Nova processed the information Kail had just dropped on him. "I knew you were special but I had no idea you were that special," he murmured. He couldn't deny that he felt excited about the future that awaited Kail.
With the powers of his first life combined with the powers of this life, surely he would be unstoppable. The Goddess of Light wouldn't stand a chance against him when they eventually came to blows.
At least, he hoped that would be the case. He gazed at Kail with curiosity. "What can you do with the powers of your previous life?"
Kail shook his head. "Later," he said, motioning with his eyes towards the villagers.
Nova and Spider nodded in understanding. Putting the topic aside for later, the three talked about their plans to get to Nova's sect.
"Should we stay with them till they're safely inside another barrier?" Kail asked.
"The Undead broke the barrier. I don't think anywhere is safe," Spider said with a shake of his head.
Nova tapped his finger on his knee as he thought. "But they'll be safer in a city protected by a better barrier. The village's barrier hadn't been updated in some time. It was only a matter of time before it broke."
"Updated? So the barriers aren't all the same?" Kail questioned, a bit surprised and not surprised at the same time.
"Yes. Each barrier is done by a traveling team of Exterminators. There are only ten teams assigned to updating the barriers. If they're still alive, the village should have been a place of interest to visit again because of the barrier needed to be strengthened," Nova explained.
"How long does it take for them to get that done?" Kail suspected that the teams may have avoided the village due to its small size.
"It can takes several months for them to arrive. It is difficult to get to the location and they have several others to visit before it," Nova said with a frown.
"The last update of the barrier was two years ago," Glace said as she joined them. "I have sent several letters asking for a team to be sent to us to strengthen it but no one came. Now look at what happened. My village is destroyed and we lost a villager."
She was clearly angry as she spoke. She huffed. "Those bastards have no idea the cost of their ignorance. I don't care if we're lower on the importance scale. We should all be given a chance against the Undead. Everyone is suffering this pandemic, not just the large cities."
"Since they focus more on the larger populations, you'll be safer if you go to a city," Kail said.
She sighed in frustration. "As much as I hate it, you're right. Our best option is to flee to a city."
"Where is the closest city?" Kail asked. "Isn't it the capital?"
"Yes," Nova said with a nod.
Kail stood. "Then let's escort them there."
"What? But if we go back, there's a high chance we'll be caught and you'll be taken back to the manor," Spider said with a frown.
"We'll stay hidden. I want to make sure they get there safely." Kail refused to let the two elves change his mind. "They'll need our protection."
"It will also allow me to get my father along the way," Glace said, backing him up. "Kail's right. We need protection. There's only so much I can do with my potions and I have the Healing branch of the Blood element. I'm pretty useless as a fighter."
Nova and Spider looked at each other in disbelief. They could only see this as a bad idea but knowing Kail, he would attempt to go with the villagers behind their backs.
Glace smiled, knowing the two were no longer going to try to argue. "Great. We'll leave in another hour. Get some rest." She walked away to check on the villagers again and help prepare for the long journey.
"Kail, you are crazy," Nova sighed with a shake of his head. "You'll have to hide in the shadows to avoid detection when we get there. How do you even plan to fight the Undead when they have a barrier around each individual? Then you also have to take into account that it takes special abilities to fight them."
"Has anyone ever tried not using magic?" Kail asked with a grin as a plan formulated in his head.
"I'm sure they have," Spider replied.
"How about using bombs?"
"Bombs?" the elves echoed.
"Out of all the technology you have, you don't know what bombs are?" Kail asked in disbelief. "It's an explosive device."
"And how do you expect to make one?" Nova inquired.
"With the potions," Kail responded before jogging over to Glace. "Hey, Glace, what are the chances of your potions have explosive reactions if mixed together improperly?"
She paused and looked at him. "An explosive reaction? Is that how we're going to fight the Undead? What about the barrier?"
"If the barrier can't be broken, we'll use the explosions as a distraction," Kail said, hoping this idea would work.
"We can try," she said with a nod.
"Great!"
An hour later, the group of twenty began traveling in the direction of Kladruber City. The journey was long and slow. Glace and Kail had decided to use the makeshift bombs as a distraction rather than as an attack.
Whenever they found some Undead, Glace would mix her potions before tossing them away from the villagers. As soon as the potions finally reacted to each other and created a small explosion, the Undead would rush towards it, allowing the villagers to pass by unseen.
Kail counted the days as they walked closer and closer to the city. The journey took ten days thanks to the many Undead they came across and the detour to get Glace's father.
The dark spirit grumbled at first after being forced into another knot on the back of a wagon they had picked up when they stopped in the village to get him.
The Undead had abandoned the village after making the poor woman their meal. The village had been destroyed from their search for more food.
But, after some time, Glace's father, whose name was Gerald, calmed down. He knew the gravity of their situation. He wasn't happy that they were going to the capital but he understood, surprisingly, that it would be the safest place to be for his daughter and friends.
When the northern gates entered their vision, Kail slipped into the shadows. Spider turned back into his spirit body while Nova hid in a tree.
Glace led the way to the two guards at the gate, Kail hiding in her shadow. The sun was high in the sky as they were stopped once they reached the gate.
"Passports?" one of the guards asked.
Glace produced a small book from her gem. "This contains all of our names and information for the entire village," she explained as she handed it to the guard who spoke.
The guard took the book with a nod and went through it, confirming each name and image. "Refugees?" he guessed as he flipped through the leather book.
"Yes. Our barrier was broken and the Undead destroyed our village. We lost one villager," Glace responded.
The guard frowned, sympathy on his face. "I'm sorry for your loss." He finished going through the book and handed it back to her.
The other guard tapped twice with his spear on the metal gate and the heavy doors slowly swung inward, opening the way to the city.
"Refugees!" the first guard called to someone on the wall.
"On it!" came a reply. A metallic clang came from above and soon a tall woman walked out from behind the gate.
She was thin with a pixie cut of bright red hair and blue eyes. A sword was on her right hip and she wore light metal armor. "Follow me," she said. "I'll take you to get registered as official citizens."
With that, Kail left Glace's shadow, jumping from shadow to shadow and entering the woods. He looked back to see the villagers slowly passing through the gate.
He hoped they would keep quiet about seeing Kail but who knew what measures his family would take to get answers? With a sigh, he rejoined Spider and Nova.
"Let's go," Kail said.
Without a word after that, the trio continued their journey to the Star Forest. Once they were certain that they could not be seen from the gate, Kail left the shadows.
He felt a bit tired. Spider knelt down so Kail could climb on to his back. "Lead the way, Nova," Kail said.
Nova nodded and took the lead. "Hopefully we'll meet an extermination team along the way. We can get some information on the current pandemic situation from them if we do."
"Do you think they'll know who I am?" Kail asked.
"Probably not. They're probably more focused on their work rather than the lives of the nobles."
"What about other cities?"
"If we're lucky, a search request hasn't been released yet. Your family should stick to Kladruber City for the time being, giving us time to fully get you away."
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