We continued our trip with some stops in some cities...We took a rest and ate, yet we didn't spend a single tael... All because, Seir, just influenced or hynotized all the people to get away with paying... Gremory's mood wasn't getting better each time we passed by cities, because she wasn't fascinated or impressed with the dessert cuisine in this world...Her love for desserts was so massive, but when she tried to compare all the desserts in this world with the desserts made by the spirits, of course, there would be a huge gap...The spirits made foods which were vastly superior to foods in this world, yet the ingredients of these foods were still mysteries in my eyes...
~~~~
On the trip, we were still on the road in the mountains when suddenly Gremory took a deep breath and released it as loudly as possible...Is her bad mood reaching another level? She took a glance at Seir. Which was trying to avoid Gremory's glance...
Out of the blue, "Arghh!!" a sound came from Gremory...
"What are you growling about?" I asked.
Gremory turned to me with a frustrated expression, but suddenly her frustrated expression changed to a mischievous smile as she said, "I heard from Seir, you have beaten some people, with our fraction power into you..."
I raised an eyebrow, surprised by Gremory's sudden change in demeanour.
She continued, "In some minutes, there will be some commotion or disturbance, or, I can say, some pests...Neither I nor Seir don't want to take care of these pests..." Her face was immediately in front of mine, "Soo..."
"You want me to take care of these pests..."
"YES!!" Her face was pulling away from mine...
"The question is, are these pests strong??" I asked...
"Don't be worried, they are just pests..."
As minutes passed, I became more curious: what were these pests they were referring to?
~~~
While we were trying to pass the mountains, we encountered a wooden gate. It was not that big, more like it could be made in a night with that small size...Some dudes appeared from the side of the gates, and their attire reminded me of mountain bandits with some weapons—a short sword and axe on them...So these bandits were the pests they had mentioned earlier...
One of them said, "My men and I would like to speak with you regarding your purse and your belongings," as they got closer to both sides of the carriage.
I looked at Seir and Gremory; they still kept their composed and seemed to care about the bandits...I said to the mountain bandit who talked, "As you can see, we don't bring any valuable belongings...We are simply passing through and have no interest in any trouble," I added calmly...
I noticed the bandits started to stare at Seir and Gremory with a lewd look. The mountain bandit said, "You have two beauties around you, and we'll have our pay... or we'll have our fun..." As the other bandits tried to open the carriage and laid their fingers on Seir and Gremory, I could sense Gremory heavily staring at me, like she was telling me to do something quick with these pests...
I opened the door carriage on my side, which surprised the bandits...I said a simple sentence to them, "Let us go peacefully, and no harm will come to you..."
All the bandits were laughing as my words were just merely a joke...Even one of them tried to throw a fist into me... But before his fist could connect, I swiftly dodged it and countered with a punch, knocking him to the ground...The others were surprised after what had happened...I could hear Gremory whistle like she was impressed or something...
Yet another bandit tried to swing his axe towards me from my other side...As he swung towards me, I focused on his axe shaft part...With a quick reaction before his axe could reach me, I stepped to the side and grabbed hold of the shaft, using his momentum against him...With swift action, I disarmed him and sent him stumbling backwards...
I could see their reaction becoming more cautious...They seemed to realise that I was not an easy target...The bandits exchanged wary glances, and in a second, they went to me from both sides, closing in on me from all angles...Yet I said to them,
"Just let us go peacefully, and no harm will come to both sides..."
Ignoring my words, they immediately lunged towards me, their weapons raised and ready to strike...Swiftly, I dodged their attack with my sidestep...Their weapons clashed with each other in front of me after I dodged it...My focus was immediately on their feet...Swiftly, I threw low kicks at one of their feet, and he easily got down after my low kicks...Yet the other was still unaware of what I would do next. I launched another simple fist towards the other...As my fist connected with the second attacker's jaw, he stumbled backwards, momentarily stunned...
Now there were three bandits down in front of me...Yet, there were still some of them around us...Again, I said the same thing towards them, "Just let us go peacefully..."
However, despite the three of them being down, one of them still showed some grins and smiles. He slowly stepped forward, undeterred by his fallen comrades. It was clear that he wasn't going to back down easily...I tightened my grip...
