Chapter 57: The Edge of the Northlands

Chapter 57: The Edge of the Northlands

After leaving the Manor, Bran walked towards the Wasteland without hurry. This would be a long journey. He did not plan to rush. He just wanted to amble along like this, perhaps his final journey in life. Although he knew traveling alone faced various dangers, he thought this was the best way to quickly adapt to the wilderness environment of the Northlands from all aspects. His goal was to complete the Trial and come back alive from the dangerous Wasteland, not to throw his life away with momentary reckless courage. So he had to go step by step, from simple to difficult, letting the environment force his change.

Once he stepped out, he felt very relaxed in body and mind, even feeling as if a giant rock pressing on him had been lifted. He realized he did not care about life and death as much as he imagined. After all these years, now he had finally walked out alone, and this feeling of freedom was enough.

Danny had taken him hunting now and then over the last two years, so he had some understanding of the wild, though this understanding was still very shallow. At least he was not completely ignorant.

Bran knew his most fatal shortcoming was not combat power . As long as he was prepared, the various items on his person, combined with his abilities, gave him a natural advantage in setting traps and ambushes. His biggest flaw was his strong sense of dependency and lack of courage to face things bravely. If he did not break free from these, then when facing various sudden situations and pressures, he would just panic first.

…

His family’s Castle was not in the center of the Northlands; in fact, it was the gateway to the Northlands, a checkpoint. Although it was still quite a distance from the actual border, the Castle was established here precisely because it was a strategic choke point, the only route for large groups to penetrate deep into the Northlands.

Within a day or two’s travel from the Castle, there should be no danger, or so Bran believed. But he overlooked something: during this time, it wasn’t just Northlanders around. There were also members of the Delegation, Caravans, and idle Nobles nearby, and among these were no shortage of people with various intentions. At the same time, he underestimated his own value. After several incidents, his Mountain Villa had gradually become a focal point of attention. Although no one dared to invade the Manor again, covert watching from the outside had increased.

The Wizards in the Caravan, who were supposed to be used as a trump card for scouting, escaping, and transmitting messages in critical moments, all disappeared within a few days. A few Wizards who could transform into a certain form of Mana vanished inexplicably, which made many people find it even more unbelievable. These Wizards might not be able to directly harm others, but they were quite resistant to many methods because when they entered their Mana form, conventional physical means were useless against them. Yet now they had all been taken out in one go. After gathering all the information, all suspicions pointed to that child—Bran. Right now, who knows how many people in the Delegation were feeling regretful, cursing loudly, and cursing themselves for being blind, for previously thinking that child was an Idiot.

That Bran was a Wizard was no longer a secret; anyone paying attention could come to that conclusion. The Mural on the outer wall of Bran Manor was still there. When Bran participated in the siege of the Loki Merchants Guild, someone saw Bran pull a mass of Starlight out from the ground. On the surface, it seemed only a corpse was left, but the giant rats never appeared again afterward. So, those paying attention connected it to the mass of Starlight Bran pulled from the ground. During the days when the Caravan Wizards disappeared one after another, many people saw Bran and Danny wandering in the market.

Now they wanted to know how exactly Bran dealt with those Wizards who could transform themselves into a Mana form. Before this, there had never been an effective way to deal with such Wizards. Bran’s performance showed them a possibility, some hope. If they could make a breakthrough by learning from Bran, then such Wizards would no longer pose a threat to them. Thinking of the fate of that Wizard who wanted to invade Bran Manor made them feel a surge of excitement.

The Northlanders at this time, however, did not think in this direction. The Northlands’ habitual lack of regard for Wizards, their underestimation of abilities, made them overlook these things. Most importantly, the Northlanders were too confident. They did not believe anyone would dare to act so brazenly on their turf.

