Jenny left with Keane, while the mercenaries watched her retreating figure with lingering reluctance.
"Miss Jenny is so beautiful. I'd be willing to live ten years less if I could marry a wife like her."
"Stop dreaming, you fool. Miss Jenny is a noble."
The mercenaries nearby were still discussing her animatedly.
At that moment, Linley quietly spoke to Garen.
"Well, are you a little smitten with Jenny? I just saw her blush when she looked at you. She's one of the three most beautiful women I've ever seen, and she's absolutely good enough for you."
"Really? Is she prettier than your Delia?"
Garen asked teasingly.
"Uh..."
Linley was instantly at a loss for words.
Ever since Alice had hurt him, his heart had been frozen. But deep down, there was still someone he couldn't bring himself to face.
Seeing Linley like that, Garen stopped teasing him. He knew Linley was devoted when he fell in love.
Late that night, Garen was meditating inside the carriage. Ever since absorbing the Soul Golden Bead and experiencing a surge in Soul Power, then undergoing Soul Mutation, his speed at refining his spiritual power through meditation had increased tremendously. Even though all the experience he gained from killing monsters had gone toward his Warrior Level, his Magic Level had already reached the middle-to-late stages of Level 9. His progress had been astonishingly fast.
Suddenly, the System Map issued an alert.
Nearly a hundred red dots were rapidly approaching their caravan.
Garen climbed out of the carriage and alerted the two mercenaries standing watch.
"Bandits are coming. Wake everyone up!"
Linley heard the commotion outside and climbed down from the carriage as well, walking over to Garen.
"Everyone, get up! Bandits are coming!"
A mercenary shouted. The others quickly grabbed their weapons and peered into the darkness around them.
Naturally, they couldn't see anything.
Garen's System Map could detect threats from two kilometers away.
It took Linley a while to sense the approaching group.
A minute later, the faint sound of hurried footsteps finally came from the distance. The bandits saw that the area was already brightly lit and the mercenaries were on alert.
Their plan to ambush the caravan had fallen through. At their leader's signal, they charged straight over and surrounded the entire caravan.
A booming voice rose from among the bandits. A one-eyed bandit stepped out from the crowd.
"Malone, you old bearded bastard. I can't believe you're still this vigilant after all these years. Since we can't ambush you, we'll just have to attack head-on."
The one-eyed bandit strode forward arrogantly, seemingly unconcerned by the mercenaries' readiness, as though he already had everyone right where he wanted them.
"Linley, I hate bandits more than anything. How about we see who can kill more, and I won't transform?"
Garen's attitude toward bandits could be summed up in four words: wipe them all out!
"I'm only interested in the most arrogant one. I don't care about the little fry. Let the mercenaries handle them."
Linley replied casually.
"Fine, then. I'll leave the bandit leader to you. I haven't used a bow in ages, so I'm a bit rusty. Today, I'll show you my archery."
While the mercenary captain was still considering whether they could pay their way out of trouble by bargaining with the one-eyed bandit leader, Garen and Linley had already sentenced the bandits to death.
Garen casually raised a hand and instantly cast Level 8 Magic.
"Wind Blade Soaring Dance!"
Hundreds of half-meter-long wind blades shot wildly toward the rear like a storm. Guided by Garen's powerful spiritual force, they instantly slaughtered dozens of bandits behind the caravan.
"Ah! Ah..."
Screams rose one after another.
Linley had already reached the one-eyed bandit leader and swung No Edge. The leader reacted quickly, but just as he tried to dodge, he suddenly found himself trapped, unable to move as the space around him compressed. One swing was all it took to reduce the Level 8 bandit leader to dust.
The sudden attack left the caravan captain and the mercenaries staring in disbelief.
The bandits who saw what had happened were terrified out of their wits.
One of them was the first to react.
"Brothers, run!"
The bandits scattered like startled birds, turning and fleeing as fast as they could, wishing their parents had given them two extra legs.
"What kind of death gods are these? One of them casually killed dozens of our brothers in a single move, and the other effortlessly took out our boss with one strike. How are we supposed to fight them?"
As they fled in a panic, the bandits wondered the same thing.
"Brothers, charge! Kill all the bandits!"
Some of the quicker mercenaries shouted and rushed forward with their weapons raised.
Garen took out the Purple Dragon Bow.
He gathered a Gale Arrow.
"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh..."
"Thud!" "Thud!"
The repeated whistling of arrows filled the air. With Garen's current spiritual power, gathering Gale Arrows with the power of Level 7 Magic took almost no time, and the magic he expended was negligible.
His bowstring snapped back again and again. The Gale Arrows seemed to have eyes, curving around the mercenaries to strike the fleeing bandits.
One arrow per target. These bandits couldn't begin to match the speed of the Gale Arrows.
When an arrow struck down a bandit who had already run a thousand meters away, the screams finally stopped. Not a single bandit remained, and Garen put away the Purple Dragon Bow.
"I haven't killed bandits in ages. That felt great."
Somewhere along the way, killing bandits had become one of Garen's favorite pastimes.
The mercenaries and the merchants, now awake, stared at Garen and Linley in shock and admiration. Everyone on the continent worshiped the strong.
The O'Brien Empire valued martial prowess above all. Its founding emperor, the War God O'Brien, had established the empire through strength.
"Thank you both for stepping in, or our mercenary company would have suffered terrible losses. Here are ten thousand gold coins. Please accept them."
Malone, the mercenary captain, was the first to recover. He walked over and spoke respectfully.
Garen waved a hand dismissively.
Ever since Linley had killed King Clyde of Fenlai and discovered 2.2 billion gold coins in his Space Ring, he had lost interest in money as well.
"Being mercenaries isn't easy. You risk your lives every day. We don't need the gold coins; we're not short of money."
Malone didn't insist. He thanked them again and left.
Inside a carriage not far away, Jenny and Keane had also witnessed Garen and Linley's impressive display. Their eyes shone as they stared at the two of them. Who on the continent didn't admire the strong?
"Big sister, those two big brothers are amazing! I want to be just as strong as them."
"Of course. My little brother is the best. You're still young. As long as you train hard, you'll definitely be as strong as they are one day."
Encouraged by his sister, the boy grew excited and suddenly got the idea to go over and learn the two brothers' secret techniques.
Jenny and their old servant, Lambert, could only smile helplessly as they hurried to dissuade him.
"Keane, it's too late tonight, and the two brothers will need to rest soon. Why don't you ask them tomorrow morning?"
"All right. I'll go tomorrow morning. Once I learn their secret techniques, I'll be able to protect you, big sister!"
I hadn't planned to have a heroine in this novel, but as I wrote this part, I suddenly felt that Jenny was pretty good. I wonder if you guys have any good suggestions?
Before you continue