Southern Federation, Ulier Continent.

After days of traveling without rest, Rowan and his family had fallen very sick—especially his two kids. However, there was no way the entourage could stop to rest. After all, it was very likely that they were being pursued.

Back in the Acadian Empire, Rowan was able to identify that one of the two assailants was, in fact, an aristocratic Magus from Ravenfell. He hadn't been able to identify the man at the time, but since then, he had had a lot of time to think about the battle and jog his memories.

Finally, he was able to identify the man as Councilor Ives Ballard's eldest son. Once Kaspar learned that, he was almost certain that they would be followed. And that is why they had been in such a hurry ever since arriving in Hannes City.

Furthermore, the entourage had now more or less confirmed that the second assailant had been none other than a necromancer from the Cult of Bones. They realized this after gathering bits and pieces of information about the Battle of Ravenfell and the involvement of the Cult.

Currently, everyone inside the caravan had extremely tense expressions on their faces. The driver had already been left behind at the last town. He had been well-paid and the caravan and the horses had been purchased from him.

The young man had turned out to be… quite annoying, to say the least. So the Magi thought it was better to travel without him. Currently, there were eight people riding in the caravan—half of them mortal, the rest Magi.

Daryl and Kaspar occupied the driver's seat, with the former guiding the horses and the latter weaving mysterious hand seals. Daryl turned to the elderly Mana Vortex Magus, gazing at his hands with a deep frown.

"Lord Kaspar," he began. "Is it really that bad?"

Kaspar continued weaving one hand seal after another. Several moments later, he answered in a low voice:

"You see, Daryl, when a Magus ascends through the arcane ranks, their spiritual energy increases along with their mana reserves."

Daryl rolled his eyes. This was common knowledge among the Magi. However, he did not interupt the elderly man.

Kaspar continued, "And with the increase in spiritual energy, one's premonition also heightens. Meaning, they become more susceptible to any impending danger. Some old textbooks even claim that those with exceptionally high spiritual energy can even glimpse moments into the future."

"Are you saying… we are in danger?" Daryl frowned. "Or are you claiming to be a clairvoyant all of a sudden?"

"Hmph!" Kaspar snorted in displeasure. "You still have time to joke in this situation?"

A moment later, his expression turned grim. "I have a feeling that those pursuers are not too far from us."

Daryl couldn't help but involuntarily gulp. He turned around to see the situation within the caravan. Rowan remained alert, looking for any potential dangers behind them on the road. His wife and children were already asleep, their faces pale from exhaustion.

Ada had her twin daggers out, her grip around their hilts tightening with every second. And as for Anna…

She's changed, Daryl thought.

The proud princess of the Ignisra Kingdom had her head lowered and her eyes closed. A sword rested in front of her, leaning against her shoulder. Although her eyes were shut, an incandescent glow could be seen burning faintly behind her eyelids.

Daryl turned back around and reined in the horses. He adjusted himself in his seat, a faint foreboding feeling gripping his heart. His sister-in-law, Anna, had changed very much. And this wasn't just about the news of Adam's fall from grace.

No, she's changed ever since the battle in Acadia, he thought to himself.

The air around her had subtly shifted and he was able to notice it. She seemed much more… lethal than before. Although she appeared calm and indifferent, there was a fiery storm raging inside of her.

How the hell did she even manage to slay that Mana Vortex Magus in the first place? Daryl wondered.

I knew her to be a strong Magus… but not that strong!

And why are we still going to this place that Adam had told her about? What's there? No, more importantly…

Daryl's face was shadowed by a dark frown.

Will we even make it there?

He turned to the elderly Magus beside him, deliberating over his next words. At last, he said in a low voice:

"Lord Kaspar, Glassford is still a few months away. What do you think we should do?"

If the entourage consisted of only Magi, they wouldn't have taken the caravan in the first place. They would have been able to cover much more distance while traveling on foot.

But because of Rowan and his family, they were forced to take the caravan. Besides, there was no way they were going to leave him and his family behind—not after all they had done for them. It's the least Kaspar and the rest could do.

Additionally, leaving Rowan and his family behind carried its own risks. What if the pursuers found them first? Spells from the School of Divination could be used to track them, and if they were tracked… it went without saying that the consequences would be extremely dire.

So, for Rowan and his family's safety, the best thing to do was to travel together, even if it slowed down their journey.

As more time passed, the feeling of foreboding in Kaspar's heart grew heavy. He knew that something ominous was about to happen, and it would happen sooner rather than later.

Now, he had two options laid before him.

First, continue their journey and hope that their pursuers didn't find them until they reached their destination. But even Kaspar knew that this was very unlikely—and foolish. He was almost certain that their entourage would be intercepted.

Second… stop and face the enemy.

Although the second option posed great risks, at the very least, they still had some agency in the matter. It was better than simply hoping that they reached Glassford without any incident.

As he weighed the risks and considered his options, Anna suddenly opened her eyes inside the caravan.

Brilliant flames danced in the depths of her scarlet eyes. She turned towards the two men in the front and said in a calm voice:

"We stop. And we fight."

Daryl's lips twitched. He couldn't help but turn around and growl, "You do know there might very well be a Mana Vortex Magus pursuing us?!"

Anna's expression remained unchanged. Her lips parted as she asked flatly:

"And what of it?"

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.