"What are you fools doing? Do you want our comrades on the front line to die?"
"No, sir!" The soldiers playing cards while sitting on crates of mana crystals replied in unison. The cards in their hands flying here and there and they stood in an attention position.
"Then hurry up and deliver these supply crates to the railway station," the captain barked at his underlings before leaving in a flash, hurrying off to some unknown place to deliver information.
"The captain seems to be looking worse every day," the soldier who had been winning said in a defeated voice. He had been about to win a bountiful sum of money from a bet with his friends, but the captain's arrival ruined everything at the worst possible moment.
"I know, right? I don't know why he's so stressed these days. Even the situation at the northern front with the giants is stable," the second soldier said as he put all the cards back in their deck. He looked pleasantly surprised by the captain's sudden interruption; perhaps he was losing.
"Stable, my ass. The only reason the situation is in a deadlock right now is because Ravena Ravenheart has moved personally." The third soldier drooled as he spoke, obviously fawning over the woman. That reaction was expected from anyone who had seen her. Jet-black hair, amethyst eyes, and milk-like skin could captivate any man. Combined with her sharp facial features, she was a force to be reckoned with. Although she didn't need any of this because of her status as a rank 7 mage.
"Enough talking. Let's not give the captain any more reason to punish us." The fourth soldier moved as he began picking up the mana crystal filled crates and loading them onto the carts. They had to get these crates to the railway station by evening so the train could carry them to the northern front and deliver the supplies to Starlight Fortress, the current battlefield where the giant race was invading from. 'Ah the train, what a marvelous invention.' The soldier thought internally.
***
The world was yet to be fully explored, with more wonders being found every day by eager explorers who took on dangerous and thrilling adventures into the unknown. Of course, most of them didn't return to deliver any news. New land wasn't in high demand anyway. The existing kingdoms and empires found it difficult to manage the land they had. Wars were often held over territory. There were three discovered continents separated by vast and dangerous oceans.
The continent in the south was called Elvenheim. Information about Elvenheim was scarce. The only source of it were lucky adventures who managed to enter the cities of eleves do to their pure intention and homesick eleves who often mentioned it. Full of mystical wonders, its beauty was unmatched in the three realms. It was the smallest of the three continents and wasn't involved in any conflicts, mostly because of its peace-loving residents but also because Elvenheim was impossible to penetrate. Every time a force tried to invade, they couldn't get past the outer tropical rainforest that surrounded it, much less reach Elysium, the rumored capital city of the elves. It was like Mother Nature herself was repelling them, an incomprehensible labyrinth they couldn't traverse. The few times humans took elves as slaves to lead the way, they were mercilessly slaughtered without knowing what hit them. Entire armies had no choice but to retreat after losing countless forces.
The human continent, or as the humans liked to call it, Primoria, was located northeast of Elvenheim. It was the biggest continent and was home to many races, mainly humans. The human kingdoms coexisted with many races in the south, east, and west, including dwarfs, gnomes, demi-humans, beastmen, and many more. Elusive creatures such as druids lived hidden in the forests away from bothersome humans. The humans were currently at war with the giants who resided in the north. The giants were naturally inclined for battle and actively thrived in it. The war was in its initial stages, so casualties were low. The Twilight Empire, along with some help from Ravenheart, was able to keep the situation under control. The giant race seemed to have gone beserk, breaking the millennia-long truce to start a meaningless war.
The last continent to the west of Primoria was known as the Beast Continent. No civilization could survive here because the entire place was overrun by beasts. Only powerful adventurers and people crazy enough dared to step foot there.
***
"Alright boys, the cargo is ready and loaded," the sergeant shouted at his men as he looked at the ten fully loaded carts filled with mana crystals. Mana crystals were naturally formed in mana-rich areas and were used as a source of energy. These supplies were going to the battlefront to fuel the human war machines against the giants.
As the soldiers tied their scabbards to their waists, the coachmen tended to the horses. The horses looked unbothered by the chilling atmosphere around them, both literally and metaphorically. This small town was known as Brightwood and was not of much importance until a railway station was strategically built here to create a steady supply chain to Starlight Fortress. Now this small town was brimming with soldiers, mercenaries, merchants, and all sorts of shady individuals.
"All set, haul!" The small convoy started its journey and, one by one, the carts moved out of the warehouse. After last week's incident, security had been tightened even more. Protected by about fifty armed soldiers, no thief in their right mind would try to steal from them.
Last week, in broad daylight, a thief stole thirty mana crystals from the warehouse. This theft would have gone unnoticed if not for the utility spell of one of the army mages. Granted, this small amount was nothing compared to the tens of thousands they had, but this act of theft was simply a slap to the face of the soldiers stationed there. Nobody even thought someone would try stealing a few low-grade mana crystals. These few crystals could at most fetch a price of three to four gold coins. A single mana crystal usually went for ten silver coins, and one gold coin was worth one hundred silver. Copper coins had the least worth, with one silver coin amounting to ten copper coins. A few gold coins were not worth having the government on your back.
The sergeant had made sure that nothing of value was left in the warehouse and simply locked it down, leaving a few men behind.
As the convoy moved towards their destination, a pale-looking boy with emerald-like eyes and light brown hair peeked his head out from behind a shop and internally smirked. "Got ya."