David strolled past the cart, balancing two large fish, each the size of a grown man's arm on his shoulders. He chuckled, "You're lucky you're back before dinner." But his stride halted all of a sudden when his eyes caught sight of a figure hidden behind a brown cloak and a hood.
"He just arrived in the spirit world," Merari replied, prompting David to raise an eyebrow.
"And why didn't you lead him toward the town?"
Before Merari could respond, Jed and Jesiah, the two who had been sparring, approached. Jed, the one who spoke, tied his hair back into a ponytail and kept a neat anchor beard.
"Because he wanted to see the Red Sea. He must have heard about it as a mortal," Mahil said, gesturing toward the cloaked man. Everyone looked at Asher as he stepped down calmly from the cart.
"I presume none of you are from the North," Asher said, his voice measured. "You seem more like knights—perhaps from the Sacred Flame Empire and Galvia Empire. And you…" He looked at David.
"Your talent and skill at it leaves two domains: Silvermoon and Nightfire. But I might lean more toward Silvermoon since their men mostly do the cooking."
Not just David but the rest of them were stunned. When they met, they had to introduce themselves—affiliations, professions, everything. Yet this stranger had unraveled their identities with a single glance.
Jed broke the silence. "Such tone. You must be a noble. And yes, none of us here is from the North. But if you're from the North, you'll get along well with Alex."
From their posture and air, Asher guessed the others respected him. He had to be one the strongest out of the six before him.
"Very well, we are the knights, we have no order and we were once eight. Welcome to the mix of the dead, young man."
David spoke with a smile returning on his face.
"You seem to have mistaken me. I am not here to see the Red Sea or join any order of knights."
Jed frowned. "Then why are you here then?"
"I want to cross the sea."
Everyone's eyes widened and their gaze toward Asher changed. From kind to the gaze given to a madman.
Jed gasped. "You want to cross the Red Sea and enter Goliathsgrave?"
"If it's the land where beasts roam, then yes," Asher replied. "Do you know of any means?"
Upon hearing Asher, the knights were gobsmacked and they could only stare at him. Was this man planning on traversing the dangerous Red Sea just to enter an even more dangerous place, Goliathsgrave, a land where even the mighty falls!
A place littered with the bones of thousands who once dared to venture into it.
"You're a madman," Mushi muttered.
Asher ignored the remark and focused on the others but their expressions were disappointing.
"Are all the Northerners ?" David asked, shaking his head.
Asher raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"
"The one who lives with us now," David explained, "when he first came here, he wanted to return to the mortal world. And now here you are, planning to cross the Red Sea."
The cry of the birds made Asher turn toward the forest.
"It's him, the other Northerner." Jesiah, who had stood silent since the beginning with his arms crossed, finally spoke.
Not long after he spoke, a figure with large black wings appeared in the distance. Moments later, the man landed before them. Asher's eyes trembled at the sight.
"L…Lord Asher… what are you doing here? Where's Nero?"
The question seemed to pierce Asher's heart. He laughed, but it wasn't from joy—it was filled with pain. His eyes moistened and he shook his head.
To think he had lost a man so loyal that he would rather his son, Nero, die alongside him went deep into his bones. Indeed, Alex was a friend and a loyal soldier.
"Lord… This man is you lord?!"
The other knights were shocked. They couldn't believe that the powerful Alex would serve such a young lord and from one glance, they could tell Alex was loyal to a fault to this snow-white-haired man.
What's worse, Alex immediately dropped to one knee and bowed his head, causing Jed, his rival to tilt his head in disbelief and confusion.
Just who was this white-haired man who could make a sacred-ranked knight like Alex kneel with all his heart? From Alex's expression, it felt as if it was his privilege to bow to Asher once again!
"Alex. It's been a while."
Later that evening, two men sat at a rectangular dining table with Asher at one end and Eder at the other end. Asher's sharp eyes were locked on the last knight who completed the number eight.
This knight looked like he was in his mid-fifties and looked more like a barbarian than a citizen of noble rule.
He had orange hair and wielded a lance as his main weapon, which was slung across his back. It was rare to see knights like him, knights who didn't use swords or spears as their main weapons.
"You're the Lord Ashbourne Alex spoke of?" Eder asked, munching on a piece of the cooked fish.
Even Eder had to address Asher cautiously because Alex had been solidly standing behind Asher from the very moment they met and knowing about Asher's suicidal plan of traversing the Red Sea, Eder was worried for Asher.
He knew these nobles were always about themselves. They did not care for the thousands that died to fulfill their cause and this was the reason he died as a rebel knight.
"I am," Asher replied calmly.
"I've heard about you Ashbournes—Warrior Lords, they call them." Eder studied carefully, noting the young lord's calm and laid-back demeanor.
Clearing his throat, Eder pushed aside his plate and sat straight. "Why do you want to go to Goliathsgrave?"
Asher sighed. "For personal reasons. But if you will take me there on your ship, I shall help you kill the sea beast troubling the waters."
Eder raised an eyebrow.
"I already have seven knights," he said. "How exactly would you, a noble, help?"
At that moment, Asher stopped shrouding his force.
Eder, who had just raised his glass of water, froze. His pupils shook as the immense pressure enveloped him. He struggled to move but his body refused to respond.
'This young man's force…' Eder's thoughts raced.
It was overwhelming—powerful, yet shrouded so well that he hadn't sensed it until now.
'It took me years to learn shrouding yet this boy in his twenties has already mastered it! And the weight of his force… It's like that of an imperial!'