[Vol. 8] Chapter 169: Setting Off Toward the East
“Shadow, how is this news spreading outside? What are the major powers and countries saying about it?”
Since becoming a Chosen Hero, Miss Shadow, whose aura had become more calm and restrained, with her strength growing rapidly, answered steadily.
“Besides using sound-transmitting stones and other rare magical tools for long-distance communication, the intelligence network built by the Shadow Guards across the world already has top-level message delivery speed. But for events like this, which aren’t major military actions or world-ending disasters, most of the time, the news spreads by word of mouth. So, it’s slower.”
“Right now, we already have the first-hand information. At most, the upper ranks of some countries and groups that were already paying attention to Theo Province might find out about it soon. But for the general public… it might take over a month for the news to slowly spread. That also depends on whether there’s something special or valuable inside the ruins.”
“Yeah… I didn’t think of that until you mentioned it,”
Violet shook her head helplessly, reminded once again that while this world had strong military power, it was still quite behind in other areas.
For example, while the Austre Empire had started using flying [Graeme] as scouts in the army, their high cost made it impossible to use them for everyday things. So with the usual methods used in the Origin Realm, news like this, if it’s not considered important, spreads very slowly.
But on the other hand, that might be a good thing. If the information isn’t drawing too much attention, that probably means the situation over there is still under control… for now.
“Haah~ looks like we’re about to get busy again.”
Violet stretched her arms, tilted her head back to look at the cloudless blue sky, and smiled.
“Start getting ready. It's time for us to go.”
……………………………………
Half a month later, on the western border road of Theo Province.
A merchant caravan of about a hundred people moved slowly along the road, dragging dozens of supply-filled wagons eastward.
At the front was a young woman riding a tall horse. She had an old-fashioned longbow strapped to her back that didn’t seem to match her slim build.
Her healthy, sun-kissed skin glowed softly under the setting sun. Her well-trained body gave her graceful curves that stood out under her leather armor, giving her a charm beyond her age.
“……”
Feeling the warm orange light of the evening sun, the girl gently pulled the reins and looked around carefully, observing the landscape.
Soon, as if she had come to a decision, she gave a small nod and jumped down from her horse.
“Stop! We’ll camp here for the night. The land around here is flat and open, just right for setting up camp!”
Her voice was full of energy. It wasn’t loud, but thanks to her strong inner strength, it easily reached the entire caravan. It was clear she was someone with impressive skills.
Following her command, the caravan, tired after traveling all day, finally relaxed.
They stopped the wagons and led the horses to a nearby clearing off the main road, starting to prepare for camping in an organized way.
For traveling merchants who were used to being on the road, this kind of life was normal.
But… for some people, all this traveling and bumpy riding felt like pure suffering.
“Oh my gosh, finally, a break! This awful wagon is way too bumpy. I feel like I’m gonna throw up. Hey, Chosen Hero of the Heaven, how much longer do we have to travel like this?!”
“Hey, Lady Chloe, this is the seventh time you've asked that same question since we started this journey. The Hero might be patient and polite, but my ears are about to fall off from hearing it so many times… Didn’t we already say we have one more day to go? Were you sleepwalking when we talked about this before?”
“And seriously, these standard merchant wagons can’t be compared to the luxury carriages your family uses. This is an adventure trip, not some noble lady’s group picnic. Can you stop complaining already?”
“Huh? Who asked you? I didn’t say I wanted to go back home, okay? What, I can’t even complain a little now? You’re just dying to get attention, aren’t you?!”
Next to one of the wagons, a boy and a girl, both good-looking and clearly not ordinary, had just stepped out from the carriage and were immediately arguing loudly.
Seeing them like this, the others getting off the wagon just smiled helplessly, like they were used to this and quietly chose to ignore it.
Only one person reacted differently. A strange girl from the Lightborn race holding a small, pale golden stick. She seemed blind, but was turning her head as if sensing something. Soon, she tapped the ground with her stick and lightly walked toward another wagon.
There, a black-haired girl in white robes had just stepped out. Seeing her, the blind girl turned her face in her direction and spoke first.
“Sister Violet, the energy in the air around here is getting very strong. It’s very similar to what I felt that night… the night of the eclipse. Looks like you were right, this ruin really is connected to that strange phenomenon.”
“...?”
Violet looked at the girl, Elunie Light, with slight surprise, then glanced at the dragon girl beside her. The dragon girl gave a small confirming nod, and Violet turned back, her voice tinged with curiosity.
“According to the map, we’ve just entered the Theo province. The ruins should still be over 100 kilometers away. You can already sense something from this far?”
“Um… how should I explain this…”
The blind girl hesitated, then lowered her voice a little.
“Honestly, my senses were always a bit sharper than normal people’s, but not this strong. After receiving the goddess’s blessing and this staff, the [Staff of Eternal Radiance], my natural abilities were enhanced a lot. I’d say several times stronger than before. That’s probably why I can sense it now.”
“I see...”
Yeah right.
Violet didn’t say it out loud, but as the actual creator of the [Staff of Eternal Radiance], and all six heroes’ artifacts, she knew exactly how powerful they really were.
Yes, they held mysterious powers and could rightly be called "divine items." But boosting someone's natural talents by multiple times, even tenfold? That kind of effect was just a fantasy. No way a half-trained artifact like this could do that.
So, clearly, the staff didn’t give Elunie that power. It was more like a catalyst, or a key.
Maybe it was also due to the way Light had used the Primordial Flame to strengthen Elunie’s body earlier. Perhaps that helped unlock a power that had been inside her all along.
Even more interesting, according to what Elunie said during one of their chats, she had actually felt the presence of [Obscurity] during the night it appeared. And the only beings Violet knew who could sense that… were the two Dragon Gods, Sethlin, and [Blade of Shadow], a true Primordial Artifact.
So yeah.
This “Heaven Hero” girl in front of her… was definitely not simple.