Our Journey Has Only Just Begun

"Harrot, no need to keep chasing them. Just drive them away. The north has been mostly cleared; next, we'll head south!"

The alliance had no intention of immediately driving out or slaughtering every Centaur on the Thunder Tribe's lands. That would have been far too difficult. They only intended to clear out the area closest to the wilderness first.

They would take it one step at a time. The alliance had already drawn a rough map of the land. A continuous mountain range and several deserts formed natural boundaries, separating the Thunder Tribe's territory from those of the other large tribes.

The Thunder Tribe's territory was two or three times the size of Lucanir. In terms of his previous life, it was roughly one million square kilometers—about three times the size of Japan.

For now, the alliance had selected a human territory roughly one-eighth the size of the entire map, about as large as the Eastern Province.

This place was close to the wilderness, and there had never been many Centaurs here. After the Thunder Tribe's crushing defeat, the ordinary Centaurs who had fled had long since escaped.

Only a few dim-witted Centaurs remained in the area, hunting and settling here. The alliance was now wiping them out.

After hearing Marcus's words, Harrot stopped his pursuit. During these days of extermination, he had gained another level and was now level 13. The three Knight Squires whose experience tomes had nearly been filled had also advanced into Rogue Knights.

He now had six Rogue Knights and one adventurer under his command. In a sense, his strength was no weaker than that of some minor nobles. Rogue Knights possessed physical attributes far beyond those of ordinary Transcendent Knights, but without transcendent power, their actual combat strength was difficult to judge.

Harrot himself was also improving rapidly. His skill with the two-handed greatsword had grown even more refined. Now, his sparring partner was no longer The Bald Man, but Tiona.

"News has come from Cleon. The clearing operation in the east is going smoothly!" Marcus had sent Cleon to lead the ordinary soldiers alongside the main force. There were more Centaurs in the east, not something a small elite force could handle.

Marcus had relatively few soldiers. Following the main army made him feel like little more than a supporting act, so he simply had The Bald Man lead the troops while he moved with his own Knights, Harrot, and Harrot's retainers.

Any one of those dozen or so people could easily defeat an ordinary Centaur. They were more than qualified as an elite force.

Marcus envied Harrot's ability to train troops beyond measure. Ordinary soldiers could be trained to become even stronger than Transcendent Knights.

Harrot could only brush it off by saying it was a special ability granted by Sun's Blessing. Marcus did not doubt him. For centuries, Sun Priests had been figures second only to Legendary Experts in human kingdoms. They possessed all sorts of strange abilities.

On the way back, Marcus raised his head and looked at the sky. The clear blue heavens and scattered clouds filled his vision, and his heart swelled with lofty ambition.

"Hey, Harrot, our journey has only just begun! Don't be satisfied with this! Sooner or later, I'll become a Legendary Expert! And don't keep being some minor knight. Once you get Hero's Water, give it everything you've got and become a noble!"

"Once you become a noble too, we can lead humanity in a counterattack against the orcs together! Then we'll become great heroes whose names will be remembered for ages!"

Marcus no longer saw Harrot as merely a Knight under his command. He had never put on noble airs, and he had long regarded Harrot as a friend.

Harrot had not expected Marcus to suddenly say something like that. They had only just finished a hard battle, yet Marcus was already imagining becoming a Legendary Expert and leading humanity against the orcs.

Marcus's heart seemed to contain a blazing fire, filled with passion and fervor that would never burn out.

To be honest, Harrot did not have ideals as lofty as Marcus's, like launching a counterattack against the orcs. But Marcus's passion infected him, especially those words: "Our journey has only just begun."

Harrot looked at the sky and took several deep breaths. Elves, dwarves, Centaurs, magic, transcendent bloodlines, armies clashing in battle, passionate fights, and novel experiences—everything made him feel incomparably fulfilled and exhilarated.

Harrot felt increasingly fortunate that he had accepted Marcus's invitation and become his Knight to pioneer these lands together. Only then had he been able to witness such a vast world.

"Fine. Maybe I'll become a Legendary Expert before you do!" With Harrot's current strength, if he drank Hero's Water and obtained Sun's Blessing, he might very well become a Legendary Expert directly.

"Haha, that would be great too. It would prove I have a good eye! But don't underestimate this. Over thousands of years of human history, fewer than a thousand Heroic Nobles have been born. Of those who drank Hero's Water, fewer than one in ten thousand became heroes!"

Marcus gave him a serious warning. Indeed, heroic deeds could not be accomplished merely by clearing out cannon fodder and underlings. To obtain Sun's Blessing, one had to challenge trials that were almost impossible.

For example, slaying a Legendary Level Balrog in a volcanic cave filled with lava, or defeating a Legendary Level Frost Giant amid the harsh environment of ice and snow.

Those were the heroic deeds accomplished by Marcus's ancestor, "Elvin," and Marquis Prague's ancestor, "Eren," respectively.

Neither of them had noble bloodlines at the time. Even after drinking Hero's Water, their strength could not possibly have reached the Legendary Level. They might not even have been stronger than Marcus was now.

Defeating powerful Legendary Creatures with weak strength under unfavorable conditions—such feats absolutely deserved the word "heroic."

