In the cramped cave, three youths sat on the ground, illuminated by the light of a bonfire, discussing which direction to take for their future escape.
"Mamor County is here..."
Azeryan used a stone to crudly sketch out a few outlines on the ground, then pointed to the northeastern edge within the bottom left contour, "Based on the route that the prison carriage took initially, we are quite close to the border. Even if we take a longer route, it might take about six or seven days to get back within Seryan territory, but we must be careful to avoid soldiers, bandits along the way, and wild beasts."
Leon suddenly interjected, "I think escaping eastwards is not appropriate right now."
Azeryan and Lokhak both looked at him, puzzled.
"Why?" asked Lokhak, not understanding.
Leon's soul, after all, came from Earth, and he did not have as strong a sense of homeland as the other two when faced with the memory of the Seryan Kingdom; thus, he recognized the situation they overlooked.
Leon pointed to the drawn border line on the ground and explained, "The war has already started. Since the Kantadar army has captured Rolannar City, who knows how many other counties in the Western Kingdom might have been invaded simultaneously. Isn't it even more dangerous to go back to a place that's likely already occupied by them?"
"..." Azeryan was stunned by the statement; after all, he was still a youth who hadn't fully grown up, and his quick mind still struggled to grasp a broader view of the situation.
Leon continued to the distressed pair in front of him, "I'm not sure where the Kantadar army has already invaded, but what if they've brought the war deep into Seryan territory? How many dangers might we three have to cross before reaching a safer area further east? Unless you have distant relatives in an even farther eastern place to whom you can flee, it might be worth taking the risk. Otherwise, our arduous journey back to our war-torn homeland won't be much better than our current situation."
Hearing Leon's words, Lokhak's gaze darkened, "Other than my sister, all my family has been killed by the Kantadar people; now even if I return to Seryan, I wouldn't know where to go."
Azeryan gave a bitter smile upon hearing this, "I still have some relatives, but they probably wish that my father and I had died in Rolannar too."
Leon looked surprisingly at the complex, self-deprecating expression on Azeryan's face.
Azeryan, gathering his emotions, then asked, "So where do you think we should go now?"
Leon thought for a moment, pointing to the upper part of the boundary outline Azeryan had drawn, "I heard from traveling merchants about the Orland Kingdom to the north; they speak the same language as us, don't they?"
Azeryan nodded. As a noble offspring with some education, he had a fair grasp of geography, "Not just the language, Orland and Seryan were both kingdoms established by our Felu people historically, although most there do not believe in the Holy Sun and Holy Prophet."
With a positive response, Leon then proposed his own suggestion, "Instead of risking it by fleeing east back to Seryan, how about we head north to the Orland Kingdom for refuge? After all, the Kantadar people would surely not start a war with two kingdoms at once. Besides, most of the soldiers from this county should have been gathered to the east to maintain the war effort. Now, heading north, we may encounter less danger."
After finishing, he sought the opinions of his two companions, "What do you think?"
Azeryan thought for a while before finally nodding, "Although we can't say for sure that heading to Orland will be safe, it's definitely less risky than running to the east."
"I'll follow your lead," Lokhak said dully; naturally, he didn't have a better idea.
Once they had unified their opinions, they had a temporary goal and direction. Leon's tense nerves somewhat relaxed, but only relatively speaking. Although they had escaped the prison's captivity, their homeland had been occupied by the Kantadar army, and without any family or shelter left, the threats of hunger, disease, bandits, and wild beasts they needed to face to survive in these perilous, turbulent times were hardly less significant than the blades of soldiers.
"How much food do we still have?" Leon asked.
"Just two pieces of dried bread," Lokhak replied, looking at the shriveled cloth wrap. The dead mercenary clearly hadn't been prepared for a long journey, and the rations carried in the package were few.
Leon looked towards the storm outside the cave, "Once the rain stops, I'll try to see if I can catch something to eat outside."
"You know how to hunt?" Lokhak asked, a bit surprised.
"Yeah, my father was a hunter, and I learned hunting skills from him as a child. It should be no problem to catch some small animals, it's just unfortunate that we don't have any bows and arrows," Leon responded, recalling the tracking and hunting skills from the original owner's memories, regretfully sighing.
"That's up to you then; I only know how to fight," Lokhak scratched his head and seemed to think of something, passing the Armed Sword towards him, "Do you need this? If it's helpful, then use the sword. And my Chain Armor too, actually killing that guy was your achievement, so you should be the one to split stuff taken from him."
Saying so, he looked towards Azeryan, "Right?"
Azeryan did not disagree with Lokhak's statement, but also shook the dagger he held, "I have no objections, but for hunting, Leon might need this more."
Indeed, Leon nodded; rather than the sword, he needed the dagger to work branches into hunting tools.
As for allocating supplies, there was no need to agonize; the three of them were sharing the same boat of hardships and already trusted each other quite deeply. Leon believed that weapons and armor must be given to those who could make the best use of them.
