Filed To Story: Queen of the Battlefield Her Return to Glory Novel Online Free
their resting spot, and soon came upon a crystal-clear stream. The mountain water was icy, but refreshing. They cupped their hands and splashed their faces, and Sophie felt much more awake.
Sitting by the stream, Sophie could feel the cold seep deeper into her bones. She needed to steady herself here. If she didn’t, the rest of the group would start feeding off her negativity.
“Don’t worry too much,” Violet said, trying to comfort her. “His Highness has faced far worse this mountain can’t keep him. If he hasn’t come down yet, it means he must have found something.”
Sophie covered her face with her hands, holding back the wave of emotion threatening to overwhelm her. After a moment, she said softly, “I’m telling myself the same thing.”
Violet saw how much weight Sophie had lost-she couldn’t eat, couldn’t sleep.
Heart aching, she pulled Sophie into an embrace, pressing Sophie’s head onto her shoulder. “Lean on me. If crying makes you feel better, then let it out.”
But Sophie suddenly shoved her away, scrambling to her feet and jumping over the stream. She ran a few steps forward, stopping at a tree.
Carved into the trunk of the tree was a clear and detailed orchid.
Sophie ran her fingers over the smooth lines of the flower, but her heart didn’t lift. While the blossom was complete, the condition of the tree and the carving itself suggested that this was the mark Travis and Kyle had found.
It was a discovery, but it was also like finding nothing at all.
After a moment of quiet contemplation, she spoke. “Vivi, why don’t you all head back down the mountain first? I’ll stay here and keep looking. Since there’s a mark here, there must be more further ahead.”
Violet gave her a light tap on the head. “What are you thinking? We’re in this together. If we leave, we leave together. If we stay, we stay together.”
“But our provisions are running out,” Sophie said.
“Well, we’ll catch fish and forage for wild fruit,” Violet reassured her. “I’m sure His Highness and Dylan have been getting by the same way.”
One of Sophie’s biggest worries was that, after so long in the mountains, they would run out of provisions. But there weren’t many wild fruits around, so survival now meant hunting rabbits and mountain chickens. And along the way, they had already seen quite a few animals.
On the western slope of the mountain, two men with scruffy beards sat in a small cave, gnawing on freshly roasted wild rabbit. Their clothes were covered in dirt and grease, and their hair was disheveled. They had just washed their beards in a nearby mountain spring, making them look a little less wild. They hadn’t done it for their appearance. With their beards so long, the constant consumption of meat would cause bits of food to get caught in the hair. At night, when they took turns sleeping, ants would crawl onto their faces, nibbling at the scraps. Generally, the ants weren’t too bad, but when they came across a nest of poisonous ones, their faces would swell up with red, painful welts.
Right now, their faces and bodies were dotted with those red, swollen bumps. Luckily, they had brought along some of Sebastian’s antidote pills. Otherwise, those two men would have been killed by the ants. Dylan scratched his face again while chewing, unable to hold back a curse. “Once we catch the next supply delivery, we’ll set this mountain on fire and burn every last ant.”
Rafael kicked him lightly. “Stop scratching. You’ll break the skin, and you don’t want scars. You haven’t even found a wife yet.”
“Your Highness, aren’t you itchy?” Dylan glanced at Rafael, who was still eating gracefully. His face was clearly dotted with more red bumps than Dylan’s, yet he wasn’t scratching.
“It does itch,” Rafael said, taking a deep breath, his face growing even more red and swollen. “But scratching just makes it worse. Between pain and itch, I choose itch. This is also a good time to exercise my perseverance and endurance.
After he finished speaking, he rubbed his whole face on his arm, feeling much better.
They had been waiting here for ten days. Before that, they had been wandering around the mountains without much progress. Going down the mountain was too much trouble, so they simply kept searching. It was ten days ago when they discovered the small cave. Below it, hidden by a tangle of dry grass, was a larger cave. It was artificially dug, and it was deep and vast. Inside, they found provisions and some weapons.
They had found it by chance as someone had been bringing food down the mountain to the village. So, they snuck in at night to investigate and noted that the grain was running low.
