“Big brother……..” I emotionally embraced his thick and broad shoulders speechlessly.
When we departed the next day, we had a new member among our ranks. Everybody held Zhan Hu in extremely high esteem since he was my big brother. Thus, we set off on a long journey of learning. Originally it was supposed to be a one man journey, but now it has turned into a journey of six people. I don’t know if this would go against Teacher Di’s intention but everybody was too enthusiastic for me to refuse them. I had already tried to persuade Big Brother to stay and lead his village. However, his answer was too good. He said that in these last few years the village had saved up not a small amount of money so he would tell them to not go out “hunting” while he was gone. What else could I say to him?
Like that, we head straight to the Kena province of the Dalu Kingdom. This was the only clue that Teacher Di had given me. The route was not short at all. The Kingdom of Dalu was on the other side of Xiuda. In other words, we have to pass through the entire Kingdom of Xiuda. When we set out, everyone picked a fine horse from Zhan Hu’s bandit village.
Apart from me, they were all knights, each capable of expertly controlling a horse. I have never rode on a horse before, yet they gave me the tallest, strongest horse. Just as we had started, without even traveling far, my whole body ached. Do I use battle spirit to protect my body? I could no longer stand it and decided this time to learn how to ride a horse. Following everyone’s continuous guidance, I can now barely keep up and I no longer feel tired. I originally thought of talking about letting me use teleportation magic to follow them, but everyone unanimously disagreed. That is why I had no choice but to suffer through this bitter hardship.
After nearly two months of trudging along, we finally arrived at the border of the Dalu Kingdom. I looked at the map. This province was still 400 kilometers away. In front of us should be the Lunwa city.
I faced everyone and said, “Once we’ve entered the city ahead of us we’ll rest properly for two days. This short period of madly rushing forward has nearly exhausted me to death.”
Xing Ao replied with a smile, “Ah, the magnificent magister is so exhausted. What a pity that you don’t know wind magic, otherwise you could just fly.”
Xing Ao’s words reminded me of something. As we all continued walking towards Lunwa city, I asked Big Brother Zhan Hu, “I heard from my teacher once that once your martial skill reaches a certain level, you’ll be able to use your battle spirit to fly. Is that true?”
Zhan Hu replied to me in astonishment, “I didn’t expect you to even know this. It’s possible to fly using battle spirit, but you need to have the strength of at least a Heaven Knight. This is also the origin of the name Heaven Knight.”
I excitedly asked, “Then you and Xiu Si can fly?”
Xiu Si interrupted from the side saying, “That’s right. But I can only fly about five kilometers before my battle spirit is exhausted. Big Brother Zhan Hu should be able to fly a bit longer.”
“It’s not that much further.” Big Brother Zhan Hu modestly said.
I yearningly said, “I truly envy you. Ah! It really feels nice to fly in the sky.”
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Volume 3: Chapter 33 – Resting at Lunwa
Smiling, Zhan Hu said, “What’s so good about it? We can’t fly like you mages, slow and lasting while admiring the scenery. Using battle spirit to fly consumes it quickly. That’s why we rush forward with all our might. We can’t appreciate the feeling of flying at all.”
“In any case, being able to fly is great. I don’t know when my martial skill will reach such a level.”
Dong Ri said, “Enough, you. You’re already frightening enough. You aren’t even twenty years old yet, and you’ve already become a magister. You still want to become a sky knight? You’re asking for too much.”
Dong Ri’s words were approved by everyone. Even Zhan Hu said that I shouldn’t reach too far and concentrate on learning magic. Although I was the strongest in the company, I was youngest apart from Dong Ri. What could I say to them? I could only obediently let the matter of flying go.
Lunwa City was the first city we arrived at in the Dalu Kingdom. It truly deserves to be called a kingdom of commerce. Within this border town, trade was flourishing greatly. The main street was bustling with noise and excitement. It seemed that everyone was immersed in the pleasures of buying and selling.
We first looked for a relatively good hotel to settle in. In any case, we weren’t lacking money; I hadn’t even made a dent in the thousand diamond coins that Teacher Di had given me when I left home. Not to mention the sizable sum that Big Brother Zhan Hu brought along. After eating dinner, we all gathered together to discuss our future course of action.
I spread out the map on the table. Pointing at the area representing Dalu, I said, “Everyone look. Right now we are here. Four hundred kilometers south is where the Kena province is. Teacher Di said that the holy sword was somewhere in a valley in the Kena province. We will have to search through these forests. Does anyone have any questions?”
Zhan Hu said, “This map of yours is too general. I feel like it would be best to buy a map of the Kena province. We should mark the places where it could be and search them one by one. How about it?” Everyone immediately approved of Zhan Hu’s ideas.
Xiu Si said, “Right now, this is all we can do. Our clues are too few. We can only search by throwing a net and thoroughly search every bit. No matter what we can’t leave out any suspicious areas.”
Dong Ri said, “Currently with our strength, we should be able to deal with any danger. What we should be most worried about is not finding the place.”
I let out a breath and said, “Alright! Let’s go Dong Ri. First we’ll find buy a map of Kena province and then we’ll discuss this further. Everyone else should rest first. After we come back, let’s go eat.”
Dong Ri and I arrived at the bustling main street. A few casual questions led us to a small map store. I looked everywhere inside and saw maps of every place. The shopkeeper walked by and asked, “Sirs, where would you like a map of? The maps at this store are the most complete. We basically have maps of the whole continent, even the West Continent is no exception.”
I said surprised, “Oh! You even have maps of the West Continent? Could you let me look at them?” The demon race and beast clans were a mystery to me. That is why I wanted to see if there was a difference in the terrain of the east continent.
The shopkeeper brought over a small cylinder sealed on both sides. Opening a side revealing a map made from sheepskin rolled inside. It appeared a bit yellow. It should be quite a few decades old.
After handing over the map to me, he said, “Sir, this was passed down from my ancestry. This is a map of the West Continent from two hundred years ago. Currently, the West Continent should have changed to some extent, but its approximate locations should still be correct.”
I took the map. It was drawn meticulously. There were many small regions on it. On the middle-left of the map I found the demon race’s capital, Sadan City. I couldn’t help but recall the stunningly beautiful woman of the demon race that I came across. Could she be there now? Thinking of her stunningly beautiful appearance, I could not help but stupidly space out.
“Zhang Gong. Zhang Gong, what are you doing? What are you looking for on the map of the West Continent? Quickly finish our business here.” Dong Ri reminded me from the side.
I was roused from my fantasy, “Ah? What did you say? Oh, I know. Shopkeeper, Could you bring us a map of the Kena province? I also want this map of the West Continent. How much will it cost altogether?”