Chapter 88: bandits

Chapter 88: Chapter 88: bandits

The journey had settled into a rhythm.

For the first few days, Tolu had expected every stretch of road to bring something new. Instead, most days were almost identical.

The caravan left camp shortly after sunrise.

The merchants packed their tents and supplies while the guards checked the wagons and animals. Once everything was ready, they set off along the long road toward the capital.

During the day, Tolu usually walked near the middle of the caravan.

Kenny was often nearby, talking about one thing or another.

Sometimes it was business.

Sometimes it was food.

Sometimes it was a ridiculous story about something that had happened to him or his family.

And sometimes he simply talked because he didn’t like silence.

Tolu didn’t mind.

After everything that had happened in Ilebi, the quiet simplicity of the journey was almost refreshing.

They walked for hours beneath the open sky before stopping in the evening. The merchants cooked, the guards took their positions, and everyone rested before repeating the same routine the next day.

Weeks passed like that.

Until one afternoon, the caravan stopped.

Tolu noticed it almost immediately.

The wagons slowed.

Then the horses came to a halt.

The conversations among the merchants died one after another.

Tolu looked ahead.

The road was blocked.

Several men stood across it.

They weren’t wearing any recognizable insignia. Their clothes were a mixture of leather armor and ordinary traveling garments, but every one of them carried a weapon.

Kenny, who had been walking beside Tolu, stopped smiling.

"What is this?"

Tolu didn’t answer.

His eyes moved across the group.

There were more than twenty men.

Most were ordinary warriors.

But three of them stood out.

Tolu’s expression changed slightly.

Advanced.

Three of them.

One stood in the middle, a broad man carrying a heavy axe across his shoulder.

Another stood several steps behind him, a woman with two curved blades hanging from her waist.

The third was the oldest-looking of the group.

He leaned against a long spear, seemingly relaxed.

But Tolu could feel the strength coming from him.

Peak Advanced.

Kenny swallowed.

"That’s..."

"Three Advanced," Tolu said quietly.

Kenny looked at him.

"You can tell?"

Tolu nodded.

Kenny’s face became pale.

The caravan’s guards had already begun moving.

The strongest cultivator among them stepped forward.

He was a middle-aged man with a scar running across his left cheek.

"Everyone stay behind the wagons."

The merchants hurried to obey.

Kenny grabbed Tolu’s arm.

"Don’t do anything stupid."

Tolu looked at him.

"I wasn’t planning to."

The middle-aged cultivator walked toward the bandits.

"You’re blocking a merchant caravan."

The broad man with the axe laughed.

"Very observant."

The guard’s expression hardened.

"Move aside."

"No."

The answer came without hesitation.

The bandit rested his axe against his shoulder.

"We’ll be taking a portion of the goods."

The guard glanced behind him.

There were several merchants carrying valuable shipments.

Spices.

Medicinal ingredients.

Cloth.

Weapons.

And other trade goods.

The guard tightened his grip around his sword.

"How much?"

"Half."

Several merchants immediately protested.

"Half?!"

"That’s robbery!"

"Those goods belong to us!"

The broad man smiled.

"You’re welcome to refuse."

The Peak Advanced cultivator finally spoke.

His voice was calm.

"Then we’ll simply take everything."

The caravan became silent.

The guard’s eyes narrowed.

He was Initial Advanced.

He knew exactly what the difference between them meant.

But he still stepped forward.

"You’re not taking anything."

The axe-wielding man grinned.

"Then let’s see how long you last."

The woman with the curved blades stepped forward.

At the same time, the Peak Advanced man moved his spear from the ground.

The guard’s expression changed.

He had expected one opponent.

Instead, all three Advanced cultivators were preparing to fight.

Kenny whispered beside Tolu.

"We’re finished."

Tolu looked at him.

"You haven’t even fought yet."

"We don’t need to."

Kenny pointed toward the three men.

"Our strongest person is Initial Advanced."

He lowered his voice.

"They have three Advanced."

"I noticed."

"One of them is looks quite experiencd

."

"I noticed that too."

Kenny stared at him.

"Then why do you look so calm?"

Tolu didn’t answer.

Ahead of them, the guard raised his sword.

"I’ll say it once more."

His voice was firm despite the situation.

"Move."

The axe-wielding bandit laughed.

Then he charged.

The guard immediately raised his sword. 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

CLANG!

The axe struck the blade with enough force to make the ground beneath the guard’s feet crack.

He was pushed backward.

His expression changed.

The strength behind that attack was far greater than his own.

Before he could recover, the woman attacked from the side.

The guard barely blocked her first strike.

Then another.

And another.

His sword shook violently in his hands.

The third Advanced cultivator hadn’t even moved.

He simply watched.

Tolu observed the fight carefully.

The guard was skilled.

But skill wouldn’t bridge that gap.

Aa

He was already being pushed back.

The axe came down again.

The guard blocked it.

The woman immediately swept her blade toward his ribs.

He twisted away.

The blade cut through his clothing and left a shallow wound.

Blood appeared.

The merchants began panicking.

"We need to run!"

"Where?"

"They’ll kill us!"

"Stay behind the wagons!"

Kenny looked at Tolu.

"What are we going to do?"

Tolu watched the fight.

"Nothing yet."

"Nothing?"

Kenny’s voice cracked.

"They’re going to kill him."

