CHAPTER 262: CLEAR THE TRASH

The next morning, the Dragon Hunters packed and moved away from the Bloodoak Union territory of the Mountain City. It was something worthy of news, and it quickly spread throughout the Mountain City.

Almost everyone was interested in where they were going and why they were going there. What exactly were they after? What did they want? Were they going to fight again?

Nobody knew the true answers to any of this, and thus, speculations flew around wildly. One thing they did know, though, was the fact that they were gone.

"How long before we reach Umbracrypt?" Vacuse directed the question to Yukata.

Yukata was now part of logistics and one of those responsible for coordinating their locations and communicating with every gang and territory they reached.

But right now, he was walking with Vacuse and the others at the center of their marching formation.

Lady Slave was there as well so that Vacuse could personally keep an eye on her.

His personal guard, Harkon, was already behind him, while Captain Amros and Kagerou were somewhere doing their own thing.

"It’ll take us at least ten days. I know it would be shorter if it was just the three of us, and my previous calculations were based on that. But right now, we are going to take longer."

Vacuse sighed. There was nothing he could do about that. "Very well. We just have to keep our pace steady. I don’t want to pass that ten-day mark."

Yukata hesitated. "My lord, anything can happen though. It is the mountains after all."

Vacuse’s eyes narrowed. "You should make sure you crush anything that can happen. We are a force of a hundred and something plus. Few things should dare stop us in this place."

But Vacuse understood what Yukata was trying to say. It was just that the Dragon Hunters were also not weak. Kagerou, as the captain of the scouts, was always sending his people forward and backward to warn them of incoming or approaching threats.

That is, threats that he couldn’t handle himself with his own power.

Devour Bandit was the captain of the hunting team that actively hunted monsters for money and food for the team. Unlike most hunting teams, Captain Amros put everyone on a monthly payment instead of paying them from the proceeds of each hunt.

This made the Dragon Hunters a more conventional force instead of just a dragon-hunting team.

So far, they had not encountered any problems that would require the whole group to get involved, and Vacuse wanted to keep things that way. But he was disappointed three days into their journey when an incident was quickly reported by Kagerou and Captain Amros.

"My lord, we found that a local gang has mobilized and blocked off a section of the tunnel that we are to pass," Kagerou said after orders had been given for the Dragon Hunters to come to a stop.

"They sent their warriors to block off a tunnel?" Vacuse asked.

"No. I’ve talked with Yukata. They seem to have moved their whole base into the tunnel we are to pass. They’re roughly equal in size to our own force. What should we do?" Kagerou asked.

Vacuse frowned. "Captain Amros, what should we do?"

The captain blinked. "We should try negotiating with them?"

Vacuse smiled. "Not bad. But you have failed to capture my objective during this period. I want to get to Umbracrypt as fast as I can.

"Anyone blocking a tunnel isn’t doing it with hopes of negotiating with us, as they clearly want to stop us from moving forward, and I think we can guess who they are."

Even this far away, the Eboncrypt must have a way to reach this local gang. Why else would they dare to get in their way? "But I don’t understand something. I made sure to flash my badge of protection given by the Bloodoak Union, thus no gangs in this section should really get in our way."

"It seems they were recently a hunting team turned gang. They’re not as established as they would like. The territory they hold is really shaky."

Vacuse snorted. "Very well, for them. Captain Amros, hear my orders. I want you to immediately crush the blockage on my way. And be quick about it."

The captain bowed, and when he raised his head, it shone and was firm like steel. "As you command."

Vacuse was amused about something. It seemed the so-called gang was not told about the Fifth Circle Magus among the Dragon Hunters’ ranks. But really, they didn’t need her to clear the trash away.

And like a monster just waking from slumber, the Dragon Hunters began to move.

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Captain Amros and Magus Arch led the fighting forces deeper into the tunnel. They found the camp just where Kagerou had told them, in the middle and not on the side where they should have been if they were just camping.

They were not a serious force either. They had set up camp with no shields, no scouts, and they just lazed around, only picking themselves up when they saw the captain approaching with Amros.

Captain Amros wasn’t amused when he saw them. He thought they would be fighting a serious battle, and yet, weaklings like the ones in front of him dared to stand in his way? Wasn’t that just too stupid of them? He was almost ashamed to have recommended negotiations at all.

But then again, that was his standard practice when dealing with things.

"Hey! Are you the group known as Dragon Hunters? We’ve been waiting for you!" one of them shouted as he walked closer, but not close enough to be in real danger.

Captain Amros frowned from his place. "According to the rules of the mountains, no one can block the main tunnel. You can set levies as you wish around the main tunnel of your territory, but you can’t block it. So...

"What the fuck are you doing?"

The leader of the so-called gang sneered. "I don’t care. We don’t want you to pass..."

He hadn’t even finished talking when a burst of light lit up the tunnel and the Magus’s head suddenly went missing from his neck with a splash of blood.

Captain Amros raised his hand and pointed. "Clear the trash."