Chương 44: The Silver Vengeance

"We need to be more alert," Doyle said with a serious expression on his face.

"Aren't you being a bit too nervous, Captain? This isn't the first time we've passed through there." Aaron said with a confused look on his face.

"Yeah, but last time, it was just our party. A small agile party isn't worth the trouble for most bandits." Doyle slowly warmed his meat jerky over the fire and said. He took a bite of it before quickly chewing and swallowing it. Tina watched with furrowed brows.

"This time, we're with a large caravan. Bandits have every incentive to attack, and with the size of the Greymantle Mountain Range, they'll have plenty of opportunities to prepare an ambush; that's why I'm saying we need to be careful." Doyle's eyes slightly shifted, avoiding Tina's sharp gaze as he quickly swallowed the rest of the meat. Doyle had spent years eating meals between monster hunts, dungeon expeditions, and emergency retreats. Finishing food quickly had become an instinct long ago.

Breaking this habit would not be easy.

"Aaron, don't forget that the Greymantle Mountain Range is home to more than just human bandits. Gnoll and Orc tribes occasionally emerge as bandits as well, not to mention the occasional Ogre tribes. That would be a real nightmare." Luke quietly added from the side.

"You're exaggerating again. We aren't passing through the center of the mountain range, just a road on the edge. The possibility of such monsters appearing is basically zero." Aaron said with an unconvinced expression on his face.

"That's true, but that doesn't mean it's impossible. Moreover, bandits do strike on the stretch of the road we are crossing." Doyle added a dried piece of wood to the fire and said. Kyle quietly listened while eating, his expression thoughtful. These pieces of information weren't something that could be easily acquired elsewhere. That was why being in a party was so useful. He pondered for a moment before asking,"Mr. Doyle, are there any famous bandit groups operating in this part of the mountain range?"

He calmly asked.

"Hmm, yeah, there's one. I think it's called the Silver Vengeance?" Doyle pondered for a moment before nodding.

"Yes, they're called the Silver Vengeance. I heard that their leader used to be the knight of a viscount." Luke paused for a moment before continuing with a grimace.

"I heard that the Viscount violated his wife while drunk, in public, causing her to commit suicide in shame. The guy tried to get revenge, but nearly died. In the end, he escaped to the Greymantle mountain range and became a bandit." Luke concluded, his expression turning a bit strange.

"Heh, typical noble behavior," Aaron sneered, not surprised at all.

"Not all nobles are like that. At least the Marquis of Tarnfell is not only a powerhouse but also one of the few level-headed nobles," Doyle shook his head and said.

"Can nobles just do that? Is there no institution in the Kingdom to hold them accountable?" Kyle asked with a look of surprise. If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

"No. As long as they don't rebel or commit an unforgivable crime, nobles are free to do as they will, especially in their territory." Luke shook his head and said. Kyle was slightly surprised. He had heard rumors before, but he hadn't expected the nobles of this world to be so openly depraved and corrupt.

'Whatever, it doesn't concern me. I don't plan on interacting with the so-called nobles anyway.' Kyle shook his head and stopped thinking about them. After waiting for them to digest this information, Luke continued.

"That guy is called Alric Argent. A peak rank 1 [Knight]. There's a bounty of 100 gold on his head, yet nobody's managed to collect it."

"As a holder of a [Knight] class, his strength increases dramatically on horseback. If we ever run into him, the first thing we do is drag him off his horse." Luke leaned forward, tactically suggesting.

"I see." Kyle nodded with a look of understanding. As they continued to talk while eating, the conversation unknowingly shifted to their prospects. Doyle was obviously retiring. Tina decided to go back to the church in Velkaris to continue her service, and Aaron was going back to the Ernest Magic Academy to continue his studies.

"In the end, it seems that only I'm going to continue adventuring," Luke said with a wry smile on his face. Silence fell over the campfire. Only the crackling of embers and the distant laughter of adventurers and guards broke the quiet. Aaron and Tina had a sad look on their faces. They hadn't been part of this party for long, but they had grown attached to it over time. To see it disband like this filled them with sadness.

Feeling the mood worsening, Doyle suddenly chuckled and said,"As I said, all journeys must eventually come to an end. You have a bright future ahead of you. I hope that sometime in the future, you'll look back at your time at this party with nostalgia, so cheer up." He waved his arm and said.

"Yes! Captain." Aaron's and Tina's faces brightened. Even Luke had a faint smile on his face. Kyle silently watched this with a faint smile.

'I can't integrate…' Kyle thought wryly.

'My time with them was too short.' Shaking his head slightly, they continued conversing for a while. As the night deepened, Doyle went back to rest. The rest decided to watch the night in shifts. Even though they were part of a large caravan, basic vigilance in the wilderness was still necessary. The night soon passed, and the sun rose again. After a quick breakfast, the caravan set off. After a few hours of journeying, a vast stretch of mountains appeared ahead.

The mountain range towered into the distance, standing majestically. It was the Greymantle Mountain Range.

"Magnificent," Kyle muttered as he watched the mountain range stretching into the horizon, its peaks covered in hazy mists. As the caravan continued moving forward, the mountain range appeared closer and closer. Eventually, they stood beneath it. Facing them was a large canyon that split the mountains into two.

"Amazing, right?" Aaron said with a smug smile on his face. He looked around furtively before whispering to Kyle.

"I heard that this canyon was split off by a single swing of the Morning Star Sword Saint, the most powerful legend of our kingdom," Aaron said with a look of yearning on his face. Even with his pride as a mage, he had nothing but awe and admiration for a powerhouse of that level.

"A single swing of a sword?" Kyle muttered absentmindedly, a bit shocked by the power of this world's powerhouses.

'This canyon has to be dozens of kilometers long, right?' Kyle thought as he looked at the canyon stretching into the distance.

'So this is the strength of a rank 4 legend…' Kyle was amazed, but he didn't hold the slightest doubt that he would reach or even surpass such a level in the future. They soon entered the canyon, slowly traversing it. The guards and adventurers perked up, vigilantly looking around. At the same time, atop a mountain several kilometers away. An unkempt man was standing on a branch of a large tree, looking over the entrance of the canyon with a pair of binoculars over his eyes.

Spotting the incoming caravan, the scout slowly lowered the binoculars"They have arrived," he said with a grim smile on his face, a trace of cruelty flashing in his eyes.

"The caravan has arrived; go tell the boss!" He snapped at the fellow standing below. At the base of the tree stood a bandana-wearing, disheveled man. He was leaning on the tree trunk, dozing off. Hearing the man's cry, his eyes snapped open, rushing towards the depths of the mountain without saying a word.