Curse Return: Swordsmith Start

Chapter 188 Thieves

Some intelligent groups of monsters, after several of their strongest individuals were instantly killed by the Yue people, realized that this was a tough nut to crack and retreated.

So although he thought he was just playing a point-and-shoot game, each shot was seen as a powerful magic spell by these people with low combat strength.

"It's fine if it's just for one day."

"Is that so... I see. You're actually a great mage?"

What is a Grand Magus?

"A mage who has reached the pinnacle of magic."

The saying goes, "One trick is all you need." Even if you only know one kind of magic, mastering it to the extreme can play a decisive role to some extent. Barrybadem seems to regard the Yue people as such.

"Well, it's just a matter of practice; after all, it's a life-saving skill."

"In any case, a magician like you who is not stingy with the use of magic is very valuable."

During the subsequent conversation, Yue Ren learned that among magicians, some people set themselves to be able to use only half of their magic power per day, and because they don't have much magic power to begin with, they can't do the same kind of easy continuous casting as Yue Ren.

For mages with poor physical strength, magic is the only reliable thing to do in an emergency, so in a sense it is a matter of course.

Barrybadem, perhaps because of his age, seemed to understand the significance of a magician retaining his magic.

However, he did not show any surprise at the lack of chanting, suggesting that he was not familiar with magic itself.

"It's good that you don't mind using magic, but just in case, you should conserve some. After all, there are four of us. For those monsters that can't attack us yet, you only need to deal with the targets I designate. Is that alright?"

"no problem."

Since the other party helped reduce the burden, Yue Ren didn't need to explain anything, since it wasn't anything life-threatening.

At night, the four of them took turns keeping watch.

Garbon set up a tent inside to rest, all by himself, while his guards stayed outside.

Well, since one side is the employer and the other is the employee, Yue Ren doesn't see any problem with it.

So, night watch is done in pairs.

Carmelita was the one who kept watch with the Yue people on the first day.

"Don't fall asleep."

"7

"Of course."

Even though it's night watch, staying silent in a completely empty space is incredibly boring.

So, while reading, I started chatting idly with Carmelita.

"They were a great help before."

"Helping each other is the right thing to do."

"Aren't you afraid of female nightmares since you're traveling here alone?"

"I also know a little healing magic, so it's okay."

"Oh, that's a real shame. I'd love to have a date like this with you sometime."

"...Sorry, my views on relationships are a bit different."

As mentioned before, in Bekarit's "female warrior" system, Carmelita is such a "female warrior".

Once they encounter a female nightmare, they will sleep with a male companion.

Of course, this practice makes it easier for women to get pregnant.

However, these female warriors seemed to regard pregnancy as an honor, and would return to their homeland with a large belly.

After giving birth, she entrusted her child to people in her hometown and continued to travel across the continent as a warrior. Carmelita had already given birth to one child.

The child born is raised by everyone in the village together, regardless of who the mother is; everyone raises the child together.

It seems there are also mixed-race children born to men of different races, but they are not treated differently.

Everyone must undergo the training to become a warrior, without exception. When boys and girls reach a certain age, they undergo a coming-of-age ceremony and leave the village to travel the world as warriors. It seems that once their bodies decline with age, they can return to the village to focus on raising their children.

However, it seems there are also people like Barrybadem who never return to the village and intend to live as a warrior until the very last moment of their lives.

These circumstances reveal that they do not have a marriage system and represent a completely different local culture.

After hearing Yue Ren's answer, Carmelita did not press the matter further.

Just like a warrior who doesn't really have any particular thoughts, she was simply stating her own attitude.

As for the rest of the team, "Big Knife" Dongte was a taciturn man.

He had a beard below his nose, was about thirty years old, and had dark skin covered with strong muscles.

He is shorter than Barry Badham, but their facial features are very similar.

They chatted briefly when they started keeping watch together, but he didn't seem to be the type to initiate conversations, the complete opposite of Carmelita, who would talk nonstop without being asked.

