The entire town was in a state of high alert. The news about the horde reached them at this point, and refugees already lined the sides of the street. At the same time, many merchants and visitors of the town were in the process of leaving Bestrem to take refuge somewhere else, where they thought it would be safer.

Uncertainty and fear could be seen in everyone’s expressions. Families gathered on the sides of the road, disheveled and carrying barely anything on their person, comforting their children and the elderly as the guard tried to maintain some semblance of order. It was a grisly sight and a heavy atmosphere.

Only now did it seem to dawn on a lot of them what was at play here.

Red, with his crimson sense, felt this even more clearly. Their emotions affected him to a degree it never had since the trial, and the boy caught himself having a terrible headache in the middle of town.

This didn’t go unnoticed by his companions.

“Are you okay, Red?” Eiwin looked at him in concern.

Red shook his head. “Too many people. Should be better once we are out of town.”

The woman nodded, but she took one step closer to him, ready to act in case anything went wrong. Red didn’t protest, and they continued on their way downhill.

Surprisingly, their group didn’t get as much attention in the chaos the town had become. The townsfolk that recognized them, though, seemed more hopeful than before.”Hector and his guild are going to deal with the horde!”

“With Master Hector’s help, we have nothing to fear!”

Red wondered how these people would feel if they knew the elder planned to abandon them at the slightest sign of trouble. Still, their appearance did lift the townspeople’s spirits and gave them some comfort, as fleeting as it may be.

The streets were so crowded with carts and refugees that their progress downhill was slowed down. Still, with the help of the guards to clear the way, they eventually made it to the town’s edge, where even more refugees could be seen huddling around the side of the road and building their own camps.

Allen looked at them with some wonder and worry in his eyes. “This is a lot of people.”

Eiwin nodded. “Although our Bestrem town is the biggest settlement in the region, there are still dozens of villages and hamlets around the forest. Everyone in the horde's path was made to take refuge here.”

The young master frowned. “But there are still people arriving. Are they all going to make in time?”

Indeed, even now they could see a trail of dozens of carts making their way up the road towards their town. The suddenness of the horde had obviously made it so the evacuation had to be done in a short amount of time.

Eiwin had a troubled expression. “I don’t know, but the Baron’s men are doing their best.”

This didn’t seem to comfort Allen, who stared at the refugees with a sad expression.

As soon as they reached the town’s edge, a guard on horseback approached them. Red could tell this was the individual responsible for seeing movement in and out of town.

The man got off his horse and bowed towards Hector. “Greetings, Master Hector. Our lord Baron told me to receive you and your sect members as soon as you left town.”

Hector frowned. “Why? Is there something I need to know?”

“Ah, not at all.” the guard shook his head. “I was told that the Baron was not made aware of how you and your group planned to travel, so me and my men were to provide you assistance if necessary. We have horses available for your use, should you so wish.”

Hector snorted. “Horses? With how many people are on the road, horses would be more of a hindrance than anything. No, we’ll be making our way on foot.”

The man gulped with a nervous expression. “I-Is there any other help that I can provide you?”

Before Hector could respond, Eiwin spoke up. “Thank you for offering your assistance, but we have everything sorted here.”

The guard looked relieved. “Very well. Should you require something on your way over, make sure to approach some of our guards. The road to the river is long, but we have men stationed at various points along it to assure swift communication and support for our allies.”

The woman smiled. “We will keep that in mind.”

The guard bowed towards them again before mounting his horse and trotting off.

Hector led the group to an empty area amidst all the refugees and the farmland before looking back at his sect members.

“This is where we part ways.” he said. “I’ll be going ahead of you.”

Rimold frowned. “Wait, how exactly are you going to go ahead of us? Are you just going to run really fast?”

Red also shared the same doubts. For some reason, he just couldn’t imagine someone liked Hector running around or doing any kind of physical task, for that matter.

The elder scoffed. “Running? What do you think I am, a brute?” he shook his head. “No, I can’t fly at my cultivation level, but I still have my ways.”

As the elder said that, he waved his hand in front of him. Bright blue Spiritual Energy manifested from his fingers, transforming the ground in front of him into ice. Then, he stepped onto this slippery ground before giving the rest of them one last glance.

“Remember - prioritize your safety above everything else.”

With those words, Hector waved his hand again, and the ice began to extend in front of him, forming a raised path in the air. Without hesitation, the elder slid along this ice road, his movements leading him effortlessly along this continuously expanding path.

Pillars extended beneath the narrow icy path and connected to the ground, as Hector conjured it with waves of his hand, and before long, the elder was standing almost ten meters above the ground. He skated along with extraordinary speed, and before long he was at the tree line. This spectacle didn’t go unnoticed by the people at the edge of town, who all pointed in wonder at this seemingly flying old man.

