Chapter 387: Got a Bead on the Ambush

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Aside from being incredibly loud and annoying, the ice magic the carriage driver was using to create a small bridge over the sand, to enable smooth travel, was at least cooling down the passengers in the back so it wasn't all bad. Carriage drivers in Xasca typically learnt this magic, or something similar with, say, the wind pillar, and were well versed in making the journey as quick and comfortable as possible for everyone involved. No bumpiness, less heat, and no chance of getting a wheel stuck somewhere that would wind up being troublesome. This magic-aided approach also prevented quicksand from being too much of an issue as only the camels pulling the carriage would fall in, making it easier to rescue them without the drivers first having to save themselves. The camels were usually trained with optical magic to spot such pitfalls in advance so such a thing was unlikely anyway. Ignoring the monster, and excluding sand boats which would leave a hole in your wallet, this was undeniably the best way o travel for ninety percent of people in this region and the caravan leaders / carriage owners always made good money from renting their services. The person in charge here, though, was just someone who waned to get to the Riddlemyd and was allowing everyone else to hop aboard his carriages (the other ones were being driven by clones). He was a businessman who sold fabrics that were neatly piled up along the middle of the carriages, which meant nobody had any foot room to wriggle around with, but they couldn't complain because it was either this or walking through the desert instead.

Loudmouth had been grumbling to himself this whole time about... Well his misfortune earlier, obviously, but he did eventually get over it and direct his attention the anomaly he was curious about sitting to his left, Ares. Extremely capable cultivator despite his low cultivation, could transfer memories which was an incredibly rare skill, and was a completely unknown individual in Xasca so he was probably from abroad. He had a pale complexion under the hood so he must have been new here... But someone like this would surely have made a big splash arriving? The scavenger wanted to probe so he started up a conversation in a rather rude fashion as per his standard method. "So who the hell are you?" He was annoyingly close to having just spit on Ares but thankfully he wasn't so ignorant of his foul mouth that he allowed it to happen. Ares was tempted to knock this guy out right now and kidnap him without going through the hassle of tolerating him first but he held his hand for now as capturing multiple scavengers in the long run was just better.

"Just a traveller from afar looking to conquer the Riddlemyd in my spare time." Not entirely true but also not entirely untrue. The Riddlemyd had been the primary attraction when he set off, it's just that other things had come up that required more of his attention since. He was definitely trying to get to the end of the Riddlemyd place and claim rewards, though, so no matter how arrogant or ridiculous his claim was it was undeniably the truth. He figured saying this was still better than telling the scavenger he was on holiday because then it would sound like he was lying no matter how true it was!

"Pfft. You? Conquer the Riddlemyd? That'd be something..."

"Well I can't see you doing it?"

"You!... Tsk..." The scavenger realised he couldn't afford to pick a 2 vs 1 fight here in the middle of nowhere because his backup was still a decent distance from here. The kid had a terrible tongue, capable of whipping others with brutal honesty, and the scavenger wanted nothing more than to cut it out right about now! Still, he had to be patient so he tried taking a different route through this conversation. "The Riddlemyd is dangerous and not a place to play around in. Just because you can beat a few steppers doesn't mean you're going to walk out of that place alive once you step too deep in. You can be confident out here all you want but when you get locked in a room with something you aren't capable of felling I hope you remember this conversation. I've lost countless comrades in that hell hole so make sure the people who care about you are informed you're probably going to disappear forever soon. Who knows, maybe even that treasure you're wearing will find its way into a scavenger's hand?" He was referring to the Zephyr as, even at a glance, anyone could tell it was really good. Above average as far as treasures went for sure. What he was being more subtle about was how he was interested in getting his hand on it!

