Chương 132: Chapter 129 - Torture Chamber

We were unable to leave that same day. By the time the funerals were over and we managed to secure horses for the carts, the sun had already begun to set. So instead of traveling at night, we camped at that clearing. We left at first light the next morning. The journey back toward Fort Dunvale was quiet. No one spoke much. By midday, we had covered nearly half the distance. During a brief lull in movement, I took the opportunity to check my status.

19500 XP Gained Level 24 → Level 25 Level 25 → Level 26 Level 26 → Level 27 Name: Edward Class: Battlefield Coordinator Rank: Initiate (T2) Level: 27 / 50 EXP: 1000 / 8100 Elemental Affinity: 0. 1% Wind Mana Cultivation: Tier 2 (27/100) Mana Nodes: 0 / 7 Physical Attributes Constitution: 50. 8 → 58. 7 Strength: 39. 9 → 44. 9 Agility: 33. 5 → 38. 7 Spiritual Attributes Intelligence: 56. 9 → 67. 1 Wisdom: 45. 7 → 55. 3 Willpower: 48. 2 → 59. 3 HP: 500 / 587 (+79) HP Regen: 142. 3 (+18. 1) per day MP: 2200 / 2349 (+104) MP Regen: 232. 2 (+30. 9) per hour Class Skills [Operational Cognition (A)] – Level 12 → 22 [Unbroken Stride (UC)] – Level 27 → 40 [Flowing Spear Style (UC)] – Level 41 → 50* [Perceptive Instinct (UC)] – Level 37 → 44 [Vital Restoration (UC)] – Level 33 → 41 General Skills [Battlefield Command (UC)] – Level 9 → 21 [Triage Ward (UC)] – Level 15 → 25 [Rune Analysis (UC)] – Level 20 → 22 [Fortification Planner (UC)] – Level 3 → 6 [Logistics Routecraft (UC)] – Level 12 → 14 [Mana Manipulation (UC)] – Level 35 → 45 [Mana Reinforcement (UC)] – Level 45 → 50* Looking at my status, a feeling of satisfaction washed over me, as if it had confirmed the praises I had been receiving.

I had received a huge amount of experience for successfully repelling the barbarians. This battle had forced me to think through too many variables at once, positioning, coordination, and timing. I had used nearly every skill I possessed to its limit. Combined with a month in the wild and the fight against the Tier-3 ape, it made sense that I had gained three levels. But what mattered more than levels was my mana cultivation. I was close to clearing two of my nodes at the same time—the crown node and the root node.

Once both of them were cleared, my mana cultivation should reach 28. 5%. The crown node would further enhance my spiritual attributes, which were already my strongest advantage. More importantly, it would increase my mana pool. And no matter how much mana one had… More was always better. The root node, on the other hand, would improve my physical balance, especially agility, which still lagged behind. This past month had also pushed my skills forward.

[Unbroken Stride (UC)] and [Battlefield Command (UC)] were the skills that gained the most levels, 13 and 12 respectively. [Unbroken Stride (UC)] improved because I trained it constantly during the month in the clearing, using the uneven terrain of the forest to refine the skill as much as I could, whereas [Battlefield Command (UC)] was the most used skill during combat. [Perceptive Instinct], [Vital Restoration], and [Mana Manipulation] had all crossed into the forties.

Among them, [Mana Manipulation (UC)] had become a foundational skill for my other mana-related abilities, helping me increase the efficiency of almost all of them. It allowed me to establish connections with my squad, expanding the reach of [Battlefield Command (UC)], [Triage Ward (UC)], and [Perceptive Instinct (UC)]. The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. Without [Mana Manipulation (UC)], my effective range for most skills was limited to roughly thirty meters.

With it, that limitation disappeared. Instead of a fixed radius, I could extend connections outward, linking to individuals over a hundred meters away. Meanwhile, [Perceptive Instinct (UC)] had made [Operational Cognition (A)] highly effective due to the sheer amount of information I received from it. But there were two skills that brought multiple feelings to me at the same time: [Flowing Spear Style (UC)] and [Mana Reinforcement (UC)].

