City of Desire [Kingdom Building]

Chapter 541: Bandstone

Aya Bandstone

"The beasts are yours," said the old, wiry orc, handing the reins of the three beasts to Ulo.

They are Rycas horses, thinner than most horses but fast and agile—the perfect beasts for moving through the thick forests of Baxzar.

"Thank you," she replied before mounting her beast. I did the same, and so did John.

A minute later, we were out of the tribe's compound under the moonlit sky.

I activated Smooth Travel once again.

It's not a powerful travel skill, but it does help, and I feel we will need all the help we can get to finish this contract that we had entered into.

It had been five hours since we signed the contract, and since then, we had stopped only twice: once for a small break and

 the second to acquire these beasts.

As for our old beasts, we set them loose before we walked here.

We could have bought them from a town, but he wouldn't let us approach it.

So, we had to settle for the tribes and the small ones at that. The beasts we obtained are fantastic. They have the blood of the crorus in them. The tribe trains them specifically before selling to towns and cities.

I glanced at the man beside me.

His eyes are darting around, looking for danger that is hunting him.

We have not seen anyone, but he seemed convinced that eyes were everywhere.

He dyed his hair and wore clothes that made him look bulkier.

He even wore worn-out, mismatched light armor, but unlike mine, which is genuinely mismatched and worn out, his only "looked" worn out.

He had done an excellent job of making it look worn out with runes and all, but I had been staring at it for hours and noticed things.

'Have you found anything?' I asked Ulo. 'No, there is no news about him,' she replied with telepathy.

She couldn't send the message without his permission but could receive mass messages flying around from people and guilds.

Her reply made me relieved but also worried.

I am relieved because the guilds and tribes are openly looking for him, and I am worried because the enemies who are looking are hidden in the shadows.

They would not spare us if they located us.

He didn't hide that fact. He had implied that through his words and the contract.

Not that this fact would have changed my mind.

My condition is getting worse. I need to see a higher-level healer to find a cure for my condition, and he is the only one who could make that happen.

'Who is he?' is the question I have repeatedly asked myself.

I have noticed a lot of things about him.

Foremost is that he is rich and influential. He didn't even bat an eye when we asked for those things, including access to a Lv. 40 healer.

So, I assume he is a noble.

He had kept his class guarded. He could also be a warrior, but I didn't think so.

Warriors carry themselves differently; even in the most dignified ones, there is a ruggedness. He looked refined but sharp, like a well-maintained blade.

His every movement and word commands obedience.

The night had become fully dark, but we were moving through the forest, and seeing that we were taking a shortcut through a dangerous route, things might get troublesome.

There are monsters and some bad people. Their numbers increase, and they become daring at night.

The thing is, there will be no rest.

We will continue with our travel tonight and into tomorrow. We will only stop to rest after reaching our destination.

Once again, I turned to him and saw his eyes moving as always. He saw me looking but didn't say anything.

His injuries have healed, and the redness in his eyes has disappeared as well. He looked well; there was barely any tiredness in his eyes.

An hour passed, and we stopped at a safe-looking spot for dinner.

It wasn't a spot I would choose for dinner at night in such a dangerous place, but beggars can't be choosers.

I sat down on the leather mat and opened the bags.

"Here, eat this," he said, placing two packets of rations before us.

I opened it, and it was a regular ration. It looked even worse than what I had, which made me a little disappointed. I thought it would be something good.

It wasn't until I took a bite of dried spiced meat that the taste hit me. I closed my eyes, and the sound came out of my mouth.

It wasn't as hard as it felt to my fingers. The piece broke away with the slightest force of my teeth and melted as it touched my tongue.

It is delicious; the most delicious thing I ever ate.

I wanted another bite of the meat, but I tried the cheese. It looked like a normal ration, but as I took a bite of it. I found it mouthwatering.

I tried other things, and they are all the same.

They looked like standard rations and were even slightly more unassuming than them, but they tasted completely different.

"Who are you?" asked Ulo. "It doesn't matter who I am. What matters is you both safely escorting me to my destination," he replied.

Unlike us, he ate fast. There was no pleasure on his face as if this was a regular meal for him.

It might be.

I didn't think about it much further and ate faster, but I tried to enjoy it as much as possible.

Soon, I finished and took out a pouch from my bag. I put a spoonful of grey powder in my mouth before gulping it with water.

It's a worse way to finish a delicious dinner.

It's so bitter that I want to vomit, but I controlled myself.

He looked but didn't ask questions. Instead, we stood up and cleared every sign before mounting on the beasts again, resuming our journey.

