Worry

However, being too dazzling was not necessarily a good thing.

Having received nine years of compulsory education from the Zhonghua Family in his previous life, Locke knew well the sayings about tall trees catching the wind and the first bird getting shot.

Showing off before he had enough power to protect himself was practically asking to die.

Whether it was the Frost Snow Empire or the Temple of Light, Locke would not hesitate to judge people with the utmost malice.

He did not believe that after dying, he would still be lucky enough to carve out a path through the Undead Realm of the Underworld, ascend to the Divine Domain, and live a second life.

The caravan continued onward, and everyone was fairly relaxed.

After all, they had yet to leave the sphere of influence of Bidia Territory. At most, those bandits would send scouts to gather information on the caravan.

If those bandits dared to rob travelers within a hundred li of Bidia City, it would be a provocation against Bidia City.

When that happened, Bidia City's army would teach those bandits how to behave.

However, not only the caravan's guards, but even the scattered wagon groups following behind it noticed that the number of scouts around them was gradually increasing. They had gone from hiding in the shadows at first to openly following them without even bothering to conceal themselves.

Clearly, the bandits had already formed an alliance. They were merely waiting for the caravan to travel more than a hundred li from Bidia City before launching their attack.

For all they knew, the bandits beyond that hundred-li mark had already set up their formation and were simply waiting for the caravan to arrive so they could begin unloading the goods.

At that moment, seeing more than a dozen scouts blatantly trailing them, even President Luqi felt somewhat panicked.

However, as the organizer of the caravan, President Luqi knew that if he showed even the slightest hint of anxiety now, the presidents of the merchant groups that had paid protection fees to follow alongside him would divide up everything he owned at the first opportunity, using it to make up for their losses without waiting until they were a hundred li away.

Now, President Luqi could only pray that Captain Locke was strong enough to intimidate those bandits.

The independent merchants following behind the caravan also had rather changed expressions.

Some had begun to hesitate over whether they should continue following the caravan.

As independent merchants, they lacked the funds to hire guards, making them highly vulnerable to attacks by bandits and magical beasts during their travels.

To earn a living, they would generally follow behind large merchant associations. That way, once the larger associations defeated the bandits and magical beasts, the dangers they faced would be greatly reduced.

However, in a situation like this, everyone had to weigh the gains and losses for themselves.

If the merchant association ahead possessed the strength to repel the bandits, they would make a fortune.

But if even the merchant association ahead was plundered by the bandits, none of them would escape unscathed.

Of course, they would not be killed. Those bandits still hoped they would pass through again next time and deliver more goods to them.

If bandits killed merchants and word got out, this trade route would either be ruined, or more merchants would soon gather gold coins to post bounties and hire mercenaries to clear the bandits from the road.

In the end, none of the independent merchants withdrew.

After all, opportunities to follow behind a large caravan like this were truly rare.

At most, they only came once or twice a year.

If they missed this opportunity, who knew whether they would even have another chance to leave the city today?

With such complicated thoughts weighing on them, the nearly seventy wagons continued slowly along the trade road.

That night, the caravan found a relatively open place to make camp.

Over the course of the day, the entire caravan had traveled roughly forty li.

At this pace, they would encounter the first wave of bandits by the day after tomorrow at the latest.

"Lord Locke, I've brought you dinner."

Inside the luxurious carriage, Locke had just been about to take some food from his Space Ring when he heard President Luqi's voice.

Locke lifted the carriage curtain and saw President Luqi holding a red square tray. On it were three small dishes and a bowl of rice.

"Oh? Then I truly have to thank you, President Luqi."

"I was getting a little hungry myself."

Locke smiled and took hold of the tray, but to his surprise, President Luqi did not let go. As a result, he failed to take the tray from President Luqi's hands.

"President Luqi?"

Puzzled, Locke looked up at President Luqi.

President Luqi looked somewhat embarrassed and anxious. He opened his mouth, and only after a long pause did he squeeze out a few words.

"Well, Lord Locke, in just one day, the guards have discovered more than seventeen bandit scouts..."

"What do you think...?"

"Hahaha, rest assured, President Luqi."

Hearing President Luqi's words, Locke understood what he was worried about. He chuckled. "President Luqi, I was, after all, a military mage who participated in nearly a hundred battles with the Fifth Legion."

"As long as there are no experts above level seven among those bandits, it makes no difference to me how many of them come."

"Oh, right, right, right. I was overthinking it."

"Lord Locke, please get some good rest."

After hearing Locke's words, Luqi felt a measure of relief.

Although he still had doubts about what Locke had said, at this point, Luqi could only trust him.

After watching Luqi leave, Locke carried the tray back into the carriage.

With a thought, the tray in Locke's hands vanished.

The next moment, a flatbread appeared in Locke's hand.

With his eyes closed, Locke took small bites from the flatbread in his hand.

In terms of flavor, the flatbread in Locke's hand was certainly not as delicious as the exquisite meal President Luqi had just delivered.

However, it was dry rations Locke had made with his own hands, so its safety was guaranteed.

While traveling, Locke would not casually eat things given to him by others.

It would be fine if nothing happened, but if something truly did happen, it would be too late for regrets.

With a casual wave of his hand, he cast a third-level water-element defensive spell around himself. Then Locke closed his eyes and began meditating to refine Magic Power.

Recently, whenever his Mental Strength recovered, Locke would maintain the state of "Unity of Heaven and Man" to slowly comprehend the Profound Mystery of the Laws, allowing the Profound Mystery of the Laws between heaven and earth to temper his Mental Strength.

As a result, the rate at which Locke's Mental Strength improved naturally far exceeded the rate at which it could be enhanced through meditation techniques.

To keep his Magic Power from falling too far behind his Mental Strength, Locke did not cultivate his Mental Strength while meditating. Instead, he accelerated its recovery, then drew in more water elements from heaven and earth and refined them into his own Magic Power.