By the time morning comes, Ryker is refreshed, like what happened yesterday didn't affect him at all. In contrast, the women all looked like they were forced to fight for an entire week, their entire body sore and some part of their body still twitching from the effect of his lightning, even though it was already weakened.
Of course, Ryker had expected this to happen so he gave them some Stamina Potion, this time a higher quality one. They accepted it, feeling refreshed by the time they finished the vial.
Of course, Stamina Potion didn't do much for the limp, even though Ryker had used some healing ability to make sure they didn't limp that much. Though Ryker didn't actually try very hard to heal them, judging by the satisfied grin.
Oh, how they wished to make him pay back for the night but unfortunately, none of them was strong enough to fight him. Besides, all of them seemed to find some of the things he did to unlock their previously unknown kink, with one thing they shared in common, all of them are masochists and sub to him.
While the sudden realization is surprising, they would only need to care about it when they stay in a city, as he rarely did when they were outside, and no, doing it inside the Hidden Ancient Mansion didn't count.
With how much they 'exercise' during the night, they wake up slightly later than usual, only barely having enough time to go to the agreed location on time. Thankfully, all of their preparation had been done, so they only needed to go to where the caravan was.
-x-
Even though the caravan in question already agreed to let them join in, along with the fact that he was later confirmed by the three leaders of the city as being trustworthy, it didn't change the fact some of the men, including the leader of the caravan himself, found them to be an eyesore.
It is most likely because he was the picture of a stereotypical spoiled young master, surrounded by a harem of beauties. If not for the fact the presence of the children seemingly breaks the notion, it still makes some of them think he was a lucky womanizer who only got the beauties because he paid them.
Some of the men tried to make a move on his women, to which he retaliated, badly. Considering he easily beat up two Genesis Source experts without breaking a sweat, they finally realized he was no ordinary person. Which makes their treatment of his group more... agreeable.
With all of that said, the group began their trek to the capital city.
-x-
It didn't take long before the first bandit attack happened. However, despite having three Genesis Source experts leading them, they were promptly defeated courtesy of a very angry Ryker.
"That guy, he's too strong, isn't he?" one of the supposed guards asked. Despite being a peak of Genesis Source and the vice-leader of the guard of the group, he didn't think he could beat all of the attackers as quickly as he could.
"Yeah, the two womanizers should be glad he only beat them up," his fellow vice-leader agreed with the statement, before looking at the two people he mentioned, the two other fools who tried to touch the young man's women.
"With someone as strong as him, who is likely only slightly weaker than the leader, then this journey would be safer," the first guard proclaimed, looking at their leader, a Genesis Spring expert at the 2nd Stage.
"Hmm. Let's get going then, maybe we can get to the capital with no casualties," the other one said before they joined the rest of the guards, ready to protect the caravan that had paid handsomely for their protection.
-x-
As the distance between the two cities is not too far, it would only take them a week or so to arrive. Most of the reasons for the travel time are because of the necessity for the caravan to rest and recuperate from fighting the bandits that plagued the area.
The only reason why most of the bandits are at the Genesis Source and below despite the rich resources is because the stronger ones are usually hunted down by the guards and if they are unlucky enough, even by the Duke himself.
There were also rumors of some bandits being in the same realm as the Duke and had been waiting for opportunities to claim and destroy the Duchy. While the rumors of them being at the same level as the Duke are likely false, the fact some smarter bandits hiding their strength to not be the priorities of the hunt set up by the Duke and City Lords themselves is true. Some caravans have the misfortune of being blocked by Genesis Lake experts.
Unfortunately, there are shortage of Genesis Lake experts, such experts are only in the number of triple digits, which may seem many but the size of the Duchy makes it seem irrelevant. Not to mention no such experts would do the menial task of guarding a caravan, not to mention most of them belong to powerful factions themselves.
With that said, there is still some Genesis Lake performing some patrol, namely those that have interest in certain areas, the said areas having resources they have their hands on, which would mean bandits attacking it would result in a severe loss for the said people.
It also means the area the Genesis Lake experts patrolled will be safer, as any bandits present will be killed with absolute prejudice. There are times the caravan spotted several Genesis Lake experts, looking and observing the road.
The road is the route used by merchants and traders and so the lack of bandits for any reason is beneficial for the Duchy, though mainly the capital city, as a whole. There are questions on why cultivators in Genesis Core and above didn't just fly and carry the goods in a storage ring as it would be safer.
While in theory it could work, realistically it's much harder than that. First, storage rings have limited space, with the lowest grade one only having space about 2m x 2m x 2m. While some do have bigger storage space, it's usually personal belonging with very few merchant groups having access to many of those.
While theoretically, one could bring multiple low-grade storage rings as enough would be enough to substitute for a caravan, the more important question is would the said person will not take all the storage rings and the goods for themselves.
In the end, the reason for the use of the caravan is to prevent a scenario where the merchant group loses both goods and storage rings, whether from betrayal or death. Not to mention while storage ring is one of the most popular form of spatial tools, they are not the only one.
There is also a spatial crate, a crate that is bigger than it is. A low-level one could even hold more space than even some medium, or even high-grade storage rings. At least those in Genesis Grade.
Though, while land route is more popular for the backwater area, some couldn't be said about the more prosperous area. While he has never been there, there are rumors that the more prosperous area uses flying caravans, speeding up the delivery of goods and such.
-x-
In just three days, arriving faster than their estimate of a week, they reached the capital city of Kilrun Duchy.