Departure

In the third month after the war ended, peace returned to the border village.

The army of magical beasts did not advance north again. The agreement between the Radiant Church and Dylan, the king of magical beasts, was clear: the beasts would occupy half the territory of the Holy Union and the Dark Alliance, while humanity withdrew to the other half. Fenlai City and the vast lands to its south had all fallen, becoming a paradise for magical beasts. The northern provinces, meanwhile, were packed with refugees fleeing from the south.

An stood at the village entrance, gazing at the distant mountain ranges, and made up his mind.

"Father, I want to go to the O'Brien Empire," An told Hogg over dinner. "The magical beast calamity may be over now, but it wouldn't be surprising if another broke out someday. With the War God there, the O'Brien Empire will be safer. Besides, Wharton is there. He must be terribly worried about us."

Hogg set down his cutlery and fell silent for a moment. How could he not miss his youngest son? Wharton had been sent to the Warrior Academy in the O'Brien Empire when he was six, and nine years had passed since then. In those nine years, Hogg had seen him only a handful of times.

"You're right." Hogg nodded. "It's time I went to see Wharton too. But Wushan Town..." His voice trailed off.

Wushan Town no longer existed. After the magical beast army swept through, the entire town had been reduced to ruins.

"Father, Wushan Town can be rebuilt. The glory of the Baruch Clan won't disappear just because a house was destroyed," An said. "As long as we're still here, so is the clan."

Hogg looked at An, his eyes filled with pride and relief. His second son had always been levelheaded, even as a child. Now he was a Saint-level expert, capable of supporting the entire clan.

Hillman was there as well, his injuries fully healed. He had been gravely wounded in that battle, but after several months of rest, with An using his Saint-level battle qi to help his body recover, he was completely well again.

"Uncle Hillman, come with us," An said.

Hillman grinned. "Young Master An, you're a Saint-level expert now. Do you still need a sixth-rank warrior like me to protect you?"

An smiled too. "After all these years, we're already family."

Hillman's smile softened a little. He was the captain of the Baruch Clan's guards, and after so many years, he had long since come to regard himself as a member of the family.

Three days later, the three of them set out.

An had acquired a luxurious carriage with help from the Dawson Chamber of Commerce at the border fortress. Four fine horses pulled it, and its spacious interior was furnished with soft beast-hide cushions, a small table, and a wine cabinet. A shock-absorbing magic array had also been installed beneath the carriage, keeping the ride smooth even on bumpy roads.

"This carriage is far too extravagant." Hillman sat inside, looking rather uncomfortable. "Young Master An, we're just traveling. There's no need for anything this..."

"Uncle Hillman, this journey will take a year," An said. "Isn't it better to travel in comfort?"

On the day they departed, Linley came to see them off.

"An, Father, Uncle Hillman, take care on the road." Linley stood at the village entrance with Bebe perched on his shoulder.

An patted Linley's shoulder. "Big Brother, are you really not coming with us?"

Linley shook his head. "I'm going to train in the Magical Beast Mountain Range. Only by facing life and death can I break through faster. I'm still too weak. I can't hold you back." A flicker of determination crossed his eyes. An was already at the middle stage of the ninth rank, while he was still hovering around the sixth rank. It weighed on him.

"Go on." Linley patted An's shoulder. "I'll see you in the O'Brien Empire."

He turned and headed south with Bebe. Bebe looked back and squeaked twice at An, who watched Linley's retreating figure gradually disappear into the mountain woods.

"An, Linley will be all right, won't he?" Hogg's voice came from inside the carriage, laden with worry.

"He will," An said.

The carriage set off.

An rode ahead to lead the way, Hillman drove the carriage, and Hogg rested inside. The four fine horses trotted briskly north along the main road. Fields and villages stretched along both sides, but many villages were already deserted. The shadow of the magical beast calamity hung over the entire continent. Though the north was safe, refugees fleeing the south had left every town unbearably crowded.

For the first month, the road was fairly peaceful.

Most of the small towns they passed through still maintained order, and they occasionally saw soldiers on patrol.

But after they reached the northern border of the Fenlai Kingdom, things began to worsen.

This area was only a few hundred li from the fallen territories, and large numbers of refugees poured in from the south every day. The main road was packed with people pushing handcarts, carrying bundles, or holding children. Exhaustion and fear were etched into their faces, their eyes hollow. Some had been walking for months, coming all the way from the southernmost reaches of the Holy Union. Thick calluses covered their feet, and their shoes had long since worn out. They walked barefoot over the gravel road, their feet bleeding.

An had to slow his horse and weave through the crowd.

"Make way! Please make way!" Hillman shouted, but it did little good. The refugees filled the entire road, and the carriage could barely move forward.

An frowned, dismounted, and walked to the front of the carriage to clear a path himself.

An elderly woman in ragged clothes, holding an infant, was nearly knocked down in the crush. An reached out to steady her, then took some dry rations and a waterskin from the carriage and handed them to her.

"Thank you. Thank you, my lord." The old woman dropped to her knees and kowtowed.

An helped her up. He knew a piece of dry food could not save her, but at that moment, it was all he could do.

Hogg leaned out of the carriage window and watched, his eyes full of compassion. He had been born a noble, but the Baruch Clan had never taken pleasure in exploiting commoners. Looking at these displaced people, he thought of his neighbors in Wushan Town.

It took the carriage an entire day to get through that stretch of refugees.

Night fell, and the main road grew much less crowded. An found an open spot and had the carriage stop there for the night. Hillman lit a campfire and toasted their dry rations. Hogg sat beside the fire without a word.

"Father, what are you thinking about?" An asked.

Hogg sighed. "These people have lost their homes and their loved ones. How will they survive?"

In this world where the strong preyed on the weak, the weak could only depend on the strong. Those refugees would flood into great cities and struggle to survive in the slums, or become tenant farmers on noble estates. A very few might get back on their feet, but most would spend their lives in hardship.

The days passed, and the landscape along the road changed from hills to plains, from plains to mountains, and then from mountains to vast grasslands. They had left the territory of the Fenlai Kingdom and entered several duchies in the northern Holy Union. These duchies had not been attacked by magical beasts, but the flood of refugees had overwhelmed them. Some of their rulers began closing their borders and barring refugees from entry, leaving countless people stranded along the border. Untold numbers died of starvation and disease.

As they continued north, the refugees on the road grew fewer, and public order steadily improved. By the fifth month, they had entered the buffer zone between the Holy Union and the O'Brien Empire, a vast stretch of unclaimed land.

No nation governed this place. It was a paradise for bandits and outlaws.