Morning mist, light as gauze, shrouded the rolling mountains in eastern Stardust Ridge.
Karl halted on an open ridge, his brow tightly furrowed as he stared grimly at the winding path below that led into the fertile heartland of Field Territory.
Behind him stretched the endless ranks of Carnford Army soldiers, who had likewise stopped and were breathing faintly hard.
Days of relentless forced marching, coupled with the exhaustion of pursuit through perilous mountain forests, had left even this army famed for its toughness showing unmistakable signs of fatigue.
"My lord, ahead is the exit from Stardust Ridge. Beyond it lies the plains where Golden Wheatstack Fortress and Pearl Bay stand." Lyon rode forward, his voice hoarse with a trace of reluctance. His face beneath his helmet was smeared with mud, and though his eyes remained sharp, they could not conceal his weariness.
Karl slowly nodded, but did not immediately give the order to continue the pursuit.
He stared into the valley at several especially glaring sights scattered across the plain: abandoned, overturned supply wagons still sending up smoke; sacks of grain strewn everywhere; bolts of cloth; even relatively bulky furniture and utensils.
Farther away, abandoned women, children, and elderly people in ragged clothes huddled in twos and threes against the cold wind, some looking about in blank confusion, others weeping quietly.
They were the "burdens" Luo Yao's forces had ruthlessly cast aside at the last moment in order to flee for their lives. Many of them were civilians who had been plundered from Mario Fortress, Silver City, Wheatwave Market, and other places just days ago.
"Luo Yao... ruthless enough, and decisive enough." Karl's voice was icy, making it impossible to tell whether he was praising or mocking him.
He knew this was the most painful, yet also the most