For several hours the caravan had been moving forward, and by that time it was already another evening on the next day.

Privilege Day.

Roman and Arnold had completely forgotten about everything that concerned Privilege Day, and they were only focused on finding the right moment to escape.

They had already travelled several miles into the Center, and soon they would reach the Grand Passage, the great route that connected the Center to the Heartlands.

"We are ten miles away," Crest, who had been at the front, said with an alarmed tone, and the other two approached him as they watched attentively.

Their location had appeared on Roman’s BSP map, and he soon understood why they had alarmed themselves after learning how close they were to the Grand Passage.

On one of those days when Roman had visited the Forum, he had come across a post about the Grand Passage.

He had learned that the Grand Passage was the most busy and dangerous road in the Reach. It was a thirty-mile stretch that led to the Bridges, the connection point between the Heartlands and every other region of the Reach.

When travelling through the Grand Passage, all types of chaos were to be expected.

Accidents.

Assassinations.

Robbery.

The craziest of crimes happened in the Grand Passage without fail.

It was a highway that connected to every city in the Center and the Frontier highway, and that was the main reason for both the traffic and the chaos. When passing through the Grand Passage, complete attentiveness was necessary, or the consequences could be severe.

...

At that point, Roman and Arnold were the only ones left at the back of the caravan. They were chained, but so far, the conditions had been manageable.

Arnold gave him a sharp stare, and Roman understood it without needing it explained. But to be completely honest, Roman did not see this as the right moment to escape.

He knew he could get out if he really wanted to.

He could summon King and ask him to break the chain. Queen’s blades were more than capable of cutting through it as well. But what was the point of getting out when he had finally gotten a chance to travel beyond the valley?

Yes. Shocking.

Roman was not staying put because he couldn’t escape. He was staying because he wanted to reach the right location to challenge himself properly. To face high-ranked monsters. He had sacrificed Privilege Day entirely for this, and he had made peace with that.

If Arnold ever came to understand that, Roman knew it was not going to go over well. But that was not his greatest concern at the moment.

Roman was preparing himself to enter Terror Lake, the very place North Rockbridge had hunted on the first night he joined the Dominion Legion group chat. He wanted to face whatever was living in those waters, whether Extraordinary ranked or higher. He had promised himself that if he encountered something beyond his capabilities, he would run for his life. 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

But first, he had to dare.

After quite a while, they reached the point of approaching the Grand Passage. The distant noise and unsettled air could already be felt from far off, but the caravan did not simply push forward without checking first.

Dax went ahead to assess the conditions, and after over thirty minutes he returned with a dark look on his face, shaking his head.

"There is heavy traffic upfront. That not only slows us down but creates openings for problems. There are reports circulating that the Black Cross are now operating at the starting section of the Grand Passage."

"We don’t want to risk running into one of their groups, or else..."

"I understand," Sera said, cutting him off before he could finish, already knowing that whatever came next was not something she wanted said aloud.

"So what do we do?" Crest asked.

They all tried to work through options, but nothing practical was coming together. It took a considerable while before Sera arrived at a conclusion. It was not ideal, but it presented itself as the only workable path available.

"We go nine miles back and take the Liberty Road," she said.

"That means passing through Liberty City?" Dax asked, his eyes darkening immediately.

"No. Before we reach the main route toward Liberty City, we follow the path that leads to Goldfire Refuge. Then we take the turn at the far end and enter Strength City. That way we avoid our enemies entirely without touching Liberty City at all," Sera explained.

Crest, who was a veteran traveller, had followed her explanation clearly from the start.

"That is a good plan, Sera," he said.

"We take Liberty Road, cut into Goldfire Refuge which sits between Strength City and Liberty City, then instead of continuing straight toward Liberty City, we divert into Strength City. We have no bad standing with the people there, and the Emperor’s Hand confirmed that the Steel Empire has an active trade agreement with Strength City," Crest added.

Sera gave a firm nod and folded her arms.

"Then once we gain passage, we head through the city’s highway and re-enter the Grand Passage at a point that puts us only three miles from the Bridges. We take the clearest bridge and enter the Heartlands."

"From there, we are clear," she said.

Both Crest and Dax nodded, and the plan was agreed upon without further debate.

They turned around immediately and headed for Liberty Road, taking the route that would allow them to avoid the congested and dangerous opening section of the Grand Passage.

Neither Roman nor Arnold said a word as the caravan turned back, because they had overheard everything. Only Roman appeared to be quietly excited about what was coming.

*Strength City.*

*Isn’t that where North is in charge?*

He remembered that clearly, and he was confident it was the same Strength City they were referring to, because there was only one Strength City in the Badlands.

So there was a real chance he would get to see North Rockbridge, depending on whether they actually met with the Mayor or simply passed through without any interaction.

Either way, Roman was ready for it. He would not say he did not want to see North, but there was already a scheduled time for that. When the Cross Operation arrived, he would see her then.

Besides, he would not want her to see him like this, having to explain that he had been captured while trying to save the Emperor’s daughter.

The lover boy impression was not exactly the one he wanted to lead with.

But regardless of all that, they were still heading toward Strength City.