Chapter 477 Enemies At Your Back

Chapter 477 Enemies At Your Back

Ophelia wasn't the only one unimpressed by Karl's choice. Dana also sighed and shook her head. "Now we have an enemy at our back that can use portals. That's going to make our whole trip dangerous." n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

"The other side of that portal was downtown Lutonade. I don't think that they have the luxury of following us around. Hawk can still see the city from high enough in the air. I think they just attacked because I made a mistake stopping this close."

They were still looking mad, so Karl raised his hands in defeat.

"If they attack again, I will leave no survivors." He relented.

Lotus frowned at him. "Why do I feel like the bad guy now?"

Tessa laughed. "Because there is no good answer to that situation. Killing them all brings more powerful ones and subordinates to avenge them, but leaving them alive puts an enemy at your back. I suspect that none of us will sleep particularly well until this is all over. But if they could easily grab prisoners from anywhere in the country, they would have emptied every village of its young girls by now. The slave trade is insatiable, and they want mostly women for breeding children that can be trained. They learned years ago that taking adult men is more trouble than it's worth."

[I want to smack more things with that hammer. Did you see how big of a hole it knocked in that Troll? That was awesome.] Cara added helpfully.

Karl smiled and reached down to pat her before realizing that the Void Badger was covered in blood.

[That's easy to fix. I just go in and out of my space, and I'm all clean. But I don't smell like soap anymore.] Cara replied, demonstrating as she spoke in Karl's mind.

Karl stroked her head and Cara made a happy noise before flying over to the cart. Lotus was good with a brush, and Cara wasn't sure that Karl even owned one.

"Well, we might as well get going. We've had enough trouble for one evening."

Karl packed up his hammock, back into his backpack in the storage bag in his inventory, and helped everyone into the wagon before hooking up Thor and taking his seat.

Thor got the wagon moving down the road, leaving behind a blood soaked patch of grass as a warning to others that the campsite was not a safe one.

Heading east to Halsearing would take them all day, but according to the map, it should be safe enough. It wasn't known for bandits, thieves, slavers or really anything negative. It was just a decently sized city full of Monsters and Demons.

Karl moved Thor to the side of the road, giving them plenty of room to pass by.

One of the lead guards peeled off to speak to him, and Karl brought Thor to a full stop.

"Merchant. There are bandits in the woods ahead. I would recommend not bringing your precious cargo through there." The knight informed him.

"What power level?"

The Knight frowned. "At least four Commanders. But they have nearly fifty members in total. If you go thirty kilometres south, there is a bridge across the river that will get you around the valley."

That would put them nearly five hours off course.

"Are there rewards for them? A bounty perhaps?" Karl asked, perhaps a bit too eagerly.

"You did hear me say that there are fifty of them, right? You've got passengers, and only two guards plus Golems."

The knight obviously thought that he was an idiot.

"They can wait here a minute. Fifty bandits below Commander Rank won't take me more than an hour. But if there is no reward, I'm not putting in the work."

The noble carriage had stopped beside him, and from inside someone was laughing.

"You think that you can take out an entire bandit camp within an hour, alone? I would pay good money to see that." A delicate female voice announced.

A Lamia stuck her head out of the window, though Karl would have thought she was human if he couldn't see the heat signature inside. Her smile was warm and genuine, and her dress looked like it was made of thin layers of the finest silk. Even Rae was impressed with the quality.

Karl turned back into the wagon. "Do you mind staying here for a few minutes? I will go make sure the road is clear, and we can earn a few extra coins."

Ophelia laughed. "I give you ten minutes, or you have to turn over the good sleeping spot for the night."