Chapter 426: Ron, Bon, and Don

"I take it you're in charge here?" Ares spoke to the lead guard currently dismissing everyone else and shuffling them all away so that rebuilding efforts could commence on the damaged parts of the walls. The fellahin and various clans had no obligation to leave, and might have wanted to be nosy and listen in to the conversation, but a sharp glare from the guard sent them all scurrying like mice. Evidently this woman had a bit of sway around these parts and was considered to be an important enough person that following her orders was a given. She was in charge of presumably the largest checkpoint in the eastern segment of Xasca so it wasn't unreasonable to say she'd probably more than earned her position in one way or another. Was she the strongest person Ares had ever seen? Nope and not even close. But she definitely had a confident aura about her and she gave off a particularly trustworthy vibe. She exuded leadership qualities from every pore and she was quick to send everyone where they needed to be so that judgement was probably accurate. She'd likely worked with Xascan officials for many years and had her talents as an organiser seen clear as day resulting in a promotion to this current job. She didn't have to be the strongest person here so long as the strongest person here was wiling to listen to her and do as she commanded but that wasn't necessarily unlikely. Sometimes strong people had no desire to lead, much like how Diggers was the head scavenger even though his 'tool' did all the heavy lifting combat wise and could supposedly usurp the position if ever he wanted to. This was likely a similar scenario but people didn't actually seem to oppose this woman, like they apparently did with Diggers, which meant she had a good reputation and was probably reliable to a fault as well as fully committed to her role.

"Regrettably I am in charge..." The woman looked around with a wry smile. "Maybe if I weren't I wouldn't have a massive mess on my hands to clean up right about now and a truckload of paperwork waiting for me after this conversation. Still, it could have been a lot worse so I owe you gratitude for dropping in unannounced and sorting out our pest problem. I don't really know what you want from me or this wall but I'll do what I can to answer any questions you may have as that much is very doable."

"Ah, your cooperation is much appreciated. I guess first and foremost I want to know what was happening when I arrived? I'm going to go out on a limb here and assume none of this is normal? If you were invaded regularly by a small army I'm sure more people would be stationed here as a precautionary measure." Ares was referencing the complete lack of preparedness in general and not just the woefully insufficient numbers. This place was outfitted to deal with maybe roving scavengers and bandit assaults but an army? Definitely not. This recent event could not have been expected in the eyes of the people running this place unless there were some seriously shady cost cutting measures at play and people were pocketing security money when it was needed here instead.

"No... you're new to Xasca so let me give you a quick rundown of how things usually are as that way explaining the problem after will make more sense,.. Everything beyond this wall can be considered the 'east' of Xasca. From here on out there are many different monster dwellings and habitats where large gatherings of various different monsters live. Individually, the monsters here aren't as powerful as the monsters over in the west of Xasca are but they make up for it in sheer numbers. Plus the 'kings' and 'queens' of their habitats and species are usually fairly powerful... Well I say that but the scarab king wasn't exactly capable of putting up much of a fight against you... Even still, you're an exception and for most ordinary cultivators those kings and queens are a real big threat. There are also a few notable kings and queens that come close in power to western monsters, though, so don't go thinking they're all complete pushovers even for you. Anyway, I'm getting sidetracked...

All the different species have carved out their own land in the east and human settlements are few and far between but do exist. They tend to live in wide open spaces, in hastily built encampments, so that they can flee and leave behind anything cumbersome on the spot whenever an army approaches. If there's only a few small threats then they can hold them off and stay at their current position for a little longer. In this way humans over in the east can be considered skirmishers, constantly on the move but also always fighting to hold onto whatever ground they can for as long as they can. Warrior nomads, essentially. They take great care, though, because interfering with the wrong monster habitats, and stepping foot too deeply into them, can cause a real rage in the monsters. This results in stampedes of overly defensive monsters reaching out far and wide to trample anything and everything and repel the accidental invaders. This wall was built to prevent that. If someone stumbles across the scarabs' abode, for instance, it would hardly be fair on the resident of Xasca city, who have nothing to do with it, putting up with an entire army headed their way."

"So what you're saying is somebody pissed off the scarabs by running around in their territory and they came barreling into this wall because it's nearby and they were in a frenzy? Even still, shouldn't you all be more prepared for something like that if you know its a possibility?"

Sigh

The woman scratched her head and kissed her teeth. "Yeah, I think so too... But this situation is actually admittedly rather rare. Normally this never happens because the eastern dessert dwellers are all extremely familiar with the territory. They know how to avoid angering the species over there and the last time this ever happened was more than twenty years ago which just goes to show how delicately they handle their travel paths and how expertly they can weave around the agitated monsters without setting them off. Something must have gone horribly wrong somewhere but none of the major clans have reported anything so we don't know the specifics as of yet. We'll receive a report from those clans in a bit, in all likelihood, so all we can do until then is speculate... But there have been some talks about a group of scavengers roaming around carelessly over there as of late...

