Although Zach was in the same group as that member, he was undoubtedly the weakest of them all. He was made the errand boy because he’s weak.
Drenched with sweat from all the running, Zach now regretted the threatening tone he took and his sweat slowly turned into another kind of sweat.
As Zach’s face was showing obvious fear, the woman’s smile suddenly became less frightening:
“Hmm~ whatever. I don’t have much time as well. But if I see you again, be prepared to feel some discomfort~”
The woman casually remarked and walked around him. Zach became interested in the direction this particular woman was heading, but it was just a part of the lower town where no one was living.
It was already this late, so why was a beauty like her heading towards the slums? Though he felt curious, he had more important matters to deal with. He started running again.
After a while, he reached another part of the lower city that was filled with many ramshackle houses. He briefly looked around to check if he had been followed.
The sun was gradually sinking below the horizon, and the world was slowly shrouded in darkness. Zach tried to check a second time to see if anyone had been following him by hiding in a dark corner. He had repeatedly performed this action many times already, but he wanted to check one last time just to be safe.
Nodding in satisfaction Zach tried to catch his breath while knocking the door three times. Five seconds later, he knocked another four times.
After giving the secret knock, a reaction could immediately be felt on the other side of the door, which was the sound of a wooden plate sliding against the door. The wooden plate blocking the peephole slid to the side, and a man’s eyes could be seen looking around, to confirm the identity of the intruder.
“Ah, it’s you. Wait a moment.”
He didn’t wait for Zach’s response and blocked the peephole again. The sound of a heavy lock being opened could be heard next and the door opened slightly.
“Come in.”
The rooms gave off a slightly rotten odor, it was a world of difference to compare this to the hotel he had just been in. Zach hoped his nose would get used to this smell soon, and quickly slid into the room.
The door was closed and Zach saw that the room inside is both dark and small.
This place was a dining hall with a built-in kitchen, but there was only one table. On the table stood a lone candle illuminating the dim room slightly.
A filthy man who gave off the air of someone who made a living through violence and brutality pulled out a chair by the table and sat down. The chair creaked as if it was screaming. The man had a solid frame and a broad chest. Light scars could be seen on this man’s face and arms. The chair looked as if it is about to collapse under his weight.
“So, Zach, what is it. Did something happen?”
“The situation changed… the prey is about to move.”
“Ah… so they are going now.”
Zach nodded slightly. The man complained in low voice: “Why did they choose this hour… Can’t they be more considerate of us.” At the same time he lifted his hand and scratched his messy hair.
“Is there no way to delay them a bit?”
“It’s not so easy because it’s a request by that girl.”
The man had already heard many times about how the girl was like and exaggeratedly wrinkled his face.
“That old geezer should use some of his brain and try persuading the girl to not leave at night. Traveling at night is scary and there might be bandits. Damn it, I can’t stand this… even idiots know that. Ah — how about sabotaging the wheels of the carriage to delay them until tomorrow?”
“I don’t think I can… they’re already moving the luggage onto the carriage, perhaps it would be better to just be done with this quickly?”
“Hmm, that’s not wrong…”
The man was looking up while thinking deeply.
“So, around what time will they leave?”
“In about two hours.”
“The timeframe is very tight. Hmm… what to do. If we only have two hours to prepare then we gotta contact the others quickly… Though it might be a bit difficult, but they’re preys hard to come by.”
The man counted his fingers as he thought about the amount time for the operation. Zach silently listened in on the plan and lowered his head to look at his hand.
“Rich people like them get you riled up, don’t they…”
Zach recalled the pristine and perfect hand of hers.
Those who worked on a farm would never have such beautiful hands. From handling the hoes and all the heavy farm work they did, everyone’s hands were both rough and dirty, down to their very nails.
He knew this world wasn’t fair. But…
Zach curled up the corner of his mouth, showed his teeth, and gave a lewd and lecherous smirk:
“I’ll have my turn to toy with her… right?”
“Only after I’m done with her. We also need to ask for a ransom, so don’t be too rough and hurt her too badly.”
The man also showed a lecherous smile. Perhaps stimulated by his desire, he stood up.
“Alright, it’s decided. Let me contact the leader.”
“Got it.”
“We’ll send around ten guys to the ambush spot. You should go now, make sure they’ll arrive at the spot in about four hours. If you’re delayed somehow, we’ll attack directly. Try to calm them down in order to make them drop their guard.”
Part 3
A carriage was quickly speeding away from the walled city.
Four strong horses were pulling a large carriage that was more than large enough to carry six passengers.
The surrounding area was unexpectedly bright, illuminated by a large, bright moon that hung in the sky… Even so, it was still foolish to travel hastily in a night like this. Putting up lights, making camp and setting a watch detail would’ve been a wiser choice.
Saying the night wasn’t a world controlled by humans wouldn’t be enough. To put it more clearly, places where the light didn't shine didn't belong to humans. Countless animals, demi-humans and monsters lurked in the night; many with eyes that could pierce the dark and attack humans.
In a dangerous night like this, the passengers only felt a slight vibration as the carriage moved down the road.
The trembling wasn’t weak because of excellent suspension, it was due to the fact that the carriage was moving on stone paved roads.
The construction of stone paved roads only began after a proposal from the "Golden” princess, but as of now, the only places that had paved roads were some of the territories under the king’s direct jurisdiction, and the territory of one of the six grand nobles, Lord Raven. This was due to the opposition of the aristocrats, who felt the ease of movement would make it easier for the empire to invade.
The cost of road maintenance stirred up a lot of commotion as well. Princess Renner’s suggestion of raising funds from the merchants was hampered by the nobles who feared that their authority and revenue would be diminished. This resulted in the current state of affairs looking as if it had been chewed by a dog.