My Lord, the Barbarians Are Here-We Need to Run!

"Landen, you need to decide as soon as possible whether we're leaving the territory." Raul spoke while watching Landen, waiting for his decision.

Landen was completely confused. "Where are we going?"

"Either Bristle-Wolf City or the forest to the west," Raul said. "You need to decide before dawn!"

"Ah, what's going on?" Landen truly had no idea.

"Raul, Landen has only just woken up, and he's already heard so much. Before asking him to make a decision, you need to explain things clearly," Albert said reproachfully.

"Landen, here's the situation. I just said that as a lord, you need to defend the land and protect the people. The Barbarians have already reached Korniko Pass, only a day's journey from us.

"Though we don't know when they'll come, they definitely aren't here just to plunder. Once they arrive, even our baronial castle won't be able to withstand their attack.

"If we fail to settle the Territory Residents by then and large numbers of them are captured and plundered, Gallop Barony will truly be finished. The Gallop Family's baronial title will also be revoked."

Albert glanced at Raul. "Raul and I have come up with two routes, and you need to choose one. The first is eastward. Blue Magpie Barony, east of Rothe Territory, is a direct territory of the Count Bristle-Wolf Family. It is only one or two days from Bristle-Wolf City. Once we reach Blue Magpie Territory, we'll have the Count's Bristle-Wolf Knights protecting us.

"The second is the Gallop Family's traditional route: fleeing west into the Great Forest. You needn't worry. Both Gallop Territory and Rothe Territory have entered the Great Forest several times over the past decade or so to settle there temporarily. There are several camps deep within the forest where we can stay for a long time.

"The Barbarian vanguard consists mainly of Barbarian Cavalry. They're big men on big horses, and they can't move easily through the forest. If their main army dares enter the forest to search for us, the complicated terrain will make it difficult for their large numbers of Pack Beasts to transport supplies. That is why the Barbarians have never made things difficult for themselves by entering the forest."

Hmm, alright. Living under someone else's roof or becoming a wild man—it really was a hard choice. "I'd like to hear your advice."

"I suggest we first go to Rothe Territory, then Blue Magpie Territory," Raul said. "The Barbarian forces are clearly stronger than in previous years. In the end, the Count may very well have to personally drive them off.

"If we head for the Count's territory, we can learn what is happening there more quickly. We can also let the Count know sooner that even if Baron Hark has temporarily left, Gallop Territory still has someone to lead it even without the Baron.

"We can reach the Count's Bristle-Wolf City in four or five days. Nothing should go wrong along the way."

"I think we should enter the forest," Albert stressed. "This forest is rich in magic power and abundant in resources. The family has taken refuge in the forest many times throughout its history and successfully avoided Barbarian raids every time."

"Many times?" Landen repeated aloud.

"Yes. The most recent time was eight years ago. The Barbarians launched a large-scale invasion then as well. Bob Rothe, the lord of Rothe Territory at the time, asked Hark to look after the people. Hark led all the Territory Residents from both territories into the Great Forest to take refuge.

"You were still young then, and you had only just shown a little potential as a Mana-Wielder. So Hark sent you to Bristle-Wolf City to hide in the Temple there with your third brother."

Landen recalled that when he had been eight or nine years old, he had indeed gone on a long journey with his third brother. But he did not remember actually entering the city. He only remembered feeling as though he had ended up in some monastery.

After hearing the two important ministers' reasoning, Landen casually asked, "Raul, Rothe Territory is only one day away from us, and Bristle-Wolf City is only three days away?"

"Of course!" Raul was absolutely certain.

"How did you get there?"

"On horseback! What's the problem?"

Albert caught on as well. "You're the strongest Intermediate Knight in the territory. You rode the finest horse on the Gallop Plains and reached Earl City in four days. But when we move the Territory Residents, we'll be using Pack Beasts and carts. We'll be lucky to travel twenty or thirty li a day. How could we possibly reach it in only three days?"

"But that would only add another day or two."

"No. You ride alone, and unless someone is specifically waiting for you, few people will notice you. But our territory has several hundred people. In such a huge group, there are only around ten Mana-Wielders. If the Barbarians see us, who else would they rob?" Landen added, "But more importantly, both of you personally experienced what happened these past two days. Don't you think those ambushes were a little too perfectly timed?"

"What?" Neither Raul nor Albert had considered that possibility.

"Think about it. Whether it was Father or Viscount Rothe, they often traveled through Korniko Pass. Both of you also have experience trading through the pass. The pass itself is over twenty kilometers long, and there are rolling hills and waterways north of it.

