Chapter 72: The Mages from Afar

A poorly made donkey cart trudged slowly along the muddy roads of Thorn Valley.

The donkey pulling the cart was likely quite old. Even though it only hauled a small cart, it moved with difficulty, as if each step required a tremendous effort.

On the small, battered cart, three people were piled together, while six others walked beside it.

Due to the recent rain, the roads of Thorn Valley were difficult to navigate. Most experienced merchant caravans had already chosen to stop at Conte Territory on the other side of the valley.

Yet, these reckless fools had charged straight in, struggling through the muddy terrain.

Their clothing was tattered, their faces covered in dirt, as if they had just rolled through the mud. A casual swipe at their clothes left streaks of wet filth.

Anyone who saw them might mistake them for beggars wandering along the road.

The wooden wheels of the donkey cart creaked with each turn, and the axle beam looked dangerously bent, as if it might collapse at any moment.

Finally, as the cart's wheel struck a protruding rock, the already fragile structure fell apart instantly.

Crack!

The wooden axle snapped, causing the cart to tilt violently, while one of the wheels rolled far away.

Thud!

The three people on the cart were thrown face-first into the mud, landing in a spectacularly humiliating fashion.

"Ow!"

"He~tui!"

"Cough… What… cough cough… just happened?

The three passengers, who had been asleep, were rudely awakened by the sudden crash.

"Watson… You're crushing me…" groaned Wright, his face plastered with mud. He wiped his face and spoke breathlessly.

"Hiss~ That hurts…"

Realizing that he was pressing down on Wright, Watson quickly propped himself up.

"Be gentle!" Wright's voice quivered with pain.

Only then did Watson notice that he had used Wright's back to push himself up.

With their companions' help, the three of them struggled to stand, completely soaked in mud.

"What kind of godforsaken place is this?!" Wright grumbled.

As the one at the very bottom, he had suffered the worst of the fall. On top of that, Watson had just stepped on his back, leaving him with a sore waist.

"Are you all okay?" The only fully-fledged mage in the group, Sibelle, asked.

Their group consisted of nine people Sibelle was the only true mage, while the other eight were mage apprentices.

After receiving Arnel's letter, Watson and Wright quickly contacted a few familiar mage apprentices. After much heated discussion, they finally made up their minds to leave Saint Lawrence and head eastward toward Idar Territory at a painfully slow pace.

Besides Wright and Watson, the other mage apprentices came from different mage towers. They all shared one thing in common:

They were unfavored by their mentors, yet harbored dreams of becoming great mages.

As for Sibelle, he had offended a noble in the central region of the Norman Empire and was forced to flee with them.

That's right to Sibelle, these eight mage apprentices were fugitives.

They had abandoned the grand mage towers of Saint Lawrence and instead flocked to a remote, desolate noble domain. To Sibelle, they were just like him people who had offended the wrong person and had no choice but to escape.

However, this band of mages was truly miserable.

But it was understandable.

Most mages in the Norman Empire, especially those in Saint Lawrence, were shut-in scholars who rarely left their mage towers.

If this were Earth, they would be stereotypical introverts.

It was common for them to stay inside their towers for years, rarely venturing outside.

Of course, they had servants to take care of their needs.

Even the most ordinary mage apprentices, like Watson and Wright, had been taken in as children, meaning they had little experience with the outside world, especially with the hardships of common life.

This was why, after just a few days of travel, these naïve, idealistic apprentices had already spent all their money.

Luckily, they weren't as clueless as their "predecessor," Arnel at least they managed to acquire a donkey cart for transportation, allowing them to take turns resting.

However, after getting caught in a rainstorm while crossing Thorn Valley, they ended up in this sorry state.

Why didn't they use magic?

The answer was simple—a mage's mental and physical strength was limited. They couldn't chant spells 24/7.

Plus, they were physically weak from years of isolation in their mage towers. Just half a day of walking left them exhausted.

"How much farther?" Wright winced, clutching his aching back.

"We should be close… Didn't those travelers say that once we leave Thorn Valley, we'll be there?" Sibelle encouraged them.

With their donkey cart ruined, they rested briefly, then had no choice but to drag their weary bodies toward Idar Territory on foot.

Fortunately, the journey was almost over.

After half a day of walking, leading their donkey, they finally emerged from the valley.

As soon as they stepped out of Thorn Valley, their view opened up.

But more importantly there was a road.

It wasn't a dirt path, nor a rough gravel road. Instead, it was made of some unknown material, feeling hard and smooth underfoot.

On any other day, they might not have thought much of it.

But after trudging through the muddy roads of Thorn Valley, they immediately realized how remarkable this paved road was.

No puddles.

No mud.

No tripping over potholes.

It was far better than any other road they had traveled.

"A noble's territory this far out… has roads like this?! Even the western part of the empire doesn't have them!" Sibelle exclaimed in shock.

"If only roads like this were built inside Thorn Valley…" Watson sighed wistfully.

But of course, cement roads weren't built in Thorn Valley and that was by design.

Bruno had strictly ordered that no proper roads be constructed inside the valley.

Why?

Because contrast breeds appreciation.

Only after struggling through the valley's terrible roads would travelers and merchants realize the value of the paved roads.

This would encourage them to take a slightly longer detour to Idar City before continuing south.