Chapter 164 - Advancing to Kaer Morhen 01.

[Chapter Size: 2100 Words.]

Third Person POV

Northern kingdoms.

...

Outside the chaos that had engulfed the meeting of the kings, the mage chapters, and the northern commanders, Madara continued his journey over the following days.

They had passed through Aedirn in recent days and finally reached the edge of those lands, stopping near the riverbank that separated Aedirn from Kaedwen.

"Are you okay?" Madara turned to the girl on his back.

"I'm a little tired..." she murmured, slightly embarrassed, not really wanting to admit it, but the circumstances left her no choice. Fatigue was unavoidable.

Madara nodded, aware that Cirilla was at her limit. They hadn't rested in the past two days, traveling nonstop and camping discreetly to avoid drawing attention. No one could know of two children traveling north, especially after Yennefer herself suggested altering their memories to give them a chance to hide.

Madara had been surprised by the sorceress's suggestion, but he had accepted it, knowing it would buy them some time. However, he understood that they would still be hunted across the continent. At least the pressure might lessen with the idea of him having "disappeared" from the kingdoms. He just needed to maintain a low profile in the years to come.

That wouldn't be easy. Madara couldn't use a transformation jutsu on himself to alter his appearance, and even if he could, he would refuse to do so.

"Alright... we can stop for a bit," Madara said as Ciri nodded and climbed off his back.

"We can stay here and eat something," she suggested.

"But we shouldn't remain visible near the river. A fisherman might spot us… remember, we can't leave any evidence that we're traveling north. If our enemies and pursuers hear about two teenagers on the move, we'll immediately be linked. You understand that, don't you?" Madara said, shifting his gaze from the river to look at Ciri.

She pressed her lips together at his words and nodded, meeting his eyes. "You're right. We can stay behind the trees. I'm sure you can spot anyone approaching," she said, finishing with a note of confidence. Madara nodded in agreement.

They had been avoiding towns and roads, encountering nothing but wildlife on their journey and the occasional monster in the forests. Madara's advantage lay in traversing dangerous and dense areas using only the trees for movement. They stopped in safe spots where Madara would summon luxurious beds, so it wasn't as though they were sleeping on the cold ground. Even so, Ciri occasionally needed to rest for a few hours, as her muscles ached from staying in the same position for hours while Madara pressed northward.

They stopped near the river but stayed hidden by the foliage, settling in a clean area as Madara retrieved food from his scrolls while Cirilla rested and ate.

She had been quiet all day, watching him intently. Madara noticed and turned to her to figure out what was bothering her.

"Something wrong?" he asked, and the girl immediately looked away before cautiously meeting his gaze again.

"I was thinking about yesterday... I don't know what happened in the war, but you changed its course and defeated the Nilfgaardians," she said carefully.

Madara didn't let her finish. He already knew where her thoughts were headed, so he sighed and looked at her.

"You're wondering why I didn't use the power I wielded in the war at Sodden or in Cintra," Madara said, cutting to the heart of the matter. When Nilfgaard invaded the North, Madara had killed at least 3,000 soldiers in a single battle. That was nothing compared to the 100,000 to 130,000 soldiers he eliminated during the final battle at Sodden. "I didn't have that power back then. I only used it once at Sodden, and I can't use it again," he explained.

"I understand," she nodded, seemingly reassured by his words. The idea of saving Cintra still weighed heavily on her heart, even months later. The pain lingered, but when she looked at Madara, she knew she was safe by his side.

"What is it?" Madara asked, sensing her gaze lingering on him. Embarrassed, Ciri immediately turned her eyes away.

"Nothing..." she murmured.

"..." Madara said nothing as he resumed eating while resting.

Ciri glanced at him again, about to start a conversation, but at that moment, a sound came from the river behind them.

"Help!!" Upon hearing the voice, they both turned to the source, standing up to investigate. Madara leapt onto a tree branch while Ciri approached the river on foot.

"A boat?" Ciri murmured as she saw a boat in the middle of the river, the water churning violently, with a man desperately paddling amidst the chaos, seemingly trying to avoid something.

"Help!" The man's desperate shout echoed again, though he appeared to be alone.

"We should help!" Ciri exclaimed.

"I think it's better if we stay out of this..." Madara replied, scrutinizing the situation more closely.

Ciri looked at him, surprised. She knew Madara avoided getting involved with others, understanding the danger if anyone discovered their whereabouts.

"Please, Madara, help them!" she pleaded, her voice full of urgency.

Madara seemed to deliberate for a moment, then sighed.

"Fine..." he said, creating a clone to stay with Ciri before leaping into the river. His landing was light, his feet skimming the surface as he began running across the water toward the boat without the man noticing him.

"Help... Save my son!" the older man cried as Madara approached. The man was frantically trying to rescue his son from the water.

The man barely had time to react when he saw someone seemingly flying across the water toward him. Madara dove into the river without hesitation.

He quickly swam underwater, activating his Sharingan, which allowed him to see everything clearly, as well as any aquatic creature might. His vision was even sharper than a human's, a natural advantage stemming from the origins of terrestrial life in water.

Madara spotted a group of drowners pulling a ten-year-old boy deeper into the river. The child's desperate struggle and the blood in the water told Madara the boy was injured. Without hesitation, Madara swam faster.

His speed was astonishing, and the drowners barely had time to react. The first one was caught off guard, its neck snapped by a swift kick from Madara. Retrieving a common sword from his scroll, he cut through the arms of another drowner clutching the boy. The child was flailing in panic, swallowing water in his desperation to survive.

