The almost endless sea of yellow sand in front of them seemed to have finally reached the other side of the shore, looking at the black spot on the edge of the horizon, all of them breathed a long sigh of relief. After that, no more sand pirates came to attack them, and in fact, the sand pirates were not fools, the death of two notorious leaders in a row naturally meant that there was a very troublesome caravan passing by during this period. The two of you warned us with your lives, so a brother can't help but listen - although the analogy is a bit too ridiculous for a sand pirate. In fact, Jared even wondered if Jelena had known this was going to happen, after all, their mercenary group specialized in running in the desert, it would be a bit wrong if they couldn't even think of this kind of thing. And he also quickly did introspection, although the identity of the warrior for their actions as a strong cover, but did not collect the spoils of war this point does not seem to be in line with the situation in this world. Even so, the thought of searching the dead turned Jared's stomach.
Caroline agreed, and she never even went near the bag with the dead man's head in it. Jared was equally unenthusiastic, so the two of them finally agreed and hung it next to the driver's seat of the wagon over Florence's objections.
(Mr. Businessman, it's good to have company.)
Although Caroline did not mean to taunt, Florence was still in tears. This man and woman really make him feel strange, kill people without blinking an eye, how can they be so hesitant about the human head. But the two people obviously avoided the question, it does not look like they are afraid of being killed by their own souls will come to retaliate, but Florence did not ask more about this, anyway, this is also none of his business.
"Caroline, it's almost time to leave the desert."
Jared sat in the back seat of the carriage, his expression a little grave. Caroline blinked her differently colored pupils, equally uneasy.
(... What do we do next?)
Although they had been in the world for many days, the desert itself was a closed world, and Jared and the two men had only been in contact and conversation with other mercenaries, but after leaving the desert, the two men were going to be truly immersed in the world. It's a real test for both men, whose lives in this world have been characterized by running and hiding. The thought of going back to that kind of life made them a little nervous. After all, no one knew what kind of problems or effects their powers would bring to the two of them in this world.
"Don't worry."
Jared shrugged his shoulders and leaned back.
"When we get to the mountain, we'll get there, and when we get to the bridge, we'll sink. And as you can see, the group of mercenaries didn't react too much when they saw our rune swords, even the ones who have traveled all over the world have this look on their faces, so I think in this world, as long as we're careful, there shouldn't be any problems."
(... Looks like that's all there is to it, Jared. What are you going to do next?)
"It's what 'we' intend to do ..."
Jared's tone was unchanged, but he corrected Caroline's words with a hint of force.
"You used to be like this, always taking everything into your own hands, and even though everyone was comfortable with you, it's not a bad thing to rely on someone else once in a while. You think I'm going to leave you and just kick my ass and go enjoy myself? What about you? Are you going to hide in a rat hole like you always do? Don't be ridiculous. Have you forgotten what we talked about?" Jared held out a fist in front of Caroline's face and looked at her with a confident smile.
(...A trouble shared is a trouble halved.)
Caroline also clenched her right hand into a fist and touched it lightly with Jared.
(Difficulties are halved when they are shared between two people.)
"In fact, abandoning these boring reasons is simply my selfishness. When I think of a woman as beautiful as you lying in the arms of a man other than me, I'm going to pull out my sword and slash at her."
Jared said, half-jokingly, half-seriously, while Caroline just sighed, glared helplessly at Jared, and said nothing more.
Indeed, what Jared said was true, and if it were up to him alone, he'd have no trouble finding a way to make a living in this world. After all, one of Jared's powers could even help him get to the path. But Caroline couldn't, and no matter what she had to do, she had to use "thought communication," and sooner or later, one of the people she was communicating with would be scared and terrified. If she didn't, she would have to pretend she couldn't speak, but that would be very painful. It would be fine if Caroline couldn't speak, but if she had the ability to communicate with others, but still couldn't, what was the difference between being able to speak and not being allowed to open her mouth?
The wagon lurched, and Jared looked up to see that the group had already left the desert. He sat up and looked around with a curious and wary eye.
