Chapter 854: Prelude to the Journey (1/2)
”We can't guard such a large caravan.” Krune's words caused the lively atmosphere to freeze up. Numerous glances shot his way, with some of them concealing a hint of killing intent. Krune didn't react to these responses, silently noting the directions where the killing intent came.
He then looked around, mentally counting the number of carriages and the people that were part of the caravan. ”120 carriages and almost 2000 people. How can four teams guard so many people against harm?”
”Are you scared?” A feminine voice resounded soon after as a tall lady arrived. Her every step caused the ground to slightly tremble in response, for she had a giant stature, surpassing 3 meters. ”You can drop out if you're scared.”
”Look.” Krune made eye contact with the lady, craning his neck high. ”I don't mean to be rude, but four teams can't defend so many people while protecting the goods from damage.”
”I understand your concern, Sir Krune.” Seeing that the situation was about to turn volatile if he delayed any longer, Trivar stepped in immediately. ”But, this is the number of mercenaries we hire during every travel, just so you know.”
”How do you even defend yourself from danger, then?” Krune was confused as he asked, unable to understand why they were behaving as if it was normal. If they were moving as a traveling troupe, then only having four mercenary teams for protection would be far from enough.
After all, as long as the people huddled at the center, the teams could somehow cover them all. But that wasn't the case here. There were 2000 people each going about their tasks in the caravan. They comprised cultivators and demon beasts in human form, most of which were at the peak of the Godly Fusion Realm.
There were 120 carriages. Each carriage was 20 meters long and 10 meters wide, so it was apparent the length the caravan could reach. Ideally speaking, having one mercenary to guard a carriage was the best. If one stretched it out, at least one mercenary per three carriages was the minimum requirement.
After all, their mission requirement wasn't protecting the people alone. They also had to safeguard the goods that were being transported. This was the reason for Krune's outburst.
”Actually.” Trivar smiled wryly in response, pointing at the demon beasts. ”They're precisely the reason why we hired so few mercenary teams. The moment we spot a bandit group, unless we have no other choice, we would usually take flight.”
He chuckled awkwardly after that, waving his hands to reduce the tension in the atmosphere. ”Most of the times, we would fly away from danger. And in cases where the bandits could still catch up even if we flew away, we'll just abandon a carriage. They always stop after that.”
”Wouldn't you be making a loss in that case?” Krune frowned as he thought about it.
”Not really.” Trivar shook his head. ”They're what we call dummy carriages. They're filled with counterfeit goods. Only an experienced merchant can tell them apart from the others. The bandits wouldn't have someone like them in their ranks. Even if they did, it would take time to inspect and verify whether they're actually real or counterfeit. During the time they do that, we would have long escaped.”
”So, you won't engage with the bandits.” Krune nodded.
”Yes.” Trivar smiled. ”Fights would cause the goods to be damaged. But in cases we can't avoid such fights, our mercenary teams are strong enough.”
He then said with pride, introducing the man with a bulky frame that walked in, carrying a battle axe. ”This is Yuric, the leader of the mercenary team, Ink Sword. He's at the Fourth Stage God Core Realm while his deputy is at the Second Stage God Core Realm. The remaining 8 team members are at the Ninth Stage God Foundation Realm. Even among E Rank mercenary teams, they're the cream of the crop.”
”Nice to meet you, Krune.” Yuric smiled after that, treating him as an equal. ”Having a third cultivator in the God Core Realm is reassuring in this trip. It makes my job easier, haha.”
His words shocked the tall lady, causing her to inspect Krune's cultivation base with her divine sense. She then saw that he was only in the First Stage God Foundation Realm, retorting immediately, ”Enough with your nonsense, Yuric. He's only at the first Stage God Foundation Realm.”
”I'm only in the God Foundation Realm, Yuric.” Krune let out a wry smile. Even though the tall lady had made a bad impression on him, he wasn't the type to lie.
Yuric gazed at the tall lady before saying, ”Xula, I told you many times to not judge a person's strength based on their cultivation base. There are numerous ways to become strong than just relying on your cultivation. Krune here defeated Lotaro in a single hit. That makes his battle strength equivalent to a God Core Realm cultivator.”
”He defeated…Lotaro?” The tall lady frowned as she asked, ”Who's…Lotaro?”
”He's a new mercenary at the God Core Realm that recently joined.” Yuric sighed as he continued, ”You should at least know the new faces that would become E Rank mercenaries soon.”
”He must have cultivated like a pig to be weak enough to be defeated by a God Foundation Realm cultivator,” Xula glared at Yuric as she spoke. ”And, what do you mean by three God Core Realm cultivators? Since you judge based on Krune's strength, shouldn't it be four God Core Realm cultivators? Come, let's fight. I'll beat the crap out of you this time.”