Chapter 23: Potential Activation
Axi displayed an awkward expression.
He had to admit that his knowledge of magic was quite limited.
Most of the magic he had encountered before was of the attack variety; this kind of life-enhancing magic was a first for him.
Suddenly, Axi remembered something Airael had said while calming the horses—something he didn’t understand but was incredibly captivating.
Airael’s horse had quieted down upon hearing those words.
That must have been Airael’s magic!
Magic truly is something extraordinary.
After tidying up a bit, the two left the battlefield.
As they continued along the main road for a while, they came across a small path branching off.
Axi halted.
Airael stopped too and asked him, “What’s wrong?”
Axi pointed to some footprints on the small path, saying, “Look at those footprints. The orcs must have split their troops here, and this path definitely leads to a village or a small town. Right now, that village or small town must be under threat from the orcs.”
After a moment of thought, Airael asked, “So are we going to pursue the separated orc troop?”
Without hesitation, Axi replied, “Of course! If we hurry, we might still be able to save those people.”
Airael smiled slightly and said, “Then let’s pick up the pace!”
She had gained a deeper understanding of Axi earlier.
So, before asking that question, she had already predicted he would give such a response.
With that said, Airael lightly waved the staff still in her hand under Axi’s puzzled gaze.
Golden trails of light streamed from Airael’s staff, and two beams of golden magic power shot out, heading straight for the horses they were riding.
“Forward, my darlings!”
After issuing the command, Airael urged the two horses.
Responding to her command, the horses neighed dramatically, then galloped madly down the small path with Airael and Axi on their backs.
The horses ran with glee; this was definitely the highlight of their horse lives.
Never before had they run this fast.
They felt an endless surge of power coursing through them.
They just had to let it all out.
Potential Activation, that was the name of the magic Airael had just cast.
As the name suggests, it activates the potential of a creature, granting them greater strength for a short time.
It sounded like an incredibly powerful spell, but it also had a rather formidable side effect.
If used excessively, it could endanger the life of the one being activated.
In other words, this magic must be used in moderation; lacking restraint could be very dangerous.
While the horses were running much faster, neither Airael nor Axi felt any discomfort.
They were no ordinary beings; they could easily handle this speed.
Moreover, this speed aligned perfectly with Axi’s desires.
He wanted to go fast.
In fact, he wished they could go even faster.
Noticing Axi’s mindset, Airael opened her mouth to say something, but as soon as she did, a gust of wind assaulted her, making her feel quite uncomfortable.
Once she regained her composure, Airael leaned down and called out to Axi cautiously, “Axi, our speed is already fast enough. The horses have reached their limit; if we can’t save them with this speed, it really isn’t our fault.”
Axi heard Airael’s words.
He knew she was right, but his inner thoughts remained unchanged.
Faster, even faster, more speed…
Sighing in resignation, Airael simply shook her head.
After all, she was doing her best.
After a while of running down the small path, they finally spotted a wheat field ahead.
The horses continued to rush forward with Airael and Axi riding them.
As they drew closer, Airael and Axi could see that part of the wheat field had already been harvested, and the remaining stalks stood there lonely.
In addition, not far away, they could see the silhouette of a village.
Just a glance at the wheat field was enough for Airael and Axi to turn their attention back to the distant village.
This situation was clearly abnormal.
From what they had seen and heard, humans should be desperately gathering the wheat during such a time.
The orcs moving southward were probably looking to harvest humans along with the wheat as their food.
However, there were no signs of people in the wheat field, nor were there any traces of battle.
This indicated that the people had likely evacuated before the orcs arrived.
Continuing their analysis, it seemed the humans had indeed had lookout personnel deployed while they were harvesting the wheat.
Upon seeing the orcs approaching, the lookouts alerted the harvesters, prompting them to evacuate quickly.
As they galloped on their horses, Airael said to Axi, “Looks like the folks here aren’t foolish!”
Axi smiled slightly but chose not to say much.
His good mood was evident.
In fact, the reason the humans here were so clever was entirely due to necessity.
The orcs nearly always raided south every year, and if the humans weren’t clever, how could they have survived to this day?
They would have long been captured and turned into food.
When Airael and Axi arrived at the village, the orcs were rummaging through the place.
Even though the villagers had hidden because of advance warning, to the orcs, humans were merely one item on their menu.
If they couldn’t find humans, they’d settle for other things.
Like the livestock humans raise—chickens, sheep, cows, and so forth.
And such things were hard to hide from the orcs.
Humans wouldn’t hide them alongside themselves.
Otherwise, if the chickens, sheep, and cows let out a sound, it would all be over.
Overall, while this orc troop hadn’t yet caught humans, they had still managed to gather quite a bit after a thorough search of the village.
Some orcs even found supplies hidden away by the villagers.
Thus, the orcs were rather pleased.
Although the lack of fighting and killing left them a bit dissatisfied, looking at the food before them and imagining not having to starve anymore made them quite happy.
But what these orcs didn’t know was that waiting for them ahead was not a delicious banquet, but the grim reaper ready to harvest their lives!