By 'a scavenger' he clearly meant himself! And he never explicitly stated that a scavenger would have to take it off his corpse 'in the Riddlemyd'. He was definitely planning on killing Ares in the middle of the desert and taking his gear. He seemed pretty confident so, chances are, this guy wasn't the head honcho of this operation. He was nothing other than bait placed here in case he was found out, and things went wrong, so as not to waste the scavengers' man power on an aborted mission. He was disposable, essentially, and there would be far stronger people than him joining in on the ambush. The only real question now was how many people were there and what was their average cultivation level? Ares didn't much care because even twenty or so transition realms couldn't feasibly stop him at this point but he was still curious what kind of man power they were packing. Twenty transitions was ridiculous because who on earth could spare that many powerful cultivators in all of Sheryashka? The C.O, maybe, but even then it wouldn't really be a casual force sent to rob a caravan in the desert. Still, if the scavengers sent out even more than one then the scavengers might actually be a rather annoying organisation to deal with because they weren't completely made up of fodder.

Digger was not an accurate representation of their combat specs at all. Then again Drai did mention the 'tool' wasn their real heavy hitter... Maybe the tool would show up here? Probably not though as he was Digger's right hand man and, unless this was all about getting revenge on Ares for digger, 'tool' had no business getting involved in small scale crap like this... At least if his position was as important as was described to Ares, at least. He would be, predictively, needed to near-constantly guard the base from all the dangerous monsters lurking about and this was doubly true f their base was actually in the west. Long story short, a lot of information could be surmised from this grunt because he wasn't careful with his words and / or attitude at all. He was a terrible pick for this job but there were likely no better options. Yes the higher brass of the scavengers were almost definitely smarter on average but the grunts were still just corpse pick-pocketers with no better options in life. They were hardly skilled in subterfuge, undercover activities, or infiltration. They simply acted like their usual brash selves while following orders and hoped for the best.

"Thanks for the warning but I think I'll do just fine." Ares wasn't really interested in talking with this guy anymore because the conversation was inevitably going to be a bunch of pointless probing on his end of things. That being said, despite Ares turning to face the other direction, the loudmouth kept asking questions as he refused to take the hint.

"What magic do you use? I didn't see any mana around you earlier..." Maybe he was suspicious of Ares or maybe he was really curious for the sake of making the ambush later easier to pull off without a hitch. Either way, Ares had no obligation to tell him the truth about this.

"I use darkness magic a lot." Ares swirled a black ball of mana in his hand and crushed it after successfully proving he was capable of actually wielding the magic he said he was. It was the Prowler enabling this but that wasn't something the scavenger had to know and there was no way he would expect some random kid to have an enabler... Although Ares did actually have two on him right now... "It's rather fitting, don't you think?" Ares really did have the look for darkness magic currently with the hood and the scythe he wielded earlier. It was all very edgy and thematically appropriate which the scavenger couldn't help but agree with and nod along to while trying to hold back a laugh. He must have thought Ares was some kind of emo or something but he could have his misunderstandings as they didn't bother Ares. Regardless, the scavenger seemed to be content with Ares' answers for now and left him alone. Anyone smarter than him would have still had a bunch more questions but he seemingly couldn't come up with any to save his life. Of course Ares would never let himself be cornered in an interview anyway but he really hadn't been pressured to come up with excuses for his behaviour or strength at all!

Easy stuff like this every now and then was nice as he could go back to relaxing and pressurising the Converter. He was actually currently in the midst of doing both the Converter and the Deep Blue simultaneously because he didn't want to stop working on his Converter and potentially reset his progress. Pressurising the Deep Blue was important, though, so he chose to try and do two at once which was an endeavour that wasn't easy but definitely worth practicing for the sake of improving his efficiency in the future. It meant they'd take a little longer overall but he didn't have to give up on the Converter halfway through or wait 'till he was done to start increasing the power of the Deep Blue. Ares was practicing with the latter, and getting pretty familiar with it, so it outputting stronger arts on average would be a great boon in this environment. If nothing else he constantly had access to clean and satisfying water to drink everywhere he went. The taste of the water from the Deep Blue scaled with his cultivation, and the quality of the treasure, so pressurising the Deep Blue meant the water he was able to summon on demand was fresh and clean beyond belief, enough to leave what felt like a chilly breeze in the mouth of anyone who drank it. It couldn't compare to Mako or Serene's bloodline water but that was an impossible ask from just about anyone or anything. Their water was truly unique after all. Long story short, Ares had to constantly divide his attention between two different treasures and he needed to concentrate a fair bit for that so he appreciated the peace and quiet from the scavenger.

