To Silver City (2)

When Shui arrived at their meeting spot, Ragley was waiting with a carriage. The carriage itself was nothing special, but many passers-by couldn't help taking a second glance at the five-foot-tall beast it was attached to. It was only a beast spirit, so it wasn't strange to see it being used by him, but from the glossy scales, emerald-like eyes, and domineering aura, it was obvious that this beast spirit possessed dragon blood, making it far more valuable than its rank would suggest. However, perhaps what was even more surprising was the fact that Ragley maintained ownership of this beast despite the hundreds that would love to take it off his hands.

"Good, you're finally here. Can you drive a carriage?"

"I've never worked with one like this, but I have experience."

"That's good enough. Get on and let's get going."

Shui didn't think Ragley was ignorant of the beast spirit's value, but it didn't look like he trusted him much either. More questions came to his mind, but without revealing them, he sat at the front of the carriage and took up the reins. He wondered if he would have to gain the beast's respect first, but it obediently followed his commands and pushed forward.

Silver City was three days away on foot, but the shadows occupied a territory that would take them less than half a day to reach thanks to this carriage. Even so, they would likely have to camp on the way back due to the time they were leaving the outpost, but that was a problem for later.

Both sides of the road featured only short grassy plains so there wasn't much scenery to occupy Shui's sight. However, he couldn't let his guard down to secretly train so he tried to start a conversation.

"According to the job description, you'll be pointing out which shadows I should kill, are there any major differences among them?"

"Hmm, well I guess it's better I tell you before we reach there."

Ragley didn't seem pleased by the fact that he had to talk, but he was able to put aside his disgruntlement and start the explanation.

"As you should know, shadows are beings that are born from the flash of the chimera lord. We don't have enough evidence to call them true living creatures, so describing them as weak clones of the chimera lord would be the closest way of putting it. There doesn't seem to be any objective that goes into making shadows and even though their shapes seemingly follow no pattern, there's not much difference in their abilities. However, based on how long they've been active and the amount of flesh they've eaten, the nature of their vitality changes."

"So are you looking for shadows that have been active for long and have eaten other creatures?"

"That's right. It's hard to tell based on their appearance, but I've watched them long enough to make an accurate estimate once I get close enough."

"That's impressive. How long did it take for you to reach that level?"

"..."

Shui patiently waited for a response, but one never came. Shui understood that Ragley didn't want to share unnecessary details so he didn't resume their conversation. Alia was asleep so instead of bothering her, he stretched out his perception to keep an eye on any unexpected creatures interfering with their trip. Their journey was mostly peaceful, but around the time when Shui spotted a massive dark figure in the distance, he detected a presence on the edge of his perception. He had assumed that if they were attacked it would be by beasts or plants, but it was actually humans.

He didn't expect to see bandits here because of how dangerous the area was, but as the humans approached and he scanned them with his perception, Shui got closer to the truth.

"Mr. Ragley, I'm afraid there's trouble."

"What is it?"

"We're being approached from both sides. I'm sensing about twenty of them."

"Really?"

"I'm certain."

Ragley wasn't able to detect their number, but he could tell that they were being approached.

"This is odd. I didn't hear anything about bandits in the area."

"Perhaps they're searching for someone."

"Possibly. Do you think we can outrun them?"

"It'll be difficult, there seems to something up ahead. If I try to avoid it we'll lose valuable time."

"Hmm..."

Ragley repeatedly tapped his index finger on his knee as he tried to come up with a plan. From his analysis, the suspected attackers were all in the Earth Realm, same as the two of them, however, there was a chance that one of them was in the Sky Realm and was hiding. At this point, it was natural for him to be suspicious of Shui, but he figured one more enemy wouldn't change how dire the situation was.

"Should we attempt to retreat? I can stay behind to make sure you get away."

"You?"

"Yes. Oh, but don't get the wrong idea. I don't have any intention of dying."

Shui meant to say that he could ensure their escape without losing his life, but Ragley took it as he would flee once it was too dangerous. This couldn't be helped since Shui was hiding his strength to see what moves Ragley would make.

"...Slow down. We'll hear them out first, and if something goes wrong, I'll give you the signal to get us closer to the shadows' territory."

"Okay."

At this stage, Shui would be free to give up on this job since the situation was different from the description given, so Ragley was slightly surprised by his quick affirmation. Before he could verify his determination, one of the attackers called out to them. His face was visible, but it lacked the malice and greed expected of bandits.

"Stop where you are. Is Sir Ragley in there?"

Ragley audibly clicked his tongue with a darkened expression as he moved out from the carriage to the front seat where Shui was.

"What do you want?"

"We just have a few questions for you. We wanted to talk while you were at the outpost, but we couldn't find your residence and you kept ignoring our messages."

"Oh, so you're the crazy guys who kept sending me letters. Do you how troublesome it was to get rid of them?"

Ragley was being quite provocative, but the man facing him kept his smile.

"Is that so? In that case wouldn't it have been easier to simply respond to us?"

"Maybe, but I didn't want to."

"I, see. Well then I'll try to be quick. Could you tell me about what you've been researching lately?"

"Hmph, no. Why should I have to explain my research to you?"

"I see, that's quite an inconvenience then."

With a wave of his hand, the attackers got closer and more threatening. While Shui wondered what Ragley would do next, a red pill flew at the leading attacker. The pill moved fairly quickly, but the attacker evaded it without changing his smile. However, he failed to follow up on it.

The pill landed in front of one of the approaching attackers and exploded, sharing vicious flames which spread like a contagious virus. At the same time, Ragley slapped his hand on top of Shui's, signaling that it was time to make their escape.