"Ah, I think we're close, only a little left, hurry, Leon"
"Ah" At that moment, Leon, accompanied by Helmod, had already reached the maximum speed their horses could move. Not only that, but these horses had become exhausted and needed rest; they were no longer able to continue the journey.
"Tsk, these weak mules." Leon's face was wrinkled with intense anger due to the inability of these horses to proceed any further.
Meanwhile, Helmod dismounted from his horse and spoke, saying, "Alright, we shouldn't wait any longer. We will continue on foot from now on."
Although this was the only obvious solution, Leon had another idea. Suddenly, when Helmod looked back at Leon, he saw a terrifying scene akin to a nightmare. Leon was smiling in a strange way and then said, "Hehehe, no, I have a better idea."
At that moment, even the horses jumped from their places in fear. Helmod felt that Leon was about to do something crazy this time. "So, what is your idea?"
As soon as Helmod finished speaking, Leon said, "Alternative Assistant, can the 'Adaptation' trait affect other beings?"
The Alternative Assistant replied:
[Notice: No, the Unique Trait is a magical attribute that belongs to its owner alone.]
For a moment, Leon's grand plan seemed to have collapsed. But the Alternative Assistant hadn't finished speaking yet and continued:
[Notice: However, despite the impossibility of direct influence, magical incantations derived from the trait are capable of doing so.]
Finally, the Alternative Assistant gave a glimmer of hope to Leon, who said on this occasion, "Good, so I cannot apply the 'Automatic Regeneration' ability to others, but you're saying that a magical incantation derived from the regeneration ability will suffice. Alright, let's try that."
As soon as Leon said that, he approached one of the horses, which looked ridiculous as it stared intently at Leon. The horse thought Leon intended to harm it or something similar. Once Leon reached the point of contact, he placed the palm of his hand on the horse's forehead, then closed his eyes for a while. When he opened them, he said loudly, "Now!"
As soon as he finished, energy and vitality returned to the horse. In fact, its energy was much better than it had been before they started this journey.
Once again, the horse looked quite absurd, as if it possessed some intelligence. It seemed to be showing off its muscles and strength, snorting air with power and enthusiasm, as if saying it was ready to run for hundreds of miles.
Leon did the same with Helmod's horse, which also regained its vitality. At that moment, Helmod could only express his deep admiration for what he saw. "Hooo... this... don't tell me you are a 'Holy' user as well!"
Leon interrupted Helmod's dreams by saying, "Wait, wait, stop for a moment. It's just a stimulating magic, nothing more. I have merely stimulated these horses."
After hearing this, Helmod felt a bit of relief, but despite that, he had never heard of such magic before. Helmod knew that Leon hid many secrets in his pocket and was eager to know what they were. Therefore, he decided within himself that he would ask Leon after defeating the Golems.
At that moment, Leon was also preoccupied with his thoughts, considering how truly destructive this incantation he had created could be. This time, Leon had used two abilities derived from his magical traits, 'Dominance' and 'Adaptation'. Leon had forced the horse's body to submit to him using 'Dominance', and then used the stimulation abilities within the 'Adaptation' trait to restore vitality and stimulate the body cells of these horses. Although it seemed like an innovative and unique incantation, it was also dangerous, as it didn't heal the horses but rather urged them to forget their fatigue and continue exerting the maximum possible effort. It was like a stimulant that could destroy body cells if used excessively.
After the duo prepared to set off again, they mounted their horses and began moving again at an immense speed, much faster than before.
Returning to Albert and his army, who had spent an eventful night until dawn. As soon as dawn began to break, Albert ordered his army to prepare to resume the journey. "Come on, everyone get up! It's time to leave."
These were the words of Albert's assistant, who was moving among the soldiers, waking those who were sleeping and ordering them to prepare for the journey. It didn't take long—only half an hour until the army was ready to march. Meanwhile, the army was marching under the majestic sight of the sunrise.
As for Albert, he was suffering from dark circles under his eyes from intense fatigue, as he hadn't slept at all during the past night due to extreme anxiety.
Albert's assistant spoke at that moment, addressing Albert, saying, "Sir, wouldn't it have been better for you to get some rest yesterday? Look at yourself, you look in a pitiful state."
Albert replied, saying, "As long as there is danger surrounding my family and the city whose residents I am supposed to protect, I will not have time to rest until I remove this danger."
Albert was truly a noble, and this explained King Regard Novaris's blind trust in Albert despite the lack of real evidence to move the army and despite the opposition of his entourage. This showed publicly that the King preferred Albert over the rest of his entourage.
After Albert's last statement, silence filled the place for moments. Nothing was heard but the sound of horses' hooves hitting the ground. Once this silence was broken, Albert directed his words to his assistant, saying, "Alright, when we reach the city, there will be hard work waiting for you. You will have to gather all the force that can be gathered. Also, my daughter Alicia will be there. I want you to keep her away from the front lines, no matter what it costs you."
