The night passed peacefully without any disturbances from wild monsters or bandits.
The following morning, when the caravan members awoke, the weather was not as bright as the previous days. The sky looked a bit overcast, adorned by low-hanging gray clouds. The morning air felt more humid and heavy, indicating that the sun would not shine fully today.
Even though the morning weather seemed gloomy and unsupportive, Eralio decided that their journey to Gias City must continue on schedule.
After a brief breakfast and packing up the tents, the caravan entourage began to move once again.
The sturdy wooden wheels of the wagons turned again, grinding against the slightly damp dirt road, following the rhythm of the strong horses pulling them.
Inside the middle wagon, Calian and Wolvin sat leaning back in silence, observing their surroundings beneath the dim sky. The journey for the first two hours felt very monotonous and quiet, filled only by the sound of the wind and the creaking of the carriages.
However, that tranquility did not last long.
Suddenly, the frontmost wagon braked very abruptly. The horses in front neighed in surprise, rearing on their front legs momentarily before coming to a complete stop.
A chain reaction occurred. The entire caravan procession behind it was forced to a violent halt, causing several items inside the wagons to crash into one another.
The journey came to a mysterious halt. The previously monotonous atmosphere instantly turned tense.
Spontaneously, the fighters' instincts took over. All the adventurers tasked with escorting the caravan, including Calian and Wolvin, immediately jumped down from their respective wagons with weapons ready in their grasps, on alert to assess the situation.
In accordance with the defensive formation they had discussed previously, Esteban, holding a large shield, and Alfred the elven archer swiftly took up guard positions at the very rear of the caravan line.
Without wasting time, the elf immediately climbed up to the roof of the rearmost cargo wagon. Holding his bow tightly, he readied an arrow.
With his sharp eyes, Alfred scanned the surroundings from a height, ensuring there were no enemies ambushing from their blind spot.
Meanwhile, Calian, Wolvin, along with Robert and the other party members quickly ran forward with light and vigilant steps, heading to the very front of the caravan procession to find out what had brought their journey to a halt.
The footsteps of Calian, Wolvin, and the Black Axe party members echoed rapidly, cutting through the wagon formation that had suddenly come to an almost simultaneous halt.
Upon arriving at the very front of the caravan procession, the sight before them instantly answered the reason why their journey had been halted. The dirt road had been blocked by several large tree trunks intentionally felled across it.
And behind that obstacle stood several fully armed men wearing leather armor that appeared dirty yet well-maintained. They blocked the road with postures indicating that they were not merely amateur street bandits.
Realizing the situation had escalated into a large-scale robbery, Eralio, who was in the frontmost carriage, tremblingly gathered the courage to step outside. As the leader of the entourage, it was his duty to attempt negotiations before bloodshed occurred.
However, as a veteran merchant, Eralio did not step forward blindly. Behind his anxious gaze, the middle-aged man secretly channeled mana into his eyes, activating his [Valuation] blessing.
One by one, he inspected the armed men blocking their way in the blink of an eye. Transparent information windows popped up in his vision.
Among the men, Eralio saw various mid-level blessings: [Multiply], [Swordmanship I], [Agility], [Booster], [Earth Mage], and also [Precise].
This composition alone is enough to slaughter a third-rate adventurer party. Eralio thought, trembling with fear.
However, when Eralio's gaze fell upon two men standing in the most central position, the blood in his body felt as if it had stopped flowing. Cold sweat immediately drenched his nape.
Two information panels appeared in the air:
•Name: Silgard (Defector of the Molcan Kingdom, Former Troop Commander)
•Age: 28 years old
•Blessing: [Prison Cage]
Eralio swallowed hard, then shifted his gaze to the second man standing nonchalantly next to Silgard:
•Name: Holvis Gultern (Fallen Noble of the Molcan Kingdom)
•Age: 27 years old
•Blessing: [Unconditional Luck]
Oh Gods... why did two people with such terrifying blessings from the Molcan Kingdom come all the way to this Erthland Empire territory? Eralio screamed internally in panic. His mind raced wildly.
As a merchant with an extensive network, Eralio knew very well that [Prison Cage] was an absolute confinement magic that could not be destroyed from the inside. And [Unconditional Luck] was a highly absurd conceptual blessing, where absolute luck would always side with its user in any crisis situation.
The combination of their two blessings was truly terrifying and had almost no flaws whatsoever.
"Hand over all your valuables and gold!" shouted the man named Silgard, breaking the tense silence. He stepped forward, drawing his longsword. He pointed the tip of his weapon right at Eralio. "Leave those wagons and step aside! If you do not resist, we will let you leave alive. But if you dare to draw your weapons... do not blame us if this road is flooded with your blood!"
At the exact second that threat was issued, Calian, Wolvin, Robert, Catrina, and Nora arrived at the front lines. Without the slightest hesitation, the five of them spread out and immediately stood to form a defensive wall in front of Eralio, protecting their client with their bodies and drawn weapons.
"Do you think we will just hand over what you want to a bunch of street rats?" Robert shouted with his booming baritone voice. The solidly built man took up a combat stance, a large battle axe now gripped tightly in his hands.
Hearing the loud refusal and provocation from Robert, Silgard's expression hardened. He gave a small gesture with one of his hands.
Responding to that signal, one of Silgard's subordinates, a skinny man holding a longbow, immediately stepped forward. Without warning, he pulled his bowstring into an extreme curve and aimed it right at Robert's chest.
The mana aura from the [Booster] and [Precise] blessings of the archer's two comrades glowed on his arrow.
Splat! Whoosh!
The bowstring was released. The arrow shot through the air at a highly unnatural speed, creating a sharp, deafening whistling sound.
Its speed was truly beyond reason. Robert's eyes widened. His human bodily reflexes could only catch a flash of a shadow, completely lacking the time to raise his axe as a shield.
Death felt only a single breath away from him.
Clang!