"Ms Arla!" The carriage driver called out to the fellahin lady, as he'd presumably overheard her name during the greetings before Ares arrived, and it sounded like there was trouble ahead. Probably a monster of some sort and so he chose to rely on the cultivator in his caravan that seemed to be the most consistent and friendly. She was a known variable with a reputation as a fellahin that was safe to assume meant she was the correct choice for just about any given job compared to unknown Ares, flip-floppy Aejaz, and the loudmouth. It must not have been anything too serious, however, because the driver didn't sound like he was scared nor was he asking for multiple cultivators, it was jsut an inconvenient roadblock of sorts. Nonetheless, out of curiosity, Ares poked his head past the white tarp keeping the sand out of the carriage and observed the roadblock in question, a giant scorpion!

These were the gold standard as far as Xasca monsters went. Fairly common, not weak nor were they strong, usually appeared in packs of more than one, and weren't particularly great or bad at any one thing. All-rounders that were simple but effective, that was what they were. As for their size, the word 'giant' was a bit of an exaggeration. Sure compared to a normal scorpion they might as well have been scorpion Gods but, compared to other monsters Ares had seen, they weren't anything special. One on its own was about half the size of the carriage Ares was riding in but, to be fair, their size varied a lot according to the notebook. Some of them could even grow up to be so big they could live in the western side of the desert and not be bullied by everything else around there. As for how big that entailed them being... Maybe about twice the size of a standard house? That wasn't much for the west of this desert but it wasn't the worst thing in the world either, especially if it was a variant of the giant scorpions that possessed poisonous stingers as that would help them take on bigger predators. Not every scorpion in Xasca was giant, not all of them were medium sized, and not all of them were tiny. There was a decent mix between the three but, typically speaking, you were more likely to see a scorpion of the size Ares was currently seeing than anything else. He watched the fight between them and Arla for about ten seconds and got bored due to a lack of interest because there was nothing unexpected about the scorpions at all. They swiped their limbs at foes and tried occasionally poking with the stinger or biting with their teeth if they were close enough. Some could apparently use earth magic and dive under the sand / flick magic at people but none of the ones here were able to do such a thing so back into the carriage Ares went.

Another ten or so seconds later and the six scorpions that had tried to hunt fleshy prey had been turned into roadkill. Actually, some people in Xasca liked cooking these things and eating them because they tasted like bull meat. Something about growing to this size gave them a real tender mouthfeel. They were also commonly eaten around fireplaces by people stranded in the desert because it was a good source of plentiful nutrition that was otherwise hard to come by and, though Ares was curious, if he really wanted a scorpion for lunch he could come out and hunt one whenever. He'd already eaten his fill back before setting off so the twin headed vultures could peck away at this afternoon snack Arla had so generously left them... Although whether that was a good thing or not for the vultures was another matter. Their heads would frequently fight over food and sometimes they outright committed suicide by pecking each other to death. Hardly a functional relationship but Ares shouldn't be one to talk what with his constant bickering and brawling with the Adaptative Shot eagle as that was essentially just two birdbrains doing the same thing when it came right down to it. Actually, it had been a while since Ares summoned either the eagle or Rox and so he figured he should invite them to eat some of the local delicacies tomorrow maybe. Rox because he deserved it and the eagle because if he wasn't fed he wouldn't work! There were plenty of airborne enemies in Xasca and, though Ares could deal with it himself, if he kept running into the weaker ones it would be far easier to switch off his brain and shoot the eagle up into the air to let it deal with them instead without any hassle.