Hours passed, and it was nearly midnight. I am feeling a little sleepy, but I didn't let myself sleep.

That would be disastrous in a place like this.

We have encountered a few monsters, but luckily, we have avoided them. One came closer, but it ran away.

It's going smoother than I had anticipated.

I was expecting some trouble, but luck has been with us. If this continues, we may perhaps finish this contract in peace.

Hun!

I had just thought that when my Dangersence blared. I heard an arrow twang and a spell's light coming toward me.

"Attack!" I warned and moved my shield in front of me. I was activating Tough Shield and Calm Beasts.

I don't know why, at that moment. I looked at the young man. He is on the horse, with his eyes filled with calmness, while Ulo casts spells after spells.

She was protecting us and the beasts.

He had asked us to protect beasts rather than him if we got attacked on this route.

Bang Bang Rip!

The shield stopped the spells and arrows, but not all of them. More than half of them tore through the Ulo's shields.

They are absolutely Grade III spells and arrows by Lv. 20+ archers.

Bam, Rip Bam!

They approached me, and I moved my shield to defend against them when I saw the blur. Suddenly, the arrows fell, ripped apart, and spells repelled!

Once again, I looked at him in shock; he didn't just defend me, but all three of us.

The attacks have targeted all three of us.

I didn't say anything and looked around cautiously, waiting for the next attack, but it didn't come.

Seconds passed in silence when the steps echoed out from all directions.

Soon, I saw seven people coming out.

Some are male and some female, with six orcs and one man, either human or elf.

It is too hard to see because of the face covering he is using.

Half of them showed their faces openly, and I recognized two immediately; their faces were plastered across the taverns.

Gorgo Zutag of Zutag Bandits.

As I recognized them, I couldn't help but shudder. They are a small but dangerous bandit group with a hefty bounty posted on their heads.

They have killed a lot of people, including several Lv. 30s. Their leader, Zutag, is a known Lv. 30+ powerhouse.

I looked at the leader, a tall man with a stocky body and a blood-red axe in his hand.

"Oh, it seemed like you are quite powerful, young human," said Zutag, looking at John.

"I don't want to fight. Just let us go, and I will forget everything," said John in common, surprising Zutag and his bandit group.

"Hahahaha…"

It surprised him, but it only remained momentarily on his face before he started laughing with his men.

It took them a while to calm down.

Zutag wiped his tears and looked at John. All the mirth there was a moment ago had vanished.

Now, there is only cruelty.

"Unfortunately, it's not going to happen. We will kill you, take your stuff, and sell your bodies to the undead," Zutag replied with a grin.

John just sighed, and the next moment, he leaped off of his beast at blurring speed.

The speed even seemed to surprise Zutag.

"Kill him!"

Even surprised the bandits acted fast. His two archers and two mages attacked John while he and the other two moved forward.

Seeing the attack, I opened my mouth to call out as I leaped off the horse. When I saw the young man's sword moving again, it cut through the arrows and repelled the spells.

As he did, he appeared in front of the shocked Zutag.

"Die, you bastard!" shouted Zutag and swung an ax on a massive strike that would split him apart.

John stayed in his place like he was frozen, not moving even when the ax had crossed more than halfway toward him. He was about inches away when I saw him turning into a blur.

Pachac!

The next moment, I heard the wet sound and saw Zutag's eyes turning wide.

A red line appeared on his neck, and a second later, his head slid down by that time. I heard that wet sound once again, and another head began to slide down the neck.

It is when the rest have come to themselves and begin to run. Even the mage capable of casting a Grade III spell is running away. There is terror in his eyes.

They ran into the forest, but he chased them. I heard the sounds for a while before it all quieted down.

A few seconds later, he returned.

I watched him in shock. He had killed a whole bandit group in seconds. The man had killed the bandits that had killed several Lv. 30s, and it didn't even take a full minute.

"Here, the bag and staff. I think these are good enough to satisfy the condition of the contract," John said, throwing the bag and staff at Ulo.

"Can I have a head of some bandits?" asked Ulo. "Suit yourself," he replied.

She quickly took a sack from her normal bag and collected the heads. She collected three and put them into her new iles bag before hurrying back to the steeds.

He had already mounted the beast.

Seeing that, we mounted and resumed our journey a second later, knowing we were still in a race.

We didn't clear the battlefield. It would be useless unless we are willing to put in a lot of time to erase the signs from a good tracker not to notice.

Which we could not. It would be wise to use that time to cover more ground.

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