Leon became quite curious about the truth behind this convoy, at this point he had concluded there was something abnormal about the convoy but he didn't know enough to guess. However, after observing some more, he eventually came to the conclusion that the convoy members in shabby, black clothing were not trying to harm the mercenaries.
Although Leon was still a mere frog in a well when it came to experience, he could feel no blood lust or bad intentions from the convoy members. Soon the sun had started to set and there were about twenty or so mercenaries that had joined.
Leon tried to gauge their strength by the amount of mana that was being pulled towards their bodies and estimated that at least half of them were normal people, who were risking it for a quick payday.
Meanwhile, others were obviously different, though Leon estimated that none of them were stronger than him besides one person. That one person, however, was no mercenary. It was the leader of the convoy.
The other convoy members all had a decent amount of mana flowing towards their bodies, but none of them seemed to be stronger than Leon besides the leader of the convoy. Although, Leon didn't even mention a word of his findings to anyone.
He did finally try to gaze at the convoy leader while he was busy with something else and made one conclusion.
'When I look at his aura, no matter how much he tried to hide it. I feel like a tiger is stalking me…'
What Leon didn't know was the moment he turned his gaze from the convoy leader, the leader gave a slight smile and muttered something under his breath.
"Well, I guess there's still some talent present, even in the boonies."
After the convoy packed everything up, Leon hopped on his horse which he had retrieved from the hotel before he arrived. Most of the regular people with little to no magic didn't have a horse, but luckily the convoy had prepared a wagon on which they could sit.
The other people, who most likely could fight as well as adventurers like Leon, already had horses which just showed the difference between a normal person trying to scrape money and an actual mercenary.
The convoy leader assigned the mercenaries with their own horses into a formation with the mercenaries making an arrow-shaped front, while the carriage was between the mercenaries with horses and the wagon filled with the other mercenaries. Of course, there were members of the convoy who also rode their horses, but they were stuck right next to the carriage.
The convoy leader sat on a horse that rode just in front of the carriage but not reaching the arrow-head-shaped formation that the mercenaries had changed into. He tapped his horse to gallop forward and the convoy officially set off, as he shouted.
"Let us set off! Hyah!"
Everyone followed suit and soon the sound of hooves hitting the ground beat in Leon's ears. The convoy leader had also sent up one of his men to lead the convoy in the right direction. Soon the night had fallen and the only light was a full moon which gave enough light for the group to safely maneuver and guide themselves without a torch.
The group had become stealthed under the dark night with only the sound of horses galloping to be heard.
After thirty minutes of full-speed riding, the convoy leader raised his hand and signaled to the lead horse to slow down as even though most of the horses here were in good condition and most also had some sort of magic to help with stamina like Leon's.
The convoy leader knew they would be running for multiple days, so as to not wear down the horses after every half hour of galloping. They would start to trot for about five minutes before they started to gallop again.
This cycle went on for hours and hours before Leon even knew it. The convoy had traveled the entire night before they had stopped to make camp and take a break.
The barbarian lands were almost barren as the floor was dry rocks that looked like it hadn't seen rain in weeks. There were occasional small patches of greenery centered around small bodies of water but besides that, rocks ruled the land.
The land also had many divots, caves, and canyons. This made it easy for the group to find a nice place to camp without being spotted and attacked during the day. As the convoy stopped inside a large divot that gave the group plenty of cover, one of the mercenaries riding in the wagon voiced out his concerns.
"Why are we stopping? Shouldn't we run during the day and sleep at night? If we rest here what happens if barbarians stumble onto us?"
The convoy leader looked back towards the wagon and replied bluntly.
"While that may be true, I'd rather have a nice meal and rest during the day instead of galloping with dozens of horses that kick up buckets of dust and sound like a small earthquake during the day. That's why we do it under the guise of night where most people won't be out nor will we easily be spotted as we travel. So for now why don't you just relax"
The man couldn't make a better argument and just chose to go with the convoy leader's decision, although most of the regular people were always on edge as the entire group ate a nice meal from the rations the convoy people had brought.
Meanwhile, most of the mercenaries used the time to rest to the fullest as they lounged around and rested. Of course, the convoy leader wasn't a fool and had a lookout on rotation at all times to at least give a warning in the unlikely case of an attack.
Seeing most of the mercenaries not resting, the convoy leader himself addressed the group.
"Please trust in us and sleep or nap. We will need you guys to be in your best shape, so sleeping is a must. I will guarantee we will have a lookout at all times. So please rest before we spend the next night riding."
A lot of the regular folks who had joined grumbled but eventually decided to sleep, seeing that they weren't going to be moving any time. Meanwhile, Leon found a nice shaded spot slightly away from the rest of the group and laid on his back as he looked towards the light blue sky with the occasional cloud passing by.
Slowly Leon dozed off and he fell asleep until he was awakened about four hours later by the convoy leader who shouted towards the rest of the convoy.
"Alright, it's time to head out!"
Although the night wasn't present, the sun had started to slowly sink down into the sky and the group was once kicked up a blast of dust as their horses galloped across the rocky terrain. However, a sliver of movement followed the convoy as they made their journey, with none of the convoy members even noticing.