Lian stopped smiling as he heard the report, so even those mistakes had been intentional.
The attackers had probably studied similar situations many times before, and they knew that an experienced commander wouldn’t rush forward.
They knew he would gather the Chosen within the central protection zone, and they knew that the main defensive barrier would activate if there was even a small chance of an ambush.
Every step had been predicted in advance, but they had failed to calculate one thing correctly, that one of their intended hostages had the ability to wear down the array’s structure.
After the inspection was over, the escort commander ordered the important remains of the array to be collected for further investigation.
The injured were also moved to the medical carriages.
However, he didn’t immediately order the convoy to continue moving.
A large part of the convoy’s protective equipment needed to be checked again, and some defensive arrays had also been damaged during the attack.
On the other hand, they couldn’t ignore the possibility that another group of Black Vultures might be hiding near their route.
Therefore, the convoy remained in the same area for a while.
The commander sent an urgent report to the responsible centers through his communication device.
In addition to information about the attack, the report also mentioned the possibility that confidential information about the expedition had been leaked, and a short meeting with the escort unit leaders was held afterward.
The conclusion was clear.
The mission would not be canceled.
However, from this moment on, the route and the way the Chosen were protected had to be managed more carefully.
The ten Chosen were also not allowed to leave the convoy’s main area until the necessary checks were completed.
On the fourth night, the camp had a different atmosphere.
Small fires had been lit in different places, but the lively conversations from the first few days were no longer heard.
The guards were patrolling the camp in larger groups.
The protective mages were busy checking replacement equipment, and the healers were also regularly checking the condition of the injured.
Lian was sitting beside one of the carriages, while Roderick was cleaning his sword a little farther away, and Rindo was checking the latest security reports with the escort commander.
Despite their old disagreements, none of the three had allowed personal matters to affect their decisions during the attack.
"Can I sit here?" Noah’s voice came from beside him.
Lian raised his head. The young Frenchman was holding a small container of food, and his folded umbrella was hanging over his shoulder.
"Go ahead."
He sat down beside him.
For a while, both of them silently looked at the fire near one of the carriages.
Then Lian pointed at his umbrella.
"That’s an interesting weapon."
Noah glanced at it and smiled.
"I like it."
"It’s an unusual choice."
"Why? It works in the sun, and it works in the rain."
"And apparently, it works against bandits and monsters, too." The young Vorhelm let out a short laugh.
"That’s one of its uses, too."
Noah placed the food container beside him, picked up the umbrella, and looked at its handle for a few moments before turning back to Lian.
"Do you think it’s strange?"
"What?"
"That I fight with an umbrella."
"More than the weapon itself, I found the way you used it interesting." Lian thought for a moment.
"I’ll take that as a compliment." Noah smiled.
"Have you been training with it for a long time?"
He tilted his head slightly and remained silent for a moment before answering with his usual smile.
"Long enough."
Lian looked at him. It wasn’t a clear answer.
But on the other hand, there was no reason for him to be overly curious about the main weapon or real fighting style of someone he had only recently met.
During the battle, Noah’s stance had seemed a little unusual to him, as if he was used to holding a different kind of weapon.
However, his skill with the umbrella was undeniable.
The young Vorhelm didn’t continue the subject.
The young Frenchman also noticed that he had no intention of asking more questions. He looked at the fire for a moment before speaking.
"Today could have ended much worse."
"Yeah." Lian nodded.
Noah looked at his food container for a few seconds.
"That guard who was standing beside the mages..."
He left the sentence unfinished.
Lian knew who he was talking about, the man who had been killed before the battle had even fully begun.
"He didn’t even get the chance to defend himself." This time, there was no smile on the young Frenchman’s face.
"That was their plan. They wanted to open a path to their target before anyone could react."
Noah nodded.
"I know."
Silence fell between them for a few seconds, and then he looked toward the medical carriages.
"At least we managed to save the others."
"For now."
Noah looked at him, and Lian continued.
"We still have a long way to go, so we’d better stay alert until we reach our destination."
The young Frenchman looked at him for a few moments before giving a small smile.
"I completely agree with that."
He picked up his food container and stood up.
"By the way, we’re leaving early tomorrow morning, so you should get some rest."
"You too."
Noah headed toward the camp’s medical area, and Lian watched him leave for a few seconds.
He’s an interesting guy.
But unlike a few days ago, it wasn’t just his friendly behavior that interested him now. The young man had a high level of combat ability.
And apparently, he was much calmer in dangerous situations than one would expect from his cheerful and outgoing appearance.
On the fifth day, the convoy started moving again.
This time, the defensive formation had changed.
The scouts moved at different distances, and the protective mages were required to check any unknown mana structure before the convoy approached it.
No one was allowed to rely only on the usual procedures, and even when passing through relatively safe areas, the guards watched their surroundings more carefully.
Throughout the day, several reports about possible Black Vultures activity in the region were received, but no direct signs of those five people were found again.
