The Last Defender of the Way squad rode their nightmare warhorses, moving slowly through the forest. Barrett occasionally raised his brass telescope to his eye, scanning the distant horizon.
In his and EeDechi's view, four tiny black dots trudged along the crest of the rolling hills in the wilderness ahead. The three adventurers were trailing that expedition team, plotting to use some "special" tactics to snatch the map to the Eight Greed Kings' desert from their hands.
"Why aren't these guys sticking to the main road? Why trek through this godforsaken nowhere?" EeDechi muttered, puzzled. The path the expedition took was the same one their squad had camped at a few nights back.
"Beats me, but who cares? Them taking this backwater trail just makes our job easier," Barrett said, lowering his telescope and cracking his knuckles.
"Hey, that cleric chick in their group—can I call dibs on dealing with her?" Franco, perched on his nightmare warhorse, grinned eagerly.
"Get lost," EeDechi shot back, hesitating. "Doesn't this feel a bit… wrong? I mean, we're supposed to be the good guys."
"Oh, come on," Barrett said, dead serious. "We're upright adventurers. Doing what adventurers do doesn't make us any less upright."
"Don't sweat it, captain," Franco chimed in. "I'll just whip up a duplicate map with my copying spell later. They'll be fine."
The trio spurred their nightmare warhorses faster, circling around a few hills to quietly close in on the four-person expedition. The team rode red dwarf horses, their backs loaded with heavy cargo, slowing them down.
A sharp whistle cut through the air, and Barrett, astride his towering warhorse, leaped forward, galloping at breakneck speed to block the expedition team's path. He brandished his longsword, its razor-sharp edge glinting in the blinding sunlight, forcing the plodding team to a halt.
EeDechi, riding hard from the expedition's left rear, closed in fast. Her horsemanship was absolute garbage, and she nearly crashed into the team's horses before fumbling through a chaotic mess of reins to barely stop her nightmare warhorse.
Franco, the last of the trio, was even worse. His riding skills were a disaster. Legs clamped tight around the horse's belly, arms wrapped desperately around its neck, he charged wildly. The nightmare warhorse, half-strangled by his grip, wheezed and bucked, trying to throw him off.
Franco yanked out his wand and cast a sleep spell on the beast. The warhorse dropped like a rock, and Franco scrambled up from the dirt, staggering to block the expedition's right rear.
Just like that, the three adventurers had the four-person expedition team surrounded.
"What's the meaning of this?" The buzzcut woman, looking every bit the boss, fixed Barrett with an icy stare. She made no move to draw a weapon.
Behind her, a bearded man unslung his battleaxe. A cold-eyed young guy pulled his sword. The cleric girl in a white robe raised her staff, a glowing aura of magic swirling around its red crystal.
As they armed themselves, the team's vibe shifted. Yesterday, they were just a rowdy bunch laughing in a tavern. Now, they were hardened, battle-scarred warriors ready to throw down.
"Can't you tell?" Barrett bellowed, facing the bristling expedition team. "We're robbing you blind."
"Robbing us?" The four exchanged glances, then burst into roaring laughter. "HAHAHAHAHA! HAHAHAHAHA!"
"Stop laughing," EeDechi said, dead serious. "I don't want to get violent, but hand over the map to the Eight Greed Kings' desert, and we'll let you walk away."
"HAHAHAHAHA!" The four laughed even harder, the cleric girl among them doubled over, tears streaming down her face as she dabbed at her eyes with her sleeve.
"Three piss-ant thieves, do you even know who we are?" The bearded man finally choked back his laughter, swinging his broad-bladed battleaxe with menacing force. "We're the four deacons of Clearwater Scripture! Tough luck, this is the last robbery you'll ever pull!"
The buzzcut woman's expression hardened. She flicked her wrist, pulling a massive halberd from her spatial ring. "I'll assume you're out of your damn minds. Leave now, and you might still have a chance. Keep pushing this robbery, and you can try your luck."
