After Morris finished telling them about Lane, he looked at the two of them.
"So, what did you do in the past?" he asked.
He paused for a moment and examined them carefully.
"As far as I can guess, Sara, you are not a Westerner. And Gorn… your accent sounds very similar to those who come from the Ardent Empire."
Sara took a deep breath. Her eyes drifted into the distance for a moment. Then she began to speak slowly.
"My grandmother on my mother's side came from the East. After the demonic creatures occupied the center of the continent, all contact with the East was cut off."
She paused for a moment.
"For three generations now, we have been living on the Western continent. In the Solarin Empire."
Morris slightly lowered his head.
"So what were you doing here? I can see that you are able to use aura."
Sara remained silent for a short while. Then she spoke in a calm but heavy tone.
"My father… was a knight in the Kingdom of Velmont of the Solarin Empire."
She continued speaking.
"He was working at the Solarin Academy of Law and Magic in the Kingdom of Velmont."
Morris's eyebrows rose slightly.
"I see… Then your father must have been quite powerful. Being both an academic in that academy and an active knight at the same time… that is not something everyone can do."
Sara nodded slightly, as if acknowledging her father's strength.
But in the next moment, the expression on her face changed.
The hardness in her voice turned into a heavy sadness.
"Then…" she said slowly.
"My father was accused of treason."
There was a moment of silence.
"They sentenced our entire family to execution."
Sara lowered her gaze to the ground.
"My mother managed to save me by escaping with me… but she could not save herself. Since that day, I have been living outside."
Her eyes returned to Morris.
"And… I am waiting for my revenge."
Morris gently placed his hand on Sara's shoulder. He took a deep breath and stepped a little closer to her as he spoke.
"Would you listen to the advice of a man who has life experience?"
Sara raised her head.
"Of course I would."
Morris remained silent for a short while, as if weighing his words.
"What you experienced is truly tragic," he said at last.
"But what you are doing… chasing revenge… is something only weak-hearted people do."
Sara's eyebrows tightened slightly.
Morris continued.
"Nurturing hatred inside you does not only destroy your peace. Over time, it will also destroy your health. Remember this… suspicion and hatred are parasites that slowly devour a person from the inside."
Sara immediately asked,
"Then what should I do?"
Morris replied without losing his calm.
"Intelligent people do not get stuck on such things, Sara."
"Life is not fair. And people are not good. Most people will do anything for their own purposes."
He locked his eyes onto Sara's.
"What separates humans from animals is not strength. It is will."
"If a person follows their impulses… they will never understand who they truly are, nor their own potential. Animals live like that as well. They simply go wherever their instincts take them."
Sara's face tightened after hearing those words.
"What do you mean?" she said sharply.
"Are you saying that I am acting based on my impulses?"
Morris slowly shook his head.
"Hatred is also an impulse."
His voice remained calm.
"To free yourself from it… is what it means to surpass yourself as a human."
Then he slightly squeezed the shoulder he was holding.
"What you need to do is simple. Focus on your life. Move forward on your path. Improve yourself."
His eyes drifted into the distance.
"After that… everything else will come like unraveling thread."
Gorn stepped in and turned toward Sara.
"Morris is right," he said.
"Yes, he spoke a bit harshly… but what he said is true."
He shrugged slightly.
"You are still young. This is the time when your energy, your anger, everything inside you is at its strongest. But do not destroy yourself with hatred and suspicion."
Morris slowly nodded. Then he turned his gaze toward Gorn.
"What about you?" he asked.
"Would you like to tell us about yourself as well?"
Gorn smiled.
"Sure, I can."
He took a short breath.
"As you guessed… yes, I come from the Ardent Empire."
A faint look of remembrance appeared on Morris's face.
"I have visited that empire many times," he said.
"Their motto was… 'From Stone We Rise,' if I remember correctly."
His eyes drifted away.
"It is a beautiful place. Valuable mineral deposits, strong cities, and vast forests… I admired it every time I visited."
Gorn burst into laughter.
"HAHA! Yes, that's correct."
Then he continued.
"The kingdom I was from was Highcrest. It is the kingdom responsible for administrative affairs within the empire."
Morris raised his eyebrows.
"You have reached this age," he said curiously.
"Don't you have a family or anything?"
Gorn scratched his head and laughed.
"I never really had the chance to get married."
He shrugged.
"I spent most of my life traveling."
Morris looked surprised.
"Really?"
Sara also quickly turned her head toward him. Her eyes widened.
"Are you serious?" she asked.
"You really never got married?"
Gorn was silent for a brief moment.
"No," he said calmly.
"I never married…"
His words lingered in the air.
Then silence fell.
For three minutes, no one spoke. Only the faint sound of the wind and the rustling of the distant forest could be heard.
Sara took a deep breath and called out to the others around her.
"That's enough," she said in a firm tone.
"This conversation ends here. We are moving."
Morris and Gorn looked at each other. Then they turned back toward Sara.
"Tonight?" Morris asked, raising his eyebrows.
"You mean we will start traveling at night?"
Sara answered without hesitation.
"Yes. We leave this evening."
She paused briefly and then began explaining her plan.
"If we move without stopping, we will reach there around noon tomorrow. Everyone is already tired… but there is no point staying here any longer."
Her eyes drifted toward the dark line on the horizon.
"We probably will not encounter the bandit group again. Also, our supplies have already dropped to half."
Her voice became more serious.
"The faster we go, the better. Once we arrive there, we will both be safe and able to restock our supplies."