Before I get into that, though... Yes, I agree that we should have more soldiers and guards stationed here but, when the event you just witnessed is as rare as wining the lottery, it's understandable our higher ups don't want to waste money and manpower that can be better used elsewhere instead of on a minuscule possibility like the one that... Well, just happened. Under normal circumstances, if such a thing were to occur, we would receive word of the army's advance ahead of time from the eastern clan who set them off and we would all depart form the wall. It exists to slow down and inconvenience the creatures, encouraging the ones that can't freely fly or climb to turn back. Filtering through the gates at the multiple different intervals would take days for a large scale army, and the monsters would usually calm down by then and turn back, and the wall is pretty sturdy and only a king or queen could really break it down over time. Point being, most armies would arrive at the empty wall here and either waste days getting past it in full or just turn back and rampage elsewhere because there's nothing to do or gain here. None of the guards, civilians, or cultivators here should have been in any danger if we evacuated it's just that we heard nothing about this incoming calamity.... Which makes me think it had nothing to do with the major clans, because they're adept at spreading word fast due to their nature of being always on the move, and that the scavenger involvement I mentioned earlier is accurate. 

Xasca is home to many tombs, and plenty treasures buried within them, and, if rumours are to be believed, those scavengers came across something pretty incredible. The scavengers in question have a bounty on their head and are a well enough known trio who are problematic at the best of times but, throw in the treasure they've been joy riding around, according to various testimonies, and it's not unfathomable they drove headfirst into a monsters' habitat which triggered all this. This gateway here that we guard just so happens to be the closest one to the scarab's nest so the full story is likely that the scavengers rode around in the scarab's home base, wrecking it in pursuit of more treasure, the scarab's got pissy and stormed outside, and we were just victims who got caught up in other people's mess... So I hope that answers your question at least?

If you want more specific information, about the lay of the land and where various habitats are, then I don't mind telling you or marking it on any map you may have. There are piles of treasures in each habitat but we do not permit ordinary adventurers from targeting large monster settlements to avoid setting them off. Still, there are smaller monster habitats that adventures are allowed to visit and there's plenty loot to be obtained there as well. What I'm trying to say is that if you, specifically as you're an exception, wish to go to a large habitat then you have permission on the condition you leave little to no survivors so as to avoid a repeat of what just happened. We don't extend this option to everyone, only those capable of wiping out armies single-handedly. The fellahin Juggernaut and Drai are the only people so far we've given permission to and Juggernaut is the only cultivator to have ever actually done such a thing in living memory. Ah but I'll warn you now, if you go treasure hunting in a large settlement and don't clean up after you will become an enemy of Xasca country-wide. There will be bounties for you in every city from top to bottom, no shop will do legal business with you, and everyone will want to murder you on sight. We might not have the strength to kill you but we have the determination to make Xasca uninhabitable for you for the rest of time if you selfishly dump an army on us due to your own laziness or greed, bear that in mid please... Though I personally don't think you would do such a thing, it's still something I should mention just in case due to the severity of the issue."

"That's fine, I understand where you're coming from... So let me get this straight. the east basically belongs to monsters? Adventures will go in to fight smaller groups and reclaim treasures lost to the eastern sands, buried in tombs and caves, but avoid larger groups so as not to set off armies and be held responsible by the Xascan government?"

"Precisely. That's the short version yes."

"Ok, before I ask about various locations, I want to double check something else first. You said the scavengers 'drove' into a monster habitat? Do you know what manner of treasure they found? If they're 'joyriding' then I take it this is some kind of vehicle we're talking about here? One of my wives is a vehicle fanatic so if that's true then I'll be hunting those scavengers up and down the entire east of the desert even if I have to annihilate every single army of monsters across the entire landmass. In exchange for letting me keep the treasure I'll hand over the culprits to you for punishment and that's about as good a deal as you're gonna get but it should work out well for both of us I think?"

