Chapter 20: Chapter 19: Orc Bandits

‘I will fucking kill them!’ I cursed loudly as I adjusted myself once more; it had been just an hour, and it had already felt like hell.
 
My shoulder was already sore by continued hitting the wooden box latched beside me, not to mention the Constand rocking of the gravel road, which made it even harder to read from the book in my lap.
 
The driver had activated his skills, but they were useless due to his low level, and this carriage wasn’t much better either.
 
They had done this intentionally; they had not only given me the worse carriage to sit, but its driver was also low-level. 
 
There is not the slightest comfort I could feel through it.
 
If I had known they would stoop this low, I would have brought my own carriage.
 
“Master Remus, take this; it might help,” said Brian as he took out a small thin pillow from his back and gave it to me.
 
“Thank you, but please keep it; I don’t want to take your comfort for mine,” I declined, despite very much wanting to take that small pillow from him.
 
“It is no bother, Master Remus,” he insisted, and this I took it without hesitation. 
 
“Thank you, then,” I said and took the small pillow from him and placed it between my shoulder and the wooden box; it felt good when the solid surface no longer hit my shoulder.
 

A few hours passed, and the journey was uncomfortable; the small pillow provided quite a relief, more than the skills of our low-level driver.
 
I passed the time by reading and talking to Brian and also massaging my head, which hit the wooden box quite hard when the carriage wheel went over the rock. 
 
The scenery also did not help my mood either; it is a dry wasteland. The green patches came now and then; they were as small as a few meters and big as a few miles, but when compared to the whole wasteland, they were akin to drops of paint thrown on the canvas.
 
It felt good when the carriage stopped for a break; they had been moving for four hours, and many people needed to relieve themselves, including me.
 
I also used the opportunity to stretch, which helped me a lot with cramped muscles, which came back again after we had resumed riding again.
 
Two hours after the first break, we took another break; it was a lunch break. The bastards didn’t even invite me for lunch; they just sent it, and it was just cheese and bread with a small pickle, the same lunch the guard ate.
 
I ate with my guards and Brian and had a smile on my face; one could not even see the slightest bit of anger in me.
 
After lunch, the carriages began to move again, and I was once again stuck in a tiny space. I wish I could ride, but there were no extra horses.
 
Soon, it was evening, and we continued before stopping at a mile-long green patch called sard; it was with grass and trees, and one did not look at the wasteland around; one would not feel like they were in a wasteland at all.
 
“Master Remus, this is your test,” said the guard, handing me a worn-out tent, which is clearly torn in many places and patches attached to it.
 
Even bullies have limits, but my uncle and brother did not seem to have any, giving me a tent that was even worse than the tent of guards
 
“There is no need; I have brought my own tent,” I said. I still remember the day when Edwin and my siblings took me to camp when I was seven; that night was one of the worst that I did not want to experience again.
 
The guard was a little surprised but nodded and went back, and I could see from the corner of my eyes that he went directly to my brother.
 
A few minutes later, my camp was ready, and the dinner was handed down; I got the same dinner as the guards, while it was clear for the three of them, who were sitting at a table laid out for three of them, in which they did not invite me.
 
They sat at the table while I sat in front of a small bonfire with Brian and a few other people.
 
I could see them looking at me and even heard the word ‘bastard’ spoken by many people. I am quite used to this, but that does not mean it did not bother me. I have noted down everything in my mind; there will come a time when I will take revenge for every little insult.
 
For now, I will bear it without saying a single word.
 
I did not stay by the bone fire for long; after finishing dinner and a few minutes of talking, I went to my tent and slept.
 
The journey had been tiring, and there was pain all over my body with me sitting in a constrained space. It would have been wonderful if I had a skill related to that, but I did not; I would have to bear it like a normal person.
 
I slept within a minute and woke up before dawn by Jonah; I had readied myself quickly and even had some comfortable read before we resumed our journey again.
 
