Chapter 71: Return to Todos (2)

The morning on the walls of First Todos was uneventful for the city guard for most of the morning. They woke up, they ate, then they got to work. As usual, there was nothing but empty plains. Being on the wall of First Todos was the easiest and most boring detail that you could ever get in the city guard because nothing interesting ever happened. Until today.

A guard that was leisurely walking the wall, contemplated what his wife was cooking for dinner tonight. It was simply out of habit that he happened to look off into the distance. It was also out of habit that he simply looked away without a care in the world.

But today, he did a double take, and when he did, his brow naturally furrowed in confusion.

"Hey, Horson!" he called out to another guard further down.

The other guard came over. "What?"

"Didn't the excursion team come back last week?"

"Yeah..."

"Then who the hell is that?"

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Both guards watched the figures in the distance, equipped with standard guard armor, draw closer at a moderate pace. They were all in a line, being lead by a beauty with jet-black hair. Their breaths were measured, as if breathing any other way was wrong.

Normally, this wouldn't be too exciting, and the guards were just about to lose interest when they suddenly saw the figure in the back. It was a young man that seemed to have it easier than the rest. His movements were smoother and if he wasn't currently jogging, anyone would think he was simply taking a walk in the park. What made the guards gawk at this man, was the fact that he was dragging two massive skulls.

"What!?" the guard named John cried out, but the air seemed to be caught in his throat at the thought of the beasts the skulls could have come from.

"Y-you think they killed it? Just them?" the first guard asked, no less shaken than his friend.

"I don't know, but I'm gonna find out!" John said as he hurried to the city gate.

---

It was only a few hours past noon by the time Thadius' squad finally arrived at the gate to First Todos. Desha had kept the pace the entire way, while he brought up the rear, motivating his squad until they were gasping for air just outside the gate.

"Finally! I can rest! I thought my lungs would burst into flames before we made it back!" Mavas complained while doubled over, fighting for every breath.

"It's been two long since I've done that much exercise...I'm getting old." Bannon lamented, then reached for his canteen to take a draught.

Thadius could only chuckle after hearing the two. Despite their complaints, they were the only two that could even manage to talk after the jog from the mists. Elroy, Thomas, and Leon were all gasping like dying men. Even Desha was taking rapid breaths. Though the journey was hard, Thadius was anxious to get back to Todos.

Just as he was about to call out to his squad to move into the city, two guards came running out to them.

"Who's in charge of this squad!?" the first one shouted as he ran over.

Thadius stepped forward. "I am. Is there some sort of problem?" he asked. As far as he knew, there was no reason for him to be shouted at.

"Did you kills those beasts yourselves!?" the guard questioned feverishly with spittle flying. Now that he was closer, he could roughly tell the size the creatures had to have been. For this small group to kill two of them must have cost them half their men at least, but he hadn't heard anything about a subjugation unit, so he was truly curious.

Realization dawned on Thadius, and he nodded. "We did make the kill, though it was only one beast. My squad was unfortunate enough to be attacked by a hydra shortly after we were dispatched by Captain Dain to explore deeper into the mists."

"Hydra? You mean the Mists Hydra!? Isn't that thing only an urban legend!?" the first guard exclaimed.

"You were with the excursion unit!?" the other guard said. He had finally come over before Thadius had finished explaining himself. "Why didn't you come back a week ago!?"

"We were given an order to survey for a week, so I didn't want to come back unless we finished the mission we had originally set out on." Thadius sighed heavily.

"Then...you guys need to report in. We won't take up any more of your time." the first guard replied. He was truly shocked that this squad fought against the Mists Hydra from the legends and won, however, he could tell that mentioning it had dampened the mood for some reason.

"Then if you'll excuse us, we'll go report right now." Thadius motioned for the squad to proceed into the city and followed behind, dragging the hydra's skulls.