EeDechi's face darkened. She kicked her nightmare warhorse's flank, and it clopped forward, charging toward the four…
…
One minute later.
"I tried it. Didn't seem that hard," EeDechi said, tying the bearded man's wrists tight with an enchanted rope.
"Ow, ow, ow! Easy, damn it, my arm's broken!" The bearded man writhed on the ground, grimacing, his body limp as a wet rag. His broad-bladed battleaxe lay beside him, snapped in two.
Barrett had the buzzcut woman bound to a nearby tree, alongside the cleric girl and the young guy. The scene was a mess—two red dwarf horses lay bleeding out, while the other two, spooked, had bolted into the distance.
Franco ran his hand along the cleric girl's pale cheek. She jerked her head away in terror, but bound as she was, she couldn't escape his creeping fingers.
"Can I bend this girl's mind, make her soothe the pain Lady Clorora's hurt caused me a few days ago?" Franco asked.
"Careful, or the captain'll kick your ass," Barrett said, prying Franco's hand off the girl's face.
The buzzcut woman squirmed, glaring at EeDechi like she was some kind of freak. "Who the hell are you people? How are you this strong?"
"Strong? Nah, you guys are just weak as hell," EeDechi replied casually, tying a bow on the bearded man's bound wrists.
"We're warriors of Clearwater Scripture. Except for the cleric, we're all in the 'Hero' realm," the buzzcut woman said, her voice heavy with defeat. The fight had clearly hit her hard, a blow to her proud streak.
Clearwater Scripture, huh? EeDechi hadn't expected to cross paths with the elite of Slane Theocracy's Six Scriptures this soon.
But she couldn't be bothered to deal with them further. With cargo scattered across the ground, the three adventurers started rummaging through it, hunting for the desert map.
"What's this thing? Pretty sweet," EeDechi said, pulling a four-sided purple crystal from a wooden crate. It sparkled brilliantly in the sunlight, clear as glass.
Cheeko poked its head out of the backpack, meowing and rubbing against EeDechi's leg, staring hungrily at the crystal.
"That's a tracking crystal," Franco said, frowning as he snatched the purple crystal from EeDechi's hand and inspected it closely. "It's got magic circuits carved into it. Someone could pinpoint its location from a thousand miles away."
Franco tossed the crystal up, grinning at Cheeko. "You want to eat this crystal?"
Cheeko meowed and nodded.
"Tough luck, I ain't giving it to you!"
Franco flung the crystal skyward and swung his wand. Crack! A bolt of serpentine lightning struck the four-sided purple crystal, shattering it into glittering dust that drifted to the ground.
"You're such a jackass," EeDechi snapped, glaring at Franco. She crouched down to pet Cheeko's head. "Don't worry, buddy. We'll get you some crystals to munch on when we hit the city."
Barrett soon found several parchment scrolls, detailed with maps of the Eight Greed Kings' desert—its former waterways, the routes and timings of raging sandstorms, and even markers for the Eight Greed Kings' ruins and their locations.
The maps were thorough and fresh, not some dusty "ancient treasure map." In a desert, wind and time could reshape the terrain, so newer maps were always more reliable.
These would do just fine. Barrett was confident he could navigate the Eight Greed Kings' desert and back with these in hand.
His eyes flicked to the spatial ring on the buzzcut woman's finger. He was sure it held even better loot, but the three adventurers weren't full-on bandits. They'd take the maps and be on their way.
Before leaving, EeDechi glanced at the battered state of the four, feeling a pang of guilt. She planted her greatsword into the ground and murmured, "If Gods Deny Salvation's Hand, With Sacred Blade I'll Reprimand."
A warm golden glow rippled out like water, healing their wounds completely. Stunned, the four gaped at her, thinking she'd let them go since she'd fixed them up. But EeDechi just turned to walk away.
The enchanted ropes binding the four expedition members were conjured by Franco's magic. They'd loosen and fall off in an hour, ensuring the explorers wouldn't starve to death in this desolate wilderness.