Suddenly, the world darkened, the shadows began to tremble and slowly move towards Athos' body.
Khali activated the light sealing ring and the world returned to normal. "It's getting more and more frequent. Soon that ring won't hold you anymore." Khali said with a weary sigh.
******
After Athos passed out, Khali gathered the resource of the three carriages and spent the rest of the day returning the stolen resources to the villages. He kept his identity hidden and identified himself only as an anonymous helper refusing to answer any questions asked by residents.
The village chief was extremely grateful for the unexpected help and stopped the villagers from asking any questions once he realized that his savior preferred to remain anonymous.
The chief was already desperate with lack of food and with winter approaching, they would have starved to death if the cold hadn't killed them first. Khali made an agreement with the chief of each village to keep a description of the funds received, and the chief readily agreed.
None of the chiefs were stupid and they knew that if they turned out to still have resources, the baron would demand that it be handed over. The chiefs and villagers reached an agreement and decided to hide the funds received, as well as part of the harvest for the next few years. The baron had never demanded more than they could give, so they were not in the habit of hiding their harvest.
Compared to the villages, the situation in the city was worse than ever. The Baron noticed the delay in the caravan and ordered them to investigate, discovering the corpses of the guards and the bodies of the bandits. Khali had left all the evidence for the baron to find, leaving very little to the investigators' imaginations.
The Baron ground his teeth in anger when he received the news, but there was not much he could do. The gangs have grown too big to be controlled.
"You really can't destroy them?" The Baron spoke in his office, without lifting his head from the report.
"It's not my job to solve your Dravus problems, just keep you alive." Ricley said sitting on the sofa in the office with his feet on the table. He was eating candy without worrying about appearances. Just like Khali and Athos, Ricley and Dravus' relationship also developed. Ricley watched closely as the Baron made failure after failure and lost what little respect he had for him.
He's lost his respectful tone, but Dravus can't do anything about it. The only reason the baron was still alive was because of him.
What Dravus didn't know is that Ricley secretly rooted for the bandits' victory, praying that they would destroy the city enough for the baron to lose his title and his mission to end.
The situation wasn't just bad for the baron. The complete destruction of the strike team destroyed the trusting relationship that formed between the gangs and the criminal organization fell apart before it was formed. They all knew that the baron's forces didn't have the ability to destroy his strike force, so it had to be an inside job.
Mistrust spread among them and each gang returned to their own territory within the city, blocking the streets and dividing the city into 4 parts.
The area where the baron and the rich merchants lived and built their shops, became the "noble" area of the city. The guards' barracks were also located in this area, providing security and stability to the "noble" area.
The former favelas became the territory of the Dedo Podre gang, responsible for drug trafficking in the city. Athos robbed them constantly, causing them great loss of money.
The commercial district where the workshops and shops of the smaller merchants were located became the territory of the red gold gang. They were responsible for the city's smuggling and traded with the black market from other cities.
The residential area has become the territory of the most violent of gangs, the yellow dagger. They were ex-mercenaries who worked in the strongholds beyond the city, on the front lines against the demihuman empire. After a violent battle, most of the members were killed and the gang almost annihilated, so they decided to move to the city 3 years ago.
It was the gang that Evylin worked for, as well as those responsible for the city blockade and the proposed alliance. They planned to unite all the gangs in an alliance and then take control from the inside, but now, all their plans have been ruined.
The church and its surroundings were the only places that remained neutral in this situation. The baron tried countless times to bring the priest to his side, but the priest refused each time. The gangs could not allow the only form of healing in the entire city to be in the hands of the baron and every time the baron went to church to negotiate, the priest would wake up the next morning with the head of one of the nuns at the head of his bed.
******
Athos woke up 16 hours later, on the same hill as before. He was having an absurd headache. Athos tried to get up, but a sudden dizziness hit him, causing him to fall to the ground vomiting.
"Blerghh! This is worse than a hangover." Athos said. He'd stolen booze once just to try it out, discovering he had absolutely no resistance to alcohol.
"Good morning, Athos. You're not the first face I'd like to see when I wake up either, but don't you think it's a little too much?" Khali asked irritably, his shirt stained with vomit.
"I was just happy to see you." Athos smiled weakly before sitting in a lotus position and taking a deep breath, regenerating his mana quickly and circulating it through his body, increasing his recovery speed.
After 5 minutes, the headache was gone and Athos returned to peak state.
"Have you improved yet? I'll never stop envying that skill." Khali had gone out to clean up the vomit, but returned before Athos opened his eyes. Despite his words, there was no trace of envy in his voice, just pride.
"How did I do on my first mission?" Athos asked puffing out his chest, expecting praise.
"You did well, Athos. You let some of them get away, but this mission was way above your level and minor mistakes were to be expected." Khali patted him on the head, congratulating him.
"I appreciate it professor, but I'd rather you pay your bet than get patted on the head, if you don't mind." Athos reached for the sword he saw leaning against a nearby rock with a greedy grin.
"Haah, take it." Khali snorted at Athos and gave permission. Athos jumped on the sword and drew it from its scabbard, admiring the weapon.
It was a 1 meter long, double-edged sword with a silver blade. Yellow and black runes gleamed on the blade as Athos flowed mana through it. The guard had silver details and the handle was padded with leather.
"She's amazing. What does she do?" That was all Athos said.
"Sure it is, it was meant to be MINE after all." Khali complained before explaining. "The sword has wind and darkness enchantments. The first makes the sword vibrate at high speed, enhancing the sword's edge, and the second shoots an aura of darkness when you swing it. The aura of darkness causes a random curse on the enemy."
"It's really amazing." Athos started testing immediately, shooting wave after wave of darkness across the clearing. He was so happy with the new weapon that he only stopped firing when he ran out of mana and everything around him was dead.
He turned and saw Khali's reproachful gaze and shrugged. "The spirits will fix it, so no problem."
Anyway, I have news for you. I originally wanted to wait for you to be 14 before doing this, but your performance has convinced me that you're ready." Khali began his speech in a serious voice.
Sensing the seriousness in his voice, Athos stopped playing and concentrated on him.
"I believe it's about time you had your own familiar."