Bran left the Mountain Villa, ignoring the covert watching gazes. Although his current abilities allowed him to easily receive much information, he was still careless. He didn’t believe anyone would dare to move against him right at his doorstep. All his mental estimates were aimed at the vast wilderness and forests of the Northlands; he simply hadn’t considered the threat from people. Adopting an attitude of ‘if you want to watch, then watch all you want,’ he walked on without hiding anything.

Before dawn, in everyone’s eyes, a child holding a cat left the Mountain Villa alone. Then the news was quickly relayed back through various methods, and movements began in various camps. If it were just an individual or a single team, it wouldn’t cause noticeable commotion. But when, at the same time point, within a not-so-large area, many individuals and groups simultaneously started to act, this effect could no longer be concealed, even if none of these people wanted to cause a stir. People gradually noticed each other’s movements, then various interactions began between individuals and groups, finally leading to splitting and regrouping.

Before capturing or intercepting Bran, no one would start a conflict. Benefits would only be divided after things were certain. So these people maintained a safe distance from each other and set off with tacit understanding.

…

Bran walked along easily. This was still within the range of home. Although he was already several kilometers away from the Manor, and the Mountain Villa and the Castle were out of sight behind the trees, this was still home’s range. So Bran ignored the increasing feedback of information in his Mana Web and showed no alertness to the vibrations in his intuition. Home, after all, was only a place of peace, a place to relax body and mind. How could danger possibly appear there?

When a sliver of morning light reflected on the horizon, Bran was stopped, or rather, surrounded. Only now did he wake up as if suddenly realizing something. He had made a mistake that no true Northlander would make: he did not trust his own intuition. He had just assumed it was safe here, so it was safe.

…

Bran looked at the tall Knight in the Delegation, whose build was like a Northlander’s. The one who, every time he saw Bran before, would sigh and show pity. Bran felt some regret now. If he had been alert earlier, he had too many ways to avoid them. He did not want to hurt the person before him.

Under everyone’s gaze, the child holding the cat, in a clear and childish voice, asked the somewhat hesitant tall Knight with dissatisfaction, “Why are you here?”

“Come with me, I will…” the Knight’s words were cut short. A gust of wind swept past him—real wind. A Wizard transformed into wind and pounced towards Bran.

As a member of the Delegation, she had luckily escaped Bran’s search, but she did not believe the analysis in the intelligence reports. She did not believe this child could harm her. Then she paid the price for her own arrogance and conceit.

Everyone could see that a gust of wind began to struggle when it was still several meters from Bran—a silent struggle, trying to break free from something, trying to regain a human shape. A transparent, bubble-like figure emitted a silent scream, finally shattered into a mass of Starlight, radiating a kind of tragic beauty, then drifted silently to the child, rising and falling as if dancing around him.

A huge pillar of fire formed in a Wizard’s hands and surged toward Bran. But it wasn’t real fire, merely a manifestation of Mana. So it was smoothed over several meters in front of Bran, as if there was an invisible giant mouth devouring everything. Then everyone noticed the fire pillar rapidly shortening. An invisible force was expanding in all directions with the child as its center.

So the encirclement spread outward. Before figuring out this child’s abilities, everyone wanted to wait a bit longer. There would always be someone who, due to orders or impatience, would test the waters. As long as this child showed a flaw, as long as they clarified his specific abilities, they would find a way to counter them.

This child, surrounded by everyone, seemed to still not understand the situation. He was still staring at the Knight, persuading in his clear voice, “You should leave.”

The Knight looked at Bran, finally let out a breath, and drew his weapon: “I’m sorry, child.”

He understood this sentiment, like when he left home, and a child hugged his leg crying, ‘I don’t want you to go.’ He could feel that simple, unadulterated emotion now: ‘reluctance to hurt.’

He believed this child could kill him, just like that Wizard who turned into Starlight, with no escape from the fate of Death.

“You can take your people and go,” Bran made a final plea.

“I cannot. I truly am sorry, child.” He saw a glimmer of water flash in Bran’s eyes. He knew the final moment had come.