The stone road stretched forward once more, and Su Xiaoman, bearing her new duty, walked in the middle of the formation.
Severn raised his staff, and firelight flared from its tip, barely driving back the thick mist clinging to the stone road.
Ryan walked slightly ahead, his bowstring half-drawn at all times as his sharp eyes scanned the rotting leaves on both sides.
“The mist is thicker than before,” he whispered. “There's movement in the roots to the right.”
Damon immediately raised his shield, but only a few small, grayish-white bugs wriggled out of the pile of rotting leaves before quickly shrinking back into the mud.
Ryan chuckled. “Just some pesky bugs.”
Severn shot him a look. “Don't yell over nothing.”
“Come on, the atmosphere here is so depressing. If I don't say a few words, I'm afraid I'll suffocate to death first.”
Annoyed by the chatter, Damon tapped his shield against the stone pavement.
“Both of you, shut up.”
He raised his iron shield, staying alert to his surroundings, his gaze falling behind Su Xiaoman.
The wooden chests slid very slowly, yet they remained closely tied to the edge of her shadow.
She tried shifting half a step to the left, and the chests drifted half an inch with her.
The sensation was incredibly bizarre.
Even though there was nothing physically weighing on her shoulders, with every step she took, she felt a heavy burden pressing down, making it hard to breathe.
Ryan glanced back and couldn't help but say, “If you don't want to roll into the roots along with those chests, you'd better stop swaying around.”
Su Xiaoman glared at him. “I'm not swaying.”
“You aren't,” Ryan smirked. “You just look like you've got fleas.”
Xu Zhiheng was also watching those chests.
Unlike Su Xiaoman's terror, his eyes had already regained their calm.
The identity of the 【Acting Caravan Master】 could determine the direction of the entire team.
Since the rules recognized his decisions, he shouldn't let this authority go to waste.
Before long, another blurry shadow emerged from the mist ahead.
A half-rotted old cart lay tilted by the roadside, with five chests scattered next to it.
“Hold on,” Xu Zhiheng suddenly spoke up.
The team halted, and Damon frowned at him.
Xu Zhiheng raised the 【Acting Caravan Master】 wooden badge in his hand and looked at Reece.
“Go verify them.”
Reece stood still. “I told you, we can't just move ownerless cargo.”
“I'm not asking you to move them,” Xu Zhiheng said. “I'm only asking the Cargo Escort to verify the goods.”
Reece's face turned colder, but the wooden badge at his waist soon glowed faintly.
This meant Xu Zhiheng's command was valid within the rules.
Cursing under his breath, Reece walked over anyway.
He first flipped open the latch of the outermost chest, then pressed down on its corner with his scabbard.
After confirming there were no other anomalies with the chest, he lifted the lid.
The five chests were opened one by one.
Gold coins, red crystal ore, bottled herbs, beast bone materials, as well as various fabrics and ores.
He then walked around to the back of the old cart and discovered a caravan emblem.
The emblem was somewhat blurry, only barely showing a circular rose pattern.
Reece frowned and muttered under his breath, “It looks like the Rosalind family crest.”
After checking all the details, Reece quickly returned to the team and truthfully reported what he had seen.
“The goods belong to the Rosalind family, and they're genuine,” he said, looking at Xu Zhiheng. “But I suggest we only take one chest.”
Damon immediately nodded. “Take the most useful ones, like the ores.”
Ryan couldn't help but add, “I think the gold coins are the best choice.”
Xu Zhiheng's expression remained unchanged. “We must have it all. The appearance of cargo on the trade route might be a test for us.”
Reece sneered. “A test? Or are you just too greedy to let them go?”
Xu Zhiheng's face darkened, but he didn't blow up. “I am considering the rules. If these goods originally belonged to the caravan and we chose to ignore them, what would happen?”
Seeing that the others remained silent, he continued, “You all saw why Zhou Yi died just now.”
“Hoarding cargo leads to liquidation. What about abandoning cargo?”
Xu Zhiheng's gaze swept over the group, finally resting on Reece.
“Cargo Escort, can you guarantee that leaving them behind won't trigger any rules?”
Reece's face fell. He certainly couldn't guarantee that.
Normally, when escorting cargo, as long as he stuck to his bottom line, he could successfully complete the mission.
But there were no normal rules here, only incomprehensible, disgusting constraints.
Seeing his silence, Xu Zhiheng felt a bit more confident.
He turned to look at Milo. “Witness, remember to record this.”
Milo's grip on his wooden badge tightened as he asked in a raspy voice:
“Record what?”
Xu Zhiheng said, “The Acting Caravan Master discovered scattered cargo, and after the Cargo Escort verified them to be correct, decided to take them all.”
Reece's expression soured further. “You certainly have quite an appetite.”
Xu Zhiheng said calmly, “I am merely fulfilling my duty.”
Rena stood to the side, her gaze sweeping over the scattered wooden chests before looking deeper into the thick mist.
She could feel that the mist was even thicker than before.
Xu Zhiheng looked at Su Xiaoman. “Xiaoman, bring the cargo along.”
In truth, Su Xiaoman wanted to refuse. The chests already trailing behind her were making her highly uneasy.
And now they were adding more?
“I...”
“Don't be afraid,” Xu Zhiheng said gently. “You don't need to touch them. Just stand a bit closer.”
After a moment of hesitation, Su Xiaoman slowly took a step forward.
From the bottom of the five wooden chests next to the old cart, fine roots suddenly wriggled out.
As if catching a scent, they slid along the stone road, lining up behind Su Xiaoman.
The five wooden chests lined up neatly behind the original cargo. The team, which had been relatively compact, was now dragged out significantly longer by these eight chests.
Looking at the eight wooden chests lined up in two rows behind her, Su Xiaoman felt a deep sense of unease.
Damon's face darkened completely as he turned to glare at Xu Zhiheng.
“The more cargo we have, the more ground I have to cover. I won't be able to look out for you when the time comes.”
Xu Zhiheng did not shrink from his gaze. “Don't worry. Your only job is to protect the cargo; we'll handle everything else ourselves.”
Damon chuckled. “You're pretty confident.”
Just then, the rotting leaves by the roadside suddenly churned.
A root whipped out from the side, darting straight for the last newly added chest.
“Watch out!”
Damon slammed his iron shield heavily onto the ground, blocking the incoming roots.
With a dull thud, a blue halo rippled across the shield's surface.
Grunting, Damon tensed his arm muscles. The light in front of his shield suddenly exploded, shattering the roots into pieces.
The splintered pieces fell into the rotting leaves, twitching a few times before falling still.
Standing in place, Damon felt a jolt of pain ripple through his arm like an electric current, leaving it slightly numb.
When the roots shattered, the rebounding force had surged through the shield and rattled his wrist bone.
Damon looked down at his shield. Two very shallow dents had appeared along the edge of the iron shield.
But he quickly raised his shield again, acting as if he didn't care about this minor wear and tear at all.
“Is that all you've got?”
No sooner had the words left his mouth than the branches on both sides of the stone road shook violently, as if provoked by his remark.
Rena's eyes went cold, and she immediately said:
“Don't stop. Keep moving forward.”
The sounds coming from the mist were growing clearer and clearer.
Rate on N.U.