"Ah, that would be swell. Naturally you can keep whatever loot you steal from them, I wouldn't dare try and confiscate it. Not only do I not have the power to do such a thing you're a guest of Drai. That's well enough known by now so most people will have to default to whatever demands you make due to your status and this is a relatively small inconvenience to the funds of Xasca city at best anyway. The treasure was found legitimately, and not stolen, so we have no business laying claim to it anyway. Even if we did originally own it would be a small sacrifice to pay to have those lunatic scavengers stop enraging entire armies! God only knows when the next one will come and I'm afraid there are only so many 'Ares' running around to stop them. Plus our other gates along the wall are smaller and have less staff so they'd be even more at risk than we were. We want to make an example of the scavengers to dissuade anyone from attempting something so foolish in the future and we would very much appreciate you bringing them in alive... Of course this is all conjecture for now, and there's no proof the scavengers did it, but I would happily bet money on it if asked. If you're willing to wait around for another thirty or so minutes we can verify it although, really, the scavengers need to be arrested regardless. If you're not interested in verification, and jsut want to head out, then you're free to ask about locations and then leave whenever you please. I hate to be inhospitable but I'm needed elsewhere to organise everyone's efforts so I'll have to answer whatever questions you have quickly and then take my leave. If you want to stick around for verification about the cause of all this then I'll have a subordinate inform you as soon as news comes."

"Alright, then I won't take up too much of your time. For now just marking any large settlements nearby ought to suffice as I can make sure the scanger trio aren't setting off any more problems near to the wall. I'll return another day to fill in more of the map and then maybe worry about treasure hunting but, as of this moment, that vehicle is my goal." Ares didn't realty have a proper map on hand so a simple piece of paper was all he could offer the woman. She hastily scribbled rough notes and messy boxes on the paper to show Ares where everything nearby was. The bigger the box, the bigger the settlement, so it was very easy to glance at and get a good idea of where everything was as the boxes were also named based on the monster that inhabited the area. "Thanks. I have thirty minutes to spare so I'll hang around in this rough area and wait for more info. Anything you can tell me about the culprits might help me figure out where they're headed and track them. Plus I'm interested in knowing more about them in case I need to fight them anyway so I'll bother your subordinate when the times comes if that's alright?"

The woman nodded. "Fine by me. I'll send someone knowledgeable about the trio as there's one particular busybody chatter who seems to know all the talk of the town and should be able to tell you everything you need to know. I'll take my leave now then and, once more, thank you for not just ignoring us and flying away. Many powerful cultivators tend not to care about the lives of weak people like us so I know how lucky we are to have been saved without you asking for anything in return." The woman gave one last nod and then headed off while barking orders at slow and inefficient workers to set them on the right track.

Ares spent the next half an hour going over the map to memorise it while occasionally lifting boxes and heavy objects with telekinesis to help the nearby guards and workers. He wasn't going out of his way to fix things for them but telekinesis from a seated position without breaking a sweat was really not a problem for him. He didn't want to get down and dirty, because he had no obligation to and had done more than enough already, but he felt guilty enough sitting back and relaxing in front of everyone that this was an acceptable middle ground compromise. There was one grumpy worker who complained under his breath about this behaviour but Ares heard it with his divine sense and dumped a chunk of heavy boxes near him to double his workload until he apologised on all fours profusely with tears in his eyes. Ares was not one for manual labour, especially not if it was to fix something he didn't even break. He was lazy at his core!

It's not like Ares wouldn't have helped more if he personally caused more damage but, other than the wall where the scarab king initially fell after having its head pierced, he'd actually been rather surgical with his explosives and only blown up the desert primarily. Long story short, there were some heroes who saved the day and then aided in rebuilding efforts, Ares was not that heroic and fell slightly short on the effort he was willing to put in! It might have sounded arrogant but somebody as powerful as Ares should realistically never have to do such menial labour ever. There would forever be someone lower than him in any imaginable hierarchy to take care of most tasks instead. Let's face it, Ares was a class above these people, that was the harsh truth. Ares could help fix things here, sure, but he could also fight an entire army on his own. One of these two tasks was impossible for everyone but him so it was simply proper allocation of work that he did what he could and they did what they could! Plus, and this was actually a major issue from his perspective, Ares couldn't become accustomed to doing everything himself.

If something similar happened in his sect one day, Ares would need to restrain himself and not rebuild it all on his own as the disciples and elders needed to learn to be self-sufficient. Part of Ares was being driven mad with how painfully slow the weak workers were, and he wanted to finish everything with a snap of his fingers, but he knew this was unwise! It was like feeing a stray animal, it would come back every day looking for food instead of finding more itself and learning to live in these conditions without external aid! Ares needed his sect inhabitants to learn to do stuff like this themselves and, though he was currently not in his sect, Ares needed to practice allowing people around him to do what they were paid or expected to do. He was a sect master and fundamental champion / saviour of the world now, not some street rat or random labourer working overtime for no pay. He couldn't besmirch his reputation and position by stooping this low. How pathetic would Heaven's Path look if their sect master was seen lifting rubble instead of officiating the allocation of resources in an office somewhere or, better yet, repaying whoever was responsible and decimating their opposition? How desperate would the sect have to be to get the sect master doing something so embarrassing? Yes Ares had the power to solve most issues the sect would ever face but he had other things to be doing that were more important! If he was always wasting his time on stuff other people could and should be doing then he would never have time for himself to improve the sect in his own ways. It might have sounded like an excuse not to work here and now in Xasca but Ares definitely believed ignoring these people's subtle glances to be important practice in its own way. He could not be swayed by this!

