A dull longsword and a heartbroken villager

Unfortunately, outside the safe zone... there is no safe corner at all.

The car rolled dramatically, and the people on board clung tightly to the railings to avoid being thrown off.

The dilapidated magic cart, its parts scattered bit by bit, came to a stop rolling, and finally slid past at high speed right under Bray's nose.

"Boom!!!!!" The car crashed into a lamppost that was already teetering on the side of the road and came to a stop.

However, the impact was extremely severe; the entire front of the car was deformed, and the engine was probably damaged as well, emitting thick smoke and sparks of magical energy.

I don't know if anyone on the bus is dead or not, but Bray thinks that if he were someone on the bus, he would be vomiting right now.

But Bray soon discovered that something was wrong, and it was something very serious.

“…” Bray opened his dead fish eyes wide, his pupils trembling with the shock.

When that wrecked vehicle slid over, it ran over the skeleton in front of Bray, and the skeleton is now cracked.

The important question is whether this skeleton is the target of his commission or someone else's husband.

"I...I'm sorry." Bray quickly apologized to the already dead man.

Although it was just one of countless skeletons, it was still the target of his mission.

Now it's all over. There's no way to drag these remains back to the safe zone. We can only find a place to bury them properly.

I accidentally desecrated the dead. My head hurts.

Even if he didn't do it himself, he was the one who witnessed the entire destruction.

"I'm sorry." Levy imitated Bray's apology to the deceased, even though she had no idea why.

Bray glanced at the direction the rusty magic wagon was speeding towards, then at the two people struggling to climb out of the vehicle.

A group of monsters was charging towards them from the direction they had driven from.

Bray wasn't an idiot; he could figure out the cause and effect with just a little thought.

A monster chases you, you're going too fast, your driving skills aren't up to par, and you crash.

The driver is still too inexperienced. Bray remembers how dashing he was when he drove the magic car.

"Roar!!!! Roar!!!" The chaotic growls of wild dogs echoed in my ears.

The terrifying screams and distorted appearance would likely make anyone with a weak heart instinctively back away.

These wild dogs weren't originally that deformed, but under the influence of certain concepts, they gradually degenerated into this state. Not only these wild dogs, but many monsters also suffered as a result.

Normal monsters would have given up long ago if they were chasing such a fast magic vehicle, let alone the fact that there were only two people on board, not even enough to fill the gaps between the monsters' teeth.

But these wild dogs clearly valued the hunting process more than their appetite.

Looking at the stray dogs drooling, Bray felt a bit disgusted.

"Look at how skinny he is, he's definitely not full." Bray took out his broadsword from behind him and muttered, "Stop thinking about hunting all the time, why don't you eat your fill first?"

Even after being criticized, the stray dog ​​completely ignored the mines along the roadside and charged straight toward its intended prey.

This is the downside of Bray constantly holding back his breath.

After learning to control his breath, he developed a bad habit of frequently suppressing his breathing, even when cooking.

I wonder if other people have this bad habit too.

Now, nobody pays any attention to him at all.

Admittedly, concealing one's presence doesn't make a person disappear, but one's presence will be somewhat weaker than others. Just like when red beans and apples are placed together, most people will see the apples and ignore the red beans.

Fine, if they ignore me, they ignore me. Anyway, whether these stray dogs care about him or not, he'll still stab them with his sword.

"Against the Storm".

A sudden gust of wind swept through the previously windless ruins.

This kind of somewhat magical swordsmanship... it's best to use it less often.

Thinking this, Bray silently sheathed his broadsword. Luo Shiqi had originally thought his luck had run out and he was destined to die in this desolate place.

But then a man suddenly appeared and slashed down the horde of demons with a single sword strike.

He could only use the word "slash" to describe what Bray had just done.

Killing is not appropriate... Splitting it open is also not appropriate.

As for why it was inappropriate, Luo Shiqi couldn't explain it clearly for a while. It was probably too superficial to accurately describe that sword strike.

Although using the word "slash" to describe it is rather superficial.

That sword strike was neither bloody nor violent, nor elegant; it was simple and unadorned yet deeply moving.

Thirteen-year-old Luo Shiqi stared blankly at the adventurer in the tattered coat, speechless for a moment.

That patched-up coat didn't give Bray any of his superior aura.

But that one sword strike was enough to prove everything.

Blood trickled from his forehead into the corner of Luo Shiqi's eye, but he was oblivious until the man beside him reminded him.

"You're bleeding, are you alright?" the man asked Luo Shiqi after crawling out from under the car.

"It's nothing." Only then did Luo Shiqi realize that his forehead was scraped and he quickly wiped away the blood.

He felt a chill run down his spine. If it weren't for Bray, the two of them would have become the wild dogs' meal.

No matter how mature he acts, he is still a thirteen-year-old child.

He might not become a truly reliable person until he's eighteen or nineteen, provided he lives to see that day.

In this era, whether or not we can see the sun rise the next day is a problem.

Just like a peaceful safe zone that was overrun by monsters the next day and turned into a new hell.

Bray glanced at the two men who had crawled out from under the car and frowned.