They overheard a conversation that revealed the supply delivery was expected again in the next 10 to 15 days, at which point the hidden entrance to a tunnel would be opened. It was then they realized that the grain wasn’t being transported through the village road, but through a tunnel.
There was actually a tunnel in the mountains?
At that moment, Rafael remembered during the chaos of the previous era, Lunvale had been occupied by a rebel army for over ten years. He had heard that they dug tunnels all over the mountains in Lunvale, planning to use them to launch surprise attacks.
Since it happened over two hundred years ago, Rafael had only read about it in historical records. It was such a big event, yet it was only mentioned briefly in the history books, so he didn’t remember much about it. He only recalled it when he heard the people mention the tunnels.
He didn’t know if the tunnel was extensive. If it was, it would definitely lead to more than just Stone Village.
Years ago, the rebel army had occupied the area for over a decade and stayed in the mountains. The region had a series of rolling mountains, with many villages of different sizes.
Rafael wanted to explore the tunnel where the food was being sent, to find out where it entered, and then investigate how many tunnels there were.
Rafael estimated that the supply delivery should arrive within the next two days. Though there were only two of them, it was easier to slip out unnoticed at night. Having too many people would complicate things. Once they found an exit, they could capture one or two people for questioning. If they were tight-lipped, a bit of force might persuade them to talk.
“Hang in there a little longer. Just three more days, and it’ll be over,” Rafael said.
“I could really go for some bread,” Dylan grumbled, letting out a loud belch. “I swear, without any bread or pasta, a person might just die. Roasting meat endlessly to eat is so greasy…”
“Just grab some grass and chew on it to get rid of the greasy taste,” Rafael suggested, reaching down to pull up a handful of wild grass. It was edible, and this time of year, it was tender. “Eat it. Quickly.”
“It’s bitter. I’m not eating it,” Dylan refused, declining Rafael’s offer.
Rafael didn’t mind and ate it himself. Even the roots were edible, and the tender leaves, though slightly bitter, were just what he needed to cut the grease. It was surprisingly tasty.
“Do you think Mr. Spencer will write to Lady Sophie, telling her we’ve gone missing?” Dylan asked.
“Probably not. I left a mark, something he will understand,” Rafael replied, using his dagger to dig a small hole, where he buried the bones he had finished gnawing on.
Mentioning Sophie stirred up a wave of longing within him. “Once this is over, we’ll ride straight back to the capital without stopping.
“Of course!” Dylan replied.
Rafael leaned against the wall, his thoughts drifting to Sophie.
What was she doing now? Was she thinking of him?
He had no way of knowing that Sophie was also in Lunvale and up on the mountain. However, distance- wise, they were quite far apart.
The mountain didn’t have many paths, and often, they moved with their Lightfoot Skill, leaving little trace on the ground. It would be hard for anyone to find Rafael and Dylan.
Sophie and the others had spent an extra day on the mountain, but in the end, they found nothing and had to descend.
Descending was much easier. With their Lightfoot Skill, they could fly to wherever they wanted from high up. However, it consumed their inner force. By the time they returned to the inn, they were all exhausted. The other two teams were already back, and none of them had made any significant discoveries. That evening, Everett arrived with a group of apprentices from Meadow Ridge.
Seeing her senior guild members travel so far to reach her, Sophie was deeply moved. Before she could even express her gratitude, Everett said coldly, “I ordered them to come. They had no choice but to obey.” Everyone’s smiles faltered for a moment. If Everett didn’t know how to speak kindly, it would’ve been better for him to say nothing at all. But they didn’t dwell on his words. Instead, they quickly gathered around their youngest guild member with warmth and concern.
Seeing how haggard Sophie had become, their hearts ached. Her once delicate features were now shadowed by exhaustion, the dark circles under her eyes standing out starkly against her pale skin. Gone was the once refined and lively appearance, and they couldn’t help but feel sorry for her.
Sophie was completely lost, and her thoughts were scattered. It was up to Everett to lead the way in all things.
Everett cast a cold glance at everyone. “You’ve been here this long and all you’ve done is head into the mountains to search? You’re clumsy. Did you ask the locals about the mountain’s situation?”
“We’ve asked,” Kyle replied quickly.
Everett raised an eyebrow, “And the local authorities?”