Except for the slave soldiers and those with knight titles who were essentially prisoners, everyone else rode horses to the destination.
As with most animals, horses are sensitive to magical energy. The standard procedure was to tie the horses up in one place when approaching a rift, proceed on foot, and then return to the horses for the journey back after the subjugation.
The mortality rate was inevitably high. Some individuals had to walk the entire distance, exhausting themselves to the point where surviving the battle was difficult.
Even if they did survive, they would have to endure the arduous journey back with injuries. For the prisoners, monster subjugation was simply another form of execution with virtually no chance of survival.
Instead of riding a horse, I decided to fly in eagle form for a leisurely stroll, and when I got tired, I would be held in Theo's arms and travel with him.
My only riding experience was a brief experience ride during a school trip to Jeju Island when I was human, so there was no way I could travel this far alone. Besides, it felt awkward to ride another animal when I had wings.
In any case, it felt refreshing and good to fly freely in the sky after a long time. Almost an hour had passed since we started, but I wasn't tired.
I hadn't felt tired even when wandering around the forest for a long time, but the feeling was different now. Is this what it feels like to be an Energizer bunny? Strong and long-lasting!
Feeling excited by the sensation that I could go anywhere further if I wanted, I deviated from the path and explored distant places on my own. Theo seemed anxious and couldn't take his eyes off me, so I decided to restrain myself for a while.
As the sky gradually darkened and eventually turned completely black, the knights stopped and began preparing camp.
They conserved their energy as much as possible before approaching the rift, where rest would be scarce and physical exertion would be extreme. I also landed quietly.
While the other knights prepared camp, Theo, Orca, and I sat quietly by the campfire. It wasn't cold enough to need a fire, but a campfire was essential to ward off insects and dispel some of the darkness.
"But what if monsters come because of the fire?"
"I've cast a spell, so it's okay. And there aren't any particularly dangerous monsters around here."
I nodded and relaxed. Even though it wasn't cold, sitting by the campfire felt cozy, which I liked.
After setting up all the tents, the knights divided their roles and began preparing food. They quickly finished and distributed the food to the three of us first.
The menu was a soup with large chunks of meat, which we would have to eat until we were sick of it during the subjugation.
"I'm sorry that Shuian won't be able to eat his favorite steak for a while. If you don't like it, I'll hunt something nearby, so let me know."
"No, this is meat too. It looks delicious. And I'm a divine beast, so I can go without food for a few days. I've never gone without food for that long, but I can easily last a week."
"You've gone without food for a week? Why?"
"Just... happened?"
When I first fell into the forest, I was afraid to hunt, so I only picked berries and leaves for a while. Before that, I had survived on water alone for a week. Remembering that, I felt embarrassed and added playfully.
"I failed to catch fish too, remember?"
"But you often caught rabbits for me."
"I caught that for Theo, the first time I hunted in the forest. I don't like hunting, so I just ate berries before that."
"...You caught it for me the first time?"
"Yeah."
Theo smiled brightly and tried to hug me as always, but Orca, who had been sitting with a constipated expression, stopped him.
"Please restrain yourself."
"Why?"
"What if those guys stab you in the back because they're jealous?"
Theo scoffed, but it was more out of confidence that they couldn't harm him than trust in them. I remembered the resentment towards Theo that they had expressed during the send-off ceremony.
"Why do they hate Theo?"
"As I said before, the Ruina Knights didn't exist originally. The Empress used her influence to gather only problematic individuals for His Highness's share. Now that the First Prince is in charge of the Guard Knight, she wouldn't let His Highness be assigned a proper knight order."
In the end, they thought they were here because of Theo. No, why is that Theo's fault?!
"Those driven to the edge often live by resenting someone. When they are guilty, they shift the blame to others."
Orca smiled bitterly and added.
"So, Lord Shuian, please be careful too. Those guys don't like us very much. Don't worry about them and get hurt."
It wasn't out of anger or hatred towards them, but out of concern for me, so I grinned.
"Orca still doesn't know me very well. I'm a pretty heartless divine beast."
"Oh, you even know the word 'heartless' now?"
Is he picking a fight with me all of a sudden? I turned my head to Theo.
