A Long Journey

The blazing sun hung high in the azure sky, pouring endless light and heat onto the scorched earth. The ground was covered in yellow sand and grayish-brown rocks. Only a few shrubs and several withered blades of grass stood in the desert. Hungry vultures circled overhead, searching for animal carcasses. Occasionally, a fierce wind howled across the land, kicking up clouds of dust.

A caravan was traveling across the ground—it was Green's caravan. Ever since they had encountered pursuers from the Saladin Kingdom, everyone in the group had been uneasy. To reassure them, the baron could only urge them onward without pause. During the month-long journey, they had not encountered any more pursuers. They had only run into a few wolf packs, but the guards alone had been more than enough to handle such minor troubles.

Over the past month of travel, the caravan had occasionally encountered other nobles who had also chosen to leave. Especially at the edge of the forest, a large number of nobles had gathered there. Unable to cross the wasteland on their own, these nobles hoped to strengthen themselves through alliances and improve their chances of making it across.

When Green's caravan left the forest, it naturally caught the attention of those nobles. Although the caravan looked exceptionally bedraggled, the sharp-eyed nobles noticed that while everyone in Green's group was exhausted, their eyes were filled with confidence. In particular, whenever they looked toward the carriage in the middle, where Green rode, their gazes were actually full of pride.

Seeing this, the nobles naturally did everything they could to gather information. When they learned that Green's caravan had defeated five Knight-level fighters, the nobles lingering at the entrance to the wasteland stared in utter disbelief. This was followed by a flood of requests to travel together.

However, most of those nobles were very weak, and their caravans carried few supplies. They would only hold them back. After Baron Green and Os discussed the matter, they ultimately chose to travel with one of the caravans.

Baron Candia was a lord whose territory lay relatively close to the baron's lands. Only Baron Candia himself was a formal Knight, while his captain of the guards was merely a Knight Apprentice. Their overall combat strength was far inferior to Green's group. However, Baron Candia had been fortunate enough not to encounter any pursuers. Otherwise, given his caravan's strength, it likely would not have made it out of the forest.

Baron Candia's caravan could offer virtually no help in terms of combat power, but it carried a great deal of food and water. Baron Candia knew that he lacked martial strength. If he did not join a group soon, Saladin's pursuers might catch up with him. If they were then forced into the wasteland, their situation would only become worse.

Baron Candia successfully joined Green's caravan in exchange for three wagonloads of food and water. With sufficient provisions, the caravan entered the Visas Wasteland.

"Lord Green, thank you for your guidance." Inside Green's carriage, two young men around his age were receiving his instruction. They were Kahn, the baron's eldest son, and Okat, the son of the captain of the guards, Os.

"As for breaking through to Knight Apprentice, these are all the techniques I can teach you. I believe your fathers have told you as well—beyond this, it mostly depends on your own efforts." Green waved a hand with his eyes half-closed, dismissing them.

Seeing this, Kahn and Okat stood, bowed, and carefully withdrew from the carriage.

"Lord Green explained everything so clearly. It was completely different from how Father taught it. After Father finished explaining, I was still only half convinced I understood." After leaving the carriage, the two spoke about the knowledge Green had taught them as they walked toward the carriage at the front of the convoy.

Kahn, with his golden hair, nodded in agreement, believing that Okat was absolutely right. "Father and the others seem not to know exactly how they broke through to Knight Apprentice themselves. They can only instinctively describe the feeling. It is nothing like Lord Green's clear explanation. I feel that following Lord Green's method will greatly improve our chances of success."

After the two left, Green opened his half-closed eyes and looked out the carriage window. Seeing the same unchanging Gobi landscape, he closed the window again.

After entering the Visas Wasteland, Saladin's pursuers could not possibly follow them inside. With more free time, everyone began looking for things to do. The baron and Os had personally asked Green to teach Kahn and Okat, offering him a carriage full of valuables as payment before he agreed.

There were basically no threats left now, and crossing the Visas Wasteland was all but certain. The bandits of the Visas Wasteland would find it difficult to pose any real threat to the caravan. Green also needed to consider what would happen after they reached the Maslow Alliance. Having some wealth would make many things easier, so naturally, he had not refused the offer.

[ Ding. Life Seed solidification complete. You may break through to formal Knight. ]

Green had naturally heard the chip's notification. Throughout the vast wasteland, there was nothing to do but travel. Naturally, he had been keeping a close eye on the chip's tasks.

An apprentice's first meditation had to be performed in a quiet environment. Green had never had the opportunity to practice the basic meditation technique. He would likely have to wait until they reached the Maslow Alliance and settled down before he could formally begin.

After the Life Seed solidified, Green found detailed records in Old Green's Storm Breathing Technique regarding how to break through to formal Knight.

According to the chip's analysis, activating the Life Seed meant giving it a function similar to a heart. It could connect the energy channels inside and outside the body, allowing the Life Seed to absorb external energy with every breath and feed it back into the body. As time passed, the Life Seed would continuously store external energy. To become a Grand Knight, one had to activate that energy, allowing the Life Seed to take root and sprout. It could then extract and manipulate external energy with greater power, eventually forming a translucent shield.

The Storm Breathing Technique contained extremely detailed records on every stage of a Knight, but it did not contain a single word about breaking through to Grand Knight. Green naturally knew why: not a single person who had learned the Storm Breathing Technique had ever reached the Grand Knight level.

As for the reason, the Storm Breathing Technique's wildly fanciful breakthrough method became increasingly dangerous with every advancement. The transition from Knight to Grand Knight was even more perilous. Few people practiced the Storm Breathing Technique to begin with, and its risks were so high that naturally no one had been able to break through to Grand Knight.

Just as Green was considering when to make his breakthrough, someone suddenly knocked on his window.

"Lord Green, there is a river ahead. The caravan can set up camp there for the night and replenish our water supply before continuing tomorrow. The two barons asked me to seek your opinion." Wasn't this like someone bringing him a pillow just as he felt sleepy? Naturally, Green had no objections.

"I have no objections. Everyone has been busy for so long. It would be good to rest."

"Yes, Lord Green." The person outside the window quickly left, his footsteps gradually fading into the distance.

Very soon, the caravan reached the river. After forming a simple circular defensive position according to their planned arrangement, they began setting up camp.