Supernatural Perception (Seeking Follow-ups)

The Mother River flowed majestically, winding its way down to nourish the fertile lands of the Upper Green Forest and the Lower Green Forest.

At this moment, a troop of several dozen men had arrived at a section of the Mother River, beginning their patrol along the banks.

Aaron Sothoth plucked a blade of grass from the roadside and chewed on it, exuding a carefree and uninhibited air. "Actually... Colin and the others aren't wrong about one thing: war is a game of raw strength. They know exactly what the Davis Family is worth, and their knights are experienced enough to at least know how to deploy scouts widely. If the Davis Family were to attempt any maneuvers, like a surprise attack, the odds of them succeeding are slim."

"Therefore, the Davis Family doesn't have many options left. If I put myself in their shoes, the only viable path is to move through the battlefield at top speed and launch a surprise strike at the heart of the Sothoth Family. Since the forest makes large-scale troop movements impossible and time-consuming, the most convenient method is water transport!"

He gazed at the Mother River, the corners of his mouth curling slightly.

The Davis Family held the upper reaches; once they moved downstream, their speed would be immense!

Although their main force was tied up on the battlefield, a detachment of about a hundred men could easily bypass the patrol lines, reach the territory of the Lower Green Forest, and perhaps even raid the castle!

"However, if a surprise attack is discovered, it becomes completely useless."

What Aaron needed to do was simple: find a spot on the river that was easy to defend and hard to attack, set up camp, and establish a river blockade!

In this way, if the Davis Family made a move, the small force they sent for the raid would never be able to break through!

Even if it turned out to be a false alarm and he was branded a coward, it didn't matter; he had no intention of inheriting the family estate anyway!

And if he could avoid combat entirely, that would be even better.

"With this, the family's weakness is covered, and the Davis Family will have no choice but to fight to the death on the battlefield, right?"

"Let me think... could there be traitors bought off within the territory? But as long as they have no outside reinforcements, it shouldn't be a major issue. At the very least, the castle will be safe..."

Aaron spat out the grass stem, suddenly wondering if he was being too devious.

Or perhaps, given the medieval-like culture and education of this era, the nobles were simply too naive compared to his own dark mind?

Pah, pah, pah!

Aaron looked toward Eight-Fingers and Sanchez. "You two, how do you feel? Do you resent me for taking you away from the battlefield and causing you to lose the chance to gain spoils of war?"

"No, My Lord, we are all very grateful to you!"

Sanchez hurriedly bowed as he spoke.

He was telling the truth; spoils of war were the business of nobles and knights. Their only wish was simple: to survive!

Being able to leave the battlefield was naturally for the best.

If my calculations are correct, the danger here is no less than that of the battlefield...

Aaron muttered to himself. As he rounded a bend in the river, his eyes suddenly lit up.

Ahead, the Mother River made a sharp turn, marking the boundary between the Lower Green Forest and the Upper Green Forest.

Not only that, but in the center of the wide river, there was an island formed by sand and gravel, rising about four or five meters above the surrounding water.

"Very good, this is the place."

Aaron observed the surrounding geography and couldn't help but feel satisfied. "We will set up our water blockade here to guard against ships from upstream... By the way, does this place have a name?"

The group of illiterate men looked at each other in confusion, until finally, Green said hesitantly, "It seems to be called... Widow's Bay?"

In his dream.

Aaron Sothoth felt that mysterious unit of energy once again.

Use it all to strengthen myself.

He issued a command in his consciousness.

The next instant, a trace of coolness darted through his mind.

He was already familiar with this sensation, but what followed was different.

Aaron felt that trace of coolness suddenly become scorching hot, as if boiling water had been poured into his brain!

Pain!

The intense agony nearly caused him to lose the ability to maintain his consciousness. If he had a physical body, he would likely have been rolling on the ground and screaming.

Snap!

Amidst the endless, babbling whispers, his memory jolted, as if a gap had been forcibly pried open.

A massive amount of memories surged forth!

He felt like a pure spectator as his memories began to rewind. He could see himself as a child pretending to babble, and even further back to when he was one year old, six months old, and just born...

The flood of memories didn't stop there; it continued even further back...

It was a void of darkness, followed by light.

That was... the memory of his past life!

"Why does this feel like I've developed hyperthymesia..."

Aaron muttered, suddenly beginning to recite a research paper. It was a piece of popular science he had seen by chance during his university days, something he had only glanced at once.

But now, he could recite it word for word without a single error!

"Eidetic memory? Have I... finally crossed a threshold and achieved a spiritual transcendence?"

After all these years, Aaron's memories of his past life had actually become quite blurry.

But at this moment, it was as if a library had been added to his mind; every piece of information he had ever seen was now recorded there!

This is incredible. I wonder if this ability can be brought back to reality. Perhaps once I wake up, my memory will become fuzzy again, but that doesn't matter... I can slowly learn in my dreams, so... this counts as me finally getting a bit of a benefit, right?

A faint smile appeared on Aaron's face.

Just then, his expression shifted.

A hair-raising sensation, like a cold, giant hand, gripped his heart tightly.

There is danger!

No... it's not here!

Is it... that I, in the real world, am in danger?

The night was silent.

Inside the tent, Aaron opened his eyes, and that hair-raising sensation vanished instantly.

"What is going on?"

"Could it be... that the danger was for the me in the dream? No, the me from the dream has also returned; that world can no longer harm me."

He wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, rolled over to get up, and began to think carefully.

"This time, upon entering the dream, I finally caused my dream-self to awaken, gaining the abilities of [Supernatural Memory] and [Danger Perception]... and then, I felt danger? It feels as if it originates from reality..."

Aaron took a deep breath: "If the danger is in the dream, going back is walking into a trap. If the danger is in reality..."

He gripped his Cross Sword tightly and snuck out of the tent.

Because he had been on a military march, he hadn't taken off his outer garments and had slept in them, making his movements simple and swift.

Outside the tent, under the hazy moonlight, the sky was dim.

Beyond a few campfires, Sanchez and the others were sleeping soundly, and even the night watchmen were nowhere to be seen.

Something is wrong!

Aaron's eyes narrowed as he reached the edge of the camp, peering into the distance.

Under the hazy moonlight, there appeared to be blurred figures crawling on the ground, slowly approaching!

Attackers!

Aaron took a deep breath, immediately turned back, found Eight-Fingers, and covered his mouth.

Eight-Fingers struggled for a moment but couldn't make a sound, then opened his eyes and saw Aaron.

"Don't make a sound, we are under attack."

Aaron's voice was cold: "We need to wake the others, prepare for battle!"