Chapter 257 - Suspicious Wagon
As the baker felt his legs weaken and he slowly fall down to his knees, he turned to Elliot and bowed down. His body was trembling, sweat started to drench his clothes and the brick ground beneath him.
He had seen Adventurers come and go to their bakery. He had seen them fight in the streets. He witnessed countless Championships, but he had never felt an aura as anomalously terrifying as Elliot's.
"S-Spare me," the baker cried.
"Didn't your parents teach you not to hurt people that are weaker than you? Or any person in general," Elliot said. His breathing felt like there was a fog coming from it, his voice was being followed by a high-pitched echo. "I personally don't care if you're a female or male, if you're wrong, then I'm gonna take care of you."
"But my wife is a good for nothing, b*tch, sir," the baker defended. "When I get home, the dinner would always be bland, she doesn't want to do it with me every night, and she's always busy taking care of the kids. I need attention too."
Elliot leaned closer to the man, "Then I'll give you the attention. Here it is. Savor it."
Their conversation didn't last long. People started noticing the stenchful aura coming from the alley. When Elliot felt other people approaching, he immediately stepped back.
"I'll go now," he said with a grin. His ominous aura retreated back inside him just like that. "Don't do it again, okay? Good."
"I-I…" the baker stuttered, unable to formulate a sentence. Elliot curled his lips up into a smirk, leaping into the roof before he could be spotted.
'Quest [ A Battered Wife ] completed.'
"One down, time for some books," Elliot said to himself, skipping over the tiled roofs one by one.
The Solaguer library wasn't exactly hard to find. But it was far from their inn. Elliot was worried it might take him time to get there, after all Solaguer was a big city. Now that he was walking through the roofs, it cut his trip by almost half. It made him wonder why he didn't did this in the first place.
The library had a large statue of a man holding a book on top of it. It was a couple of minutes walk away from the city's center and a few minutes in a carriage.
As he walked over the bustling streets of Solaguer, Elliot noticed a particularly large wagon. It had almost more than half the size of a normal wagon which was odd. The kingdom should have protocols regarding this. If every wagon was this big, then there'd be no space in the streets.
He was now contemplating. Elliot was thinking which to choose. He could pick the easy path and go to the library, only to settle with the traffickers later, but his gut was telling him to check on the wagon.
If the wagon does not contain anything weird, then he can just go back to his original task. It was going to be that easy.
Elliot looked for an alley ahead of the wagon and jumped inside, making sure no one had seen him. He was trying so hard to lurk over the roofs, making sure the coast was clear since he was just making a shortcut.
He waited in the alley for the wagon. A few seconds had passed and it got past the alley. Elliot walked behind it, he didn't have to run or speedwalk since the wagon was travelling slowly due to its size. It needed time to adjust with the traffic, adjusting to every wagon it meets.
Elliot looked closer, watching the white sheets that covered the backside of the vehicle. He tried to sense if there was any presence inside but the crowd of people around him was blocking his senses. He felt nothing.
He then looked around and decided to do something reckless. Stepping closer to the wagon, Elliot tapped the back cover to see if its shut tight. When it wasn't, a smirk formed in his lips and he cleared his throat.
He searched for a perfect distraction until he saw a specific jewelry shop, "Madam Nina's Jewelry has a hundred percent sale!"
The entire street paused and the people gasped. Tney all ran to the jewelry shop they just passed by while Elliot blasted himself inside the wagon with his Hasty Aspire skill. He made sure to land with just enough force to not alert the driver of the wagon. The people pushing each other to check the fake sale he shouted were also rocking the wagon, so it was a perfect distraction.
Elliot had his eyes widen when he realized why he didn't felt any aura inside he wagon. He covered his mouth with his hands and fell to his back, seeing several bodies wrapped in tissue with a gem as a seal in their chests, all positioned like they were standing.
The bodies ranged from old to young, there was just so many of them. Elliot could count up to eleven bodies inside the wagon, all mummified and all were in the same position.
"What in the hell is this?" Elliot gulped and tried to break out of the wagon. He wanted to but he couldn't, his body refused to move.
It felt like seconds when it was already minutes that had passed. Elliot felt the wagon stop. He froze again when he realized that they were now in the entrance for the wagon to be checked on. He gulped as he felt the Guard slowly walk to the side, his hand was on the cover, lifting it up to see what's inside.
"Blind Eye."
Elliot heard the driver whisper from the front. When the cover was totally lifted up, Elliot saw the blank white marble eyes of the Guard. It looked like he was seeing something when he was nodding and closed the cover right after.
"All clear!" the guard spoke. Elliot sighed in relief and didn't waste any more time and leaped off from the wagon. He then ran to the front and brandished his sword, sitting beside the driver and pointed his sword at the man.
"What the hell are you carrying?" Elliot asked in full disgust. "This is horrendous."
"Who are you?" the driver asked. His voice was raspy, as if he was having a cough. He was plump that wore a standard robe over a dress shirt and a pair of pants. He blended well with the other drivers, perhaps the reason why he could get away that easily.
Elliot chuckled and stood, he slashed his sword through the reins that held the horses. He then kicked the three horses in their backs slowly, letting them run away in panic.
"I'm not here to answer questions, I'm here to ask them," Elliot said. "Now, what do you think you're doing?"
The scoffed and opened his mouth, about to cast a spell when Elliot placed his boot over it. "Shut up if you're not going to answer. This is an Adventurer arrest and I am arresting you."
With a rope he has from his Inventory, Elliot tied the man up. He was aware that a lot of things might come up his way so he prepared everything in advance.. Rope, sleeping potions, repair tools, food, and just about anything he needed.