Cleaver Of Sin

Chapter 532: Brutal

The journey continued without interruption, two days had passed in a blur, and weirdly enough, nothing had attacked them within those two days, not a group of bandits, not even a group of monsters, not even a bunny had stepped in their way as though the road itself had decided to grant them an unnatural peace.

It was nighttime and the carriages had to come to a halt, everyone went to work, no orders were given, after all, everyone had done this hundreds of times prior to this moment, Asher couldn’t help but be the odd one out as he didn’t have a tent to set up, normally he would simply sleep in a tree without any issues.

Ever since he had slept for a few hours on a branch during the Wargrave’s True Awakening, Asher would simply sleep on a tree branch if there was no tent, just like in his third team mission where comfort had been a luxury rather than a necessity.

"Do you have a tent?" John asked, his voice low as it was already nighttime and he didn’t want to draw attention with unnecessary noise.

Asher shook his head in reply, John simply nodded in acknowledgment then spoke, "you will stay with me in mine," the moment he spoke he turned and walked away without waiting for a reply, clearly assuming Asher would follow.

Asher stayed silent at the thought of staying alone with an old man in a tent in the middle of the night. He couldn’t help but imagine a very weird scene, but as the thought surfaced he shook his head as he decided to stop thinking of such nonsense, after all, John had been nothing but a good man since the day they met.

He wouldn’t try anything funny... right?

After a few minutes, the tent was set up, and John called him over, Asher walked over with slow and measured steps, entering the tent to find two separate beds which had been divided in the middle by what seemed like a cloth hanging from the roof of the tent, offering a semblance of privacy.

"I will take this side," John stated then immediately went to bed without further ceremony. Asher nodded and went to the other bed, he didn’t take off his armor or any gear as he would sleep in them... not that he planned to sleep anyway, his vigilance far outweighing any desire for comfort.

The night passed as the day came, the journey resumed again, the sun pouring down its relentless heat upon the world without mercy. Another day had passed as they had now stayed three days on the road, the wheels of the carriages carving faint lines into the dusty path behind them.

And on this third day they finally encountered a group of monsters and beasts. Everyone seemed happy that they had finally encountered a group of monsters and beasts. It wasn’t that they were battle maniacs who sought violence for pleasure, but because if they didn’t encounter anything on the road for a journey this long, then it meant something was definitely wrong, and silence on such routes often preceded calamity.

Asher simply watched them work, not everyone got out to fight, a group would handle a pack of monsters when they came, then another group would take on another pack of monsters if they appeared. They rotated the squad every time, preserving stamina and Astra energy, making sure no one was burnt out or left vulnerable due to exhaustion, their coordination surprisingly disciplined for merchants.

Neither John nor the man at the Blazestar Life Rank went to battle as they didn’t encounter any enemy that required their intervention, the lesser threats were handled efficiently by the others without chaos.

After each group was done with killing the monsters, they would either skin them and take what they needed, or simply take the entire corpse, it seemed to depend on the group, at least according to what Asher observed. Some were meticulous, carefully extracting valuable materials, while others preferred speed, tossing the bodies into storage for later processing.

Another day passed as it was now four days on the road, Asher was counting, two more days and he would arrive at the place where he would be stopped and bid farewell to the caravan members. And on this fourth day, they finally met a group of bandits, John and the strongest caravan member finally stepped out to handle the matter personally.

If Asher could put it in simple terms, John was brutal. Although the man had a gentle and friendly demeanor, the moment the battle started, he tore through every bandit with his big hammer, he crushed every single one of them without mercy, bones shattered beneath the weight of his strikes, blood splattered against his face and clothes, making John look like a complete maniac drenched in crimson.

Asher couldn’t help but wonder if John was the hidden son of a Wargrave or something, the sheer savagery of his combat style clashing violently with his usual personality.

After killing the bandits, John and his companion robbed the bandits of their weapons, shoes, space rings, they even kept one bandit alive and made the man lead them to their treasure and stash in case they had buried any valuables nearby.

John and his caravan group were merchants, every opportunity should be used to make profits. Even bandit shoes could be sold, their clothes could be sewn back together and sold for a lesser price, it didn’t matter, a copper coin was still a coin at the end of the day and profit was profit regardless of its source.

Asher couldn’t help but admire their extreme business mindset, ruthless yet practical, he said nothing and simply watched them work with quiet contemplation.

Without too much delay, the entire caravan continued their journey, their pace steady as though nothing significant had occurred. Asher wouldn’t deny it, he had expected some strong cliche moments like a Rank 5 Emovira stepping out, or a Mark Rank monster or beast appearing out of nowhere, then he would finally step in and reveal his strength, making everyone look at him in awe and admiration.

’I must be going crazy,’ Asher mused to himself at the thought he was having, wondering why he was entertaining such dramatic fantasies in the first place. But it was understandable, after all, on his first mission, two Grave Rank beasts had made a move, then on his second mission, the Assassin Guild had made a move, he had also encountered a Rank 5 Emovira.

Going by that logic, it was only normal that his thoughts would wander this far, expecting chaos to erupt simply because his presence had become synonymous with abnormal events.

"Asher, we are almost at your destination, get ready, we wouldn’t exactly stop, as you would have to jump out," John’s voice came, breaking him out of his thoughts as reality reclaimed his attention.

Six days had passed since the journey started, and it was now time for him to entangle whatever was lying in wait for him, whether it be danger, mystery, or something far more insidious.

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AUTHOR’S NOTE: Before you all misunderstand. That Magic Castle was for free, so don’t expect bonus Chapters for it. Thanks for reading, and also, I need your golden tickets, please.