"Lord Silver," greeted General Hiren.
He will be responsible for my security. I wanted a Colonel to lead it, but Stone didn't listen.
Seeing what happened when I went out of the territory last time. He is not willing to take any chances with my safety.
It is not a safe trip, and while the baronies may have offered me safety. I couldn't trust them entirely, but it's not like there is a choice.
I need to go there. So, my territory could have a chance.
"General," I replied, and talked to him while walking toward the carriage.
We will be taking only a company of men, and they all will be moving on horseback. He had chosen our best people, all of whom are above Level. 20.
I could see many familiar people, Miss Bandstone, Captain Selb from mounted combat training, and many others.
All of them are experienced and could deal with any danger.
We reached the carriage and he opened the door. I nodded and stepped inside. The carriage isn't empty; a woman is sitting there.
The woman is very beautiful, with golden blonde hair and earthy brown eyes. Her face is small and delicate, but not in an elfin way. She is pure human.
"Thank you for taking me with you, Lord Silver," said the woman.
"Of course, Miss Wells," I replied.
She is a Simar Wells, one of the green mages we have. She is the most talented of them all, so much so that even Irgal had praised her and let her work with him.
She is the only person from my side; he does that with.
She was also invited to the party. She knew Lady Blackwell had become friends here. Good enough, that she had gotten the invitation.
All three of the madams have an invitation, but none of them are coming.
Caena is busy, Carla is out of the city, and Margaux has too much work.
People have become extremely aggressive in poaching our people, and with Carla out and Caena busy, she is alone in dealing with it.
The number has increased rapidly over the past few weeks.
Nearly a hundred girls had already left, including some staff members, and more seemed to be going every day. Thankfully, no madam had left, but seeing the way, the terms they are offering are growing.
I fear it will happen eventually. The offers are too enticing.
Soon, the carriage got out of the port gates, and a minute later, it was on the bridge.
Even now, the carriages are travelling on it, but not as much as they used to be, before the battle.
We reached the other side and I could see the buildings. The construction is continuing, but not at the pace I had wished.
It's a significant issue that it's still happening. In other cities, such things had come to a stop.
It didn't matter; it was slow right now, but people would come back in full force once they understood that we could handle the undead.
They will come running and won't leave again, no matter how many times the undead attack.
This time, it's going to be a major attack. The undead are going to attack me with a true horde.
It will be at the scale they use on Mayhurst.
I pushed the thought away and looked at the buildings. There are numerous buildings; most are warehouses, port facilities, army installations, and a few public infrastructure buildings.
Not to mention the work, I couldn't see. The underground work continues even now.
I had planned to release the first set of plots by now and was ready to do so. Now, it will only happen after the undead are repulsed, but for that, we have to deal with them successfully.
Not many could believe we could do it. I wish I had complete confidence, but I do not.
That doesn't mean we aren't going to try with everything we have. We will, and nobody will be able to stop us, including us.
The carriage moved out of the outer ring's limit, and its speed increased.
I would have loved to ride; it would have made the journey much faster, but the suggestion was shot down.
I didn't object since it will give me a chance to do a few things.
I took a deep breath and brought out a wisp of aura, careful to contain its suppressive abilities. The woman is reading, but I didn't want to disturb her.
The fractal formed, but a moment later, I dissolved it and formed another and then another.
No matter how many of them, I form. I couldn't bring out even a hint of essence in them. I didn't want the frustration to show in my efforts, but it did as I tried over and over.
Fifteen minutes later, I stopped and sighed. Only to see, Miss Well is looking at me.
"Sorry for the disturbance, Miss Wells," I apologise. My control isn't good enough, so those sitting in front of me won't sense it.
"There is no need to apologise, my lord," she replied with a smile.
I was about to close my eyes to sleep when her expression became serious.
"You have impressive control, Lord Silver. To be able to reach the fractal stage, in less than one year of gaining aura. Even the good ones take at least two," she said.
I was surprised for a moment, but it disappeared as I remembered who she had been in a relationship with.
