The Silver Seal, Three

After Rhode said his final words, the two fell silent at the same time.

Rhode still wore his usual calm expression. The vampire had glanced at the Soul Crystal a couple of times when Rhode took it out, but otherwise hadn't moved.

Yusuf's expression kept changing, showing that his mind was far from calm.

As the silence inside the tent stretched on, the atmosphere grew heavy. Rhode even sensed a brief flash of killing intent.

At that moment, Yusuf's full presence was on display in the cramped tent. In Rhode's eyes, the aura Yusuf now exuded as he stood opposite him was what a true warrior ought to have.

The vampire beside Rhode felt the force emanating from Yusuf as well. He stepped out from behind Rhode's chair and watched Yusuf closely, ready to strike at any moment.

Rhode was equally prepared. Although he remained seated, his awareness had already locked onto the blade in his Space Ring, and he shifted his weight forward. If Yusuf made a move, Rhode could draw his sword in an instant and thrust it straight ahead.

Even after preparing for battle, Rhode remained calm.

Yusuf had the strength of a seasoned warrior, but he wore only light cloth clothes, with none of the armor warriors wore in battle. Rhode wasn't afraid of him.

Unlike a swordsman like Rhode, who relied purely on swordsmanship, a warrior needed a fine set of equipment to bring out his true strength.

Swordsmen relied on the sharpness of their techniques and the timing of their strikes. Warriors, on the other hand, relied on shifting between offense and defense in battle.

To maximize damage and agility, swordsmen would wear no more than leather armor. If they put on heavy Iron Armor, their strength would drop considerably.

Unlike swordsmen, warriors wore different kinds of armor to suit their needs. To find the best moment to attack, they often relied on their equipment and battle experience to keep blocking their opponent's attacks until they spotted an opening.

A warrior might not surpass a swordsman of the same rank in swordsmanship, but with fine equipment and a firm grasp of offense and defense, they could generally defeat one.

It could be said that much of a warrior's strength rested on their equipment.

That was why, even though Rhode knew a fight might break out, he had merely prepared himself rather than getting overly tense.

Rhode knew that, although his own strength alone might not be enough to defeat Yusuf, with the vampire at his side, the outcome would be far from certain if Yusuf tried to attack them here.

Even with a Space Ring, armor was different from a weapon, which could be taken out in an instant. Putting on a full suit of armor took quite a while.

A warrior without armor might have all his usual attributes, but he wouldn't be able to withstand more than a few of the vampire's attacks. And with Rhode waiting for a chance to strike, Rhode didn't think Yusuf would last long.

Still... Rhode realized that if they fought Yusuf, they would have to finish him quickly. Otherwise, everyone else in the merchant caravan would come running, and there might even be spellcasters among them. Then he'd have to think about how to escape the caravan's camp.

Besides, this was the only caravan heading to the City of Wailing right now. If Rhode missed this chance, he might have to wait a long time for another caravan bound for the city—or even change his plans entirely.

While Rhode considered all this, Yusuf was just as unsettled.

Yusuf couldn't figure out how the necromancer in front of him had discovered that the real cargo he was transporting was Soul Crystals. The necromancer had laid it all out, one point at a time, but Yusuf could hardly believe he'd deduced it from just a few clues.

In that brief moment, Yusuf had considered many possibilities, yet countless questions remained in his mind. What was the necromancer's true purpose? Had one of his trusted confidants betrayed him and passed information to the necromancer? Or were they spies sent by another merchant caravan to test him?

If the necromancer really had some ulterior motive, and Yusuf didn't want the secret of this shipment of Soul Crystals to get out, the best thing to do would be to kill the necromancer now and then leave immediately with the caravan. It might look suspicious, but it was undoubtedly the best option at the moment.

However, the clash of their auras had made Yusuf abandon that idea. Years of fighting had made him keenly sensitive to danger. The auras of the two men before him made one thing clear: if he attacked rashly, he would probably be the first to fall.

A feeling suddenly came over Yusuf. Although the two men before him dressed no differently from the necromancers he'd seen before, their auras didn't seem like those of necromancers who only knew how to stay behind the lines and command Undead Creatures. They seemed more like seasoned close-combat fighters.

Yusuf took a deep breath. The situation had clearly gone beyond his expectations, and he no longer knew which parts of his earlier assessment were correct and which they had deliberately shown him to mislead him. He could only try to keep the two men in front of him calm for now.

Yusuf said slowly, "I can take the two of you to the City of Wailing, and I won't even charge you for the trip. But until the caravan sets out, you must stay at the camp."

Hearing this, Rhode was sure he'd understood Yusuf's intentions. "Then we'll be in your care on the journey." With that, he accepted Yusuf's terms.

Yusuf nodded, indicating that Rhode and the vampire should wait there for a moment. He went to the back of the tent and called out loudly a few times.

Before long, a thief dressed like a rogue entered the tent from the back. Yusuf gave him a few quiet instructions, and the thief led Rhode and the vampire out of the tent.

Following the thief in the direction they'd come from, Rhode and the others walked for a while until they reached an empty carriage.

"Please rest here, mages. The caravan will set out in two days. If there's anything you need, let me know in advance and I'll buy it for you."

The thief's hoarse voice reached Rhode's ears. Rhode couldn't tell whether he was deliberately lowering his voice or whether it naturally sounded that way.

After saying this, the thief didn't leave. He waited nearby.

Rhode understood that although Yusuf had agreed to let him and the vampire travel as passengers, he still didn't trust them. After leading them here, the thief would stay put. He might claim to be waiting for their instructions, but in truth he was keeping watch to see if they made any suspicious moves.

Yusuf's approach was exactly what Rhode expected. If Yusuf hadn't kept him under any kind of watch, that would have surprised him.

Rhode didn't say anything. He simply led the vampire into the carriage.