"Damn. They struck while the sun was gone with no help in sight. If they're in the middle of Angora City and the First Settlement, it'll take at least three days before anyone could send reinforcements," Barcus gritted his teeth. "I have been victim to this kind of scheme one too many times."
He then looked at Michael and realized something. "If you were able to find this out, then this means you have a way to inform your merchants about what's coming. What if you take a detour?"
But strangely enough, he was the only one who seemed to be panicking at the situation.
"Why aren't you saying anything?" he asked Michael. "Are you not worried that your merchants will get robbed?"
Michael shrugged. "To be honest, my Orcs have been monitoring those Bandits for a long time now. And I am planning not to get involved in it because I want the Golden Road to sustain itself."
Barcus looked at Michael. "You're testing the limits of the Golden Road?"
"Yeah," Michael replied. "In the future, there will be a lot of other merchants travelling the road. I need to make certain that they wouldn't have to be worried about thieves robbing them during their sleep."
This was inconceivable to someone like Barcus. Michael seemed extremely confident with the abilities of his men, with no doubt whatsoever.
"What are you planning?"
Michael then turned to the Red Mankey sitting at the poker table, with the other Red Mankeys still congratulating him for getting a new skill.
"Them."
Barcus looked at the ten or so monkey-like demi-humans gathered near the poker table. Although they seemed a little bit different from their normal species, there was no doubt that they were the Red Mankeys infamous in the Queens region.
As far as Barcus could recall, Red Mankeys had no talent for magic at all. They were the lowest ranked demi-human in the entire world. And somehow, Michael entrusted the security of his fortune to them. It was unbelievable.
"Hohoho, I hope that you keep my musings in mind while dealing with those no-gooders," Grieve said to his students. "Remember my first rule…ah what was it again? Hoho, even I don't remember!"
"Tsk tsk tsk. I'll be sorely disappointed if you guys mess this up," Zion warned the Red Mankeys. "Urgh…if only my sis has me on dishwashing duty tonight, I totally would have joined you guys."
"My juniors," Fudge declared, jumping on each Red Mankeys' head one by one. "You have been blessed by the Good Ninja! Go forth and deal with those baddies!"
After getting some slightly effective pep talk from them, the leader of the Red Mankeys codenamed "Radio Man", faced Michael with a determined face.
"We are ready, boss. Please deploy us."
"Sure!" Michael nodded. "Hey Barcus. You want to go see it?"
Barcus looked at Michael. "See what?"
And before he could even ask again, he saw Michael's shadow lengthen and reach towards his own feet. And before he knew it, he saw an entire world of shadow ascend from the ground and encase him in endless darkness with no depth whatsoever.
A nauseating feeling overcame Barcus' senses, with his stomach churning upside down. He had to kneel on the ground and restrain his vomit before the shadow walls descended back into the floor, showing a completely different environment.
One second they were at the First Settlement recreational building, and the second after that, they were at an open space with nothing but the starry skies above them and an endless flat plain with large boulders and plateaus littered everywhere.
Barcus forced himself up, wiping the drool off his mouth.
"What…what happened? Where are we?" he asked.
He looked around and saw a perfectly straight road parallel to the horizon going from left to right.
"We're in the middle of the Golden Road," Michael answered. "On our West here is headed to Angora City, while on the right leads back to the First Settlement."
Beside him was Michael and the ten or so Red HobMankeys, who didn't seem to be fazed at all from the sudden transportation that had just happened.
"Teleportation?! Not just any teleportation, but long range and multiple targets too?!"
Michael ignored Barcus' surprised expression and turned to the Red HobMankeys.
"Are you all ready for your first mission?" he asked them. "If you are successful in repelling the Bandits, then I will endow upon you a proper name to call your troops—the very first squadron in the Reborn army."
The Red HobMankeys looked at each other with excitement. Their eyes still showed a bit of nervousness, but there was a hidden fire within them that burned ever so brightly.
"Okay, if you're ready, take out your uniforms and do your final preparations," he said to the HobMankeys.
They began reaching out into their shadows, taking out these gears and garments that would look extremely familiar to those who lived on modern Earth.
The Red Mankeys adorned themselves in these beige and brown shirts and leggings, completely covering themselves with something that blended within the environment of the plains.
They wore camouflage army combat uniforms!
Michael had these especially designed for the first group of the Reborn army. And of course, Michael wouldn't forget the most important part of their attire: the weapons!
These Red Mankeys were all talented in the blade. So, Michael had Military Knives made out of Mithril Artifacts attached to their belts for easy access.
And as the Red HobMankeys were finishing their preparations, Barcus suddenly looked out into the distance.
There was a fast-rolling automobile coming directly from the West.
The large 'R' symbol painted on its side made it clear that this was Reborn property.
It was only then that Barcus connected the dots.
"This place…this is where the ambush is taking place!" he whispered urgently.
"Yup. And those are our ambushers," Michael said, pointing to the other side of the road where a stone boulder was barricaded right in the middle of the path.
Just behind the obstruction were these men numbered in the twenties who covered their faces with black handkerchiefs. Yet, their bloodlust and their greed was still spilling out of their masks.
One of those men looked different from the others. His posture was intimidating. He wielded a weapon blacker than the night itself with no regard for his own safety, licking its blade just for the fun of it.
"That's Sleazy…" Barcus realized. "They're gonna stop the automobile."
And just like he guessed, as soon as the driver in the truck saw the boulders in the road, he immediately stepped on the brakes.
A high-pitched noise screeched out of the vehicle as it skidded to a stop.
The black handkerchiefed bandits strolled out of their hiding spots with swagger in their steps. They had confidence.
"Look what we have here, boys. Wow. A real life automobile right in front of our very eyes," Sleazy said, pointing his knife at the driver.
"Oooh wee. Just the metal alone from this thing could set us up for a year!" one of the bandits said.
"Are you kidding me? A horseless carriage like this can fetch for a whole lot more."
Meanwhile, the driver of the automobile got out of his car and approached the bandits without even a sense of urgency in his eyes.
"Oh look, a Yellow Mankey!" Sleazy said. "I suggest you surrender now, my man, or else you'll have to change your fur to red."