Joy, because they had both reached the threshold for evolution; anxiety, because of the uncertainty of how to proceed with evolving them; and most of all, sadness. Both of these skills were something Walter taught me, and they had saved my life multiple times. They reminded me of training with him, and it felt like without him, I would not be able to upgrade my skills. My thoughts were interrupted as harsh sunlight struck my face. I looked ahead. The forest was ending.

The dense canopy broke apart, giving way to open land. With it, the air changed. The heavy, humid warmth faded, replaced by something cooler… drier. A faint wind brushed across my skin. The terrain stretched outward in rough, uneven rock, rising gradually toward a distant mountain range along the horizon. The peaks were massive. Even from this distance, I could make out traces of snow near the top. They had to be far, at least a hundred to a hundred fifty miles away.

But closer than that, on top of a small hill, stood the command building of Fort Dunvale, while the walls of the fort connected two mountains, blocking the entrance to Avalon. Unlike Fort Darrow, which was surrounded by forest, Fort Dunvale was surrounded by hills and rocky terrain, giving it an unconquerable feeling, and was made completely out of black stone.

"Welcome to the northernmost point of the Kingdom of Avalon," one of the vanguard privates said from behind. He pointed toward the hill.

"Just across from Fort Dunvale is Fort Ironmaw. Belongs to the barbarians of Frosthallow. Less than two miles from here." He smirked slightly.

"From that hill, you can see it."

"Is it true only Tier-2 soldiers are placed here?" one of the supply soldiers asked. This was something even I had heard about. Fort Dunvale held a legendary position in people's hearts, especially among soldiers who were trained at Stonegate. Looking at the supply privates' faces and the awe with which they stared at the fort, I was reminded of the speech Captain Darrow gave before facing the beast tide, that "The Battalion of Darrow is made of commoners."

I did not know if it was noble manipulation or if this place was truly dangerous, but I had never seen privates in awe when they approached Fort Darrow.

"Partially. It is true most of the soldiers here are Tier-2, but Tier-1s are not that uncommon. Like how in Fort Darrow squads have an equal number of Tier-1s and Tier-2s, here squads have seven to eight Tier-2s and only four to five Tier-1s," explained Sergeant Cole.

"What—" The supply private's sentence was cut short as his eyes fixed on the top of the wall. Following his gaze, I also saw what he was looking at, and even I almost froze. From far away, the structures on top of the wall looked like normal pikes, but now that we were closer, I could see they were not. On each pike, there was a head hanging. If not for killing so many beasts in the past year, I would have puked.

"Do not worry, they are only foot soldiers. You will see higher-level faces in front," said Barry, smiling ear to ear at that supply private. The supply private looked at the vanguard private, who only shrugged, as if confirming Barry's words, while I had one question in mind: how did Barry know? After seeing that, I swallowed my words and focused on the road. All the conversation that had been happening died down.

At the gate, guards checked our badges before letting us through, directing each squad toward their assigned quarters. We had barely stepped inside when a sharp scream cut through the air to my left.

"AHHH!" My head turned instinctively toward the sound. The moment I saw what was happening, my mind went blank. The nausea I had managed to suppress earlier surged back, rising violently in my throat. Inside a row of iron-barred chambers, I saw a barbarian. He was tied to a chair, his body drenched in blood from head to toe. Two soldiers stood inside the chamber, one in front of the barbarian and another behind him, knives in their hands. Then— The soldier behind him drove the blade into his shoulder.

The barbarian screamed again, his body jerking against the restraints.

"Ahhh!"

"You enjoy this, huh?" the soldier in front said with a grin. He leaned in closer, twisting the knife already embedded in the wound. It made me feel even more sick. It was not just the torture, but the expressions on both soldiers' faces as they enjoyed it—playing with their victim and inflicting as much pain as they could. I clenched my fists in anger at what they were doing. Suddenly, a large hand grabbed my shoulder, catching my attention. I turned to see Sergeant Cole holding me and shaking his head.

Only then did I realize that, in my anger, I had taken a few steps toward the chamber where they were torturing him without even noticing. I was grateful Sergeant Cole had stopped me. What I saw had disturbed me more than I wanted to admit. For a moment, I had almost stepped in without thinking. And what would I have done? I was just a sergeant. I did not even know those soldiers, nor did I know what orders they were following or what had led to that situation.

Taking a slow breath, I rejoined my squad and continued forward, trying to ignore the distant screams that still echoed behind us.