He moved so fast, not like the others; suddenly he was in front of me...As he swung his axe towards the side of my body, I could barely react. I tried to stop his swing like the others and grabbed his shaft...Finally, I could grab his axe shaft in a matter of seconds, yet his prowess in his swing was unmatchable for me...Despite my attempt to hold his swing, I couldn't match his strength, and the force of his blow sent me to fly some metres... I crashed into the ground, feeling the impact reverberate through my body...I checked my body. Did the axe pierce into my body? I was grateful that the axe didn't strike my body...
As I lay on the ground, gasping for breath, I realised the close call I had just experienced...I managed to get up and clean up some debris from my clothes... As I brushed off the dirt and debris, I could see Seir's head going out from the carriage's window. Her expression showed a kind of disappointment, yet she seemed to still try to support me...
After I got control of my breath, in quick, I did sidesteep towards him with fast...Despite my fast movements, the man was just casually standing without any flinching or movement...Somehow, out of my control, my body suddenly could throw a flying kick with a roundhouse kick towards the side of his head...I could feel the impact between my foot and his head...Yet, he stood his ground, and his head didn't flinch despite the force of my kick...
With quick skill, he took my foot and threw me to the side of rocky walls with a powerful throw. As I crashed into the rocky walls, pain shot through my body as I spat some drops of blood...As I struggled to get back on my feet...I tried to look at him, and he seemed to be having a conversation with Gremory and Seir... Maybe he would brag about himself and slander me... But to my surprise, suddenly a shockwave erupted from him, creating a lot of dust around him...After the dust settled, I was shocked because the man was gone from his spot; instead, his legs were still there, detached from his body, full of blood...I could hardly believe my eyes as I stared at the gruesome scene before me... The shockwave had not only obliterated the man but had left behind a horrifying sight of his severed legs, blood pooling around them...
I looked at the other rocky wall, and there was a big hole as if something had burst through it. It became clear that his body had burst or been thrown into that wall...The other guards were frightened; even one of them was pissed at himself after what had just happened...I noticed the door of the carriage opened, and Gremory walked towards me...As Gremory was walking to me, I could see her expression, which was kind of disappointing...In front of me, she looked down at me, who was struggling to get up...
"It seems that man is too much for you..." she said with a hint of disdain in her voice....I could sense her disappointment in my inability to handle the situation...It was clear that Gremory expected more from me, and I couldn't help but feel a pang of shame for letting her down.
Out of the blue, Seir was beside her and said "Don't blame him; his opponent was much more powerful than him....What did he call it back then?"
"Sovereign Soul Realm..." answered Gremory...
"Yeah...that realm, which he told us, was under exactly the Emperor Realm...So for him, it's a huge gap between him and that man, even with Cai Ying..I assume he will get beaten by her easily...Now, you need to heal him first..." said Seir...
"Whatever..." Gremory snapped her finger towards me, summoning a healing energy that I couldn't see with my naked eyes, yet that enveloped my body...As the warmth spread through me, in an instant, everything was being healed... I could feel the pain and injuries fading away as if they were never there...
After the pain and the injuries were gone, I went back up and stood up...As I looked around, the mountain bandits suddenly were prostrating towards Gremory and Seir, begging for their mercy...I asked Gremory and Seir,
"Which one of you did it to that man?" I pointed at the only foot that was still standing without a body...
Gremory and Seir exchanged a glance before Gremory spoke up, "It was Seir's doing...It was a lot of work for me to do it..."
Seir nodded in agreement, a hint of pride in her eyes. "It was indeed me because it was just unfair between him and you...So I just knocked him a little bit..."
"Well a little bit in your eyes, quietly different in reality..." I said while looking at the severe feet...I continued, "So what are you going to do with them that are still kneeling towards you two??"
Gremory shrugged, a mischievous smile playing on her lips. "You know what? I want to do something for them, who may relieve my bad mood..." Gremory's mischievous smile grew wider as suddenly some dimensional gate appeared behind each bandit and pulled them into the gate...
As the bandits disappeared into the dimensional gates, I couldn't help for my curiosity and concern. "What exactly are you planning to do with them?" I asked Gremory,
She chuckled softly, her eyes gleaming with mischief. "You want to know??"
"I think I prefer not to know it..."
We went back inside to the carriage, and we left the scene, leaving the chaos and bloodshed behind...We continued the trip to Xinxing City... As we travelled, everything was quiet and calm, not like at the start of the trip, when they were quite thirsty...