Regardless of the silent peer pressure, Ares waited around for long enough and eventually, roughly thirty minutes later as was predicted, a guard came over with a wave to indicate he was the person sent by the earlier woman. "Ah, hello. You wish to know about the scavenger trio correct?" The guard waited for Ares to nod before he carried on just in case he got the wrong person. "Right, well, first off, it was definitely them that set off the scarabs. A trustworthy clan were migrating through the area and caught sight of the whole debacle but were too busy fleeing to send us a letter... It's understandable, they must have been running for dear life after having an army appear suddenly out of nowhere right on top of their heads, but I also think we've suffered a fair bit as well here... Anyway, as for the trio, their names are Ronnie, Bonnie, and Don..."

"... Just Don?"

"Yeah..."

"Not Donnie?"

"You'd think so, but no."

"... Yeah, I'm gonna be honest, that bothers me and there's no way in hell I'm accepting it. From now on I'll be calling him Donnie. He can complain all he wants face to face."

"Ha, I think many people feel the same way... Anyway, their names aren't what's important. What truly matters is that they're considered prodigies of the scavengers. Most scavengers are barely-talented individuals who never got recognition buy this trio is slightly different. They were widely renowned as an incredible trio of Xascan cultivators and were even lined up to compete in the international... But, put simply, they're kinda insane I guess? Well they weren't bouncing off the walls or anything but I mean they were completely unpredictable in nature. One day they were all upstanding citizens and the next they were attempting to rob the palace in Oasis for no apparent reason. Naturally there was supposed to be a punishment for them but they fled the city and never looked back, joining up with the scavengers so they could continue their lawlessness freely without impediment or judgement. They value freedom and will often do things not because they want to but rather because doing it proves they have the freedom to do as they please to begin with. A rather weird sentiment to live by but it results in them being a bunch of wild and unruly thugs that extort money from the vulnerable one day and then give it all back three times over the next... Sometimes... Again, nobody ever knows what they're planning on doing, or undoing, and so they're basically a whirlwind of free-spirited nonsense. They're some of the strongest scavengers in the organisation and ride through the desert like kings because very few people can stop, let alone catch, them. Though Juggernaut was caught unprepared at the time, and it definitely wouldn't happen again, the trio managed to even escape from her grasp once. They couldn't beat her, naturally, but escaping? They're troublemakers who are quick on their feet so they can scarper before punishment catches up with them, put simply.

The trio don't really care much for the scavengers but their intentions and goals align more often than the trio's does with regular civilisation so there is a sort of true between them. They were accepted into the scavengers but are effectively impossible to order around. You could argue they're just scavengers in name only but they're treated as cohorts of theirs and there's an arrest warrant out for them all the same. Ronnie is the youngest brother and the most talkative of the three. Bonnie is the middle child and only ever speaks by kissing her teeth at people. And Don...nie is the quietest older brother but he's only really quiet in comparison to the other two and still talks plenty compared to a regular person... Even if only to tell his brother to shut up all the time... Anyway, they supposedly came across a vehicle treasure, a caravan of sorts, and it aligns with their nature perfectly as drifting over the sands without a care in the world is the kinda life they wanna live. It's not unsurprising they took their new treasure out for a test drive and accidentally wound up bothering the scarabs... I know a lot about them because they showed up in the east about a week ago and every single complaint directed at them has come to my doorstep so I've been inundated with their adventures in hassling other cultivators non-stop and would greatly appreciate some peace and quiet, if you catch my drift?... And can maybe catch theirs too and end this farce before it gets any more problematic... They're tough opponents but, then again, so was the scarab king so I take it you'll be fine. You've gotta be careful about letting them slip through your fingers though, that's where they excel."

Ares made a mental note of all this information but he wasn't done asking questions just yet. He still wanted to know their habits, their magic, any treasures they might possess, and where they were often spotted. He could add this info to his crude map the woman drew earlier and maybe piece together places they were likely to be and terrain they would prefer to hold like a hill or something based on their magic and talents. He was pretty into capturing them because he could maybe finally give Blo Blo a car! It wasn't going to be the greatest thing ever but it was better than nothing! Of course he still had the model car, and knowing her she'd value the sentiment of that gift over this caravan, but why not both? Both is good!