After Ark had fainted from overexerting himself, only Morgana and her bodyguards were left. The shadow warrior s that were in the middle of battling them, noticed the strange situation and decided to retreat. No one tried to stop them since everyone was exhausted, and they just watched the shadow warriors disappearing into the horizon. After they disappeared, Morgana and Maddy let down their guards and sat down on the ground. The bodyguards kept their minds alert, if they relaxed now, only to get attacked again, they would only be able to lament in their graves.
A heavy mood was lingering in the surroundings. The horrible stench of smell kept invading everyone's nostrils as they tried their hardest no to mind it. Scattered across the battlefield were bodies, flesh, and blood. A normal person would probably puke if they experienced this, but fortunately, no one here could be considered normal by any means.
After recovering their bearings for a minute or so, they all quickly made their way toward Ark and Thufrat. The bodyguards still kept a tight formation around Morgana and Maddy. Standing in front of Thufrat and Ark laying quietly on the ground, Morgana's heart began to stir. These two had risked their lives and existence in this fight, even though they could've easily run away. Seeing the pained expression of Thufrat and the exhausted yet peaceful expression of Ark made her heart clench, and she vowed to herself that she would definitely see to it that they both survived.
Morgana wasn't the only one who felt a little anxious, everyone present was a little emotional. Above Ark, the different mana particles kept circling around him. Some tried to wake him, whilst some just devotedly waited by his side. It was quite the sight to behold for people that could see mana. And as for the people who couldn't, they could only feel something mysterious surrounding his body, as to what, they couldn't be sure.
Even though they would've liked to just sit here and protect them until they woke up, they were in a hurry, and they couldn't just wait around. As Morgana was hard-pressed to come up with a valid solution, she could sense moment coming from Thufrat. As she took a closer look on his face, she could see his eyelids trembling fiercely, before they suddenly opened with a jolt. Thufrat was dazed for a second or so after he woke up before he quickly surveyed his surroundings. Seeing Ark's body lying on the ground, eyes shut tightly, Thufrat couldn't hold himself from rushing to his side.
As he violently jerked his body up, an inhuman amount of pain instantly spread through his abdomen, stopping him from moving any further.
"Just take it easy, it should be fine, I think he only suffers from mana deficiency! Moreover, you shouldn't be moving your body right now." Morgana quickly tried to calm Thufrat down.
Hearing her soothing voice, as well as the fact that Ark was apparently fine, Thufrat calmed down a little, he was still anxious though, but that couldn't be helped though. Since Thufrat couldn't travel with them any other way, he was allowed to ride in the carriage with Morgana and her maid Maddy. They didn't have any other way to take Ark with them other than having him sleep on the roof of the carriage. As Thufrat heard this suggestion, he decided that he would stay with Ark on the roof. And look after him.
Since they didn't dare dawdle, they swiftly departed after settling their own business, such as using the bathroom. The wind whipped the carriage fiercely as it traveled at an amazing speed toward Steoteya. Thufrat's plan was to shield Ark from such a wind, but as soon as the wind approached the two, it switched routes and avoided them completely. Thufrat understood that him being by Ark's side changed nothing. But he still decided to sit beside his one and only friend, keeping watch over him to the best of his abilities.
The next day was the third and last day of their job, and everyone had braced themselves for the wors, expecting to have to fight for their lives to arrive in Steoteya safely. To their surprise, the rest of the trip went as smoothly as it could, and they arrived at Steoteya's borders on the evening of the third day.
Seeing the robust stone walls of an outpost guarding the border, they couldn't help but collectively heave a sigh of relief. Thufrat had never been too fond of his life, but he was happy that nothing had happened, he didn't want anything to happen to his friend after all. Well, their journey wasn't entirely complete just yet, but they would be considerably safer within the border of Steoteya.
They quickly passed the border town and headed straight for the capital. The capital, surprisingly enough, was actually only a few hours away, and before night had completely fallen, they arrived. The capital of Steoteya was called Frostfell, and it had a long history. The walls of the city were actually all created out of ice. Of course, not just your normal every-day ice, but a type of magical material called Reinforced Etheral Ice. This type of ice was practically unbreakable by most types of weapons and physical force due to its rigidity. The thing that made Reinforced Ethereal Ice so special was the fact that it could nullify most magical attacks, which made the capital of Steoteya a fortress that had never been sieged successfully.
As they gazed at the massive and looming walls of Frostfell, a feeling of insignificance arouse in most people. Seeing such a wall not far away, Thufrat couldn't help but swallow down his saliva.