Of course, those two examples were rather extreme. Not all heroic ancestors had been so monstrous. Marquis Prague's family and Marcus's family were both among the four strongest families in the kingdom. Their status was so high because their ancestors had been exceptionally great and their bloodlines exceptionally powerful.

The ancestors of other ordinary nobles or minor nobles had also accomplished heroic deeds, but their feats were not necessarily so great.

Hadn't Harrot also received Sun's Blessing after killing an Ogre alone? If someone physically weak drank Hero's Water and happened to be about as strong as Harrot had been at the time, then defeating an Ogre could give him a chance to receive Sun's Blessing and become a Heroic Noble.

Naturally, the bloodline inherited by such nobles would be relatively weak. It might even completely disappear after being passed down for generations. That was why human nobles became fewer and fewer.

"But I think you can definitely do it! Back in the Gladiatorial Arena, I realized you were the kind of person who could unleash even greater potential the deeper you were pushed into adversity!" Marcus said, staring directly into Harrot's eyes.

Harrot felt a little embarrassed to be held in such high regard by Marcus. Was he really that impressive? Harrot had always felt there was nothing particularly remarkable about him. More than half of his achievements had come from the system; anyone else could have easily done the same.

Marcus's words gave Harrot tremendous encouragement. I should take my own efforts and struggles more seriously, Harrot thought, beginning to change his mindset.

After clearing the northern region, everyone returned to the main army's base to rest—Elf Home, a miraculous castle built in only a few days with the Archmage's magic.

The Archmage was proficient in Turn Mud to Stone, the dwarves were natural master builders, and the humans mobilized vast numbers of soldiers to dig soil, fetch water, and make mud. Together, they completed this massive castle capable of housing nearly ten thousand people.

If humans had built such a castle on their own, even thousands of laborers would have needed more than a decade. Yet with the help of magic, an army of tens of thousands had completed it in only a few days. It was a miracle in every sense of the word!

It was worth mentioning that the dwarf army withdrew after completing the castle. They had originally only been responsible for dealing with the Thunder Tribe. They had only helped build the castle because of the large quantities of fine liquor.

Archmage Iltiran also left. After obtaining the Centaur heart, he had long been impatient to return and begin his research. He had only remained here to settle the elves.

Those ninety-odd elves had grown tired of living in the Elf Forest and come out to see the world, so naturally they would not return. Since the castle was called "Elf Home," ownership naturally belonged to the elves. It was Archmage Iltiran's way of looking after his people.

Although the castle had been built through everyone's combined efforts, the Archmage's magic had absolutely been the core of it. Furthermore, the humans' mistake had resulted in the Archmage being injured, and they had to make amends. Thus, the castle was considered compensation for the Archmage.

The Centaur Chieftain's Legendary Ability, Thunder Spear, had been terrifyingly powerful. At the time, the Archmage had been maintaining a spell and could not stop immediately. If not for the necklace around his neck blocking and cushioning the attack, buying him time to teleport away, he would have been severely injured—or even killed on the spot!

After all, neither elves as a race nor mages as a profession were particularly durable, with one half-blood exception.

When they had originally discussed the plan, the humans had confidently declared that they would handle the Centaur Chieftain. The Archmage only needed to cast Legendary magic to change the course of the battle.

But they had underestimated the Centaur Chieftain and had not expected him to possess such a brutal long-range attack. As a result, the Archmage was injured by magical backlash and even lost a precious magical item. Even if the Archmage was in a good mood after obtaining a Legendary Creature's heart and did not mind too much, the humans could not simply pretend nothing had happened.

Tiona, meanwhile, excitedly became the castle's owner. The other elves were indifferent to fame and fortune and disliked a castle with such distinctly dwarven craftsmanship. Only Tiona expressed appreciation for it. Orcs and dwarves had rather similar tastes; they both liked grand, imposing, spacious architectural styles.

Still, although the castle belonged to the elves, the human allied army could pay to borrow it and rest there before establishing its own nation. The elves were easygoing as well. Leaving such a large castle empty would be a waste. If Tiona had not made a request, they could have stayed there for free without paying anything.

When Marcus entered the castle, he discovered that the nobles had begun another victory banquet. With no other forms of entertainment, they could only hold feasts to celebrate. Unfortunately, there were neither beautiful women nor fine wine—the dwarves had taken all of it—so they could only make do by roasting some game.

Marcus brought several Knights and Harrot's seven retainers in to celebrate. Though Harrot's people were neither Knights nor nobles, their personal strength was exceptional, and their status was no lower than that of ordinary Knights.

The moment Marcus entered the banquet hall, hundreds of people raised their cups in welcome. It was all inferior liquor that the dwarves would not even look at under normal circumstances, yet now the nobles had to drink it sparingly.

Although the pioneering conditions were harsh, no one felt the slightest hardship. A bright future was beckoning to them!

Marcus had rendered great merit several times during this pioneering campaign, and his strength was among the best. Barring any surprises, he would become one of the top great nobles after the nation was established. More importantly, he was young and unmarried, the perfect match for a political marriage. All the nobles treated him warmly.