Aetherios System [Slow Build OP MC, Isekai LitRPG/Cultivation] Chapter 145: Book 3: Chapter 1: Travel Across the Land

Read chapter 145 of Aetherios System [Slow Build OP MC, Isekai LitRPG/Cultivation] by TTReynolds on NovelPedia.

Book 3: Chapter 1: Travel Across the Land Book 3: Chapter 1: Travel Across the Land They walked with heads low, boots crunching through soft earth. No one spoke as they moved, none of them had since they crossed the last ridge. There was nothing left to say that hadn’t already been carved into their psychi over the many days of their lives as collared slaves on the warfront. Kate’s hands tightened around the hilt of her rapier even as it hung at her side, her knuckles white. Eric’s shoulders were squared as he walked, facial expression scrunched like he could hold the whole world together by sheer force of will. Holly lagged just a little behind, her eyes darting to every shadow in the trees, as if the world itself might attack them next. Tom-Tom walked near Alex, tail twitching, head low beneath his dented cooking-pot helmet. Even the little kobold’s usual chatter had been swallowed by the weight they all carried. Alex led them forward at the front, doing his best to show a visage of calm. But his thoughts were dark, the betrayal of Terraxum sat like a shard of ice stuck in his throat. They had fought, bled, and nearly died for a throne that had tried to turn them into tools, and then attempted to discard them when it suited their game. He could still see the King’s smirk, still hear Kailan’s voice as he walked into what was essentially his own execution, and still tasted the ash in his mouth from the magical bomb that had taken the prince and everything else with it. We left the war behind, he thought, eyes scanning the burned horizon. But it hasn’t left us. Even now, every sound made him flinch; the branches snapping, the distant cawing of what sounded like crows, the whispered the wind like a scream against his ears. His hand itched with every breeze, his limbs filled with the urge to fight at a moment’s notice. It was a constant feeling of unease and high-alert, and he hated it. He hated how the paranoia felt like it had been burned into his nerves against his will. The constant hyper awareness that had his mind running in circles tucked inside yet even more circles, all irrational paranoia’s that he knew to be absurd, but just couldn’t shake. “So… where are we going?” Holly asked. She spoke low, almost like she regretted speaking at all but could no longer bare the silence. Kate glanced at Alex, then Holly, before saying, “Vrung’s Quarry? That was our last safe spot.” Eric shook his head. “Safe until Terraxum decides it isn’t. Or the Aerali buy the story Terraxum is spewing and try to come get revenge on us. They’ll know where to go to find us.” Henry, walking quietly behind them all as he always did, finally spoke. “We could go further. Past Terraxum’s borders. There are other nations. Places where the king’s reach doesn’t stretch.” Lance spoke up then, “You think the Empire won’t notice us crossing borders? We’ll just paint targets on our backs sooner.” Tom-Tom’s tail gave a nervous twitch. He looked to Alex, then the others, his eyes darting about as if he was hesitant to say his piece. Alex had to coax him along with a wave of his hand before he finally spoke. “Kobold village is safe. Tom-Tom says so.” Alex sighed at this, he hated the idea of putting the Kobold village at risk once more. Their presence would certainly do that. He stopped walking, turning to face them all. “We don’t have a good plan yet, okay. We just know we’re not staying here. We’ll figure it out as we go. I’m thinking that we go to Vrung’s Quarry first, Celeste will know what to do. After that, we decide the rest.” They all nodded their agreements, but the tension stayed. The road felt endless, the weight of the war pressing on them with every step. Even Garret, usually the loudest of them all, stayed quiet for a while longer. The road wound on, taking them through a patch of forest, its canopy mostly gone, the ground littered with brittle leaves that crunched like bones beneath their feet. They hadn’t seen another soul in hours. It was just them