Tolu’s eyes remained on the battlefield.

"Not yet."

The guard suddenly kicked the axe-wielding man backward.

For a moment, he created some distance.

He was breathing heavily.

The bandit wasn’t.

The Peak Advanced cultivator finally pushed away from his spear.

"Enough."

The other two stopped.

The guard’s expression became grim.

The older man walked forward.

"You’re Initial Advanced."

The guard didn’t answer.

"I can tell."

The man stopped several meters away.

"You know you can’t win."

The guard tightened his grip.

"I don’t need to win."

The Peak Advanced cultivator raised an eyebrow.

"I only need to keep you away from the caravan."

A faint smile appeared on the man’s face.

"Then you’re willing to die for them."

The guard said nothing.

The Peak Advanced cultivator raised his spear.

The pressure around him changed.

Several merchants stumbled backward.

Kenny’s face turned pale.

Tolu finally stepped forward.

Kenny grabbed his sleeve.

"Tolu."

Tolu gently removed Kenny’s hand.

The guard noticed Tolu approaching.

"So you finally decided to move?"

Tolu stopped beside him.

"I’m not part of your fight."

The guard looked at him.

"Then stay behind me."

Tolu looked toward the three Advanced cultivators.

"They’re going to kill you."

The guard frowned.

"I know."

Tolu’s eyes remained on the three men.

Then he spoke to the dungeon heart mentally.

’Can I summon them, the creatures?z’

The Dungeon Heart answered almost immediately.

Yes.

Tolu’s expression remained calm.

Even while I’m outside the dungeon?

You are the Dungeon Lord. Your connection to the dungeon has not been severed.

Tolu’s gaze shifted slightly.

Then I can summon my Level Two creatures here?

You can.

There was a brief pause.

Then the Heart added,

But you should be careful.

Tolu’s brow furrowed.

Why?

They will be real creatures once summoned. If they are killed, they will not return to the dungeon.

Tolu’s expression became serious.

That was something he hadn’t considered.

So if I bring them here and they die...

They die.

Tolu looked at the three Level Two creatures he had in mind.

His hyenas were among the strongest creatures in his dungeon.

Losing them wasn’t something he wanted to risk.

Then I’ll only bring three.

That would be wiser.

Tolu thought for a moment.

Three of the Level Two hyenas.

And?

Twenty Level One hyenas.

The Heart didn’t object.

That is possible.

Tolu looked at the road ahead.

Then he turned toward Kenny.

"Kenny."

Kenny looked at him.

"Yes?"

"Stay back."

Kenny frowned.

"Why?"

"Just stay back."

Tolu stepped away from the guard.

The caravan’s merchants watched him with confusion.

The guard turned toward him.

"What are you doing?"

Tolu didn’t answer.

He took several steps away from the caravan.

Then he closed his eyes.

Kenny stared at him.

"Tolu?"

Tolu raised one hand.

"Stay back."

Something began to change around him.

The air became heavy.

A strange pressure spread across the road.

Tolu could feel his connection to the dungeon deepening.

For the first time since leaving Ilebi, he wasn’t simply reaching into the dungeon.

He was reaching through it.

His awareness touched the familiar territory surrounding the Dungeon Heart.

He could sense the earth.

The tunnels.

The plants.

The ore reserve.

And the creatures moving through their territories.

Three powerful presences responded to his call.

His Level Two hyenas.

Then twenty weaker presences answered as well.

The Level One hyenas.

Tolu opened his eyes.

Green energy began gathering around him.

Kenny instinctively took another step backward.

"What is he doing?"

The caravan guard stared at Tolu.

He could feel the strange energy gathering around the young man.

The three Advanced bandits noticed it too.

The Peak Advanced cultivator narrowed his eyes.

"What is that?"

Tolu didn’t answer.

The ground beneath his feet began to tremble.

Not violently.

Just enough for everyone nearby to notice.

Then three large figures began taking shape behind Tolu.

The first emerged from a swirl of green energy.

A massive hyena.

Its body was larger and more muscular than an ordinary hyena, its fur thick and mottled, its eyes glowing faintly as it lowered its head.

A second appeared beside it.

Then a third.

The three Level Two hyenas stood silently behind their Dungeon Lord.

But Tolu wasn’t finished.

More figures began appearing.

One.

Two.

Five.

Ten.

Twenty.

The Level One hyenas emerged around the larger creatures, forming a loose pack.

The road suddenly felt much smaller.

The bandits stared.

Kenny’s mouth fell open.

The caravan guard tightened his grip around his sword.

"What..."

Tolu looked at the pack.

Then at the three Advanced cultivators standing ahead.

For the first time since the bandits had appeared, the expression on the Peak Advanced cultivator’s face changed completely.

The creatures weren’t summoned illusions.

They were alive.

And they were looking directly at him.

Tolu lowered his hand.

"Now."

The three Level Two hyenas stepped forward.

The twenty Level One hyenas followed.

Kenny immediately understood why Tolu had told him to stay back.

He took several steps away from the group.

"Tolu..."

Tolu glanced at him.

"Stay there."

Kenny nodded.

The bandits slowly raised their weapons.

The Peak Advanced cultivator looked at the creatures, then at Tolu.

"You’re a Beast Tamer?"

Tolu shook his head.

"No."

"Then what are they?"

Tolu’s eyes hardened.

"My companions."