Madara grabbed the boy, who instinctively tried to kick him, panicked and disoriented. Seeing this, Madara delivered a light blow to the boy's head, knocking him unconscious to prevent further struggle. He secured the boy by the arm and began kicking upward toward the surface.

Six more drowners swam toward them, creating turbulence in the water. Madara couldn't hear them, but he could feel the water's agitation.

Realizing the imminent danger, Madara placed the unconscious boy behind his back and formed a hand seal with one hand. He inflated his cheeks, and a moment later, fire erupted from his mouth, creating an inferno beneath the water's surface. The intense heat turned the water into a bubbling maelstrom, consuming the approaching drowners.

The man in the boat was overcome with despair, tears streaming down his face. He didn't care about the stranger who had leapt into the river; all he could think about was his son being carried away by monsters.

Suddenly, the water beneath the boat turned a fiery red, and the man stared in shock, unsure of what he was witnessing. He had no idea the glow came from Madara's fire jutsu.

The water bubbled and trembled violently, rocking the boat so intensely that the man nearly fell overboard. Then, out of nowhere, someone burst from the water, soaring more than five meters into the air. As the flames extinguished and the river calmed, Madara landed on the far side of the boat.

The man stared at him as though he had seen a ghost. On Madara's back lay his unconscious son, safe at last.

"Don't look at me like that. We have to save him; he swallowed too much water," Madara said as he glanced at the boat. Clicking his tongue, he shifted his focus to the riverbank. "Meet me there. We need a flat area to get the water out of him," Madara added, knowing the boat was not an ideal place. He jumped into the water and ran toward the shore with the boy.

"Wait! Where are you taking my son?" The man was unable to process what was happening and quickly grabbed the oars, attempting to follow the stranger walking on water using some sort of magic.

"Madara, who is this?" Ciri approached Madara as he gently laid the boy on the ground.

"He swallowed too much water... Let me see if I can do this," Madara said, placing his palms on the boy's chest and pressing down, trying to expel the water.

"This isn't working..." Ciri murmured, while a clone of Madara watched silently from a tree.

"Indeed... he's dying," Madara murmured, observing the boy, who had only a deep cut on his right leg that bled profusely. However, the real danger was the water trapped in his lungs.

"My son!! How is he?!" The man, now close to them, screamed in desperation.

Madara ignored him, deciding to try another approach. He raised a finger and pointed near the boy's chest, channeling wind chakra to create a flow of air inside him. To his relief, it worked.

Moments later, the ten-year-old exploded into a fit of coughing, spitting water from his mouth as Madara continued clearing his airways with bursts of air.

"You did it! Madara, you did it!" Ciri exclaimed, visibly relieved. She hated seeing people die, which was why she had insisted Madara help, even though she knew it could be risky for them.

"My son!!" The older man had docked his boat on the shore and jumped out, running to where Madara was with the child.

Madara stood up as the man reached them, seeing his son coughing weakly on the ground.

Cough!

"Father...?" The boy gasped, regaining consciousness and spotting his father approaching. The older man embraced him tightly.

"You're alive!! I thought I'd lost you!" he cried, clutching the child to his chest.

While Ciri smiled, Madara cast a serious look at his clone, who nodded and began packing up their camp, knowing it was time to leave.

"Father, it hurts!!" The boy suddenly began crying as his body finally registered the deep cut on his thigh.

"Your wound..." The man looked at it quickly, trying to figure out how to stop the bleeding.

"Take this," Madara said, tossing a box containing a medieval medical kit near the man. The man opened it, nodding gratefully.

He quickly began dressing the boy's wound as the clone returned, throwing a scroll containing their packed camp supplies before vanishing. Madara started hearing the man ask for their names, but they lied, keeping their identities hidden while he continued to thank them profusely.

"Everything was fine... until those damned monsters came at our boat and grabbed my son while he was looking at the water. Those bastards... I was so scared, and I was a coward for not jumping into the water after him..." the man murmured, tears running down his face as he berated himself for his inaction.

"You would have died too," Madara replied coldly, his tone sharp. Ciri stood silently at his side, not interrupting.

"At least I wouldn't have been a coward... Thanks to you... I don't know what you did... but thank you," the man said at last, looking at Madara.

"You're a hero, Madara," Ciri said with a smile on her face.

Madara ignored her and activated his Sharingan, paralyzing the man while his son fell into a genjutsu as well.

"What?!" Ciri noticed the strange behavior and turned to Madara, questioning his actions with her eyes.

"I'm erasing their memories. His son was saved by sheer luck—they won't remember us in a few seconds... It's time for us to go," Madara said in a neutral tone. He couldn't allow anyone to know about two teenagers traveling alone, one of them possessing special abilities.

"..." Ciri was speechless. She didn't even have the chance to speak with the man. Without saying anything further, she sighed, knowing she had to trust Madara, even though he didn't seem to care if the people he saved remembered him or not.

Ciri climbed onto his back, and they departed. Meanwhile, the man woke up moments later, disoriented and unable to recall anything. All he could see was his injured son crying in pain. His memory of the two strangers who had been there just moments before was completely gone.

-------------Nexts Chapters ----------------

Chapter 169 - Stay at Kaer Morhen 02.

Chapter 174 - 43%.

Chapter 184 - Pushing the King of Kaedwen to the brink of his sanity.

Chapter 193 - The Chaos Between Humans and Non-Humans 01.

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