Arla rejoined the Caravaggio and hopped back into the same carriage to keep an eye on the loudmouth. Ares could also do it but he... To put it politely, had a few screws loose. That was the impression she got of him and she wasn't wrong either so maybe keeping a watchful eye on the target herself was for the best... She had checked the other carriages nearby before returning and the people within seemed to be content enough and didn't need anything. She was behaving like a leader way more than the scavenger but nobody commented on it and the caravan set off again. This time it really seemed like the journey was going to be smooth sailing from here until the Riddlemyd but Ares, Aejaz, and Arla knew different so, when the scavenger wanted to stop the carriage about twenty minutes later, so he could go and answer nature's call, they were on high alert for the inevitable ambush headed their way. Ares was the first to spot it, without even leaving the carriage, thanks to his divine sense that could span a monstrous area around him when combined with Omniscience. He pointed the ambush units out to Arla who took a while to find them, much to her own dismay as she realised how vast the gap between her and Ares was, but she did eventually spot them. She had to really strain her divine sense to keep up with Ares' but it was worth it as knowing the position and number of attackers in advance would make dealing with them all far easier.

Still, there were a fair few scavengers, about fifteen, so taking all of them in alive was simply not possible. There was going to be blood spilled without remorse atop these shifting sands under the sweltering sun but that was life in Xasca at its core and the unfortunate reality of being a cultivator. Arla informed the driver in hushed tones so that he could hide inside the carriage and she swore that everyone would be safe and sound as long as they stayed put. Arla wasn't particularly great at defending stationary objects, like theses carriages, but Ares casually waved his hand and dismissed the notion that these people would get in the way at all as he could keep them protected perfectly fine by himself. If these lot became hostages then things would get ugly real fast but if Ares said he was on it then Arla would just have to trust in his confidence and hope he could back it up if need be. She still didn't know how strong he was exactly so he could have very well been blowing smoke here. Arla was only agreeing to this because she didn't have any better options to protect these people. Never had she been the carless type as she always preferred to do things she knew would succeed before even doing them so an unknown variable like Ares wasn't her ideal way of dealing with the situation... But it was the best she was going to get.

Arla and Ares stepped out of the carriage and yet the tarp took a second extra to fall back into place, almost as if a certain invisible someone had also crept out of it! Yes, Aejaz was being proactive and choosing to contribute to this showdown in his own way by assassinating anyone who wasn't paying attention. Again, humans were perfectly fine! If this was another stepper attack he would seriously hide back in the carriage! This was acceptable though so he borrowed the Prowler from Ares before he left the carriage and was now, ironically, on the prowl. In fact he would come into contact with the ambush unit before anyone else as there was some moron a bit too far away from the rest of the group that was easy pickings. Ares and Arla watched that man disappear under the ground, into a shadow, and that was that. He would never re-appear and nobody would ever know what happened to him in there. He probably had everything taken away from him in his last moments, even the magic he relied on like his life depended on it, and was stripped of power, might, and hope before having a dagger plunged into his throat. Aejaz was extremely proficient nowadays and assassinating chumps like this was easy as ABC. He could even fight everyone here by his lonesome and take out at least half of them silently before his presence was even remotely noticed. Actually, given the circumstances, he might never be found specifically because they would mistake him for a stepper or something. Assassins with invisibility of any form were arguably some of the strongest cultivators around in Xasca for this very reason.

