In the wilderness, two small figures were running frantically along the nouthern slope of the mountains. Lucas, almost half carrying the weakened Ariana, continued north without any pause. Ariana had already given him a rough description of the terrain. Not only did he misplace the era by the sandstorm, but he also ended up in what should be the northern part of Iran. According to Ariana's description, the so-called Roman Empire should be in the west. The journey from here to Roman was long and mountainous. But the western route was no longer an option, as the Great Persia hunting troops had already headed west. They could only go nouth across the Caspian Sea and then proceed to Roman. To prevent the nightmare-like silver-armored army from turning back, the two dared not linger. As soon as Ariana regained some strength, they pressed on. The horses had been set free, and they could only rely on their own feet. In the blink of an eye, Lucas had run more than thirty miles of treacherous mountain roads. He could see that they were about to reach the outside of this large mountain. It was only at this moment that he truly confirmed that his body had undergone a very subtle change. Not only was he as fast as the wind, but his strength had also significantly increased. His stamina seemed endless. Running south with a big girl for such a long time, he surprisingly felt no fatigue at all. What kind of change had he undergone? What was that mysterious ring?
Ariana suddenly pulled him to a stop while he was running full speed. He looked at Ariana. Although half supported and half dragged by Lucas, the girl was already pale from exhaustion. Gasping for air heavily, her chest rose and fell dramatically. Fatigue had left her with no energy to maintain distance from Lucas. Her chest rubbed against his arms, and Lucas, feeling the shape and softness distinctly, couldn't help but be tempted.
Before they could take any action, the girl's voice rang out, "Look over there!" Lucas was startled, raising his head to gaze at the sky behind him. Looking far into the distance, he saw several small black dots descending from the horizon. Faint, mournful cries reached their ears. Ariana's face was filled with astonishment, "Those are the hunting army's falcons! They were trained by my father and Uncle Khosrow to track from thousands of miles away. We're being targeted by the hunting army again!"
Now, any lecherous thoughts were instantly dispelled, and Lucas turned to run. Ariana grabbed him again, "No, it won't work. We have to walk. The hunting army is chasing on horseback. Once we're out of this mountain, we won't be able to escape... We must find horses! Although the falcons have caught up, the hunting army is still at least a hundred miles away from us. Quickly find horses, and we can still escape!" Lucas snorted, confident in his current marathon abilities, "I might outrun the horses. No time to waste now, every step counts!"
Ariana angrily retorted, "You're an animal, I'm not! There's a market town called Yazd not far north of the mountain. I've been there with my father before. There seems to be a horse market. Let's go there to find horses... I really can't run anymore..." The last sentence from the girl had unintentionally turned into a faint plea, seemingly with a touch of coquetry. Looking at Ariana's blue eyes, slightly begging and with a bit of a pout, revealing delicate dimples on her cheeks, the once noble and proud girl suddenly became so fragile and endearing. Lucas instantly softened, "Alright, I'll follow your lead!"
After running a few more steps with Ariana in tow, he realized what Ariana had said earlier.
"You're the animal!"
The girl hanging on his arm pretended not to hear. At this moment, there was no need to argue with this foul-mouthed and strangely dressed refugee.