After about an hour, snow began to fall.
"Pops! Looks! It's snow! The first of the season!" Kai exclaimed as a snowflake landed on his head, spreading coolness into his skin.
The Baron also looked up, but instead of replying to Kai, he grinned widely and turned to his soldiers.
"We go East now. The snow will cover our tracks. The further our enemies are from us, the harder it will be for them to find out tracks."
Immediately, the horses which had been walking steadily began a regulated gallop to the right, Kai's bottom almost immediately began to hurt, however, he did not say a thing. He just sat in place, enduring the pain.
After about an hour, the snowfall gradually sped up as a thin layer of snow had already covered the ground in a white coat.
"Pops, where will we be going? I know we are going East, but where? Which Barony."
"I'll explain everything to you when we set up camp after nightfall."
"Okay Pops." Kai nodded and sat back down on his horse, returning to reading the novel about a certain person who got reborn as a slime.
…
Around 3 hours later, just before the sun fully set and darkness covered the group, The soldiers managed to locate a cave, and the Baron killed the Bear inside it using his Five Elephant Palm.
Now, they had secured a place to rest as well as food. They lit a fire but made sure to almost completely surround it in rocks, leaving a small hole at the bottom for blowing in fresh air to keep the flame alive, and a small hole at the top to allow the gases to exit.
Creating an open fire while on the run was essentially suicide since the light from a fire was like a beacon to others, like waving a flag saying I am rich but too weak to protect that money in a neighbourhood of gangsters.
This setup would allow them to cook the meat such that it was safe to consume while also preventing others from finding them.
"Alright Kai, now let me explain to you about the Hepis Dynasty that we live in."
"The Hepis Dynasty has been ruling over their territory for over 500 years, generation after generation of kings and queens have ensured relative peace within this piece of land. To do this, they must protect the North from the yearly invasion of the barbarians every summer, protect the Western front against the Roth Empire, the South from the Roman Empire, and the East from the Holy Church of Light."
"The Hepis Dynasty itself is split into 7 Duchies; we are in the westernmost Cursus Duchy. To the west of the Cursus Duchy is the Roth Empire. To our east is the Bluestone Duchy names after the Sect which essentially owns the entire duchy. We will be going to this duchy. It will take about a month to get there since we will have to pass through multiple baronies along the way."
"So, Pops, the only titles of nobility are Barons and Dukes?"
"No. However, they are the most common ones, since they are the only two titles which are hereditary. The only way to get a higher title from a Baron is to contribute to the crown, and not many people have been able to do that recently, considering that the power the crown holds over the army is absolute."
"… I don't get it Pops."
"Think about it this way. The Royals give out titles of Barons, Viscounts, and Counts, as well as Dukes to those who perform such tasks for the kingdom, like protecting it from certain disasters. However, unless you reach the title of Duke, like the original owners of the 7 Duke titles in the Dynasty, once you die, your family will only be left with the title of a baron, and enough land to support that title. Therefore, most people other than the Dukes only have Baronies. Plus, the Dynasty has been at peace for around 50 years already, so no one had been able to gain enough merit with the King to gain a higher title."
"Oh. So, the King scammed everyone into working for him, then took away all the gifts he had given their families after they died…"
"Well, you could say so. But this is a rule which has been passed down for countless generations, so everyone knew about it back when they tried to get higher titles. After all, gaining the hereditary title of a Duke would be worth every bit of effort they put in."
"I guess. Anyways, why are we going to the Bluestone Duchy?"
"I know a friend who had become a part of the Bluestone Sect. We should be able to settle down there.
"Alright."
…
Meanwhile, The squad of Advanced knights and the Rank 2 Mage arrived at the border of the Hepis Dynasty and Roth Empire via a teleportation circle built by the Royal Magic tower for just such cases.
"Spread out, and search for the Rothnian soldiers. Kill all you find." The Mage commanded as he remained in place.
The normal movement speed of an advanced knight was considerably faster than a mage who was essentially a regular human in terms of raw physical abilities. Of course, that was considering when the knights did not use mana to boost their bodies, and the mage did not use magic.
The advanced knights nodded and spread out, but within just 5 minutes, two of them returned with urgent expressions on their faces.