n

n

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"We ride my ass...

" Antion muttered, running right beside Layn and Markus.

"If we were going on foot from the very beginning, why give us hope that there would be something to ride on?

" he asked, although in a voice too silent for either of the camp's leaders to hear.

nThat was the sad truth about the expeditionary force. Even though it was nearly a hundred men strong, without any sort of mount to ride on, their speed was just as one would expect, slow. Even if every single member of the party had a respectable strenght and endurance to their name, that didn't allow them to overcome the gap created by an absolute lack of horses or mounts of other kinds.

n

"What will we do if the distance will be too great?

" Markus asked, paying no attention to Antion and other whining warriors.

"Even if we keep our leisure pace, men are still going to be tired,

" he said, casting a quick glance at the state of their group.

n

"Then we will have to deal with it as we go,

" Layn replied, carefully spacing his breaths apart. In a long-distance run, keeping his breathing stable and regular was one of the most important aspects to look out for.

n

"That's one part of your character that always annoyed me,

" Markus said, shaking his head. Even though he also kept his breathing steady, it didn't make it hard for the man to talk or express his feelings with movements at all. In the end, the task of running several miles in one go was something that only a mere mortal could consider a challenge. Given how their group consisted of veteran soldiers, cultivators, and even former heroes, it was something that they would be all able to do while fast asleep.

n

"What part of me?

" Layn asked, slightly surprised by the unexpected topic surfacing.

n

"Your lack of care for future planning,

" Markus explained himself. The former saint then moved his eyes ahead as if too worried to look his friend directly in the eye.

"I mean, I don't want to claim that you do not make any real plans, but you never bothered to analyze any possible scenarios that you couldn't be fully sure of in advance!

" Markus elaborated a bit, addressing the grievance of his soul.

n

"It's not like that,

" Layn smiled, not taking the criticism to his heart.

"I don't believe there is any point in planning for every possible contingency,

" he said in a light tone.

"What if a sudden thunder will come and limit our visibility? What if we encounter a mounted patrol? What if some random monster on the level of Overlord appears, forcing us to put all our former plans to a halt?

" the archmage shot a series of quick and random questions.

n

"I know that there are things that you cannot foresee,

" Markus replied, unwilling to cede any ground in the discussion,

"but there are also things that are probable enough to take them into account,

" he added, finally turning his face to his friend.

"You mentioned an Overlord appearing and a possible encounter with the mounted patrol of Slavians,

" Markus said, bringing back Layn's own words.

"What are the chances of a random Overlord crossing paths with us? Almost none,

" he stated.

n

"On the other hand, there is a huge chance we will be found out by a patrolling squad, as it's their job to find groups and other threats like us,

" Layn finished the sentence for his friend.

"I know what you want to say, brother,

" the archmage added before turning silent for a moment.

nAs the two leaders ran at a steady pace without a single word spoken, the same couldn't be said about the rest of the people. Off in the distant end of the group, Al was joking with some of his subordinates, Ation amongst them. To the left, some people made the time pass quicker by talking, while others simply adored the beauty of the wild nature all around.

n

"You see,

" Layn finally picked up the topic after thinking about it long and hard in the confines of his soul.

"Whenever you plan for something, you condition your mind to a certain scenario. For example, let's get the case of encountering a mounted patrol,

" he said before a small smile appeared on his face.

n

"What about it?

" Markus asked, turning his full attention at his friend. It was a rare luxury he could afford only thanks to their position right in the middle of the entire group.

n

"Don't you see the problem already?

" Layn asked, stealing a glance of his friend's face.

n

"What problem?

" Markus asked. His face tensed up as he had to think whether Layn actually implied something or if he was just turning the entire talk into a silly joke.

"You only presented a situation, not how it could be a bad influence,

" he added, trying to push Layn against the wall and force him to explain his line of thought.

n

"Let's imagine that we actually make some plans for such a situation,

" Layn said, his smile growing with each second.

"In case they are friendly, we will ask them for a lift and guidance to the Slavian camp. In case they are hostile, we will kill them all and steal their horses,

" he said, bringing up the random example of how their group could possibly react.

n

"See?

" Markus said with a triumphant look on his face.

"You only thought about it for a second, but now you know what to do if either of the mentioned situations happens!

" he shouted with joy filling his voice.

n

"Tell me then,

" Layn smiled as a small chuckle left his mouth.

"What if this patrol will be on foot?

" he asked.

"What if they will be sick? What if they won't be of Slavian origin or associated with them at all?

" the archmage continued to ask more and more questions, each more ridiculous than the previous one.

n

"What do you want to say?

" Markus asked, shaking his head as he started to see what Layn's point possibly was.

n

"With each scenario you create in your head beforehand, you condition yourself to follow it once something similar happens. Rather than doing your best to be flexible and adapt to the situation, you force a tunnel vision on your own imagination,

" Layn explained, moving his eyes back to the direction of where they were running towards.

n

"Well, it does makes some sense,

" Markus reluctantly admitted, putting a thoughtful look on his face.

n

"Plan for what you are certain that will happen,

" Layn said, the empty look in his eyes indicating that his thoughts were already somewhere else.

"React to what you couldn't expect,

"

n