as a joke and that hurt her feelings," Edward said.
"That is rough… what kind of topics does she dislike to talk about?" Billy asked.
"About the disease itself, mentions of deaths, basically, everything that is too depressing," Edward said. "She likes to hear stories, but not fairy tales."
Billy probably wasn't the person to hope for that kind of thing, he basically was a machine that liked to train whenever possible and the few adventures that he experimented with were quite the bloody ones… Regardless, Billy knew how to interact with kids around his current age, he had years of experience in doing that, after all. He should be fine… or so Billy thought.. When Edward guided him to her room, he didn't find a teenager, he found a young woman.
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The girl was still sleeping, even though it was close to noon. Billy had expected that she had to sleep a lot, but not that much because of her disease. Nevertheless, she had shoulder length red hair and a bit of unhealthy pale skin. She was also pretty thin, even though she was pretty tall. Her face seemed quite delicate… if she were from Earth, she probably would have become a top world model. Billy frowned since she didn't look even a little bit with Edward.
"If she had black hair, she would look like snow white…" Billy frowned while thinking about that.
"My apologies, she will wake up soon," Edward said. "I like to arrive a bit sooner to make her feel less uneasy."
"No, it is fine," Billy said.
While looking around the room, Billy didn't find many things. While the girl didn't have a contagious disease, the room seemed like a place where healers left sick people in. There was no trace of personality in the room. There was the bed, a table with a jug of water and wooden cup, some medicines and a box with clothes. When Billy looked at the medicina, he wondered… he never tried to use his powers in medicines… not like he had the chance to touch them so far. He was thinking of making her learn Recovery, but raising the effectiveness of medicine might work as well.
"Dad?" The girl suddenly opened her eyes and asked.
"Yes, I am here, Kate," Edward said. "Good morning, how are you feeling today?"
"I am feeling good… it seems you brought someone today," Kate said while tilting her head. "Are you the famous Billy? You are pretty small."
"... I am twelve," Billy frowned. "You are just too tall."
"Hahaha, you are like my Dad said," Kate said after laughing a little.
Billy looked at Edward hoping to hear what he had told his daughter about him, but the old man just shrugged. Honestly… Edward was causing so much trouble to Billy… Regardless, as if Billy wasn't there, Edward decided to tell his daughter about the events of their mission when they visited Vergena City. While Edward was having fun, Billy and the others attacked and captured an enemy captain and that caused the end of the campaign. The details were so high in number that it almost looked like Edward had been in there, but he probably just asked the tribes' leaders about every single thing to make the story more vivid to his daughter.
"Well, then, I am going to work because we are planning another trip to Hiloh state," Edward said. "Have fun."
"Damn, old man… don't say such misleading things," Billy said.
"... I am sorry, about all this," Kate said with her head down. "Because I am like this, Dad has to think and do many things while considering his legacy and the town. Thanks to that, I ended up causing trouble to you."
"Nah, it is fine," Billy said. "I spent a few days in another state and arranged marriages are something normal. Things are different here because the tribes opposed each other for a long time."
"Dad said the same thing, that is why he decided to bring this topic to you now," Kate said. "Anyway, I will apologize to you in advance if this whole situation causes problems for your friends."
"My friends? How so?" Billy Frowned.
"I heard that you have some close friends, Lily, Natalie, and Sarah," Kate said.
"Oh, them? Sarah isn't a friend, though?" Billy said. "As for Lily, she is an airhead and another friend of mine is already interested in her, as for Natalie, she is a muscle head who only wants to become stronger. Besides, they are all kids."
"Aren't they older than you?" Kate asked.
"Just in theory," Billy Replied.
Billy never even considered the idea of having a romantic relationship with them, the mental age difference was just too high, but after living for a few years in that world, Billy realized that the rate of widows was pretty low… he would have a hard time finding a wife that is at least ten years older than him.
"I see… so you will be fine even if you wait for a few more years," Kate said. "While it might make things a bit difficult for you, you will find another partner eventually."
"... So, you already accepted everything, huh," Billy said.
"It is easier that way," Kate said while forcing a smile. "Some things can't just be avoided… Besides, I wouldn't want my Dad to waste away his entire life searching for a cure for this, he already tried to heal my Mom for many years."
"I suppose… it is kind of amazing that he managed to become the leader of this town despite that," Billy said. "My image of Edward is a bit… he isn't supposed to be skilled."
"... Despite the situation, I would like you to refrain from talking poorly of him," Kate said with a serious expression on her face that was a bit concerning.
"I wasn't, though?" Billy Frowned.
Kate was a girl of many masks. When her father was around, she would show one that made him think that everyone was fine as it is. He was such a good actress that made even Edward give up on hope. If his daughter was fine with it, should he keep searching for a cure and give her false hope whenever something fails to help her. However, when he left, Kate showed a more somber mask. She didn't want to lie and fool someone who she was already bound to cause problems too. Although that was already troubling, she decided to be completely honest to Billy. She had another mask, or maybe it was the usual face that she showed when she wanted to let go all of her feelings… she showed just that to Billy when she assumed that he bad-mouthed her father.. An expression of anger, despair, helplessness, and… a bit of grief.
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