In the border town, Sandra and Tristan were packing their luggage, ready for their ultimate trip. Sandra couldn't help but take a look at the sky, saying, "It's about to start, Tristan."
"Yeah. I'm sorry that because of me, you have to go through such a dangerous situation." Tristan nodded while putting the clothes inside his bag.
"Why are you saying it like that?" Sandra shook her head. "When I was sold to the slave merchant, I knew that my fate had been sealed. I would either go to the brothel or become a toy of a rich person. It was so awful that I wanted to die before he even got a chance to sell me. That stopped when I saw you…"
Sandra recalled their memory with the slave merchant. "I saw you continuously looking at something. I couldn't help but wonder why you would do something like that even though you would end up getting beaten every day. When we finally met Master, that was the time I realized that you had never given up. Unlike me, who resigned to my fate, you were trying to become stronger so that you could live a better life."
"That's—" Tristan wanted to say that he could do that because of her, who kept treating his injury.
However, Sandra continued, "When I saw you doing everything to save me, I felt like I should also do something. Unlike you, who have the goal of becoming a great person as Master's disciple, I don't know what I want to do in the future."
Tristan suddenly walked to her and grabbed her hand.
"Eh?" Sandra was startled, but she soon found Tristan's solemn face.
"Don't say that. If you don't know, then keep walking forward. We will survive this and live a long life. I'm sure that you can think of what you want to do even if it's not now."
Facing Tristan's sincere feelings, Sandra couldn't help but smile, saying, "Yes. It seems that I have become too sentimental. Let's continue packing our luggage. We have to reach the edge of the town in one hour."
Tristan nodded with a serious expression. For Tristan, Sandra's help was something like a miracle. Without her, he might have died or been severely injured to the point he could only wait for his death. On the other hand, Tristan had been an inspiration for Sandra.
Without them realizing it, they had both leaned on each other.
And to grasp their future, they had to follow Noel's plan.
Not far from the town, Noel and Dimitri were running in the middle of the desert. The sun was about to reach the top of their head, symbolizing the start of their plan.
"What is the situation?" Noel asked while scanning the area.
"I still haven't found them. However, it's true that it's too quiet here. Considering they are mobilizing two Devil Saints, they should have brought a big group of elites. Even if they spread them, some should be hidden around this place." Dimitri contemplated and asked, "Master. I think it's better if I use my True Spirit Body. This is the last sprint, right?"
"No. I don't allow you to do that." Noel shook his head. "You should know that I'm planning to reach the Spirit Grandmaster Stage either during my stay in the Greenwood Kingdom or upon my return to the Muivell Kingdom before becoming a noble. Meanwhile, you have to go straight to gather all the workers in the Muivell Kingdom. If you are injured because of the True Spirit Body, will you have enough time? The people we need are many, you know."
Dimitri couldn't say anything back. Even he had to use his full power to roam the entire kingdom, gathering those workers. He didn't know whether he would have enough time to gather those people before Noel became a noble.
After a moment, Dimitri said, "I understand. But if push comes to shove, I'll release my True Spirit Body."
"I know. If my prediction is correct, the moment we reach the border, we will be fine." Noel glanced to the horizon. "And if my calculation is not wrong, the enemies will be appearing soon."
"Well, we are only two hours away from the Greenwood Kingdom. In one and a half hours, we should be able to see the border city. They probably stationed a few people inside that city." Dimitri agreed.
"Yes. That's when they are going to attack. So, get ready." Noel took a deep breath. He began circulating his Spiritual Energy.
He had been conserving his energy this whole time so that he could use every bit of it during the brief clash. But since they were about to approach the border, they had to become a bit more cautious.
"I'll be moving around to scout the area." Dimitri nodded.
"Go."
In that instant, Dimitri disappeared. He seemed to have sped up and moved a bit farther away from Noel.
Meanwhile, the Supreme Devil Organization had moved according to Noel's words.
Qiel and Nelfer had stationed themselves at the edge of the border so that they could rush back to intercept Noel before reaching the Greenwood Kingdom.
Obviously, she could see a signal that would launch into the sky from the border town from this place. This would give her the time to react.
On the other hand, Nelfer remained on the ground, trying to recover even just a little bit.
While waiting, Qiel narrowed her eyes, staring at the border. Different kingdoms definitely had different borders.
Between the Atracaeca Kingdom and the Zaecuria Kingdom stood a lot of poles in an interval, stretching over the horizon. They had been connected with a few ropes to mark their area. If one crossed the rope, they would have entered the Zaecuria Kingdom.
Obviously, it was impossible to secure every inch of their border. Even in this place, she didn't find a single soldier. It might look easy to cross the border, but there was a giant town not far from the border, which should act as the military base to secure the border.
The Atracaeca Kingdom also had a border town, but because this place was at the very corner, the border actually crossed over three countries. The border town where Tristan and Sandra stayed was connected with the Muivell Kingdom and the Greenwood Kingdom. Meanwhile, there was another border town slightly south of the area.
With this kind of terrain, it would be impossible for Noel to cross over this way, leaving him no choice but to go to the gap they had created. This was Qiel's trap.
She turned around, staring at the border that linked to the Greenwood Kingdom. Instead of poles, there wasn't a single thing that stopped them from entering the Greenwood Kingdom.
The area was still filled with sand, but the desert should be ending not far from that border and that was where the Greenwood Kingdom's border town was.
Obviously, she noticed the slight few bricks that were placed around the lines, marking their territory. If Noel managed to cross over those bricks, it meant he had entered the Greenwood Kingdom.
However, she couldn't find any suspicious thing that was hidden around the border.
'Did I miscalculate? He should have known that crossing the border is only temporary. If he can't reach the border town, it will be impossible for him to get any protection.' Qiel scanned the area, finding no abnormalities. She thought Noel was prepared to fight them until they reached the town.
It was a bit foolish, considering Noel should have foreseen his capture unless he had another trump card.
'I see. It seems that Noel Ardagan is going to use everything to reach that town. We have a bit more time, but I'm afraid Dimitri…' Qiel glanced at Nelfer on the ground and said, "I'm going to tell you this. There is a chance that Dimitri will use the True Spirit Body. If that happens, the first thing you need to do is to survive and not use your True Spirit Body."
"Huh?" Nelfer woke up, confused. "Why? If I don't use my True Spirit Body, I won't be able to defeat him."
"Dimitri would definitely inform the Demon Banner Army about your condition. So, if we return, we will be targeted by the Demon Banner Army. Even our force won't last long. Hence, heavy injury is fine, but we have to keep the True Spirit Body our trump card if we want to return. If we stay here, the Demon Banner Army will use that time to launch a full-scale attack."
"I understand." Nelfer nodded in understanding. "I won't be reckless anymore. But how long do you need to capture that brat?"
"I'm not sure. He must have hidden a few trump cards, so I'll target the others to defeat him. Your team will sweep them and capture him."
"Got it."
As they discussed their last approach, a huge red light flew into the sky.
The light suddenly exploded like a firework, producing a loud sound that alarmed Qiel and Nelfer.
"!!!" Both of them knew because this was the signal their subordinates would send if they spotted Noel and Dimitri. In other words, the final chase had just begun.
"Move out!"
