"The blood of a Troll warrior cannot enhance strength."
Under the faint morning light, Colin was writing on the sheepskin scroll.
Yes, he had drunk all the stolen blood of the Troll warrior last night, but he didn't see any peculiar reactions from his body.
Did it have to be the blood of a knight?
Colin looked around the camp a little frustrated.
Knight Raymon sat not far in front of Colin, sipping water in small mouthfuls.
Not him, after all, he was a loyal servant.
Knight Blis was hurrying everyone to pack up, ready to set off.
Not him either, couldn't beat him.
Maybe, he could go to Mirror Lake battlefield to see...
However, that battle had taken place long ago. If the corpses hadn't been eaten up by beasts, they probably had already become mummies.
A familiar fragrance interrupted Colin's wild thoughts.
"Good morning, Knight Colin."
"Good morning, Miss Vera."
Colin gazed at the elegant female mage standing before him, a smile emerging naturally on his face.
"You look much better today. How are you feeling? Do you need any further assistance?"
"No, I think I should be able to manage on my own today."
"Alright, if you need anything, feel free to ask."
During the conversation, Colin's eyes gradually moved to Vera's slender white neck. He suddenly wondered—would mage's blood work...?
Vera noticed Colin staring at her neck, feeling a bit embarrassed, she glared at him fiercely, blushing, "Let's get going, Knight Blis is urging us."
"Okay."
Colin mounted his war horse, and moved beside Vera, traveling side by side.
Intimate physical contact was the best way to close the distance between men and women.
Colin was certainly aware of this.
After riding together yesterday, he was sure that he had established a place in Vera's heart.
She probably hadn't even noticed it herself.
Vera, indeed, wasn't really angry and began to chat and joke with Colin again.
The party continued north, the journey was much quieter, with no more encounters with the Troll army.
Only a few blind thieves, and some reckless beasts, but all were easily dealt with by Knight Blis and his team.
It seemed that Colin's plan was indeed effective, they had temporarily shaken off the pursuers behind them.
To conserve the horses' energy, the team's pace gradually slowed down.
Colin took this opportunity to quickly get closer to Vera.
However, he still hadn't ascertained her true identity.
He only knew that she had just returned to the North Territory from Yevir, and when passing near Mirror Lake, she happened to meet a mercenary group that had received Marquis Charles' emergency conscription order, and followed them to the Mirror Lake camp.
Yevir, also known as the Arcane City, was located at the border between the Bright Empire's eastern territory and the Bright Moon Forest. It used to be an Elves' territory, but since they had retreated into the Bright Moon Forest, the city had been occupied by mages.
Officially, Yevir was under the Bright Empire, but the highest authority in the city was the Mage Council. Neither the Duke of the East nor the Emperor of the Empire had any real control over this Arcane City.
Through the conversation, Vera said she had gone to Yevir to study the arcane art when she was very young, and she hadn't returned to the North Territory for over ten years. She was even less familiar with this place than Colin, who had inherited his predecessor's memories.
Moreover, the fact that Vera voluntarily went to Mirror Lake to help upon seeing Marquis Charles' conscription order showed that she probably had a very close relationship with the St. Hilde family.
Indeed, some nobles loved having a mage accompany them during their campaigns. After all, although mages weren't good for one-on-one combat, their role in the battlefield was significant.
However, considering the conflicts between nobles and mages, most proud mages didn't bother with nobles.
Even if a few mages were willing to accept nobles' employment, they usually demanded a very high price. Mages like Vera who voluntarily came to assist upon seeing a conscription order were unheard of.
By evening, the team had set up camp to rest again.
However, it wasn't long before the scout cavalry who had been sent out to investigate the situation hurriedly returned and reported:
"Lord Blis, traces of a small grouping of humans have been discovered ahead, suspected to be the remnants fleeing from the battlefield at Mirror Lake!"
"Fleeing troops? Bring them here."
Hearing that there were remnants who had fled from the battlefield at Mirror Lake, Colin and Vera hurried over immediately.
They were in desperate need to know what exactly had happened on the Mirror Lake battlefield, and whether Marquis Charles' plan had been successful.
As this group suspected to be remnants was escorted into the camp, Colin noticed that there were familiar faces among them!
"Honored knights, do you remember me? I am Sael from the mercenary group Firefox, your personal delivery of the emergency summons from the marquis was handed to me!"
Looking at the miserable Sael amidst the fleeing troops, Blis was able to recall who he was.
His memorable 'filial' act of joining the army after murdering his own father was simply hard to forget.
"What's the situation at the Mirror Lake camp?"
"Tragic! It's extraordinary tragic!" Sael immediately sobbed, "Trolls everywhere on the hills and plains, too many of them. They kill on sight, we simply can't fight them off! So many of our brothers have died...uh...uh... If I hadn't seized the opportunity to dive into the lake, wouldn't have escaped death..."
"Did you guys see the army led by the marquis?"
"Marquis Charles?" Sael pondered, "Yes, yes, in fact, we did see a Golden Lion flag appear at the rear of the troll army, however..."
"However, what? Stop stammering!" Blis scolded impatiently.
"Yes, yes!" Sael didn't dare to hesitate anymore and spoke bluntly, "Nevertheless, it appears... the army led by the marquis also retreated..."
Silence fell upon everyone.
Retreat?
This is obviously Sael's euphemistic way of stating it.
The real situation was more likely a defeat.
This shocking news left everyone astonished for a moment.
Unexpectedly, just after they had shaken off their pursuers, they now faced a much more terrifying troll army on the front.
Just as everyone was digesting this horrifying news, Blis suddenly asked, "Are there any pursuers behind you?"
Sael promptly responded, "No. During the initial few days, small groups of troll army indeed pursued us, but they gradually disappeared, probably because they didn't consider us important."
Blis sighed in relief, turned his head and asked Vera, "Miss, what should we do next?"
Vera seemed a little hesitant, then unconsciously turned her gaze towards Colin.
After successfully helping everyone escape from the pursuer, Colin had gradually become an influential figure in her eye.
Glancing at the ragged escapees, Colin spoke in a low voice, "We need to investigate the movement of the Troll army so that we can further plan. But now, the first thing we must do is shake off these remnants!"
"Why? They are also humans!" Vera exclaimed.
Colin rolled his eyes and patiently explained, "The key to us being able to shake off the pursuers before was that we are all cavalries with great mobility. Now if we don't leave behind these remnants walking on two legs…"
"Honorable knight! After the battle of Mirror Lake, Firefox mercenary group is almost annihilated. However, I'm willing to follow you, to take revenge for my fallen brothers!" Sael seemed to realize something and immediately yelled out loud.
Furthermore, under his agitation, the many fleeing soldiers also started shouting out:
"Yeah! To take revenge for our brothers!"
"Sir, please lead us to fight back!"
"Don't abandon us!"
"Revenge! Revenge!"
...
Seeing some of the cavalry being stirred up, Colin could only keep his mouth shut, then looked at Vera with a serious gaze, hoping she would make the right choice.
However, Vera asserted to Colin righteously, "They're also our companions. I won't abandon them!"
Then, she turned around to comfort the excited fleeing soldiers.
Colin could only let out a helpless sigh, his brow furrowed as he looked towards Sael.
Sael was also looking back towards him.
Their gazes held for a moment before swiftly moving apart.