The Mother River surged onward, winding its way down and nourishing the fertile lands of the Upper Green Forest and Lower Green Forest.
At that moment, a party of several dozen men arrived at a stretch of the Mother River and began patrolling along its banks.
Aaron Sothoth casually plucked a blade of grass from the roadside and tucked it between his lips, looking carefree and unruly. "Actually... Colin and the others weren't entirely wrong. War is about hard power. The Davis Family knows exactly how strong they are, and their knights are all fairly experienced. At the very least, they know to send out scouts far and wide... If the Davis Family makes a move, like launching a surprise attack or something, there's a good chance it won't succeed."
"So the Davis Family doesn't have many options left. Putting myself in their shoes, the only choice would be to move across the battlefield as quickly as possible and strike at the Sothoth Family's weak point. But an army can't move through the forest in large numbers, and it would take far too long. So the most convenient route is by river!"
He gazed at the Mother River, the corner of his mouth lifting slightly.
The Davis Family was upstream. If they traveled downriver, they could move incredibly fast!
Although their main forces were all on the battlefield, a detachment of around a hundred men could easily bypass the patrols on the battlefield and head straight for the Lower Green Forest's territory. They could even launch a surprise attack on the castle!
"But if a surprise attack is discovered, it's completely useless."
What Aaron had to do was simple: find a defensible spot along the river, set up camp, and establish a river checkpoint!
That way, if the Davis Family made a move, a force that small couldn't possibly take it!
Even if it turned out to be a false alarm and he earned a reputation for cowardice, it didn't matter. He had no intention of inheriting the family estate anyway!
And naturally, avoiding a battle would be even better.
"That should make up for the family's weak point. The Davis Family will have no choice but to fight it out on the battlefield, right?"
"Thinking about it some more, maybe there are people in the territory who've been bribed. But as long as they have no outside support, it shouldn't be a big problem. At least the castle will be safe..."
Aaron spat out the blade of grass. Suddenly, he wondered if he was being too devious.
Or maybe, given this era's medieval-like culture and education, the nobles were simply too innocent, not as dark-hearted as he was?
Bah, bah, bah!
Aaron looked at Eight-Fingers and Sanchez. "How do you feel? Do you resent me for taking you away from the battlefield and depriving you of the chance to claim spoils?"
"No, my lord. We're all very grateful to you!"
Sanchez hurriedly bowed.
He meant it. Spoils were for nobles and knights. Their wish was simple: to survive!
Getting away from the battlefield was naturally for the best.
If my guess is right, this place won't be much less dangerous than the battlefield...
Aaron grumbled inwardly. He rounded a bend in the river, and his eyes suddenly lit up.
Ahead, the Mother River made a wide turn. This was where the Lower Green Forest and Upper Green Forest met.
Not only that, there was an island in the middle of the broad river, built up from sand and gravel. It stood about four or five meters higher than the surrounding area.
"Excellent. This is the spot."
Aaron surveyed the surrounding terrain and was quite satisfied. "We'll set up a river checkpoint here to guard against boats coming from upstream... By the way, does this place have a name?"
The uneducated men looked at one another. In the end, Green hesitantly spoke up. "I think it's called... Widow's Bay?"
In his dream.
Aaron Sothoth once again sensed the energy of that mysterious unit.
Use all of it to strengthen me.
He issued the command in his mind.
The next moment, a cool sensation darted through his consciousness.
He was already familiar with this, but what followed was different.
Aaron felt that cool sensation suddenly grow scorching hot, as if boiling water had been poured into his brain!
Pain!
The pain was so intense that he could barely maintain consciousness. If he'd had a body, he would have been rolling on the ground and screaming by then.
Crack!
Amid endless whispers, his memories shook violently, as if a gap had been forcibly pried open.
A flood of memories came surging out!
He seemed like a detached observer as his memories began to race backward. He could see himself as a child, pretending to babble. He even went back to when he was one year old, six months old, and just born...
But the flood of memories didn't stop there. It continued even further back...
There was darkness, and then there was light.
Those were... his memories from his previous life!
"Why does this feel like hyperthymesia..."
Aaron muttered, then suddenly began reciting an academic paper. It was a popular science article he'd happened upon during college, one he'd only skimmed once.
Yet now, he could recite it word for word!
"Perfect recall? Have I... finally crossed some threshold and achieved extraordinary mental abilities?"
After all these years, Aaron's memories of his previous life had grown quite hazy.
But now, it was as if he had a whole library in his head. Everything he'd ever read was recorded there!
"This is amazing. I wonder if I can bring this ability back to reality. Maybe my memories will grow hazy again as soon as I wake up, but that's all right... I can study bit by bit in my dreams, so... does this mean I finally managed to get something out of this?"
A smile appeared on Aaron's face.
Just then, his expression changed.
A bone-chilling sensation, like a cold hand, clamped tightly around his heart.
"Danger!"
"No... not here!"
"Is... the me in the real world in danger?"
The night was silent.
Inside the tent.
Aaron opened his eyes, and the bone-chilling sensation instantly vanished.
"What's going on?"
"Could the one in danger be me in the dream? No, the dream version of me came back too. That world can't hurt me anymore."
He wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, rolled out of bed, and began to think it through.
"This time, I finally awakened my dream self and gained the abilities of [Extraordinary Memory] and [Danger Perception]... Then I sensed danger? It seemed to be coming from reality..."
Aaron took a deep breath. "If the danger is in the dream, going back would be walking into a trap. If the danger is in reality..."
He gripped his Cross Sword and quietly slipped out of the tent.
Since they were on the march, he hadn't taken off his outer clothes at all. He'd gone to sleep in them, so moving now was quick and easy.
Outside the tent, the moon hung hazy in the sky.
Beyond a few campfires, Sanchez and the others were fast asleep. Even the night watchmen had disappeared.
"Something's wrong!"
Aaron's eyes narrowed. He moved to the edge of the camp and stared into the distance.
Under the hazy moonlight, indistinct figures seemed to be crawling along the ground, slowly approaching!
"Attackers!"
Aaron drew a deep breath, immediately turned back, found Eight-Fingers, and clapped a hand over his mouth.
Eight-Fingers struggled, but couldn't make a sound. Then he opened his eyes and saw Aaron.
"Don't make a sound. We have intruders."
Aaron's voice was cool. "We'll keep waking the others and get ready to fight!"
Before you continue