Chapter 22: Village Attack (2/2)

Leonel only shrugged, slotting his atlatl into the belt Aina had given him.

”The messengers of God aren't limited by such things.”

The heart of the knights trembled, each of them swallowing hard. Their encampment was 50 kilometers away. It would take a human a day to cover such a distance. A good runner would take about three to four hours. But, a horse could do it in less than two. If they could really keep up…

They soon received their answer.

Aina and Leonel not only kept up with ease despite their heavy load. On top of this, they didn't seem to be too tired. Leonel could have taken out his bike to make the process even easier on himself, but it didn't sit right with him letting Aina run alone.

When they could see the large tents of the encampment, Leonel's heart inadvertently thumped as something clicked in his mind.

'My stamina just increased by 0.01…'

Leonel immediately confirmed that he really was correct. There was something more special about his father's concoctions than the latter had let on. In addition, this world really hadn't blocked it like the previous Zone had.

'What's different about that one and this one? It also seems that whatever medicinal strength dad's brew had can be forced out quicker if I'm doing an activity conducive to it… Should I start running sprints and lifting weight?'

Leonel's strength wasn't bad, but his speed and agility were abysmal. The only reason they were passable currently was due to the Tier 5 Black treasure on his feet currently.

Now that Leonel was paying very close attention to his body, he realized that the ticks up in his stats while he was fighting those A-grade Invalids had felt exactly like this. Why hadn't he realized there was a hidden strength churning in his body before?

'I wonder why dad decided on this incredibly slow approach… I'm sure he had a reason…'

Leonel frowned, his mind going to the scar his father mentioned. Could it be related to that? He didn't really understand, though. There weren't really any important organs or vitals in that place.

Leonel didn't get to think more about it as they finally made it to the encampment. He could immediately tell that Joan of Arc wouldn't be here. Encampments like this one held forward squads and battalions that placed pressure on the enemy in no-man's-land.

According to history, Joan wasn't a fighter, she was rather a morale booster. The so-called 'Merlin' mentioned in the quest introduction was the man who prophesied of her arrival, but there was no real wizard or mage in history.

This was all to say that Joan wouldn't be in such a small army. She would be with a larger number so her presence could have the greatest effect.

'Joan of Arc was executed for cross dressing as a man…' Leonel sighed, looking at Aina's clothing.

Leonel found his education at Royal Blue Academy to be quite useful currently. When one chooses a language study, it isn't just about learning the dialect itself, but also about learning in the language. Leonel had thus learned many things about French history in these past few years.

Leonel and Aina waited patiently as the head knight contacted who he needed to. Not long later, the two were being ushered into the largest center tent.

Unsurprisingly, this 'general' didn't have much of a say in the matter either. He could only wait until the next opportunity to bring Aina and Leonel back to the Orleans stronghold.

The next time their battalion would be allowed to return was a month. Until then, they could only continue fighting skirmishes and protecting the 100 kilometer radius of villages and towns.

Following this, Aina and Leonel were taken to a tent of their own. Leonel already knew that Aina had a tent of her own that she'd likely bring out, so he didn't disagree. Plus, it wasn't particularly good for the two of them to separate.

Surprisingly, though, Aina didn't immediately pull out her own living space and instead invited Leonel to sit on an animal skin left in the tent.

”The mission specifics, I haven't had time to explain them properly to you yet, so I think I should do so now while we have a small bit of time.”

Leonel nodded, that was true.

”The wrist watch is correct. This quest is about Joan of Arc. I'm not sure how this Merlin is related, but maybe you can fill in the blanks?”

”Yes. Merlin was a bard and professed prophet from the 500's. He was known for a few of his connections and prophecies, namely his connection with King Arthur and his prophecy on Joan of Arc.

”If I recall the quote directly, his prophecy went… 'France will be lost by a woman and saved by a virgin from the oak forests of Lorraine.'

”The same usual vague prophecy that will eventually become true if enough years pass…” Leonel ended a bit skeptically.

”I don't think we can take anything at surface value like that anymore.” Aina said softly.

”… Maybe you're right.”

Aina shook her head. ”The main quest and side quests are actually conflicting. And, the hidden quest is nearly impossible.”

”You can see hidden quests? Isn't the point that they're… hidden?”

”My detection device can't, but I used an S-grade Information Ticket on it. I have a feeling that this quest may actually be of the SS-grade, which plummets the accuracy of my device to just 70%.”

Leonel's gaze narrowed in his seriousness. He had only completed a C-grade Zone before, but now he was in an SS-grade one? Where was the fairness?

”There's also a possibility that it's a Unique Sub-Dimensional Zone.”

”Unique…?”

”They're Zones that are ungraded due to the fact the variables within follow the Chaos Theory.”

'Oh… Just fantastic…' Leonel thought to himself. Chaos Theory was a branch of mathematics that gave even him a headache whenever he thought about it. At least back when his mind worked within normal human limits, that is.

”Either way, I will tell you what I know.

”There are two side quests. One is to kill 1000 Englishmen. The second is to kill 10 000 Englishmen.

”The main quest is to… kill Joan of Arc.”

Leonel rubbed his forehead with a hand. As expected, this wasn't a simple matter at all.

”The hidden quest is to recapture Paris.”

Leonel's lips twitched. She was the 'Boss' of a potentially SS-grade Zone, yet even she failed to recapture Paris in her lifetime. But, they were supposed to?