Bastion and the girls continued their journey as outlined in the contract with the Kingdom of Spores. They followed the tunnels to the surface, then left the kingdom, guided by the adventurer's journey map that led them to a public road owned and maintained by the Central Empire.
It was part of a network of roads that spiderwebbed from the capital, reaching every kingdom under the Empire's control. The roads cut through forests, mountains, deserts, and apparently even large bodies of water, with bridges ensuring a continuous path between the capital and its territories.
Bastion had initially planned to take this road from the Kingdom of Brilliance to cover considerable ground early on, but he had a bad feeling about passing through the northeast border. In the end, they chose the Great Forest route instead.
Now that they were finally seeing the road for themselves, they were underwhelmed.
"The road to Aurenthal from the castle is more impressive than this," Lilia commented.
Ahead of them stretched a four-lane paved road cutting through dense forest on both sides. It lacked the streetlights of a modern road, but it was elevated and surprisingly well-maintained. Given the many miraculous materials at the Empire's disposal, it was possible the road was simply made from materials with natural self-cleaning or even self-repairing properties.
"We're in what the Empire considers less developed territory, so it makes sense they wouldn't invest heavily in infrastructure when only merchants looking to score big off country bumpkins ever use these roads," Bastion said. "It should be more impressive once we reach the higher-ranked kingdoms, where the roads are likely wider and better built to handle heavier traffic."
"So we're just going to travel along this road until we pass through 20 kingdoms?" Ariel asked with disappointment. "Sounds boring."
"We have a contract to keep, otherwise we lose 40 magic crystals' worth of tax exemption," Seraphina said. "I am not about to throw away such a significant amount of money."
Bastion and the girls had over 450 magic crystals between them, so avoiding the loss of 40 was significant. That was nearly 10% of their total.
"Just practice your arts and skills," Bastion recommended. "Or you can use this time to pick up a new hobby."
"No thanks. I guess I'll just read some books or something."
With their path paved, the group spent the next year and a half traveling the sparsely populated roads as they passed through the required 20 kingdoms. Along the way, they encountered other merchants moving in caravans ranging from Apprentice Rank groups traveling at speeds comparable to highway traffic, to Rank 2 caravans that moved at velocities closer to twin-engine aircraft.
It was an unthinkable pace for road travel by Bastion and Seraphina's standards, but with their enhanced reflexes and higher thinking speed, they were easily able to avoid collisions with both slower and faster carriages. They were even able to negate the air pressure that would have battered them, both from those they passed and from those who passed them at high speeds.
As for any dangers on the road, apart from the occasional beast that Ariel easily dealt with, they were never attacked by any bandit groups. Not that there weren't any. Ariel had detected plenty of scouts, but none dared to target Bastion's carriage, given the intimidating Rank 2 summoned diamond steed pulling it. Anyone capable of sustaining a Rank 2 summon to haul a carriage likely had substantial mana reserves, implying a fight most common bandits wouldn't risk.
That was until they encountered a group of Apprentice Rank bandits blocking the road after passing the 23rd kingdom from the Kingdom of Spores.
"Why did we stop?" Seraphina asked as she exited her room to find Ariel and Bastion staring at the projector on the center table.
On it were three dozen bandits blocking the road, dressed in commoner clothes and armed with basic steel weapons. They didn't look particularly strong, but they still wore confident, sneering expressions as they sized up the carriage.
"Bandits," Ariel replied. "Bastion and I are trying to find out if they have any hidden traps. They look too confident for a group of apprentices to be blocking a Rank 2 caravan."
"Are there any other threats in the area?"
"No."
"Then in cases like these, it's best to just call their bluff," Seraphina said. "Worst case scenario, they have a Rank 4 behind them, in which case we're screwed either way. Better to make sure we know who we're dealing with before jumping to conclusions."
"Alright," Bastion agreed. "But we won't kill them. We'll arrest them and hand them over to the nearest kingdom."
"You're too soft, Bastion," Seraphina said, shaking her head. "If these guys go through the prison system, they'll just come back out and do more damage afterward. They aren't normal humans who only have 50 good years to live, you know."
"I'd like to avoid killing as much as possible. It should always be the last resort in any conflict."
Seraphina sighed as Bastion left the carriage with Ariel to confront the bandits, while she returned to her room to get dressed for combat. She wouldn't call him naive, but it was clear he still hadn't fully shed his Earth-born morality. He only seemed willing to kill those who were clearly evil. That kind of restraint could become a liability in the long run, especially in a world as brutal and strength-based as this one.
Still, she loved him, and she would never allow his morality to put them at risk. So she quietly resolved to take on the burden of making the hard decisions in the future.