Once they were within the city walls, they tried as best as they could to take the wider streets. Going back the way they came when they left the city wouldn't work with the hydra's skulls dragging behind side by side. First Todos didn't have straight and organized streets like New Todos, so they were often finding themselves going down winding streets. Thankfully, the giant lift was visible in the distance, so they were able to keep a somewhat straight path.

It wasn't until they were relatively close to the lift that they could hear a ruckus coming from up ahead. The lift was part of a large town square area. There were many stalls that sold food and various items to the masses that used the lift. It was very popular spot in First Todos since many streets would eventually lead there.

The ruckus was coming from a platform off to the side. On the platform stood many individuals that were chained together and dressed in rags. From the looks of it, it couldn't be anything other than a slave auction.

The cause of the ruckus was coming from the crowd as they jeered at a man on the stage. The man, who appeared to be an adventurer, was waltzing across the stage and groping the various females, completely ignoring the man in fine robes that appeared to be the slave trader.

'Slave auction? They still have shit like this?' Thadius' face couldn't help but twist into a sneer, but when he thought about the time setting of the game, the disdain in his heart slowly morphed into resolve. There was no way he could just walk away from this.

"A Traveler!" Elroy growled, glaring at the armored man on stage with a look that could kill.

"You don't know he's a Traveler." Thadius said calmly. When he turned to look at Elroy, he could see the smoldering rage in the eyes of the others as well. Especially Bannon, who looked like he would blow a gasket at any moment.

"Who else would be so brazen at a mere slave auction!? Look with your eyes! They have no shame and fear nothing! I wouldn't be surprised if he killed the merchant just for the fun of it!" Elroy roared as his glare turned on Thadius.

Thadius looked at the man once more, trying to determine if he was indeed a Traveler. Most citizens had a status card for identification, but the fact that he could get one for himself confirmed that there was no definite way to tell a Traveler from a normal citizen. The only way would be through observation or perhaps a skill. He had no clue as to how a Traveler should act, but the people in the capital seemed to think that Travelers were nothing but absolute villains that indulged in their desires because they are 'immortal'.

Seeing the scene in front of him, Thadius was beginning to understand how Travelers could have obtained such a bad reputation in the capital. After all, most Travelers would choose to act as a law abiding citizen like him.

"Stay here." he commanded, and tossed the ropes to Bannon. The seasoned adventurer snapped out of his enraged state and his brow furrowed as he looked down at the rope.

"What are you going to do?" he asked.

"We are members of the city guard. It would make us look bad if this turned into a riot, right?" Thadius smiled. Then, he walked into the crowd.

The people didn't block his way as he made his way to the platform. No one seemed to want to get too close to him and made way without having to be told. When he was about halfway to the platform, he could finally make out the words of the man over the crowd.

"Damn, there's just too many to choose from. Can't I just buy them all?" the man asked. He didn't seem to be asking anyone in particular, but a reply suddenly came from somewhere below the platform.

"The last one didn't last long at all. Make sure you get one that can actually swing a sword this time, okay? Looks aren't everything."

The man just laughed loudly. "Says the guy with the bustiest slave out of all of us!"

'So he has friends...' Thadius thought as he continued to make his way through. In moments, he was able to make out what appeared to be a mage and an archer in the crowd below.

The one who replied must have been the archer since there was a woman standing beside him with collar around her neck.

"Sir! Get down from the platform!" Thadius roared as he emerged behind the mage and archer.

The archer was the first to turn around. Being so close to Thadius, he was startled when he turned to find a city guard. The mage didn't fair any better, and almost tripped over his rod trying to back away.

"Such high pressure!" the archer cursed under his breath. He couldn't even fathom the thought that what he was feeling was simply Thadius' fighting spirit. He had only ever felt such an oppressive feeling when Pressure was used.

The armored man turned around after sensing what could only be the pressure of a high level NPC. Yet, when he turned around, all he saw was an ordinary guard. He quickly calmed down and laughed, “What the hell did you say to me? Get down? When did garbage like the city guard start ordering Travelers?”

