A New World Part 1

The massive army of adventurers followed by holy knights moving in the small streets of Dragard was a sight to behold. The thundering of their iron boots on the paved ground was loud enough to attract people's attention and many citizen watched them walk away from their windows or the border of the streets.

Unsurprisingly, guards were also there in order to separate the crusaders from the too curious or unfortunate townsfolk who could have created troubles. The atmosphere should have been happy or at least encouraging but aside from the adventurers who had been galvanized by Gabriel's speech the others had a serious or tensed up expression their faces.

The townsfolk were hoping that their holy actions would dispel or scare this evil which was rampaging in their city and making people disappear. Some of them were actively praying, their fingers intertwined as they held their hands in front of their hearts. This was a gesture only followers of the Holy Light did and it brought smiles to the holy knights' faces.

On the other hand, the guards also seemed to be more than stressed and some seemed to have skipped their night. They were muttering in low voices with each other and if you listened attentively you could hear that they were talking about a mysterious hole which appeared in the city's wall.

The guards which were overseeing that part of it had disappeared suddenly and everyone feared that a new specie of monster had infiltrated the town. Little did they know that this hole had been used to get things outside by a quite suspicious necromancer and his creations.

Speaking of the devil, he was currently walking alongside his students and hidden under a thick brown cloak and hood. He had covered his sword and scepter in clothes and carried them in his arms. While it was quite weird, no one asked since he didn't seem open for any conversation. He hadn't raised any ghouls for a few days in order to heal his burnt out mana circuits but some traces could still be seen on his pale skin. However, since everyone was in high spirit and entertained since it was for many their first time with such a crowd seeing them off no one noticed Jack's state for now.

Laena and Evelyn did though since their teacher had given them a very weird task : Speak for him and do everything to avoid breaking his concentration. They had understood how important it was for their plan but didn't really understand why he was in a constant state of exhaustion and mental stress. He had explained them briefly that it was related to his undeads while he had put on his heavy backpack.

Everyone had one filled with food and healing items as they expected the trip to be long and strenuous. The Church hadn't divulged their destination in order to prevent their plan from leaking thanks to a zealous idiot but this also prevented the adventurers to make enough preparations. Their instinct and common sense were still quite sharp for the majority so everyone bought as much as possible. The wilds were more dangerous than ever and it would probably be a long and straining trip.

When they finally reached the city gate the first adventurers were quite surprised to see that many carriages filled with crates of supplies were waiting for them. They amassed themselves quite quickly around the road, waiting for further instructions from the leader of the crusade. Many had faith and zeal in their eyes as they looked at the silver knight but a few were quite unhappy to be working under someone. The term was fitting the situation since Gabriel climbed on a carriage to make another speech :

"Oh courageous adventurers who have decided to follow us in our righteous crusade, we haven't forgotten you. Our journey will be long and a filled stomach is what a man need in our situation. Thus, the followers of the Light and the Church itself have funded some supplies which will follow us in our task. Do you best for us and we will do the same for you.

We also have planned camping sites on our way and have some instructions for the guard cycles." Gabriel's voice was gentle when he spoke of the support they had gotten and inspiring when he showed the importance of it. Again, his charisma did a lot of effect on the adventurers as they cheered for the unexpected food. Some even prayed to thanks the Church and noticing it brought a wry smile to the holy knight's lips while he continued his explanations.

Then, the caravan of carriages started as the horses started to get impatient and the adventurers followed behind. Their spirit was quite high and the parties formed grapes of humanoid forms following each other, creating a sort of chain on the road. Only a few weren't in the mood for talking like Andrew's party.

They walked silently, following their boss and their targets. Stress had invaded them since they had seen how powerful these guys looked and they knew that they couldn't go backward. They had to finish their mission or die trying. Furthermore, they had been told that they would have to stay away from the public attention for some time after they finished their task.

Coming back as the lone survivors of a failed expedition of this size would be suspicious at best after all. Thus, they explained this situation to one of their only friend without going into the details. Richard had been devastated to know that he wouldn't be able to see them for at least one year and felt guilty since he thought that it was because of the task he had given them.

He had seen them off his office the heart heavy and seemed to have aged a few dozen years after they closed the door behind them. They had promised to send him a letter if they came back alive but he found it hard to believe. Yet, he did his best to do so as it was his last strand of hope.

'Am I... Am I sacrificing some of my loved ones to.. to save other ones...?' He thought many times while gazing at the pile of documents growing on his desk. Then, he continued to fill his papers like a machine, trying to drown his troubles under a lot of hard work.

Night soon came a long day of walk for the adventurers. Some were tired because they had been stupid enough to walk with their plate armor on them the whole day, others were exhausted because some monsters had jumped from a small forest they had crossed and attacked them. Usually, intelligent creatures would avoid such a mass of enemies since it simply meant death for them.

