Chương 25: Chapter 24: Mirador Hold

Thap Clang Thap Swords of ironwood clashed, but this training was more like clashing of the slapping of sword on my skin. Unlike Dan, Jonah's training is all-out offensive. He is attacking me rapidly, and I have to stop his sword from hitting me directly in any way. I could dodge, defend, or even counter, but I failed spectacularly despite his attacking me with the same strength and speed I have.

Three out of four of his strikes would hit me, while the one I would stop by either my sword or by dodging, taking help from skills; without them, I could not even have stopped a single attack. Jonah asked me to use skills from the beginning; according to him, I should get used to them, as they will help me kill the enemy, and the more familiar I am with them, the better. So, for more than half an hour, I was being beaten up; I had asked him not to hold back, and he didn't.

It is hard to take his repeated beatings; it is a repeat of my attempt last night when I sparred against him and Dan after dinner. The spar with them nearly made me vomit what I had eaten. Thap! Another strike of the back of the sword hit me hard against my waist, making me fall to the ground, and I stayed there for a couple of seconds, squirming in pain, before sitting up with laborious breaths.

"The speed of your improvement is quite amazing, Mister Silver. Yesterday, you were only taking a beating; today, you have defended one out of four," praised Dan, and he was not mocking but staying in a deadly serious voice.

"It is not an improvement; I am just remembering what I have trained for years," I replied. I may have acquired the skills but am still not as good as old Remus. It will take me some time to regain everything he had trained for, but given the speed of my improvement, it shouldn't take long. A minute later, I got up and walked toward the keep, with pain shooting all over my body with every movement I made; the walk to my room felt like pure torture. The sun hadn't come up yet, but it would soon.

I must be ready by then. I will be leaving Mirador Hold with Captain Markus and his men. Soon, I reached my room, and like I did yesterday morning and night, I put a drop of healing potion into the water, applied it to my body, and rested on the floor. I felt the cold sensation spreading into my skin. As it spread, the cooling feeling spread and the pain began to disappear. By the time ten minutes had passed, all the pain in my body had disappeared.

When I got up, I took a quick bath and changed into a new set of clothes before leaving my room. When I reached the bailey, the sun was out, and they were already gathering; even my brother and Madam were out. Madam is staying. She very much likes her role as a mother of the lord, and more than that, she knows she needs to be here to help her son. Without her, he would burn the barony down to the ground or get himself killed.

"Mister Remus, we will leave in five," informed Lieutenant Vans as I reached the horses. I nodded my thanks and walked toward the horse I rode yesterday. Jonah and Dan fixed my stuff to the horse before I mounted on it. We are riding the horses to the mirador hold, not taking a carriage. It would take too long; the horses are much faster. If we are lucky, we should be able to reach there by afternoon or sooner if Captain Markus's words are to be believed.

"Let's go," Captain Markus said, and his horse moved; as it did, I felt a skill enveloping the horse and me. Soon, a few more skills are added to it. They had activated their skills, and I could immediately feel their effects. I felt more comfortable and in control of the horse, which moved more easily than yesterday. Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. Most importantly, we have picked up the speed from the start.

In a few seconds, we were out of the castle and in the forest, moving through the road toward the Mirador Hold with a speed that would have tired even racehorses on the earth very quickly. These horses were picking up speed. They were getting faster by the minute, and no turns or twists seemed to reduce their speed.

"It is amazing, right?" asked Lieutenant Vans, whose hair is strangely in place despite the speed.

"Yes," I replied loudly, which I didn't have to. There are skills activated here that would make other people see them just as clearly as they are standing. Nullifying the effects of the hooves and the air friction. Riding at this speed feels exhilarating, and despite the speed, there is no hindrance to vision; I could see everything clearly, more clearly than I would through my ability and at a much wider angle. Which, too, is an effect of skill and is very necessary.

