Chapter 117
Karl and Lady simultaneously glanced at Ark before jumping backward, creating a distance of several tens of meters between them.
Although a distance of a dozen meters is just the distance of a sprint for these two guys, the brief exchange had to end there, just to give Ark some face.
Yak opened his mouth, but then closed it again, turning his head to leave.
It's no use trying to reason with them now; I'm not close enough to these two to intervene or show concern. Perhaps I could ask Lettybeck about the recovery of her shattered wrist later, but to Karl, I'm a monster, and he's a priest in the church. We're on opposing sides. There shouldn't be any concern for each other, and there won't be.
Yak pinched his temples; it really hurt, it was really uncomfortable.
Having led caravans for so long, this was the first time I'd ever seen the relationships between the caravan members deteriorate to this extent.
Lady watched Ark's departing figure, feeling a slight pang of disappointment, but she didn't linger and climbed into her carriage. As an alchemical doll, although she possessed healing abilities, an injury like a shattered wrist required tools to repair.
As for Carl, all he did was remove the bullet lodged in his head and wipe the blood off with a towel—that was all the treatment he took.
Dedely, who saw this, simply shrugged and then drank her wine in silence.
This is definitely not a place for me. Seventy years ago, when I was in this group, I didn't feel this tense atmosphere at all; everyone seemed to be smiling. We all laughed off each other's jokes.
But the atmosphere was terrible, so terrible that even he hadn't considered intervening just now. Because those two were exactly the type he disliked: one a stubborn, upright maniac, the other a rebellious girl who had suddenly realized the darkness of the world. It was perfectly normal for them to fight when they met.
As for herself? Although she wasn't considered old within her tribe, she was still considered an elder. For a monster, not reaching the Calamity level yet was truly shameful. She should hurry to the next city and continue her mercenary life. The people here had changed; she didn't know anyone here except for Ark. Her relationship with Ark was, frankly, merely acquaintance; they were friends, and that was all.
Friends can be those who drink together every day, or those who never speak to each other again. Ark used to be the former, leading a team of "Happy Beans," but now he's become a recluse. Let him fend for himself someday. He's not particularly capable, just a mercenary. A person who's happy just having alcohol to drink every day has no right to meddle in the affairs of these powerful figures.
Thinking this, she drank another cup of wine. The carriage caravan had already begun setting up camp, surrounded by barriers erected by priests. As for what was inside the barriers? Come and see what's inside! Two demons, one high-ranking priest, and a monster whose combat strength was conservatively estimated to be at least demon-level? Plus two monsters at least at the calamity level?
Why should you be on edge at a time like this? This isn't a death trap, not a place of life-or-death struggle. The most dangerous monsters here are wiped out in less than three minutes! If you come out late, you can only see the sand dunes outside.
But she didn't feel relaxed; the atmosphere was tense. Everyone was in a bad mood, a complete mess. If someone dared to provoke her now, she would definitely pull out her sword and fight back. Patience was useless in this atmosphere.
"This is terrible," Ark muttered as he crawled into Denos's carriage, barely settling in. He huddled in a corner, looking quite dejected.
Denos shrugged. He had witnessed the whole thing, but sadly, there was nothing he could do.
“At least for a while, it was me, you, and Spider-Man. The three of us were having a blast traveling around.” Ark continued to mutter, feeling utterly miserable and needing someone to confide in.
Denos was clearly a good choice; he could soon collect his due salary and start a new life, while I would have to continue this nomadic, unsettled existence. Someone about to say goodbye was the perfect person to confide in.
But at this point, Yak didn't know what else to say.
It's my own fault; I've been wearing a gloomy face the whole time. My words have also been consistently negative. Although I try to make myself seem important by influencing others, it's truly because of me that the atmosphere in the carriage is so bad it's practically a meeting of enemies.
Just like before, as long as we continue to maintain that approach, the team will become more harmonious.
Thinking this, Ark tried to make himself laugh, but his facial muscles were completely frozen, and he couldn't make an expression.
Or perhaps it's because he wasn't in a good mood either.
“I’m very frustrated,” Ark said softly. “There’s some troublesome thing somewhere in the world right now, and if something goes wrong with it, it could be world-ending.”
"Is this world going to be destroyed again?" Denos asked jokingly.
Anyone who has studied history knows how fragile this world is, and how many people have worked tirelessly day and night to maintain it until today. After all, there are just too many things that threaten the world, and if nothing unexpected happens, this convoy probably has quite a few dangerous items like oil.
“Yeah, yeah, I’ve really seen this once in my life.” Ark said without any temper, then sighed deeply: “Sometimes I really think, maybe I should just die. Living is just too hard. I’m a cowardly and weak guy, so I might as well just die.”
“You’ve managed to live this long, and your lifespan is far from its limit. I’m incredibly envious when I hear someone as long-lived as you say they’ve lived enough,” Denos said irritably. “I’d love to live a little longer, but there’s nothing I can do. My lifespan is limited; once it’s used up, it’s over.”
At this point, he took a metal bar from his pocket and tossed it over, which Ark caught.
"A harmonica?" he asked, looking at the object with some curiosity.
"It's something you gave me a while ago. I've been trying to learn it for a long time but haven't been able to," Denos said without any shame. "Keep it for yourself. Try blowing one later; maybe it'll ease the tension a bit."
Ark remained silent, watching as Denos took a violin case from the shelf beside him and put it in his arms.
The crisp sound of the piano rippled with the movement of his fingers, the strange rhythm both pleasant and somewhat unfamiliar.
