chapter 28

Here's the corrected version with grammar improvements:

On an empty road, a cart made of wood could be seen, pulled by a black horse. A brown-haired boy was driving the cart, accompanied by two girls—one with silver hair and purple eyes, and the other with red hair and a hint of green in her black eyes.

It was evening, approaching nightfall, so Alex and his party decided to camp there. They cleared some area and set up camp.

"*Phwwwwwht*," a sound of a whistle echoed, and a bird landed on Alex's shoulder. Alex had tasked Flema with checking for any dangers from the sky and alerting them. With her help, they had avoided many dangerous places in the forest.

Alex then offered some meat to Flema. Afterward, Alex started preparing their tent and setting some traps while the girls cooked dinner.

"Master, I want to take the first night duty today," Pia said.

"Okay, then I will take the second," Ayelet responded.

"Fine, but you two be careful and wake me up at 3 AM," Alex instructed.

As usual, Alex slept after 9 PM. Ayelet slept snuggled against him while Pia kept watch for any danger. Near midnight, Pia joined Alex in sleep, and Ayelet took her place. After 3 AM, Alex took over for the night lookout.

When Alex saw the sun peeking over the horizon, he began packing their belongings, prepared breakfast (soup with some meat), and woke them up.

"Master, just 10 more minutes, please," Pia requested.

Alex looked at them, embracing each other while still asleep. After some time, both girls woke up and washed their faces.

"Master, when will we reach the next town?" Ayelet asked.

"According to the map, we will see the town Barter tomorrow," Alex replied.

"Master, what type of town is it?"

"I don't know much, but from what I heard during our previous stay, it is a town built by merchants. Luckily for us, we can buy some supplies for our journey."

"Master, can we buy some wheat flour there?"

"Ayelet, are you tired of eating meat for three days?"

"Yes, Master. Bread becomes tough after a few days, but if we buy flour, we can bake bread."

"If we all agree, it would take at least 2 hours to make bread, so no, we are not buying flour. We will just buy bread for a few days, okay?"

"Okay," both girls replied.

After cleaning up, they resumed their journey, and Flema resumed her duties. As they neared the town, they encountered more people. They kept their distance but couldn't avoid them when a group of five merchants was attacked by a low D-rank flaming salamander.

Alex knew that if they avoided the salamander now, they might be ambushed by it later that night, so he decided to help the group of merchants.

In the merchant group were two mid E-rank mercenaries and a peak F-rank merchant with two initial E-rank slaves. The mercenaries kept the salamander at bay while the slaves protected the merchant.

Alex shot an arrow enchanted with stun at the salamander's head, but it had no effect due to its tough skin. He then prepared another arrow with a fireball and shot it at the salamander's eyes, which it narrowly avoided. Both girls joined in the frontal battle, Pia with her one-sided sword and Ayelet with a spear.

Despite their efforts, the salamander proved tough to deal with. Alex continued shooting arrows that embedded into its skin. After several shots, the salamander began to feel the electric current, which irritated it further. Eventually, its front right leg began to hurt, hindering its movements.

With many shallow cuts and embedded arrows causing pain, the salamander's movements were increasingly hindered. The combined assault of both girls and the three men from the merchant group persisted.

After around 30 shots, the arrows started to seriously hinder the salamander's movements. Alex then switched from his bow to a sword similar to Pia's and engaged in a frontal onslaught.

In a few more minutes, they managed to kill the salamander. Its body bore hundreds of wounds, leaking blood, which Alex began to collect in containers.

"Excuse me, my name is Ranold. Are you kids traveling toward Barter town?" the merchant asked.

Looking toward him, Alex answered, "Yes, we are students traveling toward Barter town."

"Students, you say?" Ranold glanced at the three of them and continued, "Do you mind if we travel with you? One of our mercenaries was killed in the previous fight, and it will take us at least another day to reach there."

"Sorry, sir, but we cannot travel with you. I hope you understand," Alex declined.

"Okay, then you can keep the salamander. We didn't have space for it," Ranold said.

Alex was doubtful but proceeded to skin the salamander. After storing most of the useful parts in his pouch and cart, he called Flema and instructed her to keep an eye on the merchants' whereabouts.

Flema found them and circled around them in the sky.

"Ayelet, Pia, I think we should take a different route and travel at night," Alex suggested.

"But why, Master?" Pia asked.

"Because the group of merchants didn't continue on their way but are ahead, waiting in the forest near the road."

"But why would merchants do that? We didn't provoke them," Pia queried.

"I think the merchants are after us, Pia. Am I right, Master?" Ayelet inferred.

"Correct, Ayelet. They will probably attack us at night."

"Master, why not ambush them? We know their positions, and it will be dark in two hours," Ayelet proposed.

"Hmm, okay. Nice suggestion, Ayelet," Alex acknowledged, rubbing her head as he saw Pia pouting.

"It's not fair."