The Aura Ascendant: A Knight's Unbroken Path

While Palos was momentarily shocked, Hayden decided to quickly finish this…

Hayden saw a tiny opening with his Lens' assistance.

Palos's recovery from a backswing was a fraction too slow!

Hayden took this opportunity as he rushed forward. His sword moved so swiftly and it was an angle difficult to block because of the difference in their size!

Hayden's attack coming from below was a lot harder to deal with than what Palos had imagined.

Thud! Thud!

Hayden disarmed Palos and to ensure that he wouldn't fight back, Hayden's pommel cracked against Palos's temple—not hard enough to knock him out, but enough to stagger the taller man.

Before Palos could recover, Hayden's blade was already at his throat.

"I think that's enough…" Hayden said calmly.

As soon as this happened, there was only silence. The crowd and even Palos were stunned as everything happened so swiftly!

Although Palos didn't really show his true strength by releasing his Aura, it was still a good duel between the two.

Then—

Palos laughed… It was a deep, booming sound.

"Gahaha! Alright!"

He then dropped his axe and raised his hands.

"I yield."

The crowd immediately cheered after he said this. They didn't think that Palos was weak or that Hayden was just lucky. They knew what they saw and they were sure that Hayden wasn't just a simple kid who had received a chance because of his relationship to the Headmaster.

Palos clapped Hayden on the shoulder hard enough to make him almost stumble to the ground.

"Damn, kid. You fight like a demon. I didn't know that the Dawnspire Academy created such a monster. I thought it was a place full of garbage." Palos said loudly and this had obviously offended Ian and the others.

However, they knew not to offend this mercenary since they would be together on a mission for several days. It's better not to cause trouble as they weren't as confident as Hayden.

At this time, the other mercenaries—even the woman with a greatsword—looked at Hayden differently.

Now, Silas felt more confident that this mission would go well.

He soon explained the payment for the mercenaries and the students. It would be a minimum of 10 silver coins for Hayden and the other students but if they experienced a more dangerous situation, the payment could be higher depending on the situation.

As the caravan rolled toward Blackridge Pass, Hayden kept his silence as he sat at the back of the wagon together with the three students and Palos' group.

No one disturbed him because of his silence as they thought that he was meditating.

However, that was not the case at all. Hayden wasn't meditating or tired but he was simply using his Lens to analyze everyone's situation… It took quite some time to do all of it.

'Many of them are actually injured and just enduring it… Can't they pay for doctors?' Hayden thought as he observed the various mercenaries, including those in other wagons.

Well, they weren't wounded or anything but they had sore muscles, cracked bones, tangled veins, and other small issues that could affect their combat abilities.

'Right… Doctors must be expensive…' Hayden mused as he recalled the situation of the Gray Family's manor where the doctors couldn't even tell what was wrong in his body.

'Should I continue learning medicine as a side job?' He mused for a moment and smiled. He just realized now that this job might really be a lucrative one.

Although he didn't like that kind of job, it might be a good way to earn quick money while he was starting to build his foundation.

After all, if he became an Aura Knight, he wasn't planning to serve or bow down to a noble and serve them. He would just be a free knight, roam the world, settle down if he was ready, earn a lot of money, and enjoy his life, which was something he had never been able to do in his past life.

'Ahh… Even if I want to work as a doctor for some money, I still need to have the strength to protect myself.' Hayden thought as he was also worried that if the people or nobles knew that he was also a good doctor, he might be taken away from the Academy to work tirelessly in healing people.

He shouldn't reveal his background in medicine too much unless he has the strength to protect himself or someone to cover for him…

***

Time quickly passed as the group traveled for about three hours already.

There wasn't much to do since if the bandits saw such a large caravan with many mercenaries, they would have to reconsider their options.

Only a bandit group that was over fifty to a hundred would probably consider blocking their path to ask for a toll fee.

As Hayden got bored, he finally decided to speak to Palos' group…

The four of them were actually a party…

Aside from Palos, there was Nea who had twin daggers, Rayleigh who was carrying the longbow, and finally, the leader of their party, Farah. She was the one who was carrying a large greatsword and Hayden suspects that she was an Aura Master or someone at the level of tier 1 Aura Knight.

"You've fought in Blackridge before?" Hayden asked. He wasn't referring to anyone but he was looking at the party of four.

At this time, Farah glanced down at him, one eyebrow arched. "Yes. You?"

"First time," Hayden said… "This is my first mission… But I learn fast."

Farah finally smiled after hearing this. "Kid, if bandits hit us, 'learning fast' won't save you."

Hayden just smiled. "We'll see."

Farah shook her head but didn't stop him from dreaming… After all, she knew that in the battle a while ago, Palos didn't actively use his Aura to suppress Hayden's movements, and also, Palos didn't trigger his axe's mysterious force that could cut through Hayden's sword easily.

Then, as the caravan grew closer to the Blackridge Pass, the first problem in the escort mission had finally arrived.