Chapter 142: Keep traveling

Strax sat on the ground while the fire spread through the massive trunk he had struck with his swords. His entire body was panting, but he wasn't as exhausted as the other two women, who were almost collapsing from fatigue.

"Sorry for the delay..." he murmured, wiping the sweat from his face and looking at the group who were doing the same. Samira had a canteen in her hand and the first thing she did was offer it to the two women. "Here, it's water. If you don't hydrate after a fight like that, you could really end up in bad shape." She said, sitting next to them.

"Yes, thank you." Beatrice said, taking the canteen first and drinking a refreshing gulp, her hands trembling a bit as she held it. She passed it to Monica, who did the same. "Ah~" she sighed after finishing the water, which was at room temperature.

Everything seemed too calm...

Then, from the ground, one of the bodies began to crawl, even without one of its arms. It grabbed a sharp sword, sneaking up behind Strax. The dirty battlefield hid its steps, and the sound of the flames also helped...

"Hm, what the hell is that?" Strax questioned, turning his face to see the man ready to strike his head with the raised sword. Before he could react, Apocalypse, Strax's loyal mare, sprang into action. With a powerful kick, she struck the attacker in the chest, sending him flying through the air and crashing to the ground, lifeless.

"Hiiihii!" Apocalypse neighed, returning to Strax's side, who smiled gratefully.

"Good job, girl!" Strax praised, giving the mare a pat before turning back to the others, who were finishing off the remaining enemies.

After that little scare, Strax got up, still a bit tired from the adrenaline of the battle. He carefully walked through the real corpses that were left and began to stab each of their heads with Ouroboros.

"Is that... necessary?" Carlos questioned, but Strax ignored him. "The only good enemies are the ones buried six feet under," he said, continuing to smash skulls with the black sword that was almost entirely red now.

He carefully walked over to the body of the mage he had killed and knelt next to it, searching for something on the corpse. After all, those who die don't have any right to their personal belongings, especially when they've done something of this magnitude. The strategy of these men... It was insane.

[]

As he searched the decrepit, burnt body, Strax saw the message flash before him and noticed a strange jewel in the corpse's pocket, attached to a chain. "What do we have here..." he murmured as he examined the green jewel, which seemed rare and quite eye-catching.

[]

"Hope this comes in handy at some point, these weird items don't often have many effects... at least they're not as good as that one Cristine lent me..." Strax murmured, remembering the Thanatos Bracelet she had given him.

"Oh, money!" Strax exclaimed next as he pocketed the amulet. On the other side of the robe, he found a small, reasonably heavy money pouch. "Hope it's silver and gold coins..." he said as he opened it, and seeing the contents, "Hell yeah! Jackpot!" he exclaimed, finding at least ten gold coins inside. "Let's go, damn it!" he celebrated, but as he was getting up, another message appeared.

[]

He read it and pulled the cloak from the filthy corpse. Fortunately, it was intact and his sword hadn't burned it.

"Let's go!" Strax finished, and finally, they started moving again with the carriage. The strange trunk in the area had received a large hole that the carriage could pass through easily, thanks to the fire attack Strax had delivered. So, finally, the group began to move through the forest again, now more cautious than before.

Strax, wearing the Cloak of Stealth, led the way, his presence almost invisible as he moved between the trees. The green jewel weighed in his pocket, a constant reminder of the recent battle and potential future threats.

"So, Strax," Beatrice broke the silence, speaking to him through the window. "What else did you find on that corpse?"

"A nameless jewel and a stealth cloak that hides my presence," he replied without stopping. "I also found some gold coins. It seems our enemies were well-equipped."

Samira chuckled softly. "At least we got something valuable out of that ambush. But we need to stay alert. If these guys have more tricks like that, we can't be caught off guard again."

Strax agreed, gripping one of the flame swords now sheathed. "We need to keep our eyes open. We don't know what else might be waiting for us ahead."

As they moved through the forest, a distant sound began to approach. Booms and screams echoed along the path. Strax raised his hand, signaling everyone to stop. "Hear that?" he asked, narrowing his eyes in the direction of the noise.

"Sounds like a battle," Monica replied, trying to pinpoint the source of the sound.

"Let's investigate," Strax decided, leading the group toward the commotion. As they got closer, they saw another battle unfolding before them. A small caravan was under attack by more men from the Zaratz guild.

"Let's just observe..." Strax murmured. Unfortunately, it was a situation where he couldn't just jump into the fray, not knowing if more sorcerers were hidden. And judging by the number of soldiers accompanying the caravan, they could probably handle the enemies...

"Hide the carriage further into the woods. Let's stay ready to profit from this..." Strax muttered.

"When did you become a bandit?" Samira was the first to speak.

"Since I gained a lot by killing them. Now shush, stay here. I'm going to personally listen to what's happening there," Strax said with a greedy smile as he pulled up his hood.

Moving silently, he blended into the shadows, his stealth cloak effectively masking his presence. Approaching the skirmish, he found a vantage point where he could observe without being detected.

The caravan guards were indeed putting up a fierce fight, but the attackers from the Zaratz guild were relentless. It was clear that the guards were outnumbered and outmatched. Strax listened carefully, trying to glean any useful information from the attackers' shouts and commands.

"Take their cargo! We need those supplies!" one of the Zaratz men yelled.

"Don't let them reach the main road! Cut them off!" another commanded.

"Now we just have to wait..." Strax said