"Both our side and Rothe Territory sent only ten people. A Barbarian tribe's cavalry usually numbers only eight or nine, and no more than twenty at most. The ambush we encountered was equivalent to a medium-sized tribe gathering all its forces specifically to deal with us.

"I want to ask you both: if you were a lord or a tribal chief, under what circumstances would you be willing to throw every bit of your territory's fighting strength into a desperate gamble?"

"Only when the intelligence is extremely certain," Albert understood what Landen meant. "Are you saying Viscount Rothe betrayed us?"

"That can't be, can it? If the Count found out, Viscount Rothe would be finished!" Raul said.

Though schemes and intrigues between nobles were not uncommon, internal conflict and external enemies were entirely different matters. Especially in the Dragon Kingdom, where the Barbarians of the Gallop Plains were the primary enemy, cooperating with the Barbarians to attack other nobles was treason. Once discovered, one's title would be stripped, and one's territory abolished or taken back by one's liege.

Therefore, no noble had ever used the Barbarians against other nobles before. Naturally, Raul and Albert had never considered it.

But Landen did not see it that way. After all, he had only arrived today and had no concept of the Kingdom's traditions. But he had watched plenty of television dramas and played plenty of games in his previous life. It was easy enough to find grounds for such a simple judgment.

The simplest point was this: when Viscount Rothe had separated from Hark and the others, Hark had gone up a nearby hill to scout. There had been no Barbarian camps within dozens of li. So rather than saying they had been ambushed by Barbarians, it was more accurate to say that a large force of Barbarians had specifically come looking for them.

If Viscount Rothe had not betrayed them, how could the Barbarians have found them from dozens of kilometers away?

"Nothing is impossible. Right now, I have ample reason not to trust Viscount Rothe. I won't place my hopes of protecting the people on him. You two, I've decided that all Territory Residents of the entire territory will head west into the forest tomorrow to take refuge." One hour after officially becoming acting Baron, Landen made a decision in accordance with his ancestors' ways: run away quickly.

"Yes." Raul and Albert bowed to accept the order.

"Uncle Albert, please organize all the directly governed Territory Residents in the barony to prepare for migration. Knight Raul, I want you to send people to notify the two nearby knight territories to move as well. Have them enter the forest directly; they do not need to gather at the baronial castle.

"Also, send out scouts. From the small hill ten kilometers north of here, one can see Korniko Pass in the distance. Send people there to keep watch!"

"Yes!" The two accepted their orders again.

Of

Albert looked at the several orders Landen had issued and felt that Landen was growing quickly. He said, "Landen, don't worry too much. For the Barbarians, crossing south of the pass is also a major operation. They need to ford several tributaries of the Gallop River, so we still have time.

"Besides, there is nothing particularly valuable in the territory's castle. All the valuable Magic Potions, Magic Plants, books, weapons, and Gold Coins have been packed up and are ready to go at any time.

"The main thing the Territory Residents need to bring from their homes is food. But we have acquired many Pack Beasts in recent years, as well as quite a few carts. The actual preparations will be quick." The Pack Beasts Albert mentioned were livestock that were half cow and half horse. They were gentle by nature, broad-backed, and easy to breed.

Whether Barbarians, Beastmen, or the Human Race, all preferred using these Pack Beasts during long journeys.

"Mm, that's great," Landen said with a smile. My hometown really is prepared. They spend every day getting ready to run away.

But then Landen suddenly realized something. Why was he lying beside a campfire in the wilderness?

Shouldn't I be in my baronial castle? He looked at Albert. "Uncle Albert, it's so late already. How about we return to the castle?"

"..." Everyone fell silent again, until Albert finally gave an awkward laugh. "Landen, have you forgotten? Before we set out, your father was worried that the territory might be harassed by small groups of Barbarians, so he moved all the grain from the warehouse and all the goods from the last trading trip into the castle's first floor. The first floor is completely packed now. We wouldn't even have room to set foot inside if we went back."

"Landen, have you forgotten that the few of us carried several tons of grain in there ourselves?" Raul added.

"...Oh, right, I remember now. Perfect. Tomorrow, we can load all the grain onto the carts and set off." Landen smiled outwardly, but inwardly he thought, Am I really a noble? My house is a warehouse, I'm a supernatural porter, and when the Barbarians come, I charge out myself.

What kind of terrible place is this? What kind of miserable mess is this? Maybe I should try again tonight. If I close my eyes and kick my legs straight, perhaps I'll go back.

Landen lay back down and closed his eyes again, but he did not immediately fall asleep. Naturally, he could not return to the place before the dream began. That was because he discovered that he could sense countless points of light around him moving irregularly.

These points of light did not affect Landen's rest. Or perhaps they were merely some sort of signal or energy. Landen tried hard to make them form some kind of pattern, but unfortunately, after trying many methods for a long time, he failed every time.

