"Damn, the environment just keeps getting worse…"
The further they walked, the fewer green trees there were. Not even a single person could be seen. Everywhere they looked, the land was barren, clearly on the verge of desertification.
"We must be getting close to the battlefield, right?"
Even Katherine had never been to this place before, so her tone carried some uncertainty.
"The battlefield shared by our three nations isn't under the jurisdiction of any single country. That's why no one bothers to manage the surrounding land either."
"Then what's the point of you guys even fighting this war?"
Warring in neutral territory, was it just to prove superiority? There wasn't even any land to conquer.
"In the past, we used to invade each other's territory, but recently my father seems to have reached some agreement with the other two nations. There hasn't been a large-scale war for a while now."
"If I'm not wrong, that agreement was probably made shortly after your brother was killed by Roger, right?"
"…Yeah."
Katherine's voice became heavy with emotion.
"All right, it's in the past now. I shouldn't have brought it up."
"It's okay. Roger is dead now. I think even my father would be glad to hear that."
It had been four or five days since they left the bandit stronghold. Their food supplies had long been exhausted. What they hadn't expected was that there wouldn't even be a single rabbit along the way.
Baichuan was doing fine. Even if he didn't eat at all, he wouldn't starve. Buggy and Shanks weren't doing too badly either, but Katherine was another story; her vision was already blurring from hunger.
"Just hold on a little longer. We'll find food soon."
"Mm…"
Katherine, too weak to walk anymore, was now lying on Baichuan's back. Her condition was deteriorating.
"This was my mistake. I didn't expect there to be no food near the battlefield. I guess the soldiers' supplies are all transported from the cities."
"Baichuan, look, there are people up ahead!"
Shanks suddenly pointed ahead.
At that moment, the group approaching them also noticed their presence.
"Judging by their uniforms, they're battlefield soldiers. Thank the heavens—they must have rations on them!"
"Who are you people?"
The squad of soldiers walked over, and their leader asked Baichuan sternly.
"We're traveling merchants. Our goods and food were stolen by a group of bandits. Could you please spare us some food? Look, she's already fainted from hunger."
Katherine cooperatively closed her eyes to play the part.
"And we've got two kids with us, too, look at them."
"Captain," one of the soldiers whispered to the leader, "that girl looks like the princess from the Kingdom of Mol… and the others resemble the people from those wanted posters."
The captain squinted at them, studying their faces carefully. His expression darkened.
"You bastards almost had me fooled! Arrest them! Take them back to the capital!"
As the soldiers charged forward with weapons drawn, Shanks and Buggy raised their weapons, but both were clearly in no shape for a fight.
"I didn't want to use force… but you brought this on yourselves."
Without letting Shanks or Buggy lift a finger, Baichuan unleashed his Conqueror's Haki, knocking all the soldiers unconscious.
They quickly looted the fallen soldiers, taking all the food they could find. Even Katherine forgot any sense of modesty, eagerly rummaging through the unconscious men for supplies.
Watching Katherine devour food like a wild animal, Baichuan finally let out a relieved sigh. If she'd died or gotten sick from hunger, he wouldn't have been able to complete his mission.
"Slow down. No one's going to steal it from you."
He chuckled, seeing her stuff her mouth while already full.
"Mm! Mm!"
Katherine nodded but showed no signs of slowing down.
"Jeez, these kids were starving, huh…"
Shanks and Buggy weren't much better, though they could endure hunger if necessary; once food was available, there was no need to.
Baichuan handed Katherine some water and took a symbolic bite for himself.
"Ahhh… I'm alive again."
Katherine let out a satisfied sigh after gulping down some water.
"But… is it really okay for us to eat like this? What if they wake up soon?"
She finally glanced at the unconscious soldiers around her, a little worried.
"Don't worry. They won't be waking up anytime soon."
"Oh, good."
Katherine exhaled in relief.
By now, Shanks and Buggy were lying on the ground, their bellies round and full, unwilling to move.
"You two are ridiculous."
Baichuan shook his head, half amused.
"You don't understand what real hunger is."
Shanks said slowly, shaking his head at Baichuan like he'd missed out on some profound life experience.
"I don't understand, and I don't want to."
"All right. Let's talk business now."
"Go ahead," said Katherine, turning toward Baichuan. Shanks and Buggy also looked up.
"Since we just ran into a group of soldiers, that means we're close to the border of this country. And if that's the case, the border will be heavily guarded. We need to figure out how we're going to get through."
"Let's disguise ourselves, like we did before," Katherine suggested.
"There's no way that'll work. You're a princess, you should know how tight border security is."
"Then let's just force our way through!"
Shanks offered boldly.
"That's completely unrealistic. There'll be tons of soldiers. Even if we're elites, they could wear us down with sheer numbers."
"So that won't work, and this won't work, what do you suggest then?"
"I plan to fly us out of here."
"Fly? Well, with your abilities, flying us out is nothing. So why even ask us for suggestions if you already decided?"
"No reason. Just wanted to hear your thoughts, even if I wasn't going to listen to them."
"Hmph. Like taking off your pants to fart, completely pointless."
"Hehehe…"
Katherine giggled at Buggy's comment. "You're actually kind of funny."
"Learned it all from Baichuan."
"Didn't expect you to be so unserious."
"C'mon, what kind of serious person would hang out with you in the middle of all this? That's just asking for trouble."
"You are asking for trouble!"
"Hey now, little missy, we've been protecting you this whole time, and this is how you thank us? You wanna go back on your own then?"
"I'm sorry! I was wrong!"
Katherine instantly panicked. If she went back alone, that'd be a death sentence.