In the end, Bun and Travis carried Barrett, while Cynthia and Violet carried Aurora. The seven of them hurried through the night. When they came upon thick brambles and thorns that blocked their path, they used sickles to clear the way, not wanting to waste too much inner force.


    The hours passed in a blur of darkness and exhaustion. Aurora and Barrett had lost all pride. They wished they had wings to fly, instead of being dragged along like this. They had truly lost all sense of dignity.


    And the thing they thought was impossible? By morning, they found themselves at the foot of the mountain outside Fawnrun City.


    And they had not evene down the easiest mountain. Instead, they had descended from the mountain where the city''s resin trees grew, which meant they had crossed one extra mountain.


    Carissa was not unkind. After reaching the base of the mountain, she let them sit boldly by the roadside to eat their dry rations.


    Though their clothes were changed to look like the mountain folk of Fawnrun City, Aurora thought their behavior was far too bold, almost reckless. However, she was utterly spent. Her stomach growled, her throat was parched, and she longed to lie down and rest.


    After the battle yesterday, Aurora had only gotten two hours of rest. Even then, she hadn''t been able to fall asleep. Her mind kept turning over the chances of sess for their mission.


    At first, she hadn''t wanted toe on this mission. But after returning to the barracksst night, a thought struck her. All the men of the Sinir family had fallen during the war, leaving Carissa as Mnie''s only living child. And with Dominic being Carissa''s grandfather, there was no way he would watch her face such danger alone. More likely, he would spare no effort to help her win glory.


    With those thoughts in mind, Aurora was sure that Dominic would send more than just five of them on this mission, confident in assuming that another group would surely follow behind. Yet, she had seen no one else up till now. She had to ept the harsh truth: it was only the seven of them.


    She cursed Dominic''s cold cruelty in her heart. How could he be so heartless to his own granddaughter?


    Now that the matter stood as it was, Aurora knew she could only rely on the others. She could see that though Travis was a centurion, he obeyed Carissa in all things. She dared not show Carissa any hostility. After all, she needed thetter''s protection.


    After a brief fifteen-minute rest, they lifted their barrels of oil and pressed onward. As Carissa led the way, she never once consulted the map.


    Aurora could not help but ask, "Do you know the way? Are you certain this path is the right one?"


    It was still early, and the narrow, winding path below the mountain was deserted.


    "If you don''t speak Westic, it''s best to keep silent and follow me closely. I know these roads near Fawnrun City well," Carissa said quietly.


    "You know them? You''ve actually been to Fawnrun City?" Aurora asked. Her curiosity was piqued, sensing something unusual.


    Violet shot her a sharp nce. "Didn''t you hear her? Keep quiet!"


    Aurora saw the slight irritation on Violet''s face and dared not say anything else. All night long, Violet and Cynthia had carried her swiftly along of danger arose, they would be the ones to protect her, so it was wise not to offend them.


    In any case, Aurora soon ran out of breath to ask anything else, as she had to use all her strength just to keep going. The others didn''t seem to be walking fast and lookedpletely at ease, yet she had to push herself with everything she had just to barely keep up.


    Though tired himself, Barrett noticed Aurora''s exhaustion and offered his arm to support her. By midday, she could bear it no longer.


    "We must rest a moment," she pleaded.


    Carissa looked up at the sky. "We can''t rest yet. We must reach the supply depot today. Once we find a ce to hide, we will rest for two hours, then move again."


    Aurora sighed inwardly.


    Two hours of rest before moving again, and then surely they would have to flee. How could she endure such strain?


    Seeing Aurora falter further, Travis took her oil barrel to lighten her burden.


    Along the way, they did run into a few people, but they were all just ordinary townsfolk. Their tanned skin and swift steps made them seem at home in the hills, so Carissa and her group didn''t stand out.


    Barrett noticed they kept to remote trails, avoiding viges and winding carefully around every mountain edge.


    At first, he wondered how Carissa


    could know the area so well. But little by little, he noticed that they were following a trail, each turn marked by a single azalea bloom casually dropped by the roadside. If het


    hadn''t seen Carissa stop a few times to look around, he might not


    have noticed at all.


    So, someone had already gone ahead to scout the path. Could it be that Dominic


    had actually sent someone in advance?


    Aurora had been right. Dominic was using all his power to make sure his granddaughter would seed.


    The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and


    continue reading tomorrow, everyone!