Chapter 857: 854: Prelude to the Journey

"We can't guard such a large caravan." Krune's words caused the lively atmosphere to freeze up. Numerous glances shot his way, with some of them concealing a hint of killing intent. Krune didn't react to these responses, silently noting the directions where the killing intent came.

He then looked around, mentally counting the number of carriages and the people that were part of the caravan. "120 carriages and almost 2000 people. How can four teams guard so many people against harm?"

"Are you scared?" A feminine voice resounded soon after as a tall lady arrived. Her every step caused the ground to slightly tremble in response, for she had a giant stature, surpassing 3 meters. "You can drop out if you're scared."

"Look." Krune made eye contact with the lady, craning his neck high. "I don't mean to be rude, but four teams can't defend so many people while protecting the goods from damage."

"I understand your concern, Sir Krune." Seeing that the situation was about to turn volatile if he delayed any longer, Trivar stepped in immediately. "But, this is the number of mercenaries we hire during every travel, just so you know."

"How do you even defend yourself from danger, then?" Krune was confused as he asked, unable to understand why they were behaving as if it was normal. If they were moving as a traveling troupe, then only having four mercenary teams for protection would be far from enough.

After all, as long as the people huddled at the center, the teams could somehow cover them all. But that wasn't the case here. There were 2000 people each going about their tasks in the caravan. They comprised cultivators and demon beasts in human form, most of which were at the peak of the Godly Fusion Realm.

There were 120 carriages. Each carriage was 20 meters long and 10 meters wide, so it was apparent the length the caravan could reach. Ideally speaking, having one mercenary to guard a carriage was the best. If one stretched it out, at least one mercenary per three carriages was the minimum requirement.

After all, their mission requirement wasn't protecting the people alone. They also had to safeguard the goods that were being transported. This was the reason for Krune's outburst.

"Actually." Trivar smiled wryly in response, pointing at the demon beasts. "They're precisely the reason why we hired so few mercenary teams. The moment we spot a bandit group, unless we have no other choice, we would usually take flight."

He chuckled awkwardly after that, waving his hands to reduce the tension in the atmosphere. "Most of the times, we would fly away from danger. And in cases where the bandits could still catch up even if we flew away, we'll just abandon a carriage. They always stop after that."

"Wouldn't you be making a loss in that case?" Krune frowned as he thought about it.

"Not really." Trivar shook his head. "They're what we call dummy carriages. They're filled with counterfeit goods. Only an experienced merchant can tell them apart from the others. The bandits wouldn't have someone like them in their ranks. Even if they did, it would take time to inspect and verify whether they're actually real or counterfeit. During the time they do that, we would have long escaped."

"So, you won't engage with the bandits." Krune nodded.

"Yes." Trivar smiled. "Fights would cause the goods to be damaged. But in cases we can't avoid such fights, our mercenary teams are strong enough."

He then said with pride, introducing the man with a bulky frame that walked in, carrying a battle axe. "This is Yuric, the leader of the mercenary team, Ink Sword. He's at the Fourth Stage God Core Realm while his deputy is at the Second Stage God Core Realm. The remaining 8 team members are at the Ninth Stage God Foundation Realm. Even among E Rank mercenary teams, they're the cream of the crop."

"Nice to meet you, Krune." Yuric smiled after that, treating him as an equal. "Having a third cultivator in the God Core Realm is reassuring in this trip. It makes my job easier, haha."

His words shocked the tall lady, causing her to inspect Krune's cultivation base with her divine sense. She then saw that he was only in the First Stage God Foundation Realm, retorting immediately, "Enough with your nonsense, Yuric. He's only at the first Stage God Foundation Realm."

"I'm only in the God Foundation Realm, Yuric." Krune let out a wry smile. Even though the tall lady had made a bad impression on him, he wasn't the type to lie. 

Yuric gazed at the tall lady before saying, "Xula, I told you many times to not judge a person's strength based on their cultivation base. There are numerous ways to become strong than just relying on your cultivation. Krune here defeated Lotaro in a single hit. That makes his battle strength equivalent to a God Core Realm cultivator." 

"He defeated…Lotaro?" The tall lady frowned as she asked, "Who's…Lotaro?"

"He's a new mercenary at the God Core Realm that recently joined." Yuric sighed as he continued, "You should at least know the new faces that would become E Rank mercenaries soon."

