"Is everyone ready?" Noel asked while sitting on the carriage. His body was still covered in bandages to the point that he couldn't even follow the entire group without the help of the carriage.
Fortunately, this was the time for the automatic carriage that Noel created to show its true might.
"Yes, Sir." Grandell replied without hesitation. He couldn't help but glance at the temple knights that were going with them. Unlike the Ardagan Family, who didn't required to wear armor, the temple knights actually wore full body armor, except for the helm.
The only reason why the Ardagan Family didn't have the basic armor was because they were elites. And with the contribution points, they could actually ask for a tailored-made armor. And it didn't have to be from metal.
Grandell actually used a coat made of Peak Level Demon's hide as his armor. It had been reinforced by rune, so it was even sturdier than the armor the temple knight was wearing. In addition, it was easier to move with the coat than the armor.
The only thing that symbolized the Ardagan Family was the family crest on his chest. That was the only requirement for Noel's soldiers.
Of course, Noel had prepared basic armors if he ever recruited normal soldiers.
"Unfortunately, my paladin seems to be a bit late." Layla smiled apologetically. Considering the amount of time the bird had to fly to the headquarters before informing their paladin, it would be amazing if the paladin arrived before their departure.
"That's fine. In any case, we should get going." Noel nodded. "I will start slow and increase the pace soon."
Because of her eyes, or more like she used her eyes as the reason to board the carriage with Noel. She wanted to know how Noel utilized the carriage.
Instead of using demon crystals, Noel infused his own Spiritual Energy to the carriage. The carriage itself was just a four wheel cart that had been modified with a steering wheel. The steering wheel was a simple stick. Noel had just to rotate it to the direction he wanted to go.
Noel activated the Enhance Forward Rune in the carriage, propelling it forward. The gravity pushed the carriage down and the wheel maintained the balance, allowing this carriage to behave like a normal one.
Seeing that their leaders had begun moving, the knights hurriedly followed on foot. They were going to a dangerous area, so it wasn't wise to bring a horse.
"I've experienced this, but this is quite good." Layla smiled.
Layla might think so, but for the one who created it, the carriage caused him some concern.
"As expected…" Noel looked down. "Unlike the paved road in the city, there will be a lot of bumps in this kind of road. And if the carriage is moving faster than this, it's going to be extremely uncomfortable."
"Oh my. You're trying to find a solution? I'm looking forward to it."
"Are you expecting me to give that solution to the carriage I promised you?"
"You're not going to?" Layla looked down with a disappointed expression.
Noel didn't bother to reply to her. He muttered inwardly, 'Should I use the Reduce Impact Rune? But it's going to cost more demon crystals. Should I change the material? But is there any material that can be used to reduce the impact? I might be able to use Reduce Impact Rune for a high-end carriage, but if I'm going to sell the normal one, I need a cheaper alternative.
'Besides, if common people start using this, I have to create a new law. It can endanger people after all.' Noel sighed. He should discuss it with the master blacksmith in his territory first.
After contemplating for a while, Noel's focus returned to the carriage. This was the first time he drove one, so he couldn't help but want to test the brake and the steering wheel.
He rotated the stick to the left, causing the front wheel to slightly rotate to the left. With the help of the wheel, the entire carriage ended up turning left. This was a bit different from a normal carriage since their front wheels couldn't rotate like this.
It could be said that the rotating front wheel made the turn smoother.
However, Noel could feel the centrifugal force that was trying to knock him to the opposite direction. It was much more powerful than the normal carriage. If he went faster than this, he might be blown away by this force and fall from the carriage.
That was why he pulled the level on his side, causing the carriage to slow down. The centrifugal force also became much less.
"Hmmm…" Noel frowned. On the one hand, he was satisfied with the performance. On the other hand, there were a few flaws with the current design.
And Roel might be the only one who could fix this problem.
The last thing Noel noticed from this carriage was the power it had. That was right, he only used a little Spiritual Energy to drive it forward. But when he looked back, this carriage brought all the supplies they needed in this expedition.
Despite having so much weight on the back, it could still smoothly move forward. He was concerned about the weight distribution though.