Half an hour after dawn, we began to move again; the target was to reach the territory by afternoon; achieving that wouldn’t be a problem if we moved unhindered by anything like yesterday.

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The journey is slow, even by this world's standard; the cargo carriages move too slowly, but nothing can be done other than bear it.
 
About two and a half hours passed when the abrupt change began to occur in the scenery. 
 
The wasteland begins to disappear, and greenery begins to appear; it is not green spots that appear now and then on the wasteland, but actual greenery.
 
Nakar forest is one of the few fertile places in the Renwell Region, and there are thirty-two baronies here.
 
I have to say, the prince is quite smart; he created thirty-two baronies from a small region; these baronies' sizes are of kingdom standards and not an imperial standard that was followed in the empire mainland.
 
Even by the Kingdom standard, they are quite small; the people will have to work quite hard to gain the class of Baron with such small land; some might not even be able to get it.
 
These baronies had not only provided him with immense wealth and rewards to his loyalists, but these will also act as a defensive barrier against the orcs of Oksall, especially the bandit orcs that would help Mirador Hold.
 
As will be able to focus solely on the threat from Navr, the undead kingdom.
 
Not to mention the food they will provide to the city. It is why the prince is providing people to the baronies and had explicitly ordered them to farm. I heard it was one of his conditions before granting the title.
 
Nearly all of Renwell region is a wasteland, and most foods need to be imported. If the baronies farm, they will supply the city's increasing population with food; even if the imports cuts for some reason, we will be able to manage without starving ourselves.
 
After just twenty minutes of carriage rides, we have come across the boundaries of two baronies. We did not have to travel through the baronies, as the road was common, and anybody could use it.
 
The prince had planned well; he had made a public road that could reach all baronies.
 
Carriages moved through the rough road in the forest; looking at the tracks, we were not the only ones who had come here; a couple of Barons had already come yesterday and today, while half of them had come together in a few days.
 
A few hours passed, and we took another break; we had come quite close to the barony; Lester had said it would take about two to reach, which was on time.
 
Phweeee!
 
I had relieved myself and was stretching myself when suddenly a sharp whistle rang through the camp, and immediately, the relaxing atmosphere disappeared; everybody became alert instantly.
 
The guards who were already in position became alert, with their weapons out and skills ready to activate any moment.
 
I also took out the rapier from my waist and strode toward the group of guards that already surrounded my uncle, Edwin, and Madam.
 
“Move away,” said a middle-aged mage as I reached the group; it couldn’t help but surprise me.
 
I looked at my uncle, Edwin, and Madam, who was in the center of the group protected, but to my utter shock, I saw uncle and Edwin looking at me expressionlessly while Madam simply looked away without saying any word.
 
I’ve got my answer, and it truly shocked me; even saying that would be an understanding. As with all their behavior, I did not expect this.
 
I know they do not like me and even schemed to get my share of the inheritance, but still, I held hope that there was a limit to their dislike. That when there are lives in danger, we will help each other, forgetting our petty differences, but it seemed like I was naively wrong.
 
At this moment, I truly understood that they had never really considered me as their own; to them, I am even worse than a stranger.
 
My father was a million times better than them; when the assassin attacked, he leaped at me to protect me.
 
Letting me in the circle is not going to cost them anything other than the space which they already have.
 
I stayed frozen there for a couple of seconds before a smile appeared on my face. I nodded at them and turned, acutely aware of how many people were looking at me and their pitying gazes.
 
“I hope you guys will protect me,” I said to my guards following behind me. “We will not sacrifice our lives for you, but we will protect you to the best of our abilities,” replied Jonah.
 
“That is more than enough,” I said with a smile.
 
A few seconds later, I stood with my back against the wall, with two of my guards in front of me, waiting for a threat, which I was desperately hoping was a false alarm.
 
“Stay alert; orcs are coming,” said Lester as he walked out of the tree with his horse, dashing all hopes of it being a false threat.

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