Ark didn't remember what piece it was, and perhaps Denos didn't either. He was simply plucking the strings. Listen, listen to the sound. Chaotic yet melodious, like being immersed in the ocean tide.
He was simply plucking the strings casually, yet the sound was calming. Ark didn't know when Denos had found the time to develop such musical skill, or perhaps it was simply because his own mind had always been chaotic, and he had never had a chance to truly quiet his mind.
Looking back now, perhaps it really is my own problem. It's all because my mood is too chaotic and irritable right now, and others sense this chaos, which leads to various kinds of unpleasant feelings.
The harmonica joined in a moment later. Aak's skill with the instrument was actually quite poor; he was even somewhat tone-deaf. But the harmonica was one of those instruments that even someone who couldn't play it could enjoy playing it—so simple, yet so peaceful.
The cat, nestled in the carriage, opened its eyes and raised its head with a hint of displeasure.
This music sounds so out of place; it's just a bit noisy.
An lay on the coffin, looking at the white cat lying in front of it; that was Gray.
They've probably given up on chasing the angel's shadow, firstly because they lack the strength, and secondly because they agree with what the little spider said. The constraints of duty prevent them from living in peace, yet they're not dead yet. Perhaps only by breaking free from these constraints can they find peace?
Fortunately, this coffin contained an immeasurable amount of energy; simply approaching it made Dark feel his entire body's magic power replenished, and Gray's holy magic was also replenished. Only by getting close to this coffin could they truly unleash their power as guardian deities.
So curling up in his coffin every day seemed like a good choice, and that was exactly what he was doing today, but the monotonous music outside disturbed his sweet dreams.
"Meow." Dark called out impatiently, but stopped before it could finish its grumbling, because Gray was still asleep. The creature had wrapped itself in its bird wings, with only its snake tail sticking out to keep watch around.
Knowing his voice might wake her, he hesitated for a moment, then leaned against Ash, using his spider legs to protect her. Just then, light streamed through the window, illuminating the coffin covered in fantastical patterns; the two monsters were asleep.
Fortunately, nothing else went wrong in the next few hours, and everyone gathered together that evening to enjoy a barbecue and a bonfire.
Because Ark has proven unreliable and guessed the weather wrong. Now it's snowing heavily outside, piling up on the barrier and shrouding the area in darkness. It's like living in a snow house in a very cold place.
Such a beautiful time is perfect for warming yourself by the fire and having a barbecue. Thank goodness for anything related to fire. Warm and joyful. Oh, and let's not forget to boil water—that easiest potion to bring happiness is truly infuriating.
Dedeline huddled by the fire, roasting her own liquor. She'd been drinking way too much lately, either drinking or sleeping. Killing that snake this morning was just a side activity. Even she'd had a bit too much to drink; her face was flushed, and after taking off her helmet, she buried her head in a towel. Slightly tipsy, at least she could still roast meat normally.
"Speaking of which, you're roasting lamb right now, aren't you?" Ghost Duke asked hesitantly. "Don't you think eating your own kind would give you a headache?"
"Then grill some of your meat for me!" Dedeline snapped, exasperated. "If you can't, then shut up."
When they left, they slaughtered a sheep as a farewell gift. Although they had an enormous safe zone and steam-powered machinery to help produce food, a sheep was still a very generous gift, and using it with flour and other ingredients to make a meal was far too extravagant.
However, the grilled meat was only a small part; each person could only get one skewer per day. Lady's skewers actually contained a lot of processed monster meat, some of which were edible.
Most of the meat is still used to make soup, which, combined with other ingredients, can create a dish that satisfies most people.
"Of course, no problem! Which arm would you like to eat, beautiful lady?" Ghost Duke seemed indifferent, and crossed his arms to look at Deedri and said, "Don't be shy, just cut me. I also worked part-time at a butcher shop. Although I was tied up and cut up to eat, I can still calculate how much meat I produce."
"It's a bit disgusting, let's skip it." Denos, who was sitting opposite, quickly stopped him: "There's still a normal human here. You can do this kind of exciting thing after I leave."
"Humans are so weak," Lady said sarcastically. This guy might have had his brain circuits changed too, otherwise he wouldn't look like a different person except for his appearance.
"Humans are not weak." This statement displeased Karl, who spoke slowly and deliberately, while eating his plain flatbread—this guy didn't order any roasted meat, and rarely used his food reserves. He mostly ate what he gathered himself, and if he couldn't gather any, he would eat it anyway. But a few days ago, he broke off a piece of live wood, and that had become his current food.
"Are you even human?" Lady watched him munching on the vegetarian cake. She roughly knew that it was made by crushing living wood, mixing it with flour, and kneading it. Forget about tasting it; swallowing it would be suicidal. But Karl was perfectly fine; such physical abilities were hard to imagine a human could achieve.
“I am a human being endowed with power by God.” Karl was not angry at this statement, but slowly explained, “Therefore I am human.”
Lady shrugged; she couldn't be bothered to argue with this guy any longer. Because Ark's eyes were practically murderous right now.
He tried his best to maintain this team that could collapse at any moment, and even considered whether to disband it and form a new team in the next city.
Fortunately, we will be arriving at the next city in a few days. As a large city, Kadumi meets most of the conditions that a large city should have: a relatively stable environment, a vast safe zone, management by the church, a thriving business, social stability, and strict security.
Moreover, it is also known as the temple of sorcerers because it has the largest sorcerer academy. In this world, only this city has such a complete sorcerer training system.
They had traveled for far too long to reach this city. The long journey had exhausted everyone, but thankfully they were nearing their end.
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