Bright Territory
Not far away, a battle was just concluding, with a territory Lord gracefully finishing off a monster.
His sharpened wooden sword stabbed at the eye of an ugly, slimy beast with a flat face, made easier to hit as it was held in place by ice covering its entire leg.
[Killed! Kooi (Lv5)! +150 Experience, +150 copper!]
"That is the 700th monster." Garan said, looking at Micheal who had just pulled away his sword.
He had now entered the peak level 7 and he really wanted to find a way to keep them here and let him upgrade a level.
But he looked at the man's cloudy azure eyes and he knew he couldn't ask for this without expecting a beating.
In the end, life was more important. Anyway, he had an aborigine to help him out as well.
"Fine," he said, "I'll open up a purchasing mission to Altera. You can go with them. Anyway, I'm sure many people are looking forward to going back there."
Micheal sighed as he said so, feeling complicated. It was both a good and bad thing to be near such a good territory, but he would probably be losing another bulk of citizens after this.
Sigh.
"You're already doing very well, milord." Juno kindly said beside him, as if sensing his thoughts. The blonde smiled at the aborigine, appreciating the gesture.
"Thanks," he said before turning away and opening his lord tab to write the much-awaited announcement. Micheal also set the minimum level to 4. Making a rough estimate, there should be a total of about fifty people qualified to go on this mission.
He gave a furtive glance at Garan and the others, wondering how many they could protect with ease.
Anyway, a familiar ping soon sounded in everyone's heads.
[Caravan Mission to Altera, now open!]
"Won't it be too slow?" Garan said right beside him. He looked very antsy and the aura around him was getting extremely cold.
Michela sighed. He should've known.
Taking so many people with them… they'd be lucky if this guy didn't leave them behind midway.
He looked at Ron and Spike, who were watching their interaction with interest. "Join Garan and the others for the advanced party."
Ron and Spike were really looking forward to seeing that magical territory again, so they were very happy at this order.
"Yes, Lord!"
…
As expected, the mission was indeed very popular. Most especially because they found out that the ultra strong Terran soldiers were going there, so they felt the trip would be especially safe.
Juno, their own aborigine guard, was also coming with them this time, to ensure minimal losses on the way back.
However, because of the pacing requirements, Beany and Gaudi volunteered to leave with a caravan at Bright and meet up with them in Altera later the next day. Five soldiers would also be accompanying them for safety.
While this was ongoing, Garan and the others were already ready to leave. They had long prepared to travel, buying more stocks from the stalls. They also took a quick bath as they didn't know when the next one would be.
They haven't slept yet so that they would be able to finish their part of the deal within a day. The luxury rental house was basically unused. At the very least, they could use it to freshen up.
Especially Garan, who was a bit of a neatfreak. He also knew his wife was the same.
He had not only cleaned up, but he had also shaved. He had also eaten ample amounts of papra, the peppermint alternative he brought a lot of.
How could he wrong her by hugging her with all the grime, dust, and blood?
Anyway, the team hadn't taken a shut eye before heading out again. Fortunately, with their level, they could really go without a few days of sleep.
The soldiers were a bit tired, but they couldn't ask the captain to wait for them right? Not when he was missing his wife so much that he was borderline murderous!
Fortunately, Eagle leaked what they talked about with the other lord. The territory they were heading towards was apparently even better than Bright, so they didn't have to feel so sad about leaving this wonderful place too soon.
"Actually, aborigines houses weren't that bad considering they seemed similar to the Terran dark ages." Ryo, the group nerd, couldn't help but say. "I read that there were basically no toilets at the time, you could have chamber pots if you're rich.
"Others just threw their feces anywhere, even on the street." He paused, looking at them seriously, "One theory is that this was the reason why heels were invented. It was so that the nobles who wear it don't directly step on all the shite."
"Eww!"
"Gross!"
"Why did you have to say that?!"
"Nobody asked for this information!"
Ryo shrugged.
Garan just shook his head and ignored them, walking quickly to their destination.
Their pace increased, though not to the point that it would quickly consume their energy. It was just at the right, but fast, pace so that they didn't need to take a lot of breaks.
A few hours later, they reached the resting spot between the three territories and they couldn't help but admire the territory that set it up.
"This… is so thoughtful." Luis said as he opened up a rough stone box. It was as tall as his knee and covered with a stone slab. Opening the lid, he realized that it hid some non-perishable food inside.
Mao, the one with the sharpest nose, immediately appeared over his shoulders. "Instant noodles!"
"Seriously?" Eagle went to them and saw the dozen or so servings of instant noodles wrapped in thin wood.
"I heard someone in Bright sells it too! But they didn't have stock anymore. Now look at this!"
Mao unapologetically took it out and raised it high above his head. "Cheers!!" He yelled, scooting away to prepare it for consumption.
Eagle ignored him and looked at what else was in the box. Other than the noodles, there was also a complete set of condiments and even rice.
They really didn't expect it.
Anyway, they had a comfortable lunch and a short rest. After eating, they began packing up and cleaning up their trash according to the resting place's rules (literally written in stone).
They also put the remaining condiment back into the box, with Mao taking out expensive parchment paper A3 paper in size and doodling a few words of thanks on the first line.
He left the paper down as well as an ink and its accompanying writing quill.
His companions stared at him, impressed. "You're being quite generous."
Mao blushed a bit and cleared his throat. "Well, people share their food. I don't have much else they'd be interested in."
The others nodded, adding a bit of their own small items in the chest as well.
They were nothing too luxurious—there were some clothes, some basic medicine, and the like—but it was all with the heart of helping others and giving back.
If Rowan would see this, he'd be amazed.
It seemed everyone was like this?