13 Perilous Road

The preparation was done within an hour. With the prince's insistence, they left the carriage at the mayor's house and opted for horses for faster traveling. They rode like the wind and by the end of the day, they already traveled a good distance.

"We need to rest for the day," General Rohan advised. They cannot continue to travel in the speed they are going or else they would get exhausted by the time they reach their destination.

If they want to succeed in their mission, they needed to be on top condition since they don't know what they would be facing when they reach the southern borders.

"We can rest but after that, we need to proceed," Orion added to the general's order.

"No, we will stay for the night. The road to the southern border is more dangerous during the night and the horses will be exhausted," General Rohan refuted. "I know that you are worried but we can't be hasty. We need to proceed carefully since we don't know what we are dealing with."

"General Rohan is right, your highness. We need to rest and prepare for what's in store for us in the south. We can use this time to plan for our next step and besides traveling in the night is not advisable." Karina broke her silence and coaxed the prince. She was also worried since the prince has not fully rested. If he continues to act recklessly something bad might happen.

Seeing that the Order also agreed with the general, he was inclined to agree and let the matter rest. After setting the camp and ensuring that the area is clear and safe, the group gathered at the prince's tent to plan.

"Before we enter the Emerald Forest, I will split our group into three. Two groups will do the scouting and report to us while our group will proceed as planned," Rohan explained. "Arthur, I will require your help in passing messages between the two scouting parties and our group so that we can grasp the situation inside the Emerald Forest."

"Yes, I've already sent wind spirits ahead of us to check the forest. By the time we reach the forest, we will have prior information with regards to the situation there," Arthur gave them a wink and thumbs up.

"That's good." They talked for another hour before they split up to rest.

"Order, you know your job prioritize it above all else," Rohan reminded the three. The Order nodded and gave the general a salute.

Before the sun even fully sat high in the sky, Prince Orion's entourage has already set out in maximum speed towards Emerald Forest. Throughout the rest of the journey, the atmosphere slowly turned tense.

The nearer they were to the forest, the thicker the oppressive aura in the air gets. The journey was smooth, so smooth that they consciously raised their guards. There was neither rustling of the leaves nor chirping of the birds. The air was stagnant that if they were not trained in the art of body and spiritual strengthening, they would be affected by the aura in the air.

The moment they reached the entrance to the forest the dark aura became more suffocating and heavy. They slowed down their pace and entered the forest in high alert.

General Rohan was on the lead when a sudden spike in the area's dark aura happened which caused his horse to suddenly stop in fear. This also happened to all the horses they were riding. They were forced to stop and soothe the horses before they can once again move forward.

This time a worried voice brought their attention to the part where the prince was. "Your highness, are you alright?" Karina's voice was tinged with concern when she saw how tightly the prince was clutching his head.

"Don't touch me! I'm fine!" Orion's irritated voice and the harsh slap he did to Karina's hand was heard by everyone.

General Rohan frowned at the conversation. He urged his horse to move towards the commotion and saw the prince's unusually angry and pale face.

"What happened?" he asked.

"The prince is acting weird, ever since we entered this area he suddenly fell silent and now he is angry for no reason," Arthur took the lead in answering the general's query.

"Prince Orion," he spoke in order to the prince's attention.

"Why aren't we moving?" The look on Orion's eyes was not normal. There was a subtle coldness there that was different from his usual self. His eye color has also become a bit glassy and a bit unfocused.

"I think he is affected by the negative aura in the air," Apollo spoke from the side after observing the prince carefully.

"What are you whispering there? Aren't we moving forward yet?" Orion approached them with a frown. For some reason, he was feeling restless and he was on edge. It's almost like he wasn't in control of his body anymore. His mood has also turned for the worse.

"Apollo," without even looking at General Rohan, Apollo made his move and seized the prince using his binding magic. He moved swiftly and knocked the prince unconscious.

He held the prince and carefully laid him on a cloth laid by Karina under a tall tree on the side of the road. "Everyone scatter around and secure the area, be careful so that you will not be affected by the negative aura in this place."

The warriors scattered while the Order and General Rohan stayed to look after the prince. "Do you have any protection spell that can dispel the effects of the negative aura?"

"I have, but it will take time to do it and I'm not sure if it will have any effect on the prince," Karina answered the general's question but the uncertainty on her face was evident.

"What is it?" the general saw the distresses look on the woman's face and can't help but ask.

This time it was Apollo who answered the general's inquiry. "The glow around the prince acts as a natural barrier around his person. Any dark spell hardly has any effects on him, I understand Karina's confusion and concern. Why didn't the glow around the prince work this time?"

General Rohan sighed at the situation they are in right now. They do not know the actual depth of their prince's affinity since Orion would not use his power unless necessary. He would rarely train or practice using his affinity so his power can be considered to be still a mystery to them.

"I think it's because he was irritated and anxious these past few days that's why his affinity was also affected. In most cases, emotions have a great effect on the powers of people who have an affinity." Karina voiced out her opinion. The other three nodded in agreement with Karina's observation.

It could be a possibility and add to that the few times he used his affinity without getting enough rest to regain his strength might be another reason why the glow around Orion was not acting the way it should be. They remained silent and gave Karina space to cast the protection spell around Orion.

Karina first cast a healing spell on Orion before she did a layer of protection spell and warding spell around Orion to make sure that none of the negative aura will affect him again. As a precaution, she also added a bit of defensive spell to make sure that the prince would be fine and will be able to continue on their journey.

After she made sure that the spells were properly working, they waited patiently for the prince to wake up.