Chapter 44 Remote Village

Even though my head was about to burst, I still rode my horse to escape.

According to the direction from which I came, which was the north gate of the city, I should have run straight north, and that's what I did.

But I did not continue riding north.

As soon as I get out of sight of the soldiers, I turn west. From there, I galloped until I felt that I had created quite a distance.

'There's no way Baron Warwick will just keep quiet. Most likely, that person will surely send soldiers after me.'

Thus, next, I must find a place to rest. At least a small village.

But before I searched for the nearest village, I got off the horse and let the horse go somewhere. I did that to trick the pursuers. Because if I continue to ride the horse, the footprints of the horse will be very clear and it will be easy to trace my whereabouts.

Even though I still don't feel too safe, at least I want to find a place to recover from the headache I've been suffering from.

That's what I thought while staggering.

After walking for a long time, I finally saw a village.

It was a remote village in a remote area anyway, so it was no wonder the size of the village was so small.

In fact, according to what I've seen, the number of houses can be counted on human fingers.

[Skill Inventory - Active.]

Once inside the village, I used the remaining Mana in my body to take out a one-handed sword from the Inventory.

That way, when I walk into the village, the villagers will think I'm an Adventurer. And sure enough, as soon as a few people saw me, they immediately came up to me and started talking.

"Are you an Adventurer, Sir?"

"Yes. Is there anything I can help you with?"

"I am the Village Head of this village. May I have a moment of your time?"

"Of course."

I tried to act like I wasn't in pain.

"Ahaha, good to hear. It's been a long time since an Adventurer stopped by this village since it's a remote village. Regardless, will you accept this old man's request?"

The old man laughed with a worried look on his face. Maybe he was worried that I would get angry or maybe even throw a tantrum. At least, that was the stigma attached to the Adventurer profession.

Moreover, a request like that had to be made to the Adventurer's Guild first and then forwarded to the Adventurer.

It is implemented to classify the level of danger of a request first.

To reduce the death rate of Adventurers, mission levels were created.

"I'll hear it first."

Hearing my answer that seemed to give him hope, he gave a disgusting smile. Then he took me to his house to hear his request. This way, I can also rest there.

***

After arriving at the house of the village head who was going to make my request, he gave me the freedom to rest before we discussed the details of his request.

'It seems he has a serious problem since he allowed a foreigner like myself to live here.'

Making the best of my time, I cleaned myself up and lay down on my back on a hard, smelly mattress. Even so, I don't have a problem because I'm used to living without a mattress.

While lying down, I started thinking about a few things.

"Hopefully the soldiers chasing me will think that I have gone north."

I can make such assumptions not without reason, there is a rationale in which I believe that the soldiers pursuing me will prioritize searching northward.

The reason was, in the north, many large cities could be used as hiding places.

Unlike what was north of Ryam city, west of Ryam city there were only small villages which would not make sense for hiding places.

Moreover, in the west direction from Ryam city, there is a place that became the basis of my assumption, where I assumed that the soldiers would never think that I would go west.

The place I am referring to is called Fier Mountain.

Fier Mountain was also commonly referred to as a natural barrier. A barrier that prevents Ryam city from being able to gain better access to other major cities. That barrier was the reason why Ryam city was still a remote city.

You might think that the lord of Ryam city should have made the place no longer a natural Barrier, but I can guess with certainty that no generation of Ryam city lords has been able to realize that.

Why? It was because Fier Mountain was a mysterious place. Even that place was already considered one of the 7 most mysterious places on the Averus Continent.

Indeed, many people tried to enter Fier Mountain, but not many people returned. Even the ones who returned left only fear on their faces.

Speaking of which, Fier Mountain is a place I've always wanted to visit.

'I don't think it's quite right to say that it's a place I want to go to, but a place I have to go to.'

Originally, I wanted to go to Fier Mountain and train from the beginning, but I changed my mind after seeing the various benefits of the World System.

But now, seeing that I was having a hard time dealing with Gilbert and Vice Knight Captain, Trusty, I realized that I had to head to Fier Mountain.

That's not the only reason I'm going south. My biggest reason is to cut the road.

According to the route displayed on everyone's general map, I must first travel north, passing through several towns and cities, before I can finally reach Burgenfield city.

However, by cutting over Fier Mountain, I can arrive there more quickly.

"He's finally here."

Actually, not only was I lying meaninglessly on the bed, but I was waiting for Gilbert's arrival.

Through mind control, I could tell that Gilbert had managed to escape safely. I went behind the village chief's house which was deserted. There, Gilbert unsteadily started walking towards me.

Who would have thought that he would be able to escape alive? Even though the wounds on his body were ready to take his life, at least he was still safe.

Previously, after the vice-knight captain Trusty heard the soldiers' shouts saying that Daniel was dead, the vice-knight captain Trusty immediately lost interest in Gilbert.

That was the reason why Gilbert was able to escape.

It would be easier if you imagine me and Gilbert distracting the Vice Knight Captain and the soldiers from each other.

That's the biggest reason we can survive. And, about how he got here so quickly? It was because he had ridden the horse I gave him.

Even though I couldn't see how he escaped in person, I have a bit of an idea since I was the one controlling him.

You can imagine that, as soon as I escaped, I let go of the other horse and let it run towards where Gilbert, who had already managed to escape, was. And that was the reason he was able to survive.

Flap! Flap! Flap!

The sound of a bird flapping suddenly woke up my mind.

My eyes stared at a bird that came uninvited.

The flapping of the bird's wings shook off every wind in the air. The dove that was originally flying suddenly landed on Gilbert's shoulder. Seeing that, I immediately caught the bird and took a piece of paper at the bird's feet.

I opened it and read what was written on the paper. It turned out to be a message written by someone. Since there is no name, I do not know who sent it. But, the content of the message is short, clear, and concise.

The message read, "Meet me at the usual place." Seeing that the message was addressed to Gilbert, I realized that I had to dig up information from Gilbert's head.

But before digging for information, I tried to cover every wound on Gilbert's body as best I could. At the very least, I want to extend his life as long as possible.

After tearing every piece of cloth on his body and some of mine, I managed to close up the wound. As a result, he looked like a tightly wrapped gift. Even though the blood was still seeping out, at the very least, the flow was not as heavy as before.

After I finished, I began to interrogate him. But for some reason, the answer that came out of Gilbert's mouth was very difficult for him to say as if he was having trouble speaking.

[Your Mind's Puppet control is getting weaker.]

No wonder, it turns out that the control I have over Gilbert is getting weaker.

Was it because of Gilbert's injuries? Or is it because of the dwindling Death Mana in the Stigma of Darkness? At least, the two possibilities that I guessed were very likely to be the answer.

Despite the difficulty, I managed to get the most important answer out of Gilbert's mouth. But really, Gilbert's answer managed to surprise me.

"Order... Gil... Brother...."