The sound of the world was neutral. Despite being back in the world of the living, the sensations of death permeated my body. It had been ten years without any positive or negative feelings, just my thoughts, which were not fueled by real emotions, only speculations. Despite that, I was okay now.
At least I pretended to be as I explored the dark forest at night. Unfortunately, I had no time for games, so I pressed on. It was around three in the morning; I could tell by Valentina's teachings on reading the time by the curvature of the Moon. Fortunately, it was just one moon; that meant I was in Umbral.
Umbral was said to be the human world, but it wasn't quite like that. It was governed by humans, but not solely made up of humans. Various beings lived here; in fact, most of the population, besides humans, consisted of other races, including the Beasts.
Amidst the confusion in my head, my first goal was to find a city good enough for me to establish a base for gathering information. Information, as a whole, is the greatest weapon for someone pursuing an objective. Firstly, I wanted to know which continent I was on. If these forests weren't so dense, I could say this was the eastern continent.
There, the vegetation is much richer than in the environments of the other continents. Eastern culture is highly developed in terms of agriculture, planting, and preserving natural life. So, I could easily distinguish. But there, the forests aren't dense; on the contrary, they are well-preserved and would never be like this.
Which leads me to doubt where I was. Of course, being here wasn't really a problem. I could hunt naturally and fend for myself constantly; I was raised as a warrior by Valentina.
"There's something ahead," I heard Voralith's voice in my mind, and I nodded, preparing for whatever events would follow. A strange feeling passed through my senses, and I hid behind some trees as I heard the footsteps of a group.
I kept quiet and tried to conceal my presence. Although I didn't have a core capable of using mana yet, I could use the martial techniques I had learned, blending into nature.
"This technique is quite flawed," Voralith said, but I paid no attention. She was very outspoken and liked to criticize everything I did.
I waited for them to pass by, realizing they were somehow noble people. Their attire was a mix of armor and light clothing, reminiscent of Victorian era garments.
"How long until we reach the city?" asked one of the soldiers mounted on a horse. He seemed to be the leader; his eyes were sharp, and his hands, robust, probably muscular beneath all that armor.
"About three hours, sir. We'll arrive by dawn," replied another of the soldiers, who walked with a map on the carriage next to the coachman, and the leader nodded.
I tried to look a little closer and saw the back of the carriage, a closed room. I could see the silhouette of two people inside; they seemed to be conversing, and no sound came out. My hearing was quite sharp, even though I was no longer a vampire, but it was still useless trying to eavesdrop.
"We're in Midrion," I commented telepathically, and Voralith appeared flying in front of me, confused, as if she wanted answers.
"It's the continent where one of the great rulers resides, the Midrion Empire, ruled by Adam Smith," I commented, and she remained puzzled. "The Idiot's Son collaborated in my death," I said, and she understood.
"Let them pass. During the dead of night, they won't do anything," I thought, transmitting my thoughts to Voralith. I needed to stay quiet.
I let the entourage pass by and watched them from afar, following them about a kilometer ahead. Walking slowly through the dead of night, I followed suit. It was two long hours, my new body, untrained and exhausted. Honestly, I didn't even understand what kind of fatigue it was. I thought I could endure, but I was completely mistaken.
Despite that, I managed to leave that forest and found some kind of road, but I didn't follow it. Instead, I followed the group as they made camp to spend the rest of the night. They would probably continue their journey mid-morning; it was safer than me just throwing myself into the world without knowing where I was.
"Keep watch. There are some individuals surrounding that group," Voralith warned, flying at night. She was almost invisible in the air, but she could see and hear everything.
"Hm, it might be a good opportunity," I commented to her and began to approach the location.
"Hey, you don't have the strength anymore! Stop acting like a hero!" she said, with concern in her words, but I ignored her.
"Be quiet. I won't infiltrate among them or anything like that. Look at that," I pointed to the symbol on the carriage, which looked like a family crest.
"That could be synonymous with nobility. If this really is as I suspect, I may gain some advantage and even help to get to the city. Don't think I'll act impulsively to get killed at the first opportunity," I snarled at her, and she slightly recoiled. For an ancient pseudo-divinity, she was quite soft; maybe it was because of the lack of interaction with people? I don't know, I don't care.
"How are you so sure?" she asked, still wary.
"The sound of the carriage isn't as loud as the horse hooves. It may seem strange, but this means the carriage is of good quality. If they were merchants or a locomotive for sale, the sounds would be heavier, and the horses would have more effort, something that didn't happen throughout the path we followed them," I explained.
It was something I had learned from Valentina during the years of training. It might be little, but it was something that helped in this situation. At the time... Well, I thought it was idiotic, but I was completely wrong.
As I began to approach, I was surprised.
"A paladin?" I questioned, seeing up close the armor of the warrior in front of me. Not just one, but six guard paladins.
I tried to keep quiet, but before I could react to their presence, a sword touched my neck.
"Surrender," he said. It was the chief knight who had been riding the horse before. Instinctively, I stood up, following the knight's order as he held me with my hands behind my back and began to guide me.
It wasn't many steps, and several knights were already around me.
"A spy?" the man inside the carriage asked, but the knights didn't know how to react.
"I'm not a spy. I came to prevent a tragedy," I said, without asking permission or anything of the sort, just acting as always. No one would arrest me.
"A tragedy, you say?" a feminine voice came, the other person inside the carriage said. Her voice seemed more imposing and strong than the man's.
"Yes, this camp is surrounded," I said, and the knights looked around, but found nothing.
"Stop fooling around, foreigner," the knight said, while pointing the sword at my throat. "Should I kill this bitch?" he said, disrespecting me again without even listening to his superiors.
"I understand, if it's going to be like this," I said, and then, with a quick movement, I disarmed the knight in front of me, taking his sword for myself. With a kick, I pushed him away and turned to the others, who pointed their weapons at me.
"Sorry, it wasn't supposed to be like this," I said with regret. I wasn't in a condition to fight, but it was necessary.
The knight who stumbled got up and ran towards me, trying to grab me, but I defended myself and kicked him over two others.
"Ahh~~," I sighed from exhaustion. It had been ten years since I had exercised, and this body was far from being as strong as the previous one. My mana still didn't have a considerable effect; in fact, it barely existed without the support of an element, just like all my magic no longer existed. All I could use was my skill with the sword, which despite being average, could handle these knights.
"Ha!" I shouted and parried two swords in unison, while using my legs to kick two other knights. I was normally not good at dealing with groups of enemies who could think and create strategies, so it was really difficult for me.
A halberd came towards my head suddenly, but I ducked in time, allowing the knight to hit me during my distraction. I received a kick to the back of my knee and slightly fell.
"Darn it... Why did I want to help?" I grumbled and received a huff in my ears. That dragon was really getting on my nerves even in a fight. She didn't say anything, but I already thought of the smile of that little dragon saying "I told you so!"
"Stop!" a shout came from the carriage, which soon opened. "Since when did I order you to attack someone who can't even use mana?" the woman's voice echoed, making all the knights immediately kneel. "Your Majesty!".
Darn it, another woman involved with royalty. I must have some kind of magnet that attracts these problematic women to me.