The Western Dragon Lands were not kind to travelers.

The sun beat down on the red rocks with a physical weight, baking the air until it shimmered.

The wind didn't cool anything down; it just blew hot dust into the gaps of armor and clothing.

However, inside the Iron-Horse Mark II, the temperature was a pleasant sixty-eight degrees.

Damien sat back on the plush leather seats, sipping a glass of chilled juice Isabelle had prepared using a frost-rune coaster. He looked out the reinforced glass window.

Outside, riding ahead of the carriage on massive, armored war-horses, were the members of the Silver Lance.

They looked impressive. Their silver plate armor gleamed in the sun (thanks to cooling enchantments), and their weapons radiated the heavy, suppressing pressure of Peak 5th Order warriors.

Kaelen, the leader, rode at the front. He held his lance upright, looking every bit the hero of a story.

"The're all so arrogant," Leona grunted from the driver's seat, her voice coming through the communication tube.

"They ride in the center of the canyon. They don't check the ridges. They think their aura is enough to scare off the beasts."

"That's why I hired them," Damien replied calmly, turning a page of his book.

"Arrogance makes for excellent bait."

"Young Master," Lyra whispered, her eyes glowing green as she scanned the cliffs above. "My mana sense is picking up vibrations. Deep underground. About two miles ahead."

"I know," Damien tapped his temple.

The System map in his mind was already pinging red.

[Warning: High-Density Mana Signatures Detected.] [Type: Construct/Elemental.] [Count: 50+.] [Ambush Probability: 100%.]

Fortunately as time passed, it seemed his system had become more and more useful even giving him basic detection abilities.

"Just keep driving, Leona. Let the 'heroes' handle it." he muttered

Suddenly, the carriage jerked to a halt.

Leona pulled the reins of the mithril-barded horses. "They stopped. The Silver Lance blocked the road."

Damien looked out.

They were in a narrow bottleneck called the "Throat of Cinder." The canyon walls rose hundreds of feet on either side, creating a claustrophobic tunnel of red stone.

Kaelen turned his massive war-horse around and trotted back to the carriage. He didn't look worried about monsters. He looked greedy.

He knocked on the carriage door with the butt of his lance.

CLANG. CLANG.

"Young Master!" Kaelen shouted, a smirk audible in his voice. "We have a problem!"

Damien sighed, putting his juice down. He adjusted his sunglasses and kicked the door open.

"A problem, Sir Kaelen?" Damien asked, stepping out into the heat. "I don't see any monsters."

"Not monsters," Kaelen leaned down from his saddle, looming over Damien.

"Expenses."

The rest of the Silver Lance party, the Mage, the Rogue, and the Priest, circled around, boxing the carriage in. It was a classic shakedown.

"You see," Kaelen said, gesturing to the ominous canyon ahead.

"The mana density here is higher than we expected. My mage is burning through potions just to keep our shields up. And my horse... well, he's thirsty."

Kaelen grinned.

"The contract we signed in Wyrm's End... it covers 'Standard Protection.' But this? This is 'Extreme Hazard.' If you want us to keep walking in front... the price just went up."

Leona growled, her hand reaching for the hilt of her greatsword stowed under the seat. Isabelle's eyes flashed red.

"How much?" Damien asked, his expression bored.

"Five thousand," Kaelen said boldly. "Extra. Right now."

"And if I refuse?"

"Then we'll turn around," Kaelen shrugged.

"And we'll leave you here. I'm sure a delicate noble like you can handle the Wyverns on your own. Maybe your maid can throw some cutlery at them."

The Silver Lance members laughed. The Rogue eyed Isabelle with a lecherous gaze. "Or maybe we take the maid as payment? She looks like she has... stamina."

CRACK.

The stone beneath Leona's feet shattered as she stepped down from the driver's seat. Her Berserk Aura flared for a split second, a terrifying flash of blood-red killing intent that made the mercenaries' horses rear in panic.