Seeing the mocking smile on the armored man, on top of how he blatantly declared that he was a Traveler to elicit fear from him, Thadius was thoroughly convinced that Travelers had earned their terrible reputation by public displays like this. It did nothing but affirm his decision to keep his identity as a Traveler hidden.

“You’re a Traveler?” he asked, feigning a serious expression.

“That’s right! Now what are you gonna do about it?” the man smiled. He was absolutely confident in his ability to avoid trouble. All he had to do was mention that he was a Traveler, and all the NPCs would just turn a blind eye. To him, Todos was a playground where he could do as he pleased.

To his surprise, however, Thadius smiled and laughed, “That’s great! Dealing with Travelers is a lot easier than dealing with natives since situations like this can be handled quickly.”

It wasn’t until now that the armored man felt that something was off. Even after he declared that he was a Traveler for all to hear, this guard didn’t even flinch. He shot a knowing glance at his party below. “And how exactly do you plan on dealing with me?”

“Travelers don’t truly die, right? So every crime, even simple disturbances like this, can warrant the simple and just punishment that befits exalted beings such as yourselves: Death.” The smile on Thadius’ face disappeared and with flick of his arm, a throwing knife flashed through the air.

“Guh!” The armored man coughed a mouthful of blood and stared wide-eyed at the knife that suddenly found itself buried in his jugular.

The sudden attack on their comrade caused the hearts of the party members below to seize with fear. The mage was the closest the culprit, and he turned with his rod at the ready. Yet, before he could utter a single word, a glittering orihalcum sword was pressed against his neck and a terrifying pressure, multitudes stronger than before, came crashing down on his shoulders.

All the party members besides the slaves felt their knees start to wobble, even standing was proving a challenge. Not daring to move another muscle, the mage and archer looked at Thadius as if they had come face to face with a Boss NPC.

The crowd fell silent. They had all come here for a simple auction, but a Traveler had come and started causing trouble. Then just when they had become fed up with his actions, a member of the guard came and dealt swift and deadly justice. Never before had they seen a Traveler punished with such a heavy hand, so it was obvious how such a guard would seem to them: Strong, Courageous, and Dependable.

Thadius paid no attention to the hushed crowd. After applying enough pressure so that they could barely stand, he sheathed his sword and said, “I don’t know if you realized it, but the citizens of Todos don’t take too kindly to Travelers because of disturbances like this. Since you all seem to think that the laws and common etiquette of natives don’t apply to you, you can’t blame me for taking a different approach. Any and all offenses committed by Travelers in front of me are punishable by death. Now, should your friend have any complaints when he revives, you tell him to go to the guard compound and ask for Thadius.”

Without even a glance at the corpse on the stage, Thadius turned to walk back to his squad. This time, the crowd made way for him.

[It’s not very often that a Traveler is brought to justice, so to see one sentenced and put to death in one breath before the masses isn’t an event that is easily forgotten. The guard named Thadius has been firmly imprinted into the minds of the people who witnessed such an event. They may even come looking for you specifically to help them settle their grievances.

+300 Fame]

“‘Any and all offenses committed by Travelers in front of me are punishable by death.’” Elroy repeated the words in a daze. The simple sentence had given him an epiphany. He had been struggling with how he could fight back against Travelers, but he now realized that his thoughts had been too complex. There was no need for some elaborate plan, no scheme was needed. All he had to do was demand justice one corpse at a time.

The others were just as stunned. The way Thadius had acted was too fast. Before any of them could even think about assisting to calm the situation, the judgement had already been given without an ounce of hesitation.

Thadius walked up and smiled wryly at their various expressions. He could only imagine what they would think if they knew that his deadly throw had actually curved off target after he aimed at the man’s forehead.

“Come on, we still need to report in.” he said, taking the ropes back and leading the way to the lift. The squad recovered from their shock and followed behind, but the excitement in their hearts would take a while to fade.