Gato Raiders

The next day, Li Ang and Sarah set out together for Long River Town.

Sarah had a fine horse—even when she had been so desperate she could barely get by, she had never considered selling it.

Li Ang also discovered that Sarah possessed astonishing horsemanship, perhaps not much inferior even to his own.

Even in the Duchy of Dexia in the southern desert—a tribal alliance that was half nomadic and half settled—Sarah would probably have ranked among the finest riders.

It was like two seasoned drivers taking a road trip together; they made excellent time.

Though Sarah never mentioned her surname, Li Ang could tell that she had originally been one of the Dexian people.

She probably did truly love traveling, but perhaps she was also running from something.

Aside from her superb riding skills and love for horses, nothing about Sarah resembled the rough, uneducated Dexia Tribe people.

Sarah was not only an excellent bard, but also a talkative scholar—she knew the cultures, customs, and even military systems of various lands inside out, and was even more familiar with the hidden histories of the nobles of every nation.

She was also exceptionally good at conversation and remarkably perceptive. Traveling with her was genuinely pleasant.

Sarah no longer tried to seduce Li Ang with her beauty. She showed him a respect unlike before.

Perhaps it was because Li Ang truly ignored gender, appearance, and every other factor, treating her entirely as he would a diplomatic officer—something utterly unlike every noble she had ever met.

That truly made her feel relaxed and happy.

So she quickly grew accustomed to serving Li Ang with the knowledge and information she possessed rather than with her body.

Still, perhaps Li Ang harbored the faintest trace of regret...

And so, graceful singing still drifted through the journey from time to time.

In just one day, the two traveled several hundred li and had already entered Long River Town's jurisdiction.

It was called Long River Town, but it was actually a county.

In terms of territory alone, Long River Town could be called the largest county on the continent—its lands accounted for one-fifth of the Lionheart Kingdom's territory, and most of the Eastern Province fell under its jurisdiction.

When the Lionheart Kingdom had first been founded, Long River Town had merely been a fortress town on the kingdom's border.

But now, it had become the kingdom's interior and the center of the Eastern Province.

That was because Long River Town had been the preferred destination of Pioneer Lords for more than a century. Generation after generation of pioneers had used it as a base to expand outward, establishing one settlement village and fortress after another in the surrounding lands.

By now, over those hundred-odd years, the kingdom's border had been pushed several hundred li northeast of Long River Town—the current border fortress was Count Oden's Brave Shield Fortress.

Precisely because this region had once been frontier land, unlike the area around Lion City, which was almost entirely fields and farms, most of Long River Town's territory was uninhabited—apart from the lands developed by generations of lords, the rest was either primeval forest or wild wasteland.

Many places were no-man's-lands, where one could travel hundreds of li without seeing a trace of human habitation.

And Li Ang and Sarah were traveling through one such no-man's-land.

Gazing over the endless wilderness, Li Ang now thoroughly understood why Sarah had sought a companion.

It was not even a matter of safety. Traveling alone through a place like this would probably drive someone mad.

There were countless rivers and hills in the distance, while mist lingered without dispersing, making the sky incomparably dim.

The roars of wild beasts rang out from time to time, and strange sounds occasionally drifted over as well—it was hard to say whether they came from wind passing through the valleys or from some incomprehensible, unnatural creatures.

There was always a road, winding endlessly ahead, but through the mist they could see only a few dozen meters ahead. Animal bones lay beside the road from time to time—and occasionally human bones as well.

Though they had been traveling all day, neither showed any intention of making camp even after the sun set.

Li Ang was because he had not brought a tent at all...

Sarah did have camping gear, but no woman would likely be able to sleep in a place like this.

The two simply decided to travel through the night and head straight for Long River Town.

At night, there was not a trace of starlight here. All manner of strange sounds mingled in the distance, forming a terrifying silence, while the desolate road remained devoid of people.

They rode slowly onward—on a night like this, when they could not see the road clearly, it was unsuitable to move too fast.

Sarah kept talking, perhaps because only that could ease the fear in her heart.

She told Li Ang about everything she had seen and heard across this continent, while Li Ang listened attentively throughout.

He needed to gain a real understanding of Pendor as quickly as possible, and a well-traveled bard like Sarah was undoubtedly the best teacher.

Li Ang even secretly swore that if he ever had the chance to return to his original world, then when he played games again, he would make sure to fully understand every game's setting and story instead of knowing only how to fight and kill...

They did not stop talking until the sky began to lighten.

That was because they heard hoofbeats. It would take at least a hundred horses galloping together to make such a distinct sound, and even the ground trembled slightly.

The sound came from directly ahead, from the direction of Long River Town.

"My lord, we should hide..."

"Sarah, get down quickly. It might be bandits..."

They gave the same suggestion at the same time, then hurriedly drove their horses into the woods beside the road.

Hiding behind rocks in the forest, they saw a group of cavalry thunder past.

There were at least a hundred riders, and they were clearly an organized force, wearing uniform armor and carrying uniform lances.

That was already a formidable fighting force, equivalent even to the entire armed strength of a minor or middling lord.

But the unit bore no banners, its formation was somewhat scattered, and its riders shouted and yelled as they traveled, utterly without discipline.

The mist made it impossible to see the riders' faces clearly, but their clothing and their lax manner of marching alone made it clear that this was a nomadic people's army.

This group of foreign cavalry seemed to have acquired quite a bit of loot—or rather, they had just raided a merchant caravan or village. Every horse carried civilian goods completely unrelated to battle.

Cloth, handicrafts, everyday utensils such as pots and jars, even women's skirts.

Neither of them dared make the slightest sound, lest they alert the passing foreign force.

Only after the unit had completely vanished from sight did the two speak again.

"Nomads? Sarah, can you tell who they are?"

For some reason, after seeing living people, even a group of terrifying bandits, the unease in Li Ang's heart instead settled somewhat, and he began asking Sarah about what she knew again.

"They're Gatu people! How could Gato Raiders in such numbers appear deep within Lion Territory... Could Brave Shield Fortress have fallen?"

Sarah's eyes were full of shock, her face pale. Even her lips trembled.

"Gatu people? The grassland border is at least five hundred li from here! Sarah, are you sure you didn't see wrong?"

Li Ang realized the seriousness of the matter.

"A month ago, I saw two Gatu riders at Foucher's place. They were dressed exactly like this..."

"A Gatu invasion... Sarah, we need to hurry to Long River Town and report this to the garrison!"