I Will Be the Greatest Knight
Chapter 207: Keep Going

Chapter 207: Keep Going

Irene’s feet seemed to move on their own as they brought her and guided the others to the edge of town. She couldn’t believe she remembered where the mages were when she first saw them, but it was such an eye-opening situation that it must have stuck out to her more than she realized.

They passed a few commoners sweeping their stoops and cleaning up their areas for winterization as they went on. All they could offer were tight-lipped smiles and nods as they proceeded forward. They weren’t there to offer a hand as usual, but to get to the bottom of things.

It felt wrong considering every time in the past that she traveled through a township with other apprentices, they were there explicitly to help them. Perhaps the people would understand one day that what they were doing was for the bigger picture. Not giving a hand in winterization of the duchy was giving them an opportunity to try and quell the monster issue. If the knights all fell to monsters, the duchy soon would follow.

As the buildings got more sparse, they made it to the end of a road that went on into grassy fields where farmers’ houses were. However, a bit beyond that, in an empty area where nothing more than grass grew, Irene’s green eyes landed on a pile of rubble, and her feet moved forward once again.

They rushed through the town before, but she was in a full-on run as she sought an answer to what she was seeing.

When they were at what was once the front door of the mill where Gunnar had been trapped in Stanley’s magic, Irene stopped them and her eyebrows lowered. Her eyes scanned the area slowly, taking it all in.

"An old, abandoned mill," she explained. "This is where I first met Stanley and the other mages. They were planning on staying here for the winter, but it was an awful old building that offered nothing in terms of protection or warmth. Could it have been when the township was pillaged? Perhaps the ogre..."

She stopped herself from rambling. There was no concrete evidence to prove what she was saying.

"We have to keep going," Felix stated, being the surprising voice of reason. "Unless either of you have any other ideas."

"Nothing," Irene admitted. "I figured they would go where they were familiar with. It isn’t as if they went all the way back to Nickron... I hope."

The gazes of both the other apprentices bore into Irene and she swiveled her head to regard them both.

"What is it?" she asked.

"What about Nickron?" Leif asked. "How do you know anything about that place?"

"Reading," she admitted. "And one of the mages who sent a letter on my behalf said that he was from there."

Felix’s eyes went back to the rubble.

"It might be worth following," Felix mused.

"Nickron is northeast of here," she explained. "I’ve seen it on a map before. Except humans aren’t allowed to set foot on their island, only the approved mages."

"If Nickron is northeast, there are plenty of villages between here and there," Leif thoughtfully uttered, deep in thought about what lay ahead. "Perhaps if we move quickly, we will find an answer."

"Then we should go," Irene insisted, already stepping away from the others.

However, as she started, she felt a hand on her shoulder and was surprised to see Leif looking at her with concern.

"Shouldn’t we rest?" he wondered.

"Should we?" she asked, her eyes going between the two others. "We didn’t when we found out the Duke’s Tower was under siege. We rested once in three days, only stopping so the horses could drink and eat. We have plenty of jerky and bread... But if anyone feels even remotely tired, we ought to rest."

Irene knew what she was doing. She said the last line as a challenge to the others who would never show even a bit of weakness if she wasn’t going to.

Truly, they were all tired. It was impossible to get a good night’s rest while camping. It was especially difficult to get much rest while they were living in a tent in the plains outside of the Duke’s Tower.

Each time there was a noise when she was supposed to be sleeping, she would jump and ready her sword. And it wasn’t only she who was like that. Each one of them was on high alert all the time.

What they could really use was a warm bed and piles of food, but thinking of those who were left at the ancient wall segment, they didn’t want to be comfortable. If one of the Knights of Chemois were uncomfortable, they all ought to be.

"I could travel for days on end," Felix insisted. "It is the horses that will give in before then."

"Yes," Leif agreed. "Finding the mages is more important than resting. I’m not tired enough to stop."

Despite the circumstances, Irene gave the two teenagers a small smile, and she continued on her trek forward.

"Then to the stables we go," she began. " They will be surprised to see us leaving so soon, but our business isn’t here, it seems."

With a lack of food in their stomach and little sleep under their belts, it was the smallest of the three of them who could inspire everyone to press on.

Even though they knew Irene was strong, they thought if she wasn’t tired, they must not be either.

They were in times of ignoring what their bodies told them. Being comfortable wasn’t the highest priority. A multitude of things weighed on their hearts and minds, but they were traveling with those they trusted the most, so it made the journey much easier.

After an entire night and a half day of travel, they decided to camp in what was left of the autumn sun before they would press on again.

Sorrel started to get a bit snippy, and Irene knew he was tired enough to deserve a rest.

However, as each of them settled down on their blanket rolls with the sun beating down on them, they all found sleep rather easily.

It wasn’t until they heard the clicking of a goblin call that they were all up in a start, considering nothing else but where their swords were and how fast they could ready them as their biggest point of contention woke them up from the first sleep in a while.

Search the lightnovelworld.cc website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.