However, these rat-like being of the size of a dog had launched a frenzied assault and didn't care about their losses as long as they drew blood. A few adventurers had been unlucky or uncaring enough to get their throats or arteries sliced and bled out quickly. For the others thought it became an easy fight once they got a hold of themselves and surprise disappeared away.

The carriages were also safe since the holy knights were travelling on them as drivers. It was also convenient for them since the majority of them wore a heavy armor. Their skill with their weapons of predilection was quite surprising as their movements were akin to weaponmasters. They dealt with their foes easily and with a terrifying precision while the adventurers struggled a little. Afterward, the priestesses did their best to heal survivors and prayed for the fallen.

This sudden reminder of the harsh, cold reality had calmed the zealous army but a speech of Gabriel about the importance of their sacrifices and the importance of their work motivated them again and brought them to their camping site.

It had been decided that they would have to plant their tents in a large circle around the carriages and the horses in order to protect them from whatever would maybe attack them. They had arrived in a massive plain so the room wasn't missing. Yet, some adventurers started to argue in order to plant their tents near the holy knights' one in order to be safer and forced them to solve it equally.

Every adventurer had also received a number previously which was his guard's turn order. This way, everyone worked and slept the same amount of time. Jack and his students were resting in their tents when they heard someone stop in front of it and say quietly :

"Dragon Slayer, please follow me. The commander would like to see you in order to discuss our assault strategy."

Laena then turned her head toward her teacher who was currently sitting in a lotus position with his eyes closed. He then opened them, noticed that she was waiting for his approval and nodded while shaking his head. Evelyn looked at her friend too and wondered if she should join her but decided no to do so since she wouldn't be really useful.

Holding the cloth door open, the elf then got out and saw that the messenger was a holy knight. His presence had attracted some attention from the other adventurers who were currently eating or cooking outside and many frowned when they saw that he had come to search for a elf. One downside of having sharp ears was that you could hear all those horrible things people said behind your back.

Sighing, she then looked at the massive knight in silver armor in front of her. A full helmet covered his face whilst only small holes in crosses form allowed him to see. A massive halberd was resting in his left hand while its spiked handle was stabbed in the ground. His uptight and straight posture gave an eerie feeling like he was a living armor with only emptiness inside of it. Yet, his tone was the one of a living being with emotions since Laena felt a hint of scorn and disappointment inside of it.

"Well then follow me, miss Dragon Slayer." He said while insisting on the "miss" part, giving Laena the feeling that he would have liked to meet a man more. She was also pretty sure that the fact that she was an elf was a bad point but pushed it away from her mind as she thought that she was becoming paranoid.

Her escort then became silent as they strode through the camp, allowing the elf to realize how massive it was. Many tents had been erected and now the plain looked like a small homeless village. The dawning light had been replaced by campfires' one and laughter could be heard as the adventurers exchanged a hot meal with some alcohol alongside stories from their wildest adventures. Some groups had merged while others remained in their corner.

Seeing that many adventurers reunited in the same place and with the same objective was a new sight for Laena and she enjoyed it like a children seeing many people she admired. The stories of adventurers going in ruins, braving dangers and coming back that she had heard years ago were reals and as she walked she heard some tell tales that she found really interesting.

Her ears moved a little as she focused on hearing a story about a magician who was fighting a cursed relic which had condemned a city. Unfortunately, she had to go to the meeting and was forced to go away before the end of it.

'I'm pretty sure that Evy will love these too. We'll have to go and speak with everyone later !' She thought as her escort opened for her a section of a massive tent, revealing a table and many individuals she knew around it.

"Dragon Slayer, you are here. We can now start our strategical meeting." Gabriel said with a warm smile while Laena walked in slowly.

-

"Sister, do you think these humans will arrive soon?" A man said while standing on a tree's branch.

"I don't know Brother, I'm as bored as you you know." A woman replied as she stood next to him, admiring the bloody sunset.

"You're right... I hope they arrive soon, I want to be able to go back to my researches as soon as possible !" The man pouted while showing agitation and excitation, making the branch wriggle under his weight.

"You're still working on the First's experiments? Don't you know it's madness? Everyone has tried, yet none has succeed ! He's the Dark Lord's finest work, no one will ever be able to match his grandiose work..." The woman's face was nearly drowned in ecstasy as she spoke about her idol.

"Heh, while you're practicing dark arts of an unknown being -Heck, maybe he has never existed- I'm working for our entire race !" The man retorted while agitating his arms.

"He has existed and he is our father ! The father of our whole civilization ! Tch. Why am I speaking about him with you, you're an idiot anyway." The woman sighed before jumping from the branch, free falling for 40 meters before landing like a feather, without a sound.