He wanted to test some theories in his mind, so Noel began forming a rune underneath them, the Reduce Impact Rune.
As he expected, the moment he bumped into small rocks or uneven soil, the impact reduced significantly. Even if they traveled for a long time, the bump shouldn't make their butt sore.
"This has become even more amazing." Layla also noticed the change. "If we ever use this carriage to transport people or even the injured where we have to lay them down, it won't be as painful."
Layla was right. If he needed to lie down in this carriage, the bump might end up killing them if they traveled at high speed.
There was also an intermediate version of Enhance Forward Rune, which could propel the carriage even faster. But for that, he thought it would be better if he flew in the sky to avoid all the bumps.
He couldn't imagine what kind of future rune would bring.
The knights were quite surprised by the performance of the carriage. This was the first time it roamed outside the city after all.
If they had this kind of carriage to travel around, the journey wouldn't be as tiring. They could understand why the Saintess was trying to form a good relationship with the lord.
While Noel was supposed to be unable to move around so much, this carriage allowed him to go on an expedition without stressing himself. This was the picture Noel wanted to show to all those people.
However, their peaceful journey seemed to have been cut short by the appearance of a few demons.
"My lord." Grandell rushed to his side, still worried about Noel's injury. "Please leave them to us."
Noel thought about using his power to kill them and head straight to the river, but it wouldn't be good if the lord did it while his vassals remained on the back. So, he approved Grandell's request. "Alright. I'll leave them to you."
Unsurprisingly, the temple knights also came forward as if requesting their Saintess so that they didn't lose to Grandell.
"You may go. Show the Earl our power." The saintess smiled. Since they were cooperating, she had to show the strength of their temple knights so that it looked like the agreement was worth it.
All twenty knights came forward, ready to challenge all these demons.
"Moon Temple, ten knights. We're ready to assist the Ardagan Family's knights." One of the knights stepped up and informed Grandell of their action.
"Is that so? Behind me are the elite knights of the Ardagan Family. I hope that you can keep up with us."
"We'll leisurely fight alongside you, then."
Grandell raised his hand with three fingers up. The soldiers understood the signal and changed their formation slightly.
As soon as they were ready, Grandell sped up. "Go!"
The other knights increased their speed as well. Since Grandell had begun, the temple knights followed suits, matching their pace with the soldiers.
Unlike the battle formation that Anna saw during the first exploration, this formation was used to crush the enemies with their momentum. There wasn't a single shield-bearer among the soldiers after all.
There were a total of fifteen demons coming toward them. When they were about to clash, Grandell sped up once more and shocked them with his speed.
The first demon tried to strike him with its claw before another demon pounced on him.
Grandell struck this claw without hesitation, but his fighting style had changed a little bit after sparring with Anna.
As Anna said, he had good speed, but his power was lacking. Back then, he tried to compete with Anna and overwhelm her with her speed. The thought was correct, but the way he did it was wrong.
That was why when the sword was about to strike this claw, Grandell lowered the strength of his grip, causing the sword to slide down underneath the claw.
It brushed the demon's skin until it managed to slip past the entire paw. It was then Grandell sped up once more and swung straight at the demon's neck, slicing it.
After killing the first demon, he moved to the next one. This time, the demon had more time to regain its composure and try to strike his blade first.
However, Grandell kept avoiding the direct clash until he got a perfect opportunity. He utilized it to kill the second demon.
After killing the demons, he kicked their corpses to the side, messing with the other demons' movement. And it was the time for the other soldiers to kill the rest.
When the temple knights saw the brilliant performance, they realized that they had lost the initiative by allowing Grandell to make his move first. In the end, they could only clean up the rest of the demons.
Noel watched them with a smile. While the demons were just low level, Grandell and the others managed to defeat it with minimum strength.
That was what he wanted, considering there were a lot of demons residing near the river and the area beyond it.
He imagined the scene where his elite soldiers dominated the battlefield. And at that time, they would be strengthened with runes.
Once that happened, they would be invincible.
"It seems that you've gotten quite excited, Noel. I guess your soldiers perform better than mine." Layla sighed.
"Don't worry. I am expecting a lot from you guys once we penetrate deep into their territory. It's only going to be troublesome from this point on."