Out of interest in the culture, the Yue people took the initiative to strike up a conversation.

"That title is pretty cool."

"Because it was my great-grandmother who gave me this name."

"Oh? Isn't that how people naturally address you?"

The Yue man was somewhat surprised. He had thought that titles were something that were passed down by the public based on a person's performance. It seemed that this was not the case in this region.

"The names of the desert warriors were all chosen by my great-grandmother."

It turns out that the desert warriors' nicknames were given to them by the tribal chief when they first embarked on their journey.

People with great strength, like Carmelita, are called "mountain pullers" or "bone crushers."

People with exceptional eyesight, like Barry Badham, are called "eagle-eyed" or "eagle-eyed."

This kind of feeling allows you to immediately tell what a warrior is good at, which is a very interesting culture.

The closer the group got to the east, the more lush the greenery became.

I heard that if we continue eastward, we will reach a town called Jinkara, and the area to the east of the town is covered by a dense forest.

The desert and the dense forest are neighbors, what a strange continent. However, the Galban caravan did not go there. Instead, the group used the huge upright rocks as landmarks and changed direction, heading north.

About three days after changing direction, the group arrived at a street.

Although it is called a street, it has not been specially renovated; it is a road that many people walk on.

Compared to the sandy ground we've seen before, the ground here seems very solid, trodden down by people, giving a sense of security.

"Sir, there are thieves lurking further ahead. I think we can handle them, but what if the situation becomes critical?"

""

"I've already paid; you need to protect the goods!"

'

...knew."

Baribadham may have wanted to advise Garbon to abandon the goods and flee in the event of a crisis, but for Garbon, the goods seemed to be more important than life itself.

"Big brother, is everything alright?"

'

"You don't need to worry about Er Lengzi."

"6

Carmelita was called "the simpleton" by Barrybadem and Donte.

It's actually a derogatory term, because the word itself means "idiot."

"Magician, keep a safe distance from Galbon when you move. Donte, take good care of the camels, don't let a single one run away. You're in charge of covering the rear, you idiot."

"I'm going to scout ahead as I go. If I find anything that makes a sound, you must not miss it."

""

"Yes, brother."

"Yes."

"learn."

They signaled to each other, then formed a formation and advanced cautiously.

Although they are thieves, they basically use ambush tactics, so as long as the group discovers them early and takes a detour, they should be able to avoid them.

Barrybadem's reconnaissance successfully located the thieves' ambush position.

It is difficult to detect human groups using the Magic Eye, so thorough reconnaissance is necessary.

The troops took a long detour to avoid the enemy's ambush.

However, something went wrong.

Perhaps Barrybadem, who went ahead to scout, was discovered by the enemy and was being followed.

It's also possible that Barrybadem found the advance party of the thieves, while the main force was actually waiting on a roundabout route.

In short, they were attacked without their knowledge.

After taking a roundabout route, the others finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Whoosh! A sound of air being sliced ​​suddenly rang out.

The next instant, an arrow came flying, its target Dongte's heart.

Before anyone could react, a precise ice spike deflected the arrow.

At the same time, the camel next to Dongte was also hit by an arrow.

It was a rain of arrows.

"Run! Enemy attack! To the west!"

Barry Badham yelled.

Garbon had already begun his escape with his camels, and at the location Baribadham pointed out, someone was riding a horse down the hill.

Horses, yes, horses, men wearing sand-colored turbans rode on horseback.

"Sir! Forget about the camels! If we abandon the cargo, they might let us go!"

"Absolutely not!"

"Do you want to die?!"

"Protecting the cargo is your job, isn't it!"

"There are too many of them!"

Baribadem and Garbon were both shouting.

The camel that had just been hit by an arrow suddenly staggered.

Upon closer inspection, it was foaming at the mouth and collapsed after taking a few steps to the side.