"Theo, can I peck him?"
"Just leave him alive. He still has a lot to do."
"Okay."
You guys are really too much... I just smiled at Orca's whining.
The first day passed without incident.
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The second day started early. We started camping as soon as the sun set, so conversely, we ate breakfast as soon as dawn broke, packed up the tents, and started moving again.
Having more mental space on the second day, I often flew around in the sky to check for monsters nearby.
After that, it was a monotonous repetition of movement. We rested briefly when those walking behind were too tired or the horses were exhausted, then moved again. Even at lunchtime, we took a short break after eating and then moved again.
We moved endlessly like that, and when the sun set again, we found a suitable place, set up tents, and ate dinner.
I was flying to my heart's content as if taking a walk, but wouldn't those who were riding horses and walking all day be bored and tired?
"Theo, isn't it tiring to ride a horse all day? I heard that your thighs and butt hurt a lot."
"Well, those with some skill are physically stronger, and Orca and I especially protect our bodies with magic, so it's okay. Shuian, aren't you tired?"
"I'm fine. It feels like taking a walk."
Theo smiled in relief and nodded.
After dinner, Theo, who was looking at the map in front of the campfire, handed the map to Orca.
"We'll start seeing monsters if we move a little further. We'll have to change the formation and start tomorrow."
"Understood."
According to Theo's explanation, the area near the rift was called the center, and the strong demonic beasts that came out of the rift usually didn't leave that area for a certain period.
As if they were trying to protect the rift. Moreover, the center was the most dangerous area because you never knew when another demonic beast would pop out of the rift.
Further away from the center was called the danger zone, where all kinds of demonic beasts roamed. Most of them were low-level demonic beasts, but they were dangerous because of their numbers.
Basically, demonic beasts indiscriminately attack and kill everything around them, and only move to the next place after eliminating all living things.
Even though the speed of individual demonic beasts is fast, the speed of escaping from the rift to the outside is slow, so the place where you encounter the most demonic beasts is the danger zone. In a way, it was as dangerous as the center.
Looking at the map, I pointed to a place marked as a safe zone and asked.
"Why is this a safe zone? It's right outside the danger zone."
"As Shuian knows, demonic beasts attack all living things, but if something possesses demonic energy, they consider it an ally and don't attack it. Although monsters are creatures transformed by demonic energy, the amount of demonic energy they contain is small, so they're not absolutely safe from other monsters (demonic beast). Moreover, exposure to demonic energy is equally harmful, so when a rift appears, the monsters nearby are pushed outwards. The fact that there are monsters near the rift means that there are no demonic beasts, so it's called a safe zone."
In the end, monster subjugation was the beginning of demonic beast subjugation. I nodded and put the map in my head. It wasn't accurate because it was roughly estimated by mages measuring demonic energy, but it wouldn't hurt to know.
"Artificial traces have been found in the rift that is our current target, and mages estimate that mid-level demonic beasts are likely to appear. In fact, mid-level demonic beasts are rare, but they have been appearing frequently lately."
Demonic beasts are largely divided into low-level, mid-level, and high-level depending on how much demonic energy they have.
Up to the mid-level, the larger the size, the stronger they usually are. However, from the high-level demonic beasts, strength cannot be distinguished by size, and most of them are highly intelligent, and some have even been recorded to speak the languages of other races, so they are close to intelligent beings.
High-level demonic beasts had only appeared a handful of times, and mid-level demonic beasts were also rare, so Theo and Orca seemed concerned about the frequent appearance of such mid-level demonic beasts.
Even if I, who didn't know much about the situation, said that everything would be fine, it wouldn't mean much, but I said bravely.
"It'll be okay. What if it's not okay? I'm a divine beast."
"Oh, I forgot that Shuian was here."
Orca also smiled following Theo, then pretended to cry and tapped the corners of his eyes with the end of his sleeve.
"It feels like just yesterday you were studying fairy tales... You've already become so reliable."
I looked at Theo again and asked.
"Can I really peck him?"
"Go ahead."
I was joking. Please forgive me. I pretended not to hear Orca's apology and snorted. I'll have to make a bald spot on his head when he's off guard tomorrow...