Her Graceful War Song novel Chapter 1655

In the end, Bun and Travis carried Barrett, while Cynthia and Violet carried Aurora. The seven of them hurried through the night. When they came upon thick brambles and thorns that blocked their path, they used sickles to clear the way, not wanting to waste too much inner force.

The hours passed in a blur of darkness and exhaustion. Aurora and Barrett had lost all pride. They wished they had wings to fly, instead of being dragged along like this. They had truly lost all sense of dignity.

And the thing they thought was impossible? By morning, they found themselves at the foot of the mountain outside Fawnrun City.

And they had not even come down the easiest mountain. Instead, they had descended from the mountain where the city's resin trees grew, which meant they had crossed one extra mountain.

Carissa was not unkind. After reaching the base of the mountain, she let them sit boldly by the roadside to eat their dry rations.

Though their clothes were changed to look like the mountain folk of Fawnrun City, Aurora thought their behavior was far too bold, almost reckless. However, she was utterly spent. Her stomach growled, her throat was parched, and she longed to lie down and rest.

After the battle yesterday, Aurora had only gotten two hours of rest. Even then, she hadn't been able to fall asleep. Her mind kept turning over the chances of success for their mission.

At first, she hadn't wanted to come on this mission. But after returning to the barracks last night, a thought struck her. All the men of the Sinclair family had fallen during the war, leaving Carissa as Melanie's only living child. And with Dominic being Carissa's grandfather, there was no way he would watch her face such danger alone. More likely, he would spare no effort to help her win glory.

With those thoughts in mind, Aurora was sure that Dominic would send more than just five of them on this mission, confident in assuming that another group would surely follow behind. Yet, she had seen no one else up till now. She had to accept the harsh truth: it was only the seven of them.

She cursed Dominic's cold cruelty in her heart. How could he be so heartless to his own granddaughter?

Now that the matter stood as it was, Aurora knew she could only rely on the others. She could see that though Travis was a centurion, he obeyed Carissa in all things. She dared not show Carissa any hostility. After all, she needed the latter's protection.

After a brief fifteen-minute rest, they lifted their barrels of oil and pressed onward. As Carissa led the way, she never once consulted the map.

Aurora could not help but ask, "Do you know the way? Are you certain this path is the right one?"

It was still early, and the narrow, winding path below the mountain was deserted.

"If you don't speak Westic, it's best to keep silent and follow me closely. I know these roads near Fawnrun City well," Carissa said quietly.

Two hours of rest before moving again, and then surely they would have to flee. How could she endure such strain?

Seeing Aurora falter further, Travis took her oil barrel to lighten her burden.

Along the way, they did run into a few people, but they were all just ordinary townsfolk. Their tanned skin and swift steps made them seem at home in the hills, so Carissa and her group didn't stand out.

Barrett noticed they kept to remote trails, avoiding villages and winding carefully around every mountain edge.

At first, he wondered how Carissa could know the area so well. But little by little, he noticed that they were following a trail, each turn marked by a single azalea bloom casually dropped by the roadside. If he hadn't seen Carissa stop a few times to look around, he might not have noticed at all.

So, someone had already gone ahead to scout the path. Could it be that Dominic had actually sent someone in advance?

Aurora had been right. Dominic was using all his power to make sure his granddaughter would succeed.