Chapter 274 Bandits on the Road
The sight from the Black Mountains was just incredibly gorgeous. It was much more beautiful than the other day because most of the mist had faded, and it was possible to see everything with clarity.
Damian and Morgana were sitting near the carriage's window, watching everything from above, seeing the forests and the rivers, hearing the birds singing, and also hearing strange noises in the distance.
All the others who were in the carriage did not say a word about the sounds. For them, it was something they heard every time they went on Black Mountain's trip.
"Thank you for the watch the other night."
The man who said that was the one who left that job for Damian. It was a person Damian wished to kill, and one he would kill no matter what.
"No problem. It's always nice to help others in need. I hope you had a good night of rest, as it might be the last," Damian said, smiling.
It was not a direct threat because, well, the journey through the Black Mountains was not an easy one, and perhaps they wouldn't get another peaceful night like the last one.
But for Damian, it was a threat. The man in front of him felt a shiver run down his spine, and there was something about Damian's smile that made him tremble.
"Yeah, let's hope things continue for the better in the remaining days. Anyway, thanks."
He did not want to stay there talking to Damian more than he should, so after saying those words, he left. Damian, on the other hand, could not wait to meet that man again.
"You scared him," Morgana said as she chuckled.
"He better be."
That was the only person who came to talk with Damian during the journey through the Black Mountains. As for the journey, it was a slow one. The path through the mountains was a dangerous one, and any mistake could lead to the carriage going downhill.
The best approach was not to rush and to accept that it might take longer than usual.
Roderik, someone who had done the same trip over and over again, looked calm and composed, but he often stared at Damian and Morgana, which made him feel weird.
At a certain point, after around two hours of traveling, the horses stopped, and a group of men wearing some type of leather armor appeared on the road.
Damian looked at them, and with one glance, he could tell they were bandits.
"What are they doing here? I thought bandits were not common in such a dangerous area," Damian said.
"Yeah, strange. For these bandits to survive here, then they must be decent or crazy enough to come here just to steal."
A bearded man riding a horse came forward, unsheathing his sword. "Stop!" he yelled.
The carriage stopped, and the guards Roderik hired went outside to confront the bandits. As for Damian and Morgana, they left the carriage too.
Not because they wanted to, but because the bandits demanded.
"Everyone, leave the carriage, or we will attack!" the bearded man yelled.
Aside from that man who looked like the leader of the bandit group, there were around 15 other bandits, all looking scary and with bloodthirsty eyes. They wanted to steal everything from the carriage and perhaps cut a few heads too.
Damian's gaze fell on all the bandits, doing his best to analyze their power. It was hard to get a definitive feel for their power, but the bandits didn't look that powerful.
They had similar power to the most powerful guards Roderik had hired, and these guards, despite being decent, did not have a chance against Damian. He was on a completely different level when compared to them.
Roderik moved forward to confront the bearded man. When the two got close to each other, Damian noticed some resemblance between the two. The scene when he met Roderik re-winded inside his head.
"Haha, brother," Roderik said. "Quite the show you are doing here."
The bearded man who was the leader of the bandits hugged Roderik, and the two exchanged some words and laughs. "You think so? I got better over the years, I think. Well, what did you bring this time for us?"
"Well, a few merchants came with me carrying their own stuff to sell, so we can put our hands into it. I also got a young man and a lady who might possess some treasures with them," Roderik said, moving his head to face Morgana and Damian.
All the hired guards were actually bandits in disguise! They moved toward the bearded man and started talking to not only him but the other bandits too. It was like a family reunion.
"Roderik," Damian calmly said, "what is the meaning of this?"
The bearded man looked at Damian and said, "I am surprised you still have the guts to talk. The situation is not looking good for you, young man."
Roderik placed his hand on his brother's shoulder and said, "Relax; let's not scare him. We can give him a quick death. Look, Damian, we need to do this to survive. Me and my two brothers. The Black Mountains are a dangerous place, you know."
'Three brothers!'
When Damian first met Roderik, he was fighting with another man for carriage services, and said man looked similar to Roderik himself, just like the bearded man who was the bandit leader!
Three brothers acted together to do bad things. Damian didn't feel angry or betrayed. For him, humans acted like that most of the time, especially in a place like the dungeon, where only the strongest survived.
"I see. Your scheme is well thought out. The Black Mountains are a dangerous place by themselves, so people missing and dying here are normal. But I guess you do this once in a while and wait some time before doing it again," Damian said.
"Correct. You're a smart young man. We wait at least one year before doing this tactic again, but the number of items and gold coins we get each time is worth the wait. We are rich! This might be one of the last times we have to do this," Roderik explained.
For him, there was not a single chance for Damian and the other merchants, who were also targets, to escape that situation.
"There's only one problem, though," Damian said as he crossed his arms, staring at Roderik with a mocking face. "A wyvern lost in a fight against me, so what do bandits like you have to offer in a fight?"
All the bandits went silent, and then a burst of laughter echoed through the area.
"Hahaha, you're so fucking funny," Roderik's brother said. "Right, brother?"
The bearded man stared at his brother, noticing how Roderik looked as pale as a ghost.
Roderik did not look calm after hearing what Damian said. The story of Damian running away from a wyvern always looked suspicious to him, but the idea of Damian killing a powerful wyvern was not something that passed through his mind, ever, yet when confronted by Damian, he started to think about the possibility, and it sent shivers down his spine.
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