While Aejaz was treating this vast openness like a new hunting ground, the scavenger from before returned with a wide smile on his face. He seemed really eager to take Ares' zephyr given how long he stared at it before speaking to the owner. "You have no idea how long I've been waiting for this!" As he finished speaking, the ambushers walked into sight... Well about half of them did as this was just a bait to make the two cultivators feel cocky and overconfident. The rest were hiding behind dunes and ready to launch powerful magic the second these two let their guard down. Having seen these guys, and tracked them, in advance meant this was folly, however. Not that the loudmouth knew that. "Fucking fellahin, always getting involved in our matters. These lot..." The scavenger nodded towards the caravan. "... They were always getting robbed and strung up for the scorpions... But you? We'll take extra time torturing you... Arla, was it? It's what you do to us so we'll be sure to return the favour tenfold! And you, dumb kid who thinks he's king of the world. You aren't even gonna get to the Riddlemyd let alone conquer it. You can keep dreaming and fantasising in hell! I'll be sure to take good care of that treasure, though. It looks nice and convenient so I'll tell you what, hand it over nice and obediently and I'll make sure to slit your throat quickly instead of feeding you to the monsters. In fact, as thanks for showing me those hideous steppers, how about I feed you to them? There's a real biggun out in the west that loves eating people and absorbing them slowly so how about I introduce you two to each other and you can get nice and acquainted on a personal level? Or you could just make the wise choice and hand over what I want nice and easy."

Ares shrugged. "Ok. Here you go." Before the scavenger could comprehend the situation, Ares removed the zephyr, carefully bundled it up, and tossed the package over to him. The scavenger almost couldn't believe he was witnessing someone give up this fast because everyone else he'd done this too had at least begged for their life or sobbed uncontrollably for a while before making the decision they really didn't want to. This guy jsut sped through his options like he already knew what he wanted!

"Uh... Ok... Normally I wouldn't uphold my end of the deal, and feed you to monsters anyway because it's fun watching people squirm, but I'm... A little sad actually... I don't even really want to kill you in a slow way if you aren't into it and helping to set the mood..." He was disappointed! Where was the despair? The misery?! The woe and tragedy!? He'd been more upset when he fell on the stepper than this kid was now that he was about to die! He seriously wasn't worth the effort...

"Oh, that's a shame." Ares shook his head. "I was kinda looking forward to seeing the big stepper, actually. I was really hoping you would take me back to your base so I could clean it up and then go hunting for a bit... Guess I fumbled the ball by being so agreeable... What a blunder. Alas, the hard way it is."

Sigh

The scavenger looked really fed up. "So it was all an act? Tsk, kid... What part of 'you're dead' do you not understand? Xascan hospitality doesn't compare to whatever kiddy games you've been playing back at home, we aren't going to let you leave and you aren't going to beat all of us. You can beat a few steppers, great, but we can beat hundreds if us lads work together, ain't that right fellas?" At his motivational call, the other scavengers all raised their weapons and let out a short, synchronised war cry that was admittedly well timed and co-ordinated! Did they practice this when they were bored back at their base? It seemed like they really did...

"I guess hiding my face was unnecessary after all. I took the Zephyr off and you still haven't recognised me... Oh well, at least it was nice and cool for my head if nothing else. Maybe i'll even keep doing it later for comfort's sake when I'm roaming the desert. Ah but now I'm talking to myself. Scavenger loudmouth person, whatever your name is and was, it was nice knowing you... Not... But don't you think it's time you opened your real present? Sure I gifted you the Zephyr but aren't you interested to see what's inside it?" Ares' words stumped the loudmouth but he realised that the zephyr being neatly folded did in fact make it look somewhat like a wrapped present. Had this idiot hidden something inside of this bundle of feathers? The scavenger did some digging and found a bunch of small crystal balls with a strange golden liquid inside them... As soon as he laid eyes on them they started glowing bright and swallowing up all the nearby mana in the air like a greedy vacuum. He didn't know what was coming but he had a feeling in his gut that Ares was right and he was about to die. To his credit, his reactions were quicker than what most other people would be able to do in this situation, but he still wasn't able to throw the beads far enough away to prevent the inevitable as the Shock Beads kicked off this reverse ambush with golden flair.

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