Chapter 344
Chapter 344 Setting Out
Three days later.
The gathering location was set to be the entrance of the Night Rose’s headquarters.
There was already a crowd when Greem and Alice hurried over to the place. Several dozen carts had also been parked there. A squad of fully-armed guards spread across the area. They seemed to consist of warriors from other races mostly.
Greem was interested in the secrets of their biology, but a few figures wrapped in heavy robes drew his attention.
In truth, Greem and Alice also wore wearing thick traveler’s robes to avoid any trouble. They had their hoods pulled over their heads, and not a single inch of their skin was exposed. That said, nothing could entirely hide Alice’s conspicuously petite figure.
There were four other ‘passengers’ traveling with the merchant group aside from the two of them.
The four of them had split into three different parties. Two women were traveling alone, and the other male and female were a pair like Alice and Greem were.
“Since you have chosen us of the Night Rose, you had best keep to the rules and behave. We will be responsible for escorting you to your destination without a hitch.” The woman stopped walking and coldly warned, “If anyone tries some scheme of theirs along the way, hmph… “
Greem and the others took her words to heart. They bowed in respect before the witch.
This respect was, in fact, the necessary formality that needed to be shown towards a higher-grade adept. Otherwise, the higher-grade adept possessed the right to punish the disrespect.
After a light warning, the Second Grade witch boarded an opulent carriage without another word. The other black-robed ladies also boarded their carriages, one after another.
A Second Grade witch, three First Grade witches, and seven apprentice witches in all.
The blinding light might have obstructed Greem’s eyes, but he was still able to get a good grasp of the number of witches in the party with the chip’s ability to scan. Such figures and power were enough to compare to small-sized clans in the Zhentarim area.
Right here at the edge of the Northern Lands, a party of this capability was no more than the basic line-up to guard a group of caravans!
As everyone had paid a hefty price of two hundred magical crystals, a delicate carriage had been prepared for every one of the passengers. However, Alice and Greem still chose to share a vehicle out of security concerns. Before they got into their carriage, Greem observed that the pair of adepts traveling together were also sharing a carriage.
Alice excitedly whispered once they got on, “Are we going to do it on the journey?”
Greem replied unamusedly, “You dare to do anything? There’s a Second Grade Dark Witch with the group. Moreover, you will attract fate’s backlash if you are the one that took the initiative to strike!”
Alice took out a large apple out of who-knows-where and started snapping and crunching away at it, “We will always find a way to do it as long as we want to. From my observations, all these people seem to be idiots. Wouldn’t it be an easy matter to bait them to attack us?”
“It’s best not to do anything if we can.” Greem thought quietly for a while, “I have a feeling that you will benefit more if you let them grow stronger!”
Alice tilted her head as she thought about the issue. She started gnawing away at the apple at an even faster rate.
At the same time, a private conversation was also held on the carriage of the other pair of adepts.
“Brother, are we going to do it on the journey?” The female adept was the first to pull her hood off her head. She revealed a head of long golden hair and a delicate and pretty face.
“We will see how it goes!” The other adept also pulled his hood off. His pitch-black eyes, with not a single trace of white, looked extremely strange and wicked, “The two of them are traveling together. It’s going to be troublesome. The little kid doesn’t seem to have any combat abilities, but that companion of her’s is no simple matter. That said, we can consider those fellows traveling alone as our targets!”
The female adept lowered her head and thought for a bit. She then lifted her head and spoke, “No need to hurry. I’ll find opportunities to probe them during the trip. You go and test that female adept. I’ll have a word with the male adept.”
The male adept let out a silent sigh and finally nodded in agreement.
The long caravan line started to move, even as the cogs of conspiracy in everyone’s minds had begun to turn.
The mercenaries at the front formed the vanguard. The Night Rose guards protected both sides of the caravan line. The dozen carriages that carried the witches and the apprentices mixed with the other caravans and slowly moved forward.
…………
The merchant carts and caravans lined up into a long winding serpent as they passed through the city gates in an orderly fashion.
Two women stood in a fort on top of the city gates as the caravan line pressed towards the dark forest. They silently watched over this party.
“Is the assessment done?” One of the women spoke in a chilling tone.
“It is, my lady.” The other woman bowed, “There are a total of six outsiders. Four of them are female.”
“Have you checked with the runic arrays?”
“We have. The array reacted to all four of women. Two are adepts, and one is an apprentice.”
“And the other?”
“The reaction of the array was somewhat peculiar, as if some unique magical tool that she had on her was interfering with our probing!”
“Hmph! That is what’s considered ordinary. Who cares if she can interfere with the array? All that matters is that there was a reaction. Remember to notify our sisters on the other end. Send all the information we just gathered to them. The quicker we find out their backgrounds, the greater Miss Snowlotus’ chance of victory.”
“Understood. Your humble subordinate understands. I will go and do so immediately.”
Only the woman was left once her subordinate had gone. She looked at the distant caravan line and couldn’t help but snort coldly, “Hmph! Another bunch is seeking their deaths! Do you really think that you stand a chance in the Battle of Fate? A bunch of fools… “
She vanished from the spot before her voice had wholly spread out within the room!