Red and the others also watched in awe as Hector distanced themselves from them, disappearing completely from their view below the horizon a few minutes later. The boy was in disbelief, but the raised ice path the elder left behind served as evidence that what just happened was indeed real.

“How long can he keep that up?” Red asked.

Rog scratched his beard. “A few hours. Then he has to land and run for a bit or else he would spend all his Spiritual Energy.”

The man had recovered his scraggly hair and appearance after six months of recovery, and no one could tell he had almost died from being burned alive.

Rimold frowned. “Wait, but I thought he didn’t run!”

The hunter shrugged. “It’s a funny sight.”

The rogue ignored the man and looked back at the ice path. “Can’t we also use this path to-”

As soon as Rimold said that, a cracking sound came from the ice path. It started to collapse and melt gradually in front of their eyes, leaving nothing but broken ice and a puddle of water to indicate it was there in the first place.

Eiwin smiled and shook her head. “It’s relatively hot where we live. Ice like this can’t sustain itself for long, not to mention elemental structures created by Spiritual Energy have a certain impermanence too.”

Narcha sighed in annoyance. “Can we go already or are you going to give us another lecture?”

Eiwin looked over at Narcha with a frown, but didn’t say anything.

She glanced at the rest of them and nodded. “Let’s be on our way, then.”

…

Red wasn’t really used to traveling on a road. Most of his forays into the forest were made amidst the trees, and not on a clear path to walk on. He stood exposed to the elements out here, an easy target for an ambush by anyone hiding behind the heavy foliage of the forest.

Thankfully, however, he had the rest of his sect members by his side. Rog and Rimold were experienced in scouting in the forest, so they could notice if anything was amiss. Not to mention that with Red’s crimson sense, he could detect such ambushes from far away.

As they walked through the road, they came across more refugees and guards, rushing to reach the town. They became scarce as night arrived, but even then the group found a handful of them along the way, either walking through the night to reach the town or camping by the roadside. This also meant they had plenty of torches and campfires to light their way.

Still, they had prepared a handful of lanterns to help them. Not that Red needed them.

The atmosphere around the group itself was awkward. Narcha’s brooding expression didn’t go unnoticed by any of them, except maybe for a certain someone who was terrible at reading the room.

“When are we going to arrive?” Allen asked with an excited expression.

“Probably in twelve more hours.” Rog said. “Around when the sun is coming up again.”

The young master smiled in eagerness. “I can’t wait for it! It’s been so long since we have been on a trip together! I will show you how much I have improved since then! I’ll be fighting right by your side in the frontline!”

“You’re going to stay in the back.” Narcha cut him off.

“What?! No way!”

The woman frowned. “This is not a joke, you brat. You have no idea how fierce a horde really is. The first clash is always the most dangerous, and none of us are going to have time to look after you in the thick of it.” She looked over at Red. “That goes for you too. I know you’re capable, but this is something you haven’t dealt with before.”

‘I’m not sure if that’s true.’

Red remembered his time in the underground dealing with the waves of monsters. Of course, the boy was never in the frontlines back then, so he supposed Narcha was right to some degree. He had gotten stronger, but it wasn’t to the point where he felt confident in handling himself against dozens of monsters in melee combat.

Thankfully, he brought his bow along, too.

Eiwin looked over at him and Allen. “You will both have your chance to contribute, but that’s after the initial attack has passed. For now, you will stick with Rimold and Rog in the back and support us from afar.”

Rimold looked surprised. “I’m staying in the back?”

“Why? Is that a problem?”

“No, no! I mean, that’s perfect for me!” the rogue shook his head. “I can definitely be more useful on the back.”

Allen looked disheartened, but he didn’t protest. That in itself was proof that the young master had indeed grown and matured, if only a little bit.

They continued to walk through the night, as Red felt the familiar pressure of the lunar gaze set upon him. He had gotten used to it, but its effects on his mind were impossible to ignore, much more so as it got closer to a New Moon.

Right as Red was dealing with the pressure, he felt something flicker in his crimson sense.

“Hm?” The boy froze and looked between the trees.

His movements were immediately noticed by the rest of the group, who had come to learn to rely on his power during their ventures.

“What is it?” Rog asked, his hand going to his bow.

“I felt something.” Red said. “It appeared and disappeared in a second.”

His crimson sense didn’t exclusively detect human or monster presences. It could also detect normal animals, and there were many of them in the forest. However, their fluctuations were much weaker, and it barely registered in the boy’s senses.

This one, however, was strong enough for him to detect, and the fact it immediately disappeared from his senses was suspicious.

Narcha frowned. “Do you know what it was?”

The boy hesitated. “… I’m not sure.”

Although he said that, he felt a sense of recognition in his mind. A lingering feeling that he knew he couldn’t ignore.