Even so, the organization’s name continued to come up among the convoy members. Some soldiers talked about their past attacks.
Others were worried about how the attackers had managed to obtain confidential information about the expedition.
Lian also thought about this from time to time. In his eyes, the Black Vultures were not simply a group of powerful criminals.
Having the resources to prepare such an array, knowing the protective procedures, and gaining access to information about the ten Chosen showed that a much larger network was behind this operation.
And such a network couldn’t operate for long without powerful financial and intelligence connections.
He turned his gaze toward the plains outside the carriage. Some important people were probably using them, too. He had grown up in a great family that had direct connections to the world’s power structure.
Because of this, he knew better than many ordinary Awakened that some influential people preferred to leave their dirty work to groups that had no official connection to them.
Of course, he had no evidence yet to prove that such people were actually supporting the Black Vultures, but he took the possibility seriously, even considering it almost certain.
"It doesn’t matter for now."
He let out a calm breath.
"If they get in my way again, I’ll deal with them then." However, he kept one possibility in mind.
That the bandits had been sent by his stepmothers.
It was possible.
On the sixth day, the convoy’s route changed.
The rocky roads gave way to smoother paths, and there were more signs of a permanent human presence.
Small watchtowers stood at different distances.
Trade groups joined the main road from side routes, and large convoys sometimes passed them from the opposite direction.
This was one of the newly discovered trade routes in the Ruined Realm. Apparently, several mana crystal mines had been discovered in this area, so the Federation was building roads here.
The convoys they saw were carrying mana crystals.
The seventh day.
Sunlight fell across a vast plain.
But unlike the previous days, the light in the area looked strange.
Lian, who was sitting beside one of the carriage windows, noticed that the light on the horizon looked a little different.
At first, he thought the change was caused by the sun’s position, but when he looked more closely, he realized the light was coming from a direction that had no direct connection to the sun.
Far away, a golden line could be seen on the horizon.
It was thin and almost impossible to notice, but with every minute the convoy moved forward, the line grew larger.
He narrowed his eyes.
What’s that?
A few minutes later, it was no longer possible to mistake it for ordinary light.
The golden line had become a massive surface, one that rose from the ground and stretched beyond the clouds.
At first, only a small part of it could be seen, but when the convoy passed over the last hill, the true sight was revealed.
A massive curtain of golden and white light covered the entire horizon.
Its edges stretched in both directions, reaching so far that the eye couldn’t see where they ended.
The upper part of the curtain also passed through the clouds and disappeared at an unknown height.
Strands of light moved across its surface, sometimes slowly, like waves forming on water, and sometimes in the form of long folds that stretched from the ground to great heights.
But the strangest part of the sight wasn’t the light itself, but what was hidden behind it. No one could see what lay on the other side of the curtain.
No mountains, no forests, no plains, and not even the continuation of the sky could be seen behind it. It was as if a huge part of the Ruined Realm had been separated from the rest of the world, with a curtain of dawn drawn across its border.
The convoy slowly came to a stop.
For a while, no one spoke. Even the sounds made by the monster beasts pulling the carriages seemed insignificant compared to the sight before them.
Then the carriage doors opened, and the ten Chosen stepped outside one after another.
Noah raised his head, and his gaze moved toward the highest part of the curtain.
"This is amazing..."
Roderick was standing some distance away, with his hands behind his back, examining the sight without saying anything unnecessary.
After looking at the curtain, Rindo also turned his attention toward the entrance and the guards stationed around it.
But Lian felt something else.
Thump!
A powerful heartbeat echoed through his soul.
The Heart of Ruin had reacted, and its reaction was extremely powerful, so powerful that it made his entire soul tremble.
Something existed behind that curtain, something the Heart of Ruin wanted.
And this was happening even though they hadn’t crossed the border of the Land of the First Dawn yet.
Lian kept his expression calm. This journey could be more complicated than he had expected. This feeling was so powerful that it reminded him of the time when the Heart of Ruin had encountered the Black Silence.
At that very moment, the escort commander’s voice came from the front of the convoy.
"We’ve arrived."
The ten Chosen turned to look at him.
The man pointed toward the massive curtain in front of them.
"Welcome to the Land of the First Dawn."
The young Vorhelm raised his head.
The curtain’s golden light fell across his face.
Even with all the power he now possessed, he couldn’t tell what was waiting for them on the other side of the light.
However, one truth remained unchanged.
In the Ruined Realm, nothing could be predicted with complete certainty.
Even a seven-day journey that was supposed to take place under military protection had nearly ended in a massive kidnapping.
So, what could happen in a land separated from the rest of the world by such a massive curtain?
He kept his gaze fixed on the golden light.
A faint smile appeared on his face.
Well... let’s see what’s on the other side.
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(A/N : The Final Arc of Volume Three Officially Begins )
( Scene Visualization )