Morris placed his hand on his chin and thought for a moment.
"The plan makes sense," he said eventually.
"But setting out at night… feels a bit extreme."
Sara looked directly at him. There was no hesitation in her eyes.
"No," she said firmly.
"We leave now."
A slight smile appeared on Morris's lips.
"Alright," he said calmly.
He had understood why Sara was in such a hurry, but he chose not to say it out loud.
Sara immediately turned around and shouted loudly to everyone.
"Everyone get ready! Gather the wagons! We are moving!"
Murmurs rose among the crowd. People were tired; some were complaining, while others moved reluctantly.
But Sara's voice allowed no room for argument.
Soon the camp became active.
Supplies were loaded onto the wagons. Horses were prepared. People began organizing themselves.
Sara spoke again.
"Look!"
She raised her hand toward the horizon.
"The forest is already visible. By tomorrow noon, we will be there."
Then she added,
"You can remove your heavy clothing."
Those words created a small sense of relief among the people.
They began removing their thick cloaks, heavy travel clothing, and parts of their armor, placing them onto the wagons.
The exhaustion was still there… but the destination was now visible. That alone was enough to keep them moving. Soon after, the convoy began moving again. And the night journey began.
The next morning arrived.
Sunlight had already begun filtering through the trees. It was around eleven o'clock. Lane and his army were slowly waking up in the forest where they had spent the night.
Lane opened his eyes. He lightly held his head.
"Ugh…" he muttered to himself.
"My head hurts… whoever prepared that drink made it insanely strong."
He slowly sat up. After sitting there for a few seconds, he reached toward his bag. He took out his flask.
He poured some water into his palm and splashed it onto his face. The cold water instantly woke him up. Then he ran his hand through his hair and took a deep breath.
After that, he stood up.
His eyes drifted toward the people sleeping around him. The forest was still quiet. Most of them were sleeping heavily.
Lane slightly frowned.
"I cannot bother waking them one by one," he thought.
He picked up his sword. Then he walked to the center of the camp and stabbed the sword firmly into the ground.
In the next moment, he released Dragon Authority. Suddenly the ground began to tremble.
It was as if a small earthquake had begun. The soil shook in waves, and the leaves of the trees rustled violently.
Everyone who felt the tremor was startled. Many people jumped up in panic.
Some grabbed the ground. Others looked around in confusion, trying to understand what was happening.
Edwick also jumped to his feet.
"Is there an earthquake?!" he shouted. When he turned around, he saw Lane.
The sword was still stuck in the ground, and Lane stood there as if nothing unusual was happening. Edwick's expression immediately changed.
"Are you crazy?!" he shouted. "What are you doing?!"
Lane burst into laughter. "AHAHAHA!"
He shrugged.
"I did not want to wake everyone by shouting."
Leaning slightly on his sword, he looked around.
"This was the easiest way. Simple and fast."
Then he gestured around him.
"Look… everyone is awake."
And indeed, the entire camp had become active. People were looking at each other in panic, trying to understand what had happened.
"Why did the boss do something like this?"
"I thought it was an earthquake!"
"My heart almost stopped!"
The murmurs kept growing. Lane narrowed his eyes slightly.
Then he released Dragon Authority even more.
The tremor became stronger. The ground shook once again. Suddenly the entire camp fell silent. Now everyone's attention was focused on a single point.
Lane SkyDrane.
The moment Lane increased his authority, everyone in the camp began to feel the pressure deep in their bones.
The air suddenly became heavy.
The ground was still trembling slightly. People struggled to breathe, their knees bending involuntarily. It felt as if an invisible mountain had been placed upon their shoulders.
Even Edwick began to feel the pressure intensely.
He frowned. "Damn…" he muttered.
Lane, however, simply watched them all in silence. His eyes were calm. Cold.
Then he began to speak in a quiet tone. "From now on…"
His voice echoed throughout the camp. "You will wake up early every morning."
He paused. "You will train with the sword."
Then he added, "You will copy the book I will give you and study it."
The people slowly turned their eyes toward him. Lane continued speaking.
"I have prepared a training method for every weapon. But practicing… will be your responsibility."
After a few seconds, Lane withdrew his authority. The pressure that had covered the camp instantly disappeared.
Many people collapsed to their knees. Others began breathing heavily. The invisible weight that had crushed them moments ago had finally lifted.
Edwick immediately walked toward Lane. There was anger on his face. "Are you insane?" he said.
"Why did you do that?"
Lane turned his head toward him. He looked directly into Edwick's eyes. Then he spoke in a serious voice.
"The reason is simple. To create fear in their eyes."
Edwick frowned. Lane continued. "You should know this well.What kind of general do soldiers respect?"
He paused briefly.
"The one they fear."
Then he shrugged slightly. "I establish hierarchy through fear."
Edwick understood what Lane meant. But he still objected. "That's not right."
He gestured around them. "They are not soldiers. They are civilians."
Lane's expression hardened instantly. He raised his voice. "That was before!"
His voice echoed across the entire camp. "Every man in this group…"
"…will now be trained as a soldier and will obey discipline."
Lane narrowed his eyes. "I told you this from the beginning."
Edwick saw the seriousness on Lane's face and fell silent.
He had nothing to say. Lane stared at him for a few more seconds. Then he spoke again, this time more calmly.
"But remember one thing. I value my soldiers."
His gaze hardened. "Do not mistake me for other men."
Edwick looked at Lane for a few seconds.
Then he nodded. "Alright."
And stepped back.