Chapter 149 (1/2)

Dehark, leader of the Asura Hyena Style, sneered down at the approaching duo, with his bloodthirsty troop milling about behind him. It was common knowledge that the short road to Tomkat, over which they stood, was infested with bandits worse than a mangy cat with fleas. As such, many groups gathered here, but the Asura Hyena Style was the most powerful group present, and had first dibs on any fat caravans that came past.

Still, it always brought Dehark some amount of amusement when more bottom feeders arrived, trying to make it in life as a bandit after they had failed as a spear-user. Unlike them, he had grown up in this life, and had a vicious streak that would frighten weaker hearted children to death. But these two carried themselves confidently, and the taller man had a blue tint to his skin, which indicated a relationship with someone powerful, so Dehark stayed silent for now.

The new arrivals settled down and made a fire. The blue skinned one made a curt gesture to the smaller of the two, and the other bobbed his head and walked over to some nearby people. Dehark couldn’t hear what they were talking about, but assumed they, like most waifs, were searching for a way to join a larger group. But the people they approached were not his, so he looked away, bored.

Inevitably, his eyes drifted over to the Willow Tree Spear Style Tassle, a warm yellow color, which was raised over the far side of the camp. The Willow Tree Spear Style was the only group in the area that could rival his Asura Hyena Style, and more interestingly, all of its members were women. Rumor had it that they used to be a well recognized Style in an area to the west, but they had lost a confrontation with another Style, resulting in their strength plummeting to the level where they could only support themselves by becoming bandits.

Dehark knew they were women, and knew that they were currently weak; his impulse to prey upon them howled within him, hungering for blood and soft flesh. But he didn’t become the leader of the largest bandit outfit in the area by being hasty. The Willow Tree Spear Style had truly been an affluent Style; they undoubtedly still had some strength, even if it was greatly depleted. Better to wait for them to reveal themselves, then strike.

He watched one of the members of the Willow Style talking with the newcomer, who had meandered over towards them. It was hard to tell what she was thinking, due to the veils all of the women wore, but she clearly spoke back. Dehark guffawed, slapping his knee. So they were even so desperate they would go begging women for help…? Embarrassing.

Then the newcomer gave the woman several silver coins. The woman waved her hand and produced the carcass of a wild boar. They exchanged these and parted.

Blinking at the sight, Dehark was confused. They simply were buying food…? It was extremely rare for bandits to buy food; after all, their stats allowed them to subsist on very little, even if the hunger was a constant distraction. Perhaps these two weren’t desperate so much as foolish.

Dehark filed this information away for later and his gaze returned to the golden Tassle, and the tent below it. For now, he waited.

*****

Randidly could tell that even Shal’s interest was piqued by the way his nostrils flared as he cooked. Even some of the other bandits seemed to wander closer, eyes on the roasting pig. After rubbing some herbs on it, it certainly gave off a very attractive scent.

Randidly cut up potatoes and peppers and put them into an iron pot, which he placed under the pig. Slowly, as blood and grease fell down from the pig, it fell into the pot and began to boil the vegetables. He was unsure if this was sanitary, but he knew the flavor would likely be good for it, so he let it go.

Peaking at Shal’s face again, Randidly was surprised to find that his master’s face was quite brooding. He opened his mouth to ask what was wrong, but Shal seemed to sense it, and glanced up at him. Shal’s eyes burned with a hot, wild emotion, before it was quickly smothered. Then Shal sighed.

“...You are soft. If you remain this soft, what will come after will be filled with difficulty.”

Randidly remained silent. Somehow, he knew that Shal didn’t mean the fighting. When Shal said that they had to commit crimes, he was aware of what sort of actions they would need to take. And it was true that one of the things they would need to do would be to hurt others. Likely without just cause. They would use these people as a means to enter into the prison.

Shal’s mouth quirked up. As if he had followed along Randidly’s thought process, he said, “No, you misunderstand. This part will not be so bloody, although there will likely be casualties. What follows will be difficult. The minimum sentence in the prison is 100 Years. The time dilution is about 400x, so that will take half a year; too long. We will need to break out of the prison. And to do that, we will slaughter our way through guards by the hundreds.”

Closing his eyes, Shal said, “I can manage most of the killing on my own, but the blood will be on your hands. And you will need to locate my spear. Only once I have it, do I have confidence to rail against that stronghold… We have not known each other long, but we can be considered to be involved. We have done favors for one another, our destinies are tied together. But if you find that you lack the resolve to kill… Leave tonight. I will not seek you.”

Randidly sat silently. He was here to repay what Shal had done for him, but it was true that didn’t mean he would do anything for him. Inwardly, Randidly had been wondering why more people wouldn’t use this plan, but he realized there were two reasons. One, it wasn’t necessary. Others could use dungeons. And two… It was essentially giving up your freedom for 100 years of your time, even if only 6 months passed in the real world. Leaving early was almost impossible.

But Shal seemed confident. Even so…

“Why do we do this?” Randidly asked quietly. The boar hissed and spat, grease popping off of it. The vegetables were really boiling now, and Randidly sprinkled some spices into the mixture.

“For me? A chance at meeting someone I’ve been looking for. For a very long time. For you…” Shal’s eyes opened. “The chance of power. If you make the top 4 of this tournament, you will be given access to the Hall of Stances. Thousands of the most powerful Styles have been collected there. And if you give me the opportunity I was looking for… I will give you the full inheritance of the Spear Phantom. You may be strong… and you are growing well, even without my guidance you would become formidable. But…