The arrow was poisoned.

"Tsk! There are people behind me too!"

People on horseback approached from behind, and archers stood on the hills firing arrows in their direction.

Although most of them didn't hit the target, it seemed that a few people were more skilled and managed to shoot a few arrows into the vicinity.

The number of cavalry and archers they could see was astonishing—fifty... no, there must have been over a hundred.

Preconceived notions about the word "thieves" have led to misunderstandings; in reality, it was an army.

66

""

The Yue man looked back and was quite shocked to see a large wave of cavalry charging towards him.

"Yue people, run!"

Baribadum shouted from a short distance away, thinking that the Yue people had never seen such a scene before and were now stunned with fear.

"No, everyone, come behind me."

After saying this, amidst the puzzled looks of Baribadem, who was at the rear, and Carmelita, the Yue man raised a finger and pointed at the oncoming troops.

"Frost Nova"

Water vapor was first created in mid-air, forming a thick fog that spread everywhere and attacked the enemy, turning the surroundings white in the next moment.

In the blink of an eye, the surroundings were enveloped in white mist, and nothing could be seen.

Enemies with poor riding skills even began to lose their composure at this point, resulting in stampedes.

The thieves were still reeling from the anomaly that had just occurred.

However, the next moment, danger struck.

The world before me froze in an instant.

The area covered by fog instantly transformed into an icy blue world—or, to be more precise, into a world of ice.

Hundreds of thieves, along with all their belongings, were sealed away in ice.

The combination of "Fog" and "Freeze" creates an ice magic with power reaching the Emperor level.

After seeing all of this clearly, all the survivors present were stunned.

Those on this side stopped running away, while those on the other side scattered in terror.

The thieves realized they had met their match.

Seeing a few scattered thieves preparing to escape, Carmelita instinctively wanted to give chase.

"Don't go! Our mission is to protect the cargo and the owner's safety. Let's go, get out of here right now!"

Barry Badham, as expected of the most experienced player on the team, remained rational and calmly adopted the optimal solution even after realizing that the situation had been reversed.

66

..clear."

The crisis was thus averted.

From that moment on, the expressions of everyone in the team towards the Yue people changed, becoming extremely "respectful".

The group continued onward, and during a rest, Dongte made a special trip to thank the Vietnamese man, because if he hadn't stopped the arrow in time, he probably would have died.

The Yue people said it wasn't a big deal, since they were now colleagues.

What Yue Ren didn't expect was that Carmelita thanked him later. Just as he was wondering, Captain Barrybadem explained that Carmelita's previous child was Dongte's.

So that's how it is; the Yue people never expected it.

So it seems that even desert female warriors aren't immune to developing special feelings for a single man.

The only pity was that one camel died, the one that was hit by the first wave of arrows. The poison used by those thieves was very potent, and by the time everything was over, it was already lifeless and could only be buried on the spot.

The group continued their journey.

A few days later, the team arrived at the oasis, which served as a stopover for supplies.

Like the market I first saw, this place is also a market formed around a lake. It's not that the lake exists because the market exists, but rather that the lake forms the site.

In those groups dressed as warriors, there is indeed a female member, and they are all desert warriors.

The group found an open space in a corner and set up their tents.

During their stay in the oasis, it seems the guards can finally sleep in their tents.

"Barribadum, is it necessary to add more guards?"

Garbon was still somewhat shaken, after all, what happened a few days ago was a real test of his heart's resilience. To be honest, he had to admit he was lucky; if they hadn't hired the Yue people, they probably would have suffered heavy losses, if not died.

He had already planned to offer additional payment upon arrival at his destination. As a businessman, his mind told him that maintaining friendly relations with people like the Yue people was always the right thing to do.

"No, there's no need. I think it's better to go to La Pang with the current number of people and then hire new people when we get there. Anyway, we shouldn't encounter any more bandits on the way, and we have Lord Yue with us."

"I see, let's do it that way."