Morning, 25 March 500 AA

I wonder if Thalvyr and his family are progressing... Leo thought as he stood amidst the crowd of people lining up to mark their attendance for the escort mission.

He had given them various fire-based treasures to consume while he was away for the month so their strength and bloodline could improve.

The same went for Naelith and the talentless elves so that, even if only slightly, they could become a notch stronger than before.

"Master, your turn," Natalie reminded him when it was Evan's turn to mark his attendance.

He nodded.

"Mid 2-star Adventurer Evan and Mid 1-star Slave Adventurer Natalie."

The person quickly checked their names in the booklet and ticked them off, marking their attendance while also confirming their participation in the escort mission to Tilgarth.

"You and your slave, together, will receive a guaranteed payment of 30 Silver Coins and 50 Bronze Coins even if there are no fights along the way to Tilgarth. But if a fight does occur, your pay will increase according to your contribution, and you will also have rights over any beast corpses you hunt."

Evan nodded and walked away to check the things they would be escorting.

The City Lord's son had yet to arrive, so people were slightly more relaxed.

Leo was surprised to see so many beast corpses loaded onto nearly 20 carriages, along with 5 carriages filled solely with beast materials. And just as Lamar had said, there were 10 empty carriages, each large enough to carry 10 people.

A total of 35 carriages.

As for the beasts pulling them, instead of two, only a single horse-like beast was harnessed to each carriage.

But from their appearance alone, Leo could tell one was more than enough to do the job.

A 2.5-meter-tall, broad-bodied horse with iron-grey hooves seemingly capable of pulling several tons for days. It had a calm temperament and, judging by its muscular build, exceptional endurance.

Now that Leo recalled some scenes from Ember City, these horses had been present there as well, making them a common sight for heavy cargo transport.

Ironhoof Draft Horse (Peak 1-star) – Ordinary Bloodline

*pic*

Leo knew there had to be some special trait that allowed this beast to pull such heavy carriages while just being Peak 1-star.

After a while, when it seemed most people had arrived, Leo looked around to estimate the numbers.

Nearly 150 people. That many.

"How wide must the road be?" Leo muttered.

Having little to no practical experience in the wild—especially as part of an escort mission—he didn't know how the world operated.

But the fact was this particular caravan was actually on the lower end of a medium-sized caravan, and such a sight was very common. Even ordinary merchants would travel with caravans as large as 20 carriages.

This was possible because of properly established roads—which could be built overnight by hiring a capable person—and equally resilient beasts capable of travelling long distances.

It was then that Leo realised people were renting horses nearby to ride alongside the carriages.

Because the distance between Varthi and Tilgarth was 400 kilometres, and it was supposed to be covered in just 7 to 9 days!

Not having a personal mount would be simply sending oneself to a death route.

Leo checked the time. He still had over an hour before the City Lord's son arrived, so he immediately went to rent a horse.

"20 Silvers?" Leo repeated the stablemaster's words.

"Yes, and you must return the horse to the proper stable in Tilgarth on the very day you arrive. Otherwise, be ready to pay fines."

"That's very expensive..." Leo, playing the role of a Mid 2-star Adventurer, muttered.

He looked around and saw many people even opting for beast rides instead.

Ahh... If only I had Nyxa's aura suppressed as well... Leo thought regretfully. It would've saved him the headache of learning horse riding right now.

But he did it anyway.

"Huh? 5 Silver extra for learning horse riding? That's just daylight robbery!" Evan cursed loudly.

But the stablemaster merely shrugged and puffed on his pipe as though it were perfectly normal.

Evan gritted his teeth and took a crash course in horse riding, which turned out to be surprisingly easy.

Just the basics of making the horse walk, run, stop, turn, and jump. Leo mastered them all within an hour.

Even the stablemaster looked surprised.

"You are a quick learner. I bet you'll go far in life," he complimented.

But just as Leo was about to rent a horse, news spread that the City Lord's son was bringing spare horses with him to make things easier for the escort guards.

People immediately returned the horses they had rented and received refunds, leaving the stablemaster grumpy as he silently cursed the City Lord's son.

Leo simply stretched lazily.

"Well, at least I learned horse riding."

When Leo arrived at the place where they would begin their march, he caught sight of the City Lord's son.

He was handsome, with white hair, stood nearly 6'5" tall, and carried a finely crafted sword. He also radiated the strength of a Peak 2-star individual and carried himself with a calm bearing. He directed his 20 or so attendants to inspect each carriage while 10 elite guards stood around him as his personal bodyguards, each around Mid to High 2-star strength.

Combined with the 35 carriage drivers, the total headcount rose to around 220–230. A perfectly normal number in this world.

Leo spotted Patric waving at him, so he waved back in return. Though he didn't bother going over to greet them personally since Shreya was already glaring at him with venomous eyes.

He also noticed Liam carrying the refurbished shield, which looked brand new.

After that, Leo and many others were called over by the City Lord's son to receive their assigned positions within the caravan.

Evan, along with Natalie, was assigned the role of rear guard for the first day. Normally, it was a dangerous position, but since it was the first day—meaning the caravan wouldn't be far from the city walls—it was a good assignment.

After that, each day, he would rotate according to the order assigned to Evan and the others.

Rear Guard → Lower Right Flank → Middle Right Flank → Upper Right Flank → Vanguard → Upper Left Flank → Middle Left Flank → Lower Left Flank -> Rear Guard, then repeat until they reached the city.

This way, no party or individual would be constantly burdened with the stressful duties of the rear guard or vanguard.

Leo noticed that his strength was indeed above that of many present. Most were around High 1-star to Low 2-star, which put Natalie slightly below many of them. However, since she was in a party with Evan, the duo wouldn't be looked down upon for being weak.

With that, their journey finally began.