After leaving the desert, the surrounding area was still barren, but at least you could see bushes growing between the cracks in the earth and some unnamed dry grasses and trees. After nearly half a day of bumping around, before the sun set, they finally arrived at a small town on the edge of the desert. Although the town was small, it wasn't deserted at all, and Jared and Caroline were surprised to see people wrapped in turbans around them, as well as a variety of animals they had never seen before, which made them feel a little uneasy.
"This is an outpost."
Florence let out a long breath and proceeded to introduce herself to the two men.
"Whether you're just leaving the desert or about to enter it, this is the only place on the edge of the desert where you can get supplies. So there are a lot more people here than in a normal town, and there are all kinds of people here, so it's better to be careful and not cause any trouble." Here, he lowered his voice." Especially for people like you two, be careful. Although I know you are very powerful, but here never lack of fear of death guys. Speaking of which,... those who are afraid of death wouldn't want to walk into this ghost desert."
Jared nodded cautiously, while Florence was relieved to park the wagon in the clearing next to the town. Whether intentionally or not, the wagons were parked alongside those of the Scott Chamber of Commerce. Caroline and Jared looked at each other and said nothing. At that moment, Jelena had already begun packing, and then she turned around and walked over to the two of them.
"Next thing you know, we'll be splitting up, won't we."
She was still smiling that same bold smile, while her right hand was folded over her waist and her fingers tapped the hilt of her sword.
"Although I think you probably already know what I'm going to ask ... I'm still going to ask, would you like to join our mercenary group? We need strong warriors like you. If you can join us, there will be a very good treatment, right?"
"I'm sorry, I think our decision will disappoint you."
Jared gave a slightly apologetic smile.
"Honestly, we're tired of wildlife adventures and the like, and just want to find some peace and quiet."
"You don't go into a hellhole like the Fieldale Desert if you want to live in peace. Or do you plan to live in seclusion?"
The corners of Jelena's mouth turned up in a smile.
"It was just an accident."
Jared didn't explain, he didn't lie, the fact that they were there was an accident, a force majeure.
"... So, well, since we're all on the same path, we've been favored by the Goddess of Fortune. Follow me, I'm sure you don't know where to exchange the bounty." With that, Jelena turned and walked towards the town, Jared and Caroline didn't say anything but just followed. In fact, just as Jelena had said, they didn't know what to do with the heads in their hands.
(... Jared?)
"Yes?"
Jared spoke, in a barely audible voice, and it wasn't a problem anyway.
(Are you concerned about my body? The kind that is ...)
"Very necessary ..."
Jared blocked Caroline's speech next.
"I think you can see that."
He stared ahead at Jelena and continued in a low voice.
"Mercenaries are a dangerous job, and I'm sure they don't have the concept of commute time, which is too much uncertainty for you with your time constraints. And I'm tired of chasing or being chased, don't you think we should have a more stable life? At least I don't want to live a life where I'm in danger all the time."
(... Me too...)
Caroline gently turned the little umbrella in her hand to cover her slightly flushed cheeks.
Under Jelena's guidance, the two of them arrived at the town hall of the town council, which, except for the more serious look on the front, was simply filthy inside. In the large space, both the tables, chairs and benches as well as the decorations on the walls looked gray, Caroline gently slid her hand over the table, immediately bringing up a lot of dust. She frowned slightly, then took out a handkerchief and covered her nose and mouth.
Jelena, also a woman, was obviously used to this hellhole, and she walked up to the counter with a big grin and slapped the table with a thud, and immediately someone came running over to her, whispering to her about what she needed.
"These two fighters killed the man you were looking for."
Jelena pointed her finger at Caroline and Jared, and then threw the sand-filled bag over to her. The other carefully opened the bag, and instantly turned white with fear, but he still fearfully took out the wanted notice of the two sand pirates, and compared the appearance of the heads on it. Due to the dry desert climate and sand buried relationship, the human head after dehydration looks a little thin, but still able to see the appearance. The poor guy looked at the wanted notice for half a day, then carefully held the bag and walked to the inner room, after a while before coming out. But unlike before, the man in front of him had a hard look on his face this time, and his hands were empty. He came to the three people in front of the very difficult, hesitated for a moment and then whispered.
"It's been ... verified, but very ... very ... sorry, we can't give you a bounty... ..."