Shelter Cove was no Breeze City.
There were no banquets, no countless maids, no sprawling manors. All the Nobles were forced to eat the same food as the townspeople, wear rough homespun clothes, and spend their days swinging axes or hoes in the Forest and fields.
Once they left Breeze City, the Old Nobility who had stood firmly beside Olmedo split into different The Factions. It was as though fighting one another was humanity's eternal calling.
And trouble came from outside as well.
Real enemies, for instance. The evil creatures in the Forest...
Wandering Orcs, Kobolds, and Gnolls dared not approach the town, while Vampires and Ratfolk were struck down as soon as they slipped inside. But there was no avoiding the strange creatures of the Third Monster Mountains.
Martin was the first to encounter one while picking apples in the Forest. It was a lone Soul-Sucking Monster. It spotted him wandering through the trees with a basket on his arm. Luckily, he got off lightly: after clinging to his head for a short while, it left in disappointment.
The woodcutters and women dared not venture deep into the Forest. Martin did.
"What doesn't kill us just... doesn't kill us." Basket on his arm, Martin prepared to enter the Forest.
"Olmedo! Olmedo! Olmedo!"
Just then, Leila ran past, shouting like an alarm bell.
"Have you lost your mind?"
Luoxi shouted at Krian in disbelief. "Our orders are to wait here for Lord Annan!"
"There's no chance for us to grow stronger here." Krian shook his head.
The young man who had risen from a displaced person to deputy commander of the Musketeer Corps had emerged from the Rat Tide hardened and resolute.
"I've made up my mind."
He picked up his bundle, but Femi stood in the doorway, blocking