"He must have cultivated like a pig to be weak enough to be defeated by a God Foundation Realm cultivator," Xula glared at Yuric as she spoke. "And, what do you mean by three God Core Realm cultivators? Since you judge based on Krune's strength, shouldn't it be four God Core Realm cultivators? Come, let's fight. I'll beat the crap out of you this time."

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Seeing Xula's still-raging fighting spirit, Trivar had to step in once again. "Please, we're going to depart now. You can fight to your heart's contents once you reach Hworn City."

"Hmph." Xula snorted after that and began to walk towards the carriage in the end. She met up with her team of four and began discussing their preparations.

Once again, the place resumed its lively activities as cultivators rushed to and fro, carrying goods safely before packing them within the carriages to ensure they wouldn't be damaged. Items that Krune had never seen before moved one after another into the carriages that his head spun a couple of seconds later.

"Please follow me." Trivar looked at Krune and the Silver-Winged Mouse couple, beckoning them to follow him as he trailed through the long line of carriages. Along the way, they saw a stable of sorts where a certain group of demon beasts was being fed and cared for.

Cultivators bathed them, inspected their health, and attached reins to them at the end. They also made the demon beasts wear specially made soles, a One-Star God Foundation Realm equipment. It seemed to help with long-distance running. 

They then attached headgear covering their mouths, preventing them from biting on an unsuspecting traveler. After that, they would place over the reins an armor that covered their vital areas.

"Wow, so many preparations," Diana remarked as her eyes glistened. 

"These demon beasts are called the Zenith Pluggers. They're what every merchant desires to have. Upon maturity, they reach the Ninth Stage God Foundation Realm. They can even fight pretty well. Also, among all the demon beasts in our continent, the Zenith Plugger is the best at defending itself from harm. They're also easy to maintain and cannot be tamed a second time." Trivar laughed boisterously, showing off his accumulations. It was the same as men showing off their luxury cars on earth.

The Zenith Plugger was 12 meters tall and 19 meters long on average. It had a large snout and a short but flexible neck. Its curvy body was streamlined to allow faster movement while its four legs were strong and stable. Its frame was also quite wide, so even if someone hit it on its sides, most likely nine times out of ten, it wouldn't lose balance. 

Seeing Krune checking it out, the Zenith Plugger exhaled a powerful gust of air that caused mud to fly and cover the clothes of the working people. They unanimously shot looks at Krune, with some of them on the verge of crying.

"It's awkward, brother," the Zenith Plugger spoke with a gruntled voice. "I cannot assume human form until this trip ends."

Sure enough, it also had sentience, like all demon beasts in the God Realm.

'Bro, I had just taken a bath.' One of the workers wiped his tears as he saw the mud reach his knees. His clothes looked like they had experienced an apocalypse. He slapped his pocket, watching muddy water pump out from it. Sulking, he walked away to take a bath.

"They don't like it when you look at their eyes. Their bestial nature increases when in their demon beast form." Trivar then led them to a carriage. "This is carriage number 80. There are rooms within for you and your team to stay. It's not much, but we have made sure to make it comfortable. Your task is to defend carriage number 40 to 79 from danger."

Krune and the other two in his team nodded and entered the carriage, noticing that it was wide within. There was a meter-wide path in the center for walking, acting as a corridor of sorts while four rooms were on either side. The first room on the left had Krune's name stuck on the door, while the first and second rooms on the right had Diana and Vardin's names, respectively. 

Krune entered his room, noticing a foldable bed placed on the right. If he wished to, he could fold it into the wall, giving him more space within. The room was three meters in length and two meters in width. It was more than enough space considering they were on a journey.

Krune extended his divine sense, noting that it was blocked by the formation installed in this place. He then used his mental energy scan to check the other rooms, noticing that at least three people were within a room. Bunk beds were installed for them to rest.

Krune sighed after that, realizing that they were treated better since they were mercenaries and were commissioned to protect the caravan. The end of his room had another door that, upon opening, led to a balcony of sorts. A table and chair were placed there, allowing him to stare at the surroundings while traveling.

It was also installed for the mercenaries to rush out of the carriage immediately upon detecting danger. 

Trivar's shout resounded throughout the area as the demon beasts were harnessed to their respective carriages, causing them to tremble once. "Here's to a profitable journey!"

"Yeah!" Everyone among the caravan shouted after that in high spirits.

"It's starting." Even Krune felt excited as the carriage started to move. This was his first journey in the God Realm. He was anticipating what he would be witnessing from now on.

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