Chapter 146: Rush (1/2)
”Everyone! Back on your saddles!” Layn shouted as soon as he rushed out of the kitchen. Out of every single piece of information that Irea's letter packed, one was the most important and pressing.
”What happened?” Sitra asked while proving why Castor held a sweet spot for her, as she didn't waste even a single moment before getting back on her horse.
”I know where they went, more or less that is,” Layn announced, rushing towards his own mount.
”Isn't that good?” Sitra gestured at the two other guards before turning her face back to the archmage. ”Now we know where to look for them, so why the hurry?” she asked, perplexed by the sudden rush.
”I hope I'm wrong here, but I believe they are about to enter the area under the influence of another Overlord of Origin,” Layn explained as he kicked the sides of the horse and lowered himself over the mount's neck.
As if sensing the rush of its host, the animal didn't bother wasting any time either. It instantly stretched its legs forward, entering the most efficient form of movement.
”Wait? Are you sure?!” Sitra asked, her face whitening. While she could believe that when fully prepared, Layn would be capable of tackling an Overlord of Origin, she didn't have any doubts about what would happen if he tried to do the same in his current state.
While Layn wasn't injured, he simply had no means of fighting. She saw it clearly with how desperate he was to save every last bit of mana that he could squander.
”Why do you think that's the case?” Sitra asked while reaching to one of the sacks attached to her saddle. ”If they knew about the Overlord, they wouldn't dare to infringe on its sphere of influence. What's more, if you didn't know about it beforehand, then they cannot be any wiser either. How can you tell they are about to enter his area then?” Sitra brought up a logical question.
It was Castor and the girl herself that told Layn everything he currently knew about the Overlord of Origin. And for them, the knowledge they possessed was an effect of long centuries of various braves risking their life to learn more about the overlords along with a countless number of researchers.
As such, it was impossible for Layn's companions that used to live in this place to know about the Overlord. And in extension, it was impossible for Layn to learn about its existence directly. In the end, the only way for the archmage to come to the conclusion he did, was by picking at the scraps of hints they gave him, something that bore a high risk of leading to a mistake!
”Can you see how the land around us looks like?” Layn answered with a question of his own. ”No matter which direction you look like, it's all an empty steppe. What's more, if you travel far enough, you will reach a massive desert, far bigger than the steppe itself,” Layn explained his thoughts as he swooshed his hand around to add the weight to his words.
”Yeah, what about it?” Sitra asked as she had no idea what Layn find out from the letter he found in the kitchen building.
”According to the information my people left me with, they found another biome. Or rather, they found out a pack of wolves, clearly scouting an area,” Layn explained the details before sending the girl a questioning look. ”First off, the wolves can't live on a steppe. That alone proves there ought to be a more fertile land nearby. What's more, since they were scouting the steppe, that pack of wolves only dared to enter it recently,” Layn said, not bothering to hold any information or thoughts back.
”You know that's not necessarily the case?” Sitra countered with a lenient smile that soured as soon as Layn looked at her face. ”I know that your idea is likely to be true, but don't be so negative. You don't want your people to see you so anxious, do you?” she asked with a renewed smile.
”While you might be right... Wait, what's this?” Layn was about to acknowledge Sitra's words when his attention got drawn to a strangely-looking thing nailed into the ground. A few moments later, when their horses brought them closer, Layn could finally see just what kind of peculiarity that was.