Father Joseph's words rang true as they continued the rest of their journey in silence. They were still in the Loviel Empire, but what father Joseph said got to them.
Luckily, Jake had asked about the teammates on this caravan before he asked about the more… forbidden stuff. So, he knew what he was working with.
Although a pity that he couldn't talk more and understand more about the people he was with, he had a basic understanding of this party that never worked together before.
First was the duo. The duo in the very front, right behind the leader. They were twins. Two sisters off the coast of Felon, swordswomen of the third tier, who together, were able to even match a fourth tier according to Annie.
Behind them were a few priestesses from the same church in Diffast. They were perhaps one of the few that actually came from Diffast.
And a few more swordsmen who were from the neighboring kingdom of Dorian. Along with them, came a few mages from the same kingdom but never met each other.
The rest of the party came from different directions. All from various corners of the world, collected here to come for the same purpose.
Unfortunately for him, that purpose wasn't clear to Jake, and he couldn't talk about it anymore. He wanted to know exactly what did the organizer of this party offer to these people, to convince so many experts to come to such a dangerous place.
While Jake was thinking back to what his team was, the caravan was slowly progressing to the edge of the kingdom. There were few sentries to the side, held by guards of the Loviel Empire.
They were strategically placed higher down the road, placed higher up so that any traveler would be at their mercy.
"For what reason do you come here? This is a dangerous land that you are crossing to." The guards shouted.
"We are from the adventurer's guild. We have in our company many priests and priestesses that wish to enter the Evil Lands and force them back." the leader stated as he took out a piece of parchment proving their quest.
But the guards didn't take a look.
"So it is you, Sword Master Ganshin. I didn't recognize you in the glaring sun. So your latest adventure will take you to the Evil Lands, is it? I can't wait for you to return so that I can hear of your conquests." The guard smiled.
"You are too flattering. I can only hope that this works out for the best."
The caravan slowly moved forward, the guards proving to be a help rather than a hindrance.
"There are Evil Beasts of the first rank there. And they might be led by a member of the second rank. I advise you to be careful." One of the guards said.
"I thank you for this information. We will be prepared." The leader, Ganshin, nodded.
He then looked back at everyone in the caravan.
"Weapons out. From now on, we are no longer going to be within the walls of the Loviel Empire. This is going to be the start of the Evil Lands, and only danger can be found here." He shouted.
But his words were just a formality. Everyone already had their weapons unsheathed. Priestesses held books, mages held staffs, and the others held their weapons. Everyone was ready.
Jake gripped the sword of misery as he looked forward with determination. Even though the quest was simple, he had to contribute a little to see rewards a little more than usual.
As they walked through the forest path, they saw a giant arch made of stone. The arch was filled with cracks of old age, and looked like it was on the edge of falling apart.
For an exit to an entire empire, this was certainly lackluster.
But why would the empire invest into this land, where no travelers would come through? And the other side of the arch wasn't exactly a guest. No one wanted to welcome someone from the Evil lands.
The moment that they stepped into the Evil lands, it was like the light from the sun suddenly shriveled away. Jake could feel this chill out of nowhere.
This chill was different from normal. It wasn't the nice cool breeze that Jake felt until a few minutes ago.
This was the chill of the cold harsh winter. The Evil Lands was in a state of continuous winter. And as they would progress into the Evil Lands, they would eventually see snow and ice that would hamper their movement.
The Evil Lands were not kind to new comers and foreigners, with many obstacles trying to stop them from progressing in.
Ganshin raised his hand, fist clenched. He then took the first step, taking a sweep of the surrounding trees. They were on a path that had lower ground that the forest around them.
Any enemy that wanted to ambush them would be able to do that with ease.
So they had to be especially careful.
"Do not worry, sword master. If there is a group that tries to ambush us, the gods will tell us. I will be able to sense their vileness from miles away. The nearest group is two miles in." Father Joseph said from inside his carriage.
Jake could hear the struggle that Father Joseph had just to talk. He was weak, and that was apparent. Now weak power wise, but weak physically. He was struggling to breath, and his words had a certain difficulty to them.
Just hearing hearing him, Jake understood that Father Joseph was riding on the carriage not because of his arrogance or superiority to the others, but by necessity. He probably wasn't strong enough to walk on his own even if he wanted to.
"Thank you, Father. I will be sure to keep it in mind. Two miles down the road we are embarking?"
"Yes."
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