Chapter 44: Still Shaken

“One man, one horse, with three Dire Wolves behind him.”

Luo Yi leaned out of the wagon canopy with his Heavy Sword on his back and informed the blind Bali Saihe.

The latter tightened the reins and signaled the horse to stop.

The old man strained—his war experience told him that many horses, either untrained or with insufficient training, feared wolf packs the most, especially the demonic versions.

Dire Wolves.

“I’ll handle it. Perfect chance to see how much I’ve improved these days.”

The red-haired boy said confidently.

“Brother Luo Yi, just don’t scare people!”

Asuna’s voice came through.

Luo Yi shot a glare at his silly little sister, then dashed out without looking back.

That girl Asuna just wasn’t as good as Sister Xue La.

‘He thought so.’

He had mastered the ability to summon flames onto his Heavy Sword to a “perfect” degree—though it was a bit embarrassing to say.

Only when Luo Yi thought of Sister Xue La, of his longing to be with her, did the flames on the blade burn even brighter.

Luo Yi kicked off the ground, his whole body shooting out like an arrow released from a bowstring.

The flames surged, brighter than daylight!

In midair, Luo Yi didn’t forget to twist his body—

This was a move Master Bali Saihe had taught him.

Simply put, it was an advanced technique that leveraged the weight of the Heavy Sword.

Whirlwind Slash.

With a layer of flame wrapped around the blade, it was no exaggeration to call it a storm of fire.

And Dire Wolves were among the forest monsters that hated fire the most.

The fleeing rider, disheveled and panicked, stared wide-eyed as a red-haired boy leaped over his head, turning into a gust of wind carrying an astonishing wave of heat.

The three Dire Wolves, which had been eyeing the man and horse as prey with greedy stares, instantly snapped to their senses and tried to brake and scatter in all directions.

But it was too late.

If Xue La had been there, she would have pointed out that the wide-area AOE damage from [Whirlwind Slash] and [Flame Enchantment] made for a perfect combo.

“Woo-ow!”

The unluckiest one let out a miserable howl before turning into charcoal.

The second best one only had a hind leg severed by the Whirlwind Slash and escaped the fire’s burn.

But Luo Yi could finish it off.

He regained his footing and swung another sword while the momentum was in his favor.

Luo Yi was learning to adapt to this life—whether it was the Thief Leader Ke Lun or Dire Wolves, one sword strike was all it took.

But one lucky wolf had already changed direction and run off.

Asuna yawned and swung her oak staff.

She used Divine Magic and magic; she wouldn’t stoop to fighting enemies directly.

If she had a choice, she wouldn’t want to be a little beggar!

Hmph, which girl in the world didn’t want to live happily?

Uncle Mason was a good man—not only had he spread straw in the wagon, but he’d also packed enough dry food for three people to last a month if they saved.

That meant, during this time, she and Grandpa didn’t have to worry about survival at all.

And since they were in the wilderness…

They could even pick wild vegetables and mushrooms, catch birds, pluck their feathers, and roast them…

It wasn’t a comfortable or luxurious life, but for Asuna, it was already a blessing she couldn’t ask for.

With a full stomach, she had time to study all kinds of magic, whether Divine Magic from the gods or regular magic…

Asuna was learning, and learning fast.

But Bali Saihe didn’t think so… yet he wouldn’t say why.

Asuna just wanted to show something, to prove herself.

So, a blue-green thorny vine shot up from the ground and directly wrapped around the hind leg of the fleeing Dire Wolf.

That gave Luo Yi a chance to chase up and land another sword strike.

Saved!

The shaken fugitive finally dismounted and, almost prostrating himself, greeted Bali Saihe, Luo Yi, and Asuna one by one.

The three soon learned the whole story.

“My name is Pu Er, a Vistania native… I was heading to Privet Town for business…”

The merchant was still breathing heavily.

“Calm down. You’re safe now.”

Bali Saihe said slowly.

But the other clearly couldn’t settle, since it was the first time a blind old man had spoken directly to him.

Luo Yi, however, focused on the identity “Vistania native” and asked directly—

“Do you know Lawrence, Mr. Pu Er?”

Luo Yi described the man’s appearance.

“He’s also a merchant from the Western Kingdom.”

Pu Er shook his head, then nodded…

“Lawrence of Niers? I think I’ve heard of him.”

Pu Er waved a hand.

“I know the name, but I’m not familiar… The trading houses in the Western Kingdom each do their own thing. He’s from the Niersi Trading House, I’m not…”

Luo Yi seemed half-understanding, but Bali Saihe knew it all clearly.

On the Patagonia Continent, there were four human kingdoms—among them, the one with the smallest land area and least strategic depth was not the Southern Kingdom.

It was the Western Kingdom.

In total size, the Southern Kingdom Sothnia barely edged it out, but the Western Kingdom of Vistania’s inherent weakness lay in—

On the map, the country was almost a straight line.

The Central Mountain Range separated the Eastern and Western Kingdoms, but it wasn’t fair; the range was vast, dotted with settlements of Elven Remnants and Dwarves.

To the east was the Eastern Kingdom of Istania, with its vast yet arid and hot savanna and gobi.

To the west was the Western Kingdom of Vistania, with narrow coastal plains and valley lands—the western side of the Central Mountains almost directly overlooked the sea.

The Western Kingdom sat on these small coastal plains, holding a few mountain fortresses that, while easy to defend and hard to attack, were also isolated from each other.

It wasn’t just separation between kingdoms, but also among regions within.

Strong regionalism meant that merchants from various parts of the Western Kingdom all wanted to expand outward to make money, but they weren’t united; when seeking a livelihood abroad, they tended to form trading houses based on hometown ties…

To strengthen internal communication, the ruler of the Western Kingdom carried on his ancestors’ fine tradition.

Maintaining and expanding the royal fleet—the grandest fleet among the four kingdoms—had originally been created to strengthen this connection.

The fleet on the West Sea was a vital tool for communication within and outside the country, and a weapon to deter petty villains at critical moments.

Thus, the mistake he had made in his youth had doomed the Western Kingdom’s fleet.

Though the sacrifice wasn’t as tragic as the Northern Kingdom losing its crown prince, the Eastern Kingdom losing its king, or the Southern Kingdom being directly destroyed.

But without its fleet, it was too difficult for the Western Kingdom to remain united.

Therefore, the lack of unity among Vistania’s merchants was an objective fact.

No need to be harsh with Mr. Pu Er.

Bali Saihe was more concerned about why he had been chased by a few Dire Wolves.

And the answer wasn’t good.

Pu Er came straight out.

The Orcs that had been lurking in the forest had emerged in full force and were heading toward Privet Town.

If anyone still wanted to go there, thinking of making money trading apples, they should give up now!

The Orcs had already besieged the town completely!

Many townsfolk could only hide in the monastery of Maisonlogi, because that building sat on an island in the river—as long as the bridge was cut off, everything would be fine.

But unfortunately, that bridge was made of stone.

If it was dismantled, it would be hard to repair.

“I have to spread the news to others quickly—no more business!”

Pu Er said.

“I suggest you change course too and find somewhere else to take shelter…”

But Bali Saihe disagreed, and Luo Yi disagreed too.

Both thought the same.

Backing down in the face of difficulty was not the style of a Brave.

Maisonlogi was where they had to go.