While the bandits won't attack the people of Mirador Hold, there are always desperate and daring people whose actions one could not predict. Two hours passed, and we crossed a considerable distance, and the horses were still running without stopping. Hun! As we rode, we saw a massive caravan of carriages, even greater in number than my brothers; the horses slowed down a little as we passed them before picking up speed.

'Baron Harrods,' I said after seeing the flags, a man of considerable power who had earned a barony with merits. He is a veteran of many wars. The prince did a very smart thing by placing him here. He will be my brother's neighbor, whose territory, too, is on the boundary of Oksall. The orcs would be wise not to attack him, or they would pay a high price. Two more hours passed, and we finally stopped for a break. The break was only twenty minutes, but it was enough for us to stretch our legs and horses to rest.

Soon, the break was over, and we resumed the journey. An hour later, we came across the caravan of two more nobles. Within a week, all the nobles would take control of their territories, making the forest much safer. However, it would also become a little chaotic, as, like on earth, the nobles squabble over every little thing. Two and half hours passed when we crossed and climbed up a hill, and I finally saw the Mirador Hold. It is a sight to behold.

"Amazing, isn't it?" asked Lieutenant Vans, and I couldn't help but nod as I looked at an enormous fortress nestled in the mountain range. The fortress is vast and old, over a thousand and five hundred years old; it had been destroyed by the undead many times and rebuilt by whoever controls Renwell region just as many times. Its most recent destruction was three and a half years ago when the undead horde of Navr swept through the Renwell region. That event gave the Empire a chance to snatch the region from Tabes.

"Let's go," said Captain Markus, and the horses began to run down the hill. As we moved toward the fort, I began to feel constrained in my chest, and all the hair on my body stood up. I needed to take deep breaths to control this feeling. Yes, the fortress is dangerous, but to our enemies. Fifteen minutes later, we reached the fortress's giant gates, which were huge, three times bigger than the gates of the Blain castle. We stopped as we appeared near the enormous gates.

An older man who looked to be in his sixties walked toward us with a team of people behind him.

"Captain Markus of the 11 th regiment, returning from the guard duty of Blain Castle, with me are Raymond Silver and Remus Silver from the mercantile house of Silver," informed Captain Markus to the old man and handed his badge.

"Welcome back, Captain," replied the old man, returning the badge after checking it. His men checked the badges of the rest of his team, and the man turned to us.

"Gentlemen," he said as he appeared beside my uncle and me. We nodded at him and handed him our IDs; he inspected them before handing them back while his men checked our bags and everything else.

"Everything is in order. Welcome to Mirador Hold," he welcomed. We rode inside, passing through the massive gates, and soon, the fort stood before us in all its grandeur.

"Wow," is the only thing that came out of my mouth as I looked around. The fort is majestic, the largest I have ever seen. Its massive, warded walls are strong enough to withstand even the most powerful spells, and its cannons—each as big as a truck—could decimate anything in their path. There are also massive fortified keeps within the walls, each serving a different purpose. They appear old and weathered, with some clear signs of recent repairs.

One could feel the history of this place just standing here and also the danger. I could see the thousands of people, mostly soldiers, marching, standing alone, or guarding, with alertness flashing in their eyes. If the undead attacked, the soldiers would quickly move to assemble and march toward the enemy.

"It was nice traveling to you, gentlemen; I hope you will have a pleasant journey to Greltheaven," said Captain Markus and rode off with his team while we rode toward the buildings, which had civilian lodges written in big letters. We put our horses in the stable and walked inside the lodge.

"One top suit and six general rooms," said my uncle to the reception, again ignoring me. He came back to his usual self in the morning. The fear he felt yesterday had vanished from his eyes. I don't care much. One day, he will pay for what he did. He took the keys and walked away with his assistant and guards while I booked the rooms for my guards and me. I am tired. The journey to the had been fast, and Captain Markus and his people made it as comfortable as possible, but it was tiring.

Now, I want to eat and sleep until all this tiredness gets swept away.