In the end, Landen tried circulating a breath of qi through his dantian, gathering all the energy that would obey him. After another ten minutes of trying, he managed to condense a ball of energy about the size of a coin. It scattered in less than twenty seconds, and once it did, his stomach immediately voiced its protest. Mana-Wielders had big-boned bodies, and when they were hungry, their stomachs were loud. Landen was so embarrassed that he did not dare open his eyes.

"Landen? Landen?" A familiar voice sounded beside his ear. It was Nila, Landen's older sister. Landen's birth mother had died early, and Nila had cared for him until he was fourteen. Even after he awakened his Mana-Wielder Bloodline, Nila still handled most of his daily needs.

Landen opened his eyes sheepishly and saw Nila bringing over a great deal of food: jerky, baked flatbread, and hot soup. "How can you sleep on an empty stomach? You've become a Junior Knight now, so your appetite is even bigger. Eat more and replenish yourself."

"Nila, wait." Raul came over carrying a string of jerky. "Your food can fill him up, but it can't help Landen grow." With that, Raul handed the jerky in his hand to Landen.

"This is jerky made from a low-level Magic Beast, a Wind Wolf. I traded for it from the Barbarians during our last trading trip. Eat this.

"Knights can only truly grow stronger by eating more Magic Beast Meat."

More precisely, whether one was a Knight, Mage, or Cleric, advancement and breakthrough were both brief qualitative transformations and long-term quantitative accumulations. The total amount of magic power and Battle Qi within the body was directly proportional to the body's quality and size. To grow stronger, one had to eat, and there were essential differences between foods.

Ordinary grains and meat naturally contained nutrients and could replenish the body's consumption. But Magic Beast Meat and even Magic Potions could provide magic power more efficiently, allowing Mana-Wielders to accumulate strength and grow more quickly.

Landen looked at the strip of jerky in Raul's hand and remembered that half a year ago, after Hark and Raul had gone hunting, Hark had given Raul some of the Magic Beast Meat they had obtained.

He had not expected Raul to have been unwilling to eat it all this time, preserving it as cured meat instead. Though he did not know how much magic power remained after it had been pickled, the moment his eyes landed on the Magic Beast Meat, he could not look away. The words "I'm hungry" and "I want to eat" practically shone from his gaze. Landen felt a little embarrassed. After all, he was the lord now. Even if he was only acting Baron, he should not be competing with his subordinate for food.

After eating a late-night meal of Magic Beast Meat, Landen went back to sleep and had a dreamless night.

At dawn, when Landen woke, he felt a little disappointed that he had not returned. Soon, he learned that he truly had crossed over to an entirely different planet, because two suns, one large and one small, rose one after the other.

The massive sun was Laya. It was a pale blue star, like a pale blue Fireball, occupying most of the sky. After it rose, Landen felt that the temperature and brightness around him did not increase much. Instead, some invisible energy became more restless.

"Those are magic elements," Albert explained. "Most magic elements come from Laya's gift. When Laya rises, the magic elements across the land become more abundant. But we are close to the Gallop Plains, so the magic elements here are more chaotic."

Soon, the other sun rose as well. This star was Diyang. It was said that the name Diyang came from an extremely ancient civilization. All races now used the same names for the major celestial bodies in the sky.

Diyang was smaller than the sun seen from Earth, but it was exceptionally bright. Diyang's ascent rapidly raised the temperature on the ground.

As the new day began, the migration of the Territory Residents gradually got underway. Counting Landen and the others, there were not many Mana-Wielders in the territory. Raul sent one Mana-Wielder to deliver messages to the two knight territories and another to keep watch from the hill ten kilometers away.

Landen, Raul, and Albert led the other Mana-Wielders as laborers, carrying grain out from inside the castle.

Mana-Wielders were indeed useful as strength-based laborers. Landen found it exceptionally easy to lift sacks of grain weighing over a hundred kilograms. While carrying them, he also tried circulating qi through his dantian, attempting to make Battle Qi flow through his body.

Raul saw what Landen was doing and told him that Battle Qi was not trained that way. Landen's total Battle Qi was too low right now. If he frequently concentrated it without being able to replenish himself with Magic Beast Meat in time, he would only leave himself in a prolonged state of depleted qi, which would instead hinder his growth.

Raul was an Intermediate Knight after all, so his advice was highly instructive. Landen gave up trying to circulate Battle Qi while carrying things and focused on working hard. Just as everyone was halfway through the work, someone suddenly came to report that someone had returned from the Gallop Plains. It was Walker, the Junior Knight who had set out with Hark and the others.

Thanks to @ASLZRO for the recommendation vote support.