"You filth," Leona snarled, her voice dropping to a bestial growl. "I will rip your tongue out and feed it to—"

"Leona," Damien said softly.

He raised a hand.

Leona stopped instantly, though her muscles were trembling with the effort to hold back.

Damien looked up at Kaelen. The Knight was struggling to control his horse, looking at Leona with sudden wariness. He hadn't expected the driver to have that kind of pressure.

"Five thousand?" Damien asked.

"Y-Yeah," Kaelen stammered, trying to regain his composure. "Five thousand. Gold."

Damien smiled.

He reached into his Void Gem.

He pulled out a heavy sack. Then another. Then a third.

He tossed them onto the ground at the feet of Kaelen's horse.

CLINK. THUD.

"There is ten thousand in there," Damien said casually.

Kaelen blinked. "Ten... thousand?"

"Five for the 'Hazard Pay'," Damien explained, dusting off his gloves.

"And five as a tip. Because I appreciate professionalism."

Kaelen's wariness vanished instantly, washed away by the sheer amount of gold sitting in the dirt. He signaled his Rogue, who jumped down and grabbed the sacks.

"Heavy," the Rogue whispered, his eyes gleaming. "It's real."

"A pleasure doing business with you, Young Master!" Kaelen beamed, saluting mockingly.

"You are a generous patron! The Silver Lance will clear the path! Not even a fly will touch your carriage!"

"I'm counting on it," Damien nodded. "Now, please. Lead the way. I hear the scenery up ahead is... breathtaking."

"Move out!" Kaelen shouted to his team. "Formation Alpha! We're rich, boys!"

The Silver Lance galloped forward, their morale boosted by greed, heading straight into the narrowest part of the canyon.

Damien climbed back into the carriage.

"Why?" Leona slammed the door shut, fuming. "Why did you pay them? Why did you stop me? I could have killed him! He insulted Isabelle!"

"Just Because Leona," Damien said, picking up his glass of juice.

He pointed a finger at the map on his system interface.

The red dots ahead weren't moving. They were waiting.

[Entity: Rock Golem (Elite). Status: Dormant/Ambush Mode.]

"I didn't pay them for protection," Damien whispered, his eyes cold.

"I paid for their funerals."

"There is a Rock Golem nest five hundred meters ahead. About fifty of them. And a Magma Scorpion King."

Isabelle and Leona froze.

"If we fought them," Damien continued, "we could theoretically win. But we would waste mana. We would damage the carriage. And we would be tired."

"But Kaelen... Kaelen is a 5th Order Knight. He has a sturdy shield. His team has high-level barrier magic."

Damien took a sip of his juice.

"They are going to wake up the nest. They are going to tank the first wave. They are going to use all their potions and cooldowns to survive."

"And when they are broken, exhausted, and begging for help..."

Damien smiled. It was the smile of the Greedy King.

"Then we step in. We kill the monsters. We take the loot. And we take our gold back."

"After all," Damien leaned back, closing his eyes. "I never said the tip was non-refundable."

Leona stared at him. Then, slowly, a grin spread across her face.

"You're evil, Young Lord."

"I'm efficient," Damien corrected.

Yes ever since leaving the Dwarven empire, Damien had relised that perhaps it was due to his life on the blue star

But he still too soft

He wasn't anything like a villain should be, if he was perhaps he would have been much stronger than he was now

Thinking if this, his eyes narrowed slightly

"Now drive slowly. I want to watch the show."

BOOM!

A massive explosion rocked the canyon ahead. A cloud of dust rose into the air, followed by the terrified screams of horses and the roar of shifting stone.

"Ambush! It's an ambush! Rocks! The rocks are moving!"

Kaelen's panicked voice echoed down the pass.

"Help! Where is the carriage?! Support us!"

Damien opened one eye.

"Lyra," he said.

"Yes, Young Master?"

"Pass the popcorn."

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.