After hearing these words, a few signs of confusion appeared on the assistant's face before he said, "Hehe, I think dealing with the Golem army will be easier than dealing with the young lady."
Albert smiled a little and then said, "That's exactly why I want you to keep her away from the front lines. I truly know her; she is rebellious and will not listen to my words. But as the Captain of the Knights, I believe you will be able to keep her away from danger."
The assistant took a deep breath, then sighed and said, "Ugh, you say this as if I possess even half the strength of the young lady. My presence as the Captain of the Knights is not a significant matter as long as I am unable to defeat a knight serving under my command like Lady Alicia. It is quite embarrassing."
While Albert and his assistant were engaged in conversation, a rider came to them in a hurry, but strangely, he was coming from the opposite direction of Albert and his army. Some soldiers became nervous, but as soon as the knight approached Albert and was only two meters away, he dismounted and saluted Albert, crossing his arms together, then said in a firm voice, "Report, Lord Belmont!"
Albert stopped his horse and ordered the army to stop, then said, "Alright, give me what you have. How were the conditions? Is the road clear?"
The man replied, saying, "Yes, sir. The road is clear. I have confirmed that there is no threat of monsters near here."
As soon as the soldier finished delivering his report, he mounted his horse and joined the army in their march.
"Sir, at best, we will reach the city by sunset. Therefore, I suggest we send an envoy ahead of us to ask them to prepare food and get ready to receive the soldiers." This was the assistant's idea, which was accepted by Albert, who said, "Alright, choose the ten fastest horses and send them to the city to inform them to prepare."
Thus, the assistant turned his horse and headed to the rear of the army, searching for ten horses fast enough to reach the city by this afternoon.
Not long after that, ten soldiers equipped with the best gear were ready to carry out this dangerous mission.
With that, Albert's eyes watched the sight of those ten horses that led the army and began moving at high speed until they could no longer be seen, as if they had disappeared into the horizon.
Going west, specifically to the Royal Capital Varisia, where the Captain of the Guard, along with fifty knights and a thousand soldiers, had already begun their march toward the northeast, heading to the Northeast City in response to Albert's request.
The appearance of the knights alone was majestic, as they rode the strongest horses and wore the strongest armor, with determination overflowing from their eyes. Meanwhile, an army of a thousand soldiers marched behind them, led by that distinguished knight whose clothing stood out from the rest, leading this campaign toward the east.
Returning to Albert, more than three hours had passed since they set off again, but this time they were facing a minor problem: there was a narrow mountain pass ahead of them, and crossing it had taken some time.
Despite this road not being used much, and despite the existence of a trade route connecting the cities of the Novaris Principality, Albert preferred this road, which involved crossing this bottleneck, because it was a shorter shortcut than the traditional roads and would get them to the city faster—or so Albert thought, at least.
Suddenly, the army's progress stopped, and chaos filled the place. In the center, Albert was unaware of what was happening as the horses began to behave strangely, as if they were terrified of something. Once Albert was able to calm his horse, he began to look around. He saw everything—these sharp and towering mountain edges.
For a moment, everything seemed normal in Albert's eyes, but suddenly a violent tremor struck the entire place, causing some rocks to fall from the top of the cliffs, resulting in some losses among Albert's army.
At this moment, while the army was terrified and in chaos, Albert spoke at the top of his voice, addressing his followers, "Don't stop! Just keep advancing through this pass! This is the only way to survive!"
As soon as the soldiers heard Albert's words, they began to rush forward through this narrow pass like a torrential flood.
Only two minutes passed until all the soldiers had crossed that rocky bottleneck. They were all in a state of terror, they and their horses. But among everyone, there was one voice standing out from the rest—the shouting voice of the assistant, who was searching for Albert: "Hey! Hey! Lord Albert! Where are you? Can you hear me?" Despite shouting at the top of his voice, he received no reply, which led him to suspect that Albert was still stuck inside that rocky pass.
Once the assistant realized this, he asked one of the recruits to take command of the forces and lead them to safety, while he set off at his maximum speed back toward that rocky pass to search for Albert and bring him back.
Meanwhile, the recruit who had taken command of the soldiers was struggling with all this chaos to move the army forward. "Everyone listen! Everyone keep advancing! No need to panic anymore!"
As soon as this recruit finished his words, he noticed a large shadow blocking the sun from them for a moment. Silence filled the place, and the eyes of all the soldiers were fixed on the sky as if they had seen something miraculous.
When that recruit, who was tasked with leading the army, turned and looked back for a moment, he saw that thing with his own eyes. It wasn't something he could deal with, especially in their current state. The recruit's eyes widened, and his facial expressions went dry as if his expressions had betrayed him while he looked at that massive body behind him.