"I think control is the easiest; what comes later is the hardest," I replied, and she smiled, but I could see the pain appearing behind those eyes.
A few seconds later, I closed my eyes and fell asleep.
I woke at dawn as usual and watched the sunrise as we approached the Nakar forest.
A few minutes later, the carriage stopped near the edge of the forest. The camp has already been prepared by the people of the baronies, waiting for us.
"Lord Silver," greeted the man in his late thirties. He will be responsible for safety till I reach the edge of the empire's boundary.
"Colonel Thistle, it's been a while," I replied to the man.
The last time I saw him, he was a captain. He ascended and looked at things, not just in rank.
"It is, Lord Silver," said the man with a smile.
I spoke with him for a few minutes before heading to the tent to freshen up. When I finished with it, I had breakfast and then resumed our journey.
Soon, the carriage entered the forest.
'So much had changed since I was here last time,' I thought a few minutes later, as I looked at things.
The roads are wider, and I could see farmlands that weren't there before, along with people working on them.
"It is hard to believe this place is part of the Renwell Region," said Miss Wells. I couldn't help but nod at that. It is so green and full of life that I couldn't help but envy it.
An hour later, I sighed.
I may be doing better than other cities, but this place is doing better than mine.
Not even 10% of their population left, which isn't surprising, seeing that they are in the safest place in the Renwell Region.
If the undead were to come, they would have sufficient warning, and all they would have to do is cross the boundary into the merchant state to be safe.
Despite all their power, the undead wouldn't dare to cross into the merchants' state.
Vris'alud isn't Navr.
I looked at the carriages moving on the road. It is like there is no fear of the undead. The trade between the merchant state and Navr is going uninterrupted.
Some citizens of the baronies had become cautious, but not too much.
The ruling council is doing a good job of maintaining stability here. I couldn't help but feel envious of them.
It's a good thing that I'm not meeting them today. I will be meeting them tomorrow, after I return from the function at Fort Renin.
I wanted to practice, but seeing so many people, I didn't.
Miss Well was able to recognise what I was doing without having an aura. Others could do it as well. So, I'd rather not reveal it.
I kept watching out of the window, focusing on trees, their leaves, and trunks.
Hoping to get inspired by it, but no matter how much I looked, I couldn't get the inspiration I needed for the method.
Soon, we reached the boundary of the empire, and Colonel Thistle stopped and was replaced with a person from Blackwell's forces.
"I had come here about a year ago, so much had changed," said Miss Well.
"I thought your former team didn't accept these small missions?" I asked in surprise. She was part of Lv. 40 group and was the mistress of its leader.
"I had come with a lower team," she replied, with her expression turning sombre.
It might not seem like it, given the job she is doing in the Velvet Garden, but she was a mercenary and had participated in many dangerous missions.
She seemed to have let go of that life, and I am not going to ask her more about it.
It's clear, looking at her expressions, that she does not want to talk about it.
I didn't look around through the window. She is right, so much has changed since the last time I was here, and Ignatius is doing well.
Taking all the precautions.
I could see the posts every few miles, with guards patrolling the route. Looking at their numbers, one would come across them every ten to fifteen minutes.
I heard there is a bunker below every post, and the response of these guards is quite good.
It is necessary, given the danger of the monster, which attacks every few weeks. Some of them slip away, and they need to hunt them down before they do any damage quickly.
The preparations aren't as good on Barony's side, which isn't surprising.
Ignatius had a merchant state behind his back, while he was using a lot of his money. He is also getting support from the merchant state.
It is the same for his forces, while the baronies are on their own. Forget helping them, the imperials are trying to squeeze everything they can out of them.
I watched everything and the people, the guard, the carriage, the more I watched, the envious I felt.
Yes, the baronies have their challenges, including the monsters and the border they share with Navr, but if someone asked me if I were willing to trade places with them, I would say absolutely.
An hour passed, and finally, I could see the Fort Renin.
Like many things, on the way, it, too, had changed a lot from the last time I had seen it.