Once she was dressed, she took a look at the projection and saw that Bastion and Ariel had already captured the bandits and tied them up. She studied their surroundings, noting the complete lack of any backup, which meant it had indeed been a bluff. Strangely, the bandits still wore confident expressions, which was certainly suspicious.
Bastion and Ariel then moved them to the second carriage, likely intending to leave them tied up in the vault, which had spare secure rooms that could double as prison cells. When they returned, both wore confused expressions, which meant they were just as puzzled as she was.
"Well?" Seraphina asked as they entered.
"Ely is interrogating them now, but I honestly don't know what to expect," Bastion said. "They were so confident they kept threatening to rape Ariel, even while gagged and tied up. It doesn't make any sense."
"What are your plans now?"
"What's the closest kingdom along our path?" Bastion asked.
"The Kingdom of Verdance, an agriculture-based Rank 2 kingdom similar to the Kingdom of Brilliance," Ariel replied.
"Chart a path to the nearest fort and take us there."
"We can save time if we cut through the forest and bypass the border entrance."
"That's fine. We can pay the toll at the fort."
Suddenly, Bastion's shadow flickered as Elyra rose from it.
"They didn't respond to the interrogation," she said. "Even while howling in excruciating pain, they only struggled to break free and continued making threats."
"Let's just ask the soldiers at the fort when we get there. They should know something about the bandits in the area."
Following the path Ariel had laid out, they traveled for a day through a sparse forest and reached a respectable fort. It appeared to have been built to prevent creatures from the forest from encroaching on the kingdom's border.
The fort itself was built from thick stone blocks, its high walls reinforced with metal bands that gave it a hardened, utilitarian look. Watchtowers stood at each corner, rising above the ramparts. A wide gatehouse faced the road, fitted with a heavy portcullis and reinforced doors scarred from past impacts, while the surrounding ground had been cleared into open terrain with no cover for approaching threats. Guards patrolled the walls in steady, disciplined intervals, watching the approaching caravan.
"Halt!" a guard shouted from above. "Identify yourselves and state your business!"
Bastion exited the carriage without his helmet and addressed them.
"We're traveling merchants who were just attacked by a group of weak bandits on the Empire's roads. They didn't put up much of a fight, so we apprehended them. We thought we could turn them over to your care for imprisonment."
"Why didn't you just kill them?" one of the other guards called out with a laugh.
"It seemed a bit cruel to just kill them. Besides, they're acting strange. They seemed confident in their chances and didn't break under interrogation. Something's wrong with them, and we were hoping to find some answers."
The guards exchanged shocked looks, as if they had realized what Bastion was referring to.
"You said you captured them?"
"Yes!"
"Alright, bring your carriages in and take your prisoners out for inspection."
Bastion nodded and followed their instructions as the gate swung open to allow them inside. They entered and parked in the center of the courtyard.
One by one, the prisoners were presented, but something was strange. The guards in the distance seemed to be laughing.
"What's so funny?" Bastion asked.
"Well… how do I say this? These aren't really bandits. They aren't even exactly human."
"Then what are they?"
"They're dungeon bandits," the guard said, prompting everyone in the fort to burst out laughing.
A guard stepped forward and swung his blade, beheading one of them. Blood spilled onto the ground, but strangely, the body immediately began disintegrating, leaving behind only their underwear.
The laughter in the fort grew even louder, further embarrassing Bastion. He knew a dungeon could contain any species, but humans were still strange to think about in that context. Somewhere out there in the forest or in this kingdom, there was apparently a dungeon that produced human bandits as its primary inhabitants.
"I see," Bastion said before lightly bowing. "I apologize for the inconvenience. We'll just kill them and be on our way."
"What's all this laughter about? Why aren't you patrolling? Get back to work!" a young noble shouted as he approached, surrounded by five Rank 2 guards, his eyes landing on the carriages. "What are they doing here? I didn't authorize anyone to enter."
The fort's guards immediately scattered and returned to their patrols as the noble approached the carriages with an irritated expression. That changed when he noticed Seraphina near the rear carriage, preparing to set up shop and sell their goods to the people in the fort.
The young noble's expression shifted from anger to delight before settling into an openly lustful look, his gaze locking onto Seraphina as if he had already claimed her. His pace quickened as he moved forward, while his five Rank 2 guards followed in disciplined formation, staying close at his back.
Once they reached the carriage and the young noble opened his mouth to shout commands, Bastion stepped forward before anyone else could react. Without warning, hesitation, or declaration, he swung his empty hand at the young noble.
In a single fluid motion, steel flashed from his swinging hand as his sword appeared and elongated into a whip. It lashed out, drawing a thin red line across the young noble's neck.
His body took one more step out of instinct. Then his head fell, spraying blood over the shocked Rank 2 guards.
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