Swords, magic, and martial arts

The caravan did not stop in any of the cities along the way, but only bought food from the villagers when it passed through some small towns.

After leaving the Brad family's territory, only a group of ordinary bandits tried to rob the caravan, but were dealt with by Baron, who happened to be itching for a fight.

At that time, Baron asked the others not to interfere, as he wanted to take on eleven seemingly fierce bandits by himself.

But in the end, Baron proved that the eleven bandits were indeed formidable in appearance; once the fight started, none of them could last two seconds against him.

In the end, all of them were captured and handed over to a local sheriff in exchange for a reward.

Rhodes tried his best to teach Baron how to hold his breath and maintain his original state, but Baron couldn't sit still for more than five minutes. In the end, Webber, who was watching the show from the sidelines, mastered the skill of holding his breath and maintaining his original state, but without the support of the system, the effect was much worse than Rhodes'.

But the effect was already very satisfactory to Webber, who did not know magic. On the third day after learning it, he used his first spell: Flame Tongue.

Even the successful use of such simple magic made him so excited that he grabbed Baron, who happened to be alone, and talked to him all day long.

After that, whenever Rhodes practiced boxing or swordsmanship, someone would come over to watch.

"What's the point of practicing your fists every day? You should practice your sword more. No matter how strong your fists are, they can't compare to the lethality of a sword," Baron said to Rhodes, who was practicing Taizu Changquan, with nothing better to do. "I'm not lying to you. There was once a Nord who was famous for his fists. In hand-to-hand combat, no one in the entire Nord Kingdom could beat him. In the end, he went to the Roman Empire and was killed by a knight's squire who had just acquired a sword. There's more than one story like this. There was another one..."

The sword the female knight gave to Rhodes and the damaged "Wise Man's Bane" were both taken by Hammer, who was so bored that he kept sleeping, to study the forging techniques inside, hoping to learn something from them to improve his blacksmithing skills.

The caravan camped by the roadside last night and hasn't set off yet. Luo De is using this time to practice Taizu Changquan (a style of Chinese martial arts).

During this time, he upgraded Taizu Changquan to level 4, completed the previous weekly task, and accepted another task that was also about practicing martial arts. This time, he only needed to upgrade any one martial art to level 5.

Unlike Iron Shirt, Taizu Long Fist didn't have an additional effect at level 3, which disappointed Rhodes. He'd won a pair of constable boots in the last weekly quest lottery—black leather boots that increased movement speed and evasion—and immediately put them on.

Baron is still not suited for long journeys, especially those that are not exciting at all. His idleness can drive those around him crazy, and now people in the caravan deliberately avoid him when they see him.

Rod finally understood why Tang Sanzang talked so much. He guessed that, like Baron, he would become particularly talkative during such a long journey and could talk to anyone for a whole day.

However, Rod was almost immune to Baron's talkativeness; he could practice his martial arts all day long while Baron was chanting.

In the end, Baron gets bored because Rod ignores him, so he goes to talk to the next victim.

Unlike Baron, Hammer has been sleeping all day long in his carriage lately, and he didn't even wake up when Baron fought that group of bandits last time.

The caravan has set off again. According to the caravan leader, they will be able to leave High Mountain Province and reach Winterland Province in another week. They usually go to Dragonfire Province, where the capital is located, but this time they are going to Winterland Province because of Baron and his group.

However, it was still an attempt, as we had never known before whether the caravan's goods could fetch a good price in the Lindong Province.

By the time Rod finished his entire set of punches, the caravan had already traveled several hundred meters. He prepared to run and catch up. This wasn't the first time this had happened; he'd been practicing too intently lately, and even when reminded, he'd choose to finish the entire set before moving on.

After Rhodes withdrew his fist, he heard a rustling sound coming from the woods behind him. He turned around and glanced at the campfire left at the camp yesterday, which had been completely extinguished, but he didn't see anything amiss.

A purplish-black light rose from Rhodes's hand. He used a gravity spell, though calling it a gravity spell isn't quite accurate. Lately, he hasn't been using this spell for its mage-like hand function, but rather to use his mental power to observe his surroundings.

