Boisterous cheers came from the forests of kramdery city "We got a big catch today, thanks to that trader!"
Sounds of hooves pit and pattering against the paved path resounded from the midst of the giant trees, going in attunement with the rustles of leaves.
"High priest is going to be happy! Hahaha!"Another hoarse voice rang "Cheers!"
A wagon was driven by a monstrous pony with two greenish bendy horns, a bushy and thorny mane, thin tail so long that it brushed against the paved floor.
The Pony had thick bushy dark brown hair, Its legs were thin, long, and strong. Its hoof pulses with a reddish hue and so do its bendy horns.
The wagon was divided into two parts by a curtain. On one side were four burly men cheering and drinking, enjoying the feeling of accomplishment.
"By kongieus grace, we found a better girl than the one we were chasing initially, and this one is even more beautiful, coupled with the energy that radiates off her, the High priests are going to be happy."A bald white-skinned man said, the veins of his head pulsing as he laughed and spoke.
"Yes, perhaps, we'll be gifted a relic for this one."Another one said, This one was tanned and his robes were sleeveless, showing off his muscles.
These were the disciples of The Goose Creed. Their sect followed the doctrine of Kongieus, the god of Satyrs. The doctrine of Kongi requires his followers to 'assault' and reap the life force of their unwilling female victims by turning them into energy cauldrons. A sadistic path that only the retarded men follow.
"Gods, I want to see the look on her beautiful face, when the high priests handle her."Another of them dreamily spoke, this one was a bit leaner than the others and his robe was hanging on a shoulder, showing off a side of his burly chest.
The path they were following was a secret path they occasionally used for trafficking their victims to the sect—more like a hideout—which was about a ten-day journey from kramdery city.
"Ah, I'm left in awe just remembering her beautiful face. She's so goose worthy."Another one of them moaned and opened the curtain to take a look at the other side of the wagon, where they kept their victims and the 'golden girl'.
But what he found were the horrified faces of the other girls they had caught—mostly young and innocent girls who were ensnared by drinks or foods for free— but those were but side dishes for them.
The man would have been ecstatic on seeing the horrified expressions, but instead, he frowned. The space on the left, where the 'golden girl' was supposed to be was vacant, with the shackles used to bind her broken sprawled on the floor.
"Akhan!"He roared, the veins on his forehead pulsing as his anger rose "You son of a wench, where did you keep the golden girl?"
"What?"The bald man blurted in confusion and went to check. On seeing the situation, he tried to redeem himself but nobody let him.
"I Know you keep the girls in your basement, you bald son of a whore!"
"Where did you keep her!? She's more precious than your entire dead lineage combined!"
The others criticized and cussed at him. All pointing their fingers at accusations at his face.
"I didn't keep her! I might be keeping the girls for myself but please believe me if I said I don't know the whereabouts of the golden girl."Akhan, the bald man panicked "And please don't tell the high priests that I keep girls to myself!"
"So you keep girls to yourself hah?"The tanned man said in apprehension, having confirmed his suspicion.
"Idiots! Didn't you see that the chains are broken? It's like someone had freed her or perhaps we didn't chain her well enough." The less burly man said, shedding light on the matter.
"Let's get out and search the surroundings. She wouldn't have gotten far yet, hopefully."The less burly man instructed and the others complied without any further ado.
Meanwhile, Zoe was on a tree, not so far away from the perverts. She solemnly looked at them with malicious intents. Her Amber eyes got only darker by the second as she thought of what those disgusting mortals had said about her.
'This was a bad decision.'She thought before her face hardened even more 'But I'm going to enjoy it.'
...
Back in the city...
Conan flew high to the sky, wind swirled around him and Tianah who buried her face in his chest. Up in the sky, he had a better outlook on the city.
From above, he scanned the entire city with his reflective obsidian eyes. His ponytail flaunted in the air as he turned his head to a particular and more crowded direction.
"How are you doing this?"Tianah asked out of curiosity and interest. She was still being carried in a princess carry though.
"Shh..."Conan shushed her and levitated over to the crowded place, which seemed to be a square. On the square was Loki.
Conan descended close to Loki and put Tianah down, who groaned as soon as her feet touched the ground "Ugh... so humiliating!"
Loki was busy painting on a drawing board. Not far from him was a family of three on a bench, sitting in a pose.
"Oh! seems like your brother is busy making money."Tianah said, her hazel eyes showed to be teasing Conan.
Conan smiled wryly "My brethren are making money and it will seem shameless of me to ask money from them. I need to make money, so I can take care of them, not the reverse."He sighed and added "And how in total planeverse, am I going to make money by the way?"
There was nothing like a human kingdom in the cultivation days, nor were there notes. All there was were coins and honor for the power that the ordinary mortals won't even think twice before sacrificing their goods to the cultivators.
But not anymore, things have changed...
"You can sign up to be a mercenary or maybe as an explorer, but I recommend you sign up to be a mercenary."Tianah advised and leaned closer "let me tell you a secret. I'm also a mercenary."
"Really?"Conan was a bit surprised "I thought you were a soldier."
"No, I'm not."
"But you said you were."
"I said that on impulse."Tianah said, " The Goddess of Aether chooses her priestesses and incarnates from our family actually, so I had to become a mercenary to have experience, you know?"
Conan's eyebrows raised in surprise "Oh? That must have been an honor."
"Right? I was sent here on a mission to heal the soldiers. They said there was a disturbance caused by monsters. It turned out that the monsters were you and your... family. I used a teleportation device to get there if you're wondering how I got there on time."
Conan was silent for a while, his expression was sage "How do you do it?" He asked, his voice full of unrestrained curiosity.
"How do we sign up for the mercenary course? Well, the Kingdom needs those currently, and, especially strong men like you."Tianah answered with an eager smile. "Not many people want to become soldiers or enforcers, so they take missions from the Kingdom itself. The missions can be anything."
"No, I mean, how do you guys gain powers just by worshiping Gods?"Conan asked, his obsidian eyes reflecting on how Loki drew, his hand like a blur, painting with unparalleled velocity.
"Oh! Well, the gods give their believers and chosen ones a part of their spirits, which serves as our core and links to our spirit. The process, we know as The Baptism. We have the spirit of the god we follow and from it, we bring the power the god had given us." She lifted her hand and a red glowy wisp enveloped her hands "It's fascinating, right?"
"It is..."Conan muttered, his eyes reflecting the red glow as he muttered "Aether..."
"Hmm? You're a genius, aren't you? Whatever family you're from."Tianah said and continued "Well, not all of us were given the power to use the Aether of the goddess, except for the priestesses, one of which I am."
"The goddess of Aether and Healing, chooses only females as her disciples and we are very few, our sisterhood is located at..."
Conan nodded and stopped Tianah from continuing as it looked like she wasn't planning to stop anytime soon "Okay, how do we make money?"
Contrary to his expectations, Tianah listed many types of occupations, all of which aroused his curiosity. Thus they spoke for hours, while Loki drew his clients exquisitely and earned money and also infamy among the common folks.