The two were seriously injured, but of course they wouldn't die anytime soon.

Judging from their appearance, they are not from the Imperial Capital Safe Zone. Why would these two risk so much danger to come from out of town?

“Out-of-towner?” Bray asked tentatively.

“Yes.” Luo Shiqi said, standing up with difficulty and dusting himself off.

He looked disheveled; his already tattered clothes were now even more ragged.

The man next to her wasn't much better than Luo Shiqi; after all, they were in the same car.

“It’s so dangerous outside the safe zone, you guys are really brave.” Bray crouched down and retrieved the ring from the crushed bones.

Bray was too lazy to run from one safe zone to another; it would take several days to walk there.

Even driving a magic chariot like Luo Shiqi takes half a day.

It's clear that Luo Shiqi and this man aren't very strong. They couldn't even handle some high-level monsters, let alone demigods.

There are now more than just those S-class monsters outside; there are also monsters from the Abyss and Heaven. If you're too weak, you'll easily be swallowed by these monsters.

Is this what they mean by "not very skilled but very daring"?

"Our safe zone is now full of monsters..." Luo Shiqi, his face covered in blood, said calmly.

Luo Shiqi remained calm, but the man beside him was not. Upon hearing the boy's words, his face turned pale almost instinctively.

It seems that the safe zone must have been a hellish place back then, otherwise an adult wouldn't have been so terrified.

"If it weren't for your help, we'd probably be dead," the man said curtly, still maintaining a certain distance from Bray.

Not to mention he felt distant from Bray, he felt the same way about Luo Shiqi.

In this wasteland, trust between people is more fragile than a blank sheet of paper.

Even after Bray saved him, he remained wary.

He was probably scared by those guys who treated people like food back then. Who knows, the adventurers in front of him might have the same hobby. It's better to be careful.

"Hmm." Bray accepted the thanks without hesitation, and then began to dig a hole using the "black keys".

He planned to give the skeleton a proper burial as compensation for what the two men had done to him.

This way, I can at least do right by my clients and avoid feeling any guilt.

"What are you doing?" Luo Shiqi asked with a strange expression.

After the person in front of them saved them, he started digging a hole, and no one knew what he was doing.

“Bury your two crushed bones,” Bray said expressionlessly.

"..." Luo Shiqi and the man looked at each other, not knowing how to start the conversation.

"Is there a safe zone around here?" Luo Shiqi couldn't help but ask again.

"Yes, the Imperial Capital Safe Zone."

Bray's answer made Luo Shiqi's eyes light up; as expected, the capital city had a safe zone.

Finally, we can survive... but first we need to get inside safely.

"I know you want to go, but you should wait until I've buried the others first."

"Besides, you're too injured to walk back. I'll find someone to treat you along the way," Bray said as he dug a hole.

"How long will that take?" The man's lips twitched. Did this guy really think that human life was more important than bones?

Bray didn't care about Luo Shiqi's rudeness to the men from beginning to end, and just glanced at them.

Neither of them said "thank you" from beginning to end.

These days, it's quite normal for some people to be impolite.

For many people, politeness doesn't put food on the table, so why be so polite?

Anything that helps you survive is right.

What is meaningless to survival is meaningless.

People like Bray do many things that have no meaning to survival, such as respecting the dead and helping people on the sidelines, which are indeed unnecessary.

However, if you were to ask Bray why he did this, he would probably only be able to give a vague answer.

You should know that he himself didn't know why he was doing these things; he simply felt that he "should do them," so he did them.

Bray placed the skeleton in a shallow pit and then buried it.

There seemed to be nothing suitable for erecting a monument, so he gave up on that idea.

After putting the exquisite wedding ring into his pouch, he took back the hardworking "Black Key".

"Bray, wash your hands." Levy handed Bray a piece of ice.

Bray took the ice cube and skillfully wiped his hands with it.

He couldn't help but think that Levy was indeed paying homage to Nick Wilde, trying to become an all-powerful person.

"Can we set off now?" Luo Shiqi gasped in pain and asked weakly.

"Let's go. This is the outer city of the capital. It will take us half a day to walk here."

Of course, it wouldn't take that long at Levy's speed.

But don't be ridiculous, how could Bray let Levy hug these two strangers... Levy needs to be pampered, she's not some tool like him.

The madman Luo Shiqi was talking about was driving a car at high speed across the wasteland.

He was all alone; the others who were supposed to be with him were nowhere to be found.

However, just seeing the blood at the corner of the man's mouth gave me a pretty good idea of ​​what was going on.

"Two got away, what a pity," he muttered to himself, his eyes fixed on the empty space ahead.

He didn't have a specific destination; he just wanted to satisfy his appetite.

In this day and age, it's not surprising that anyone dies.

Since they're all going to die anyway, why can't they die in a more meaningful way? He felt he could give these people meaning.

He thought the same as Luo Shiqi, believing that the capital should also have a safe zone, and was therefore trying to find a way to the capital.

Unfortunately, he can't find the way as accurately as Luo Shiqi, and he's still going in circles.

It has to be said that this guy is quite lucky; he hasn't encountered anything strange so far.