After using the gravity spell, Rhode then used his mental energy to attach himself to the gravity sphere. He could observe his surroundings almost like X-ray vision, seeing what was behind various obstacles. However, he was a little disappointed that he couldn't see through clothes...

The woods could no longer block Rhodes's view. He saw an eight or nine-year-old child crouching behind a tree, holding his breath, probably afraid that Rhodes would find him.

Could he be a spy captured by some gang to investigate the caravan? Even if he is caught, we won't do anything to him because he's just a child.

Rhodes canceled the gravity spell, pretended not to have noticed him, and pretended to look for something on the ground, slowly approaching that direction. When he was still a dozen meters away from the tree, he rushed towards it.

The child hiding behind the tree turned and ran, with Rhodes in pursuit. Rhodes was much faster, and with a leap, he tackled the child to the ground and pinned him down.

The child struggled frantically on the ground, kicking Rod with his legs, scratching his face with his hands, and biting his hands with his mouth.

Rod pressed the child face down on the ground, grabbed his neck, and used his own legs to pin the child's legs down, securing him firmly to the ground.

"Who are you?" Rod asked as he took out a rope from his spatial ring and tied the boy's hands with it.

Baron returned the spatial ring to Rhodes before they set off, and just as Rhodes had expected, it contained a lot of wine.

The boy kept his head down and didn't say a word. Rhodes tied his legs with a rope, hoisted him onto his shoulder, and walked in the direction the caravan had gone. The boy continued to struggle on Rhodes' shoulder.

"What's the use of you breaking free? You're still tied up with ropes," Rhodes said to the boy struggling on his shoulder.

The boy ignored his advice and struggled even more fiercely, as if in a fit of pique. Rod placed him on his lap and slapped his bottom hard before he finally calmed down.

The boy had long, flaxen-gray hair that covered his ears. His clothes were covered in mud, as if he hadn't changed his clothes for many days while living in the wild. Rod even felt a little disgusted carrying him.

Rhodes noticed that the boy's hands, which were not gloved, were red from the cold and covered with chilblains. He sighed and took out a pair of his own spare deerskin gloves from his spatial ring and put them on the boy.

Rhodes returned to the caravan and encountered Baron, who was walking at the very back and boasting to a caravan guard.

"Who is this person you're carrying?" Baron asked curiously as Rod walked over.

"I don't know. I saw him acting suspiciously in the camp we left behind. He ran away as soon as he saw me, like a scout for bandits. After we caught him, he didn't say a word." Rhodes threw the boy into an open-top van.

"Then give him to me. You know I love eating children's meat. Last time, that child was a bit chubby, and even roasting him made me feel a little greasy. Since he's evenly marbled, I'll use him for soup." Baron said earnestly to the child, revealing a mouthful of white teeth.

The boy looked up in alarm; his face was covered in dust, but it could still be described as exquisite.

"Ah, you look delicious. It would be a waste to make soup with you, let's just roast you." Baron licked his lips, walked over to the little boy, and lifted him up with one hand. "It's a pity you're too light, there's not much meat, but I like gnawing on bones."

The boy was so frightened by Baron that tears welled up in his eyes. He struggled desperately, trying to break free from Baron's grasp.

"Don't eat me! I don't taste good at all. I haven't showered for days, and my flesh must taste sour," the boy said, his voice trembling with tears.

"Haha, it's alright. I just like things a little sour; it makes them less greasy. I usually pair my grilled meat with a slightly sour wine. Don't worry, I'm a great griller. I'll grill it to a perfect crisp on the outside and tender on the inside, then sprinkle some fine salt on top. It'll definitely be delicious," Baron said with a hearty laugh.

The boy burst into tears, "I just wanted to find something to eat, I never thought I'd be eaten by you bad people."

Baron felt a little embarrassed when he saw him crying, so he stopped scaring him. Rod, seeing that they were both almost unable to hold back their laughter, thought to himself.

He took out a white bread made by the castle cook from his spatial ring and handed it to the little boy. The bread was still steaming hot when it was first put into the spatial ring.