Leon had indeed experienced various kinds of cold weaponry in his past life, but he was uncertain whether the adults playing pretend in the Sword Hall, dressed in armor, could be truly effective against the ruthless soldiers who licked their blades.
Having experienced the uneven, ankle-twisting mud of the wilderness, he had come to rationally understand that in real-world wilderness combat, his experience adapted to flat floors and modern roads now might not even keep his balance steady.
Furthermore, even if he knew some rudimentary swordsmanship techniques from his previous life, his current body, which had never learned sword fighting, also lacked the proficiency to use them.
Thinking this, Leon glanced at the physiques of the two men in front of him and silently assessed. Being a hunter's son himself, he had never lacked for meat, and Azeryan, as a nobleman's offspring, also had ample nutrition. Both of their physiques were outstanding among peers, but Lokhak's physique was noticeably more robust than either of them, though Leon wondered if it was natural or due to training.
"Which of you knows how to use a sword?" Leon pondered and asked.
"I have studied swordsmanship, but I don't have much experience in sword combat," Azeryan replied with an understanding of Leon's considerations.
Lokhak patted his chest confidently, "I can fight with a sword. My father was a soldier in the City Guard Army. I practically grew up in the barracks. During the Kantadar people's siege, I was on the city walls assisting the guards until..." His voice dimmed as he recalled past battles, "until my father made me rush home to protect my sister and mother."
"Cheer up; it wasn't your fault." Leon handed the Armed Sword back to Lokhak and also gave him a thick armor lining, "Since you have the most experience with sword fighting among us, both the armor and sword are yours to use. These items collectively make more sense."
After saying this, he turned to Azeryan, "Continue using the Shield and long dagger. In case of danger, you can use the shield to protect yourself and assist Lokhak in combat."
"Of course, I wouldn't run away while you guys are fighting the enemy," Leon said jokingly, spreading his hands.
Azeryan shook his head, "You've given us all the gear, so even if you took the chance to slip away, it would be understandable."
Lokhak straightforwardly chimed in from the side, "Right, you've already saved our lives once. If danger really comes, you can run first! I have absolutely no complaints."
Leon just smiled, didn't say much, and continued to inventory items with the two of them.
Besides helmets, Chain Armor, one-handed swords, long daggers, Round Shields, clothing, and water bottles, the mercenary's tattered bag also held a dozen silver coins—a bit of unexpected fortune.
"If we encounter a decent settlement, we can use this money to buy some food and tools," Azeryan suggested.
"But we don't speak the local language, how can we trade without raising suspicions?" Leon frowned.
"No worries, I actually speak the Uria Language commonly spoken by the Kantadar people," Azeryan pointed to himself, "If there's an opportunity, I can try going on my own."
...And so they discussed back and forth for a long time until the rain outside gradually lessened, and the three of them took turns keeping watch before finally falling asleep.
The next day, after the weather had completely cleared, they left the cave and entered the forest to search for food urgently. Luckily, they found a small river in a mountain ravine.
Leon taught his companions how to make simple fishing spears with branches, and they spent the morning fishing, then returned to the cave to start a fire and solve their immediate food problem.
Having gnawed on unpalatable, hard rations in the cage for so long, always going hungry, now even the completely unseasoned roasted fish tasted delicious in everyone's mouths—hunger indeed is the best spice.
In the afternoon, Leon used raw fish meat and fish innards as bait and set up a few small traps made of dirt pits, branches, rags, and vines in the forest. Though they were only resting here one last night, having some catches before hitting the road could make their escape journey lighter.
At nightfall, sitting by the cave entrance against the rock wall, Leon, who was keeping watch, wasn't idle either. He carved a fairly flat wooden stick from a small trunk found during the day, then began sharpening the tip on a rock to create a spear. No matter how crude, it was good to have something in hand to deal with beasts.
After all, even a simple Wooden Spear, when used correctly, could cause deadly harm to unarmored targets, and even if they faced armored mercenaries, he could still cause some distraction.
As he sharpened, Leon couldn't help but reminisce about the Light Arrow he had conjured.
What was it called? Isa's Arrow.
That thing was more powerful than an ordinary rifle bullet. If he could use it again, they wouldn't have to worry about threats from ordinary beasts or individual soldiers, even considering the fainting drawback. Anyway, Lokhak would definitely not abandon him unconscious, so it was somewhat acceptable...
Leon suddenly laughed, dispelling his own dreamy, foolish thoughts.
The mysterious voice hadn't responded to his calls since that day, and it was pointless to dream of possessing a power that wasn't his. To have experienced that miracle once was already lucky enough.
Ah... Who are you? Touching the sharpened spear tip, he murmured, the voice having been rather pleasant, seemingly that of a young girl.
However, the speculation he had made in haste back then might not be solid after all. Although the voice had indeed come from within, that didn't prove another soul consciousness inhabited his body.
Maybe it was just some kind-hearted Miss Mage passing by, who decided to lend a hand from afar?
Leon was amused by his own wild thoughts...