The little boy sat in the back of a carriage, wolfing down his bread. He looked like he hadn't eaten in a long time. It was a mystery why such a young child would be in this desolate place.

He ate too quickly and choked on his bread. Rhodes handed him a pot of warm water from his spatial ring. Rhodes had never tasted bread as refined as the bread sold in the bakeries before his transmigration. Even the bread eaten by nobles made his mouth feel rough.

"Don't eat so fast, no one's going to take it from you. And stop staring at me like that, I'm not really going to eat you..." Baron sat next to the boy and kept saying, "What's your name?"

The boy mumbled through his food, "My parents call me Aya."

Rhodes found a car that was relatively far from Baron and got in. He took out a book he had borrowed from Rakar from his spatial ring to pass the time.

Racal, being a scholar, kept nearly tens of thousands of books written on parchment in his private library in the castle's crypt.

The papermaking industry in this world was underdeveloped, producing only very poor-quality yellow paper. Books containing valuable knowledge were still written on animal hides. Animal hides would develop a foul odor over time, and the smell in Racar's library was truly appalling.

"What else do you have to eat? This little brat says he's not full." Baron led Aya to Rod, who had just started reading.

This book tells the story of a free rider who wanders the continent and eventually becomes a knight. It can be summarized as a story of a mounted mercenary who follows a lord on his conquests, committing rape and plunder along the way.

The explicit descriptions inside made even a seasoned driver like Rod blush.

Seeing the two of them approach, Rod closed his book with a serious expression.

"I still have some food here. If he eats any more, he might choke to death. He'll only feel full after a while if he's hungry. The bread I just gave him is enough to make me about 80% full," Rod replied.

"Is he coming with us?" Rod asked.

Baron nodded. "He said he and his family lived in the wilderness when a group of bandits discovered them and seized their house. They were on their way to the city when they encountered another group of bandits, and then he got separated from his parents. He's been starving for days and was just looking for something to eat at our camp when you found him. He's homeless now, and I think he's quite pitiful with nowhere to go. Why don't he come with us? It'll be good for me to have someone to talk to."

Rhodes had no objection to these things, and Weber and the others probably wouldn't object either.

"Do you want me to use hot water to wipe his face clean?" Rod asked, realizing as soon as the words left his mouth that he had said something pointless.

There wasn't much hot water in the spatial ring, but it was enough to wipe his face. Rhode took out a pot of hot water and a new towel from the spatial ring and handed them to Baron.

After Baron wiped Aya's face clean, he looked more like a girl than a boy.

"Are you a boy or a girl?" Rod asked curiously.

"Of course I'm a boy," Aya replied.

Is it because he's been hanging out with a bunch of rough men for so long that he finds even a little boy handsome?

To be honest, apart from the incredibly fat cook and the very old maid he had seen in Black Mountain Castle, Rhodes hadn't seen any other women.

No, there's another female knight who might be very beautiful, but could also be burly and heavy.

After washing Aya's face, Baron noticed that he could barely open his eyes.

"Are you very sleepy right now?" Baron asked.

The boy nodded.

"Let me find you a warmer place to rest," Baron suggested.

Before he could answer, Rod found that Baron had fallen asleep against him.

Baron also noticed, and he carried the boy to the carriage where Hammer was sleeping, letting Aya lean against the carriage to sleep.

After that, Baron returned to Rhodes' side, who had started reading again, and began to share with him his early adventures before he took Rhodes on a whirlwind tour.

This wasn't the first time Rhodes had heard these things. Although Baron's version was slightly different each time, he was simply tired of hearing it.

As he listened, he felt incredibly sleepy. He wondered if Baron's words had some kind of magic that could hypnotize people. Not only people, but even the horses pulling the carriages were put to sleep by his words. Baron himself was also put to sleep by his own words.

No, Rod bit his tongue to stay alert. It wasn't that Baron's words had a hypnotic effect; someone was lying in ambush.

He stood up from the carriage, but as soon as his feet touched the ground, he felt a wave of dizziness and his body went limp, collapsing to the ground...