Is That A Wisp?

"Hahaha, welcome to the area, fellow merchants." Hack's voice resounded with a cackle when the Pitlook Merchant Caravan slowed down before stopping. 

In front of it was a row of rock pillars, situated 10 meters from each other.

There was one place where there was a gap that spanned 50 meters, which was also the only path they could use to traverse further. But as of the moment, a rope of some sort was coiled between the two, blocking the caravan from passing any further. It wouldn't be possible for the Zenith Pluggers to fly past them without risks as the rope spanned up to a height of 100 meters. On top of that, their cultivations were suppressed. 

With a quick glance, Trivar realized that each strand of rope was at the Nine Stars God Foundation level. It wasn't something they could cut through in a short amount of time. After all, their current cultivation bases were restricted to the First Stage of the Godly Fusion Realm.

To make matters worse, before he could even come up with a plan, droves of bandits walked out from behind the pillars, numbering more than 300. His attention immediately fell on the man standing at the very center, exuding a powerful presence. 

Trivar unconsciously shuddered when he saw Whack, feeling the murderous intent emanating from him. On top of that, unlike everyone, Whack seemed to have lived in the Immortal Severance Zone long enough to completely restrict his cultivation base. 

With that, he had completely adapted to the region, taking pleasure in reaping the lives of strong cultivators that passed through it. 

Normally speaking, even if a cultivator had suppressed his cultivation to a lower realm, they would still be stronger than a regular cultivator at that cultivation base. After all, they had lived longer and had accumulated greater experience.

Moreover, the variety of techniques in their arsenal would also be greater. Hence, a cultivator that was naturally at the First Stage of the Godly Fusion Realm wouldn't be able to kill a stronger cultivator whose cultivation had been suppressed to that level.

Then again, that was in the case they had differing cultivations. If both cultivators had the same cultivation base, and one had suppressed their cultivation for a longer time, they would have more time to adapt to the changes.

After all, a cultivator in the Semi-God Realm was able to fly. So, their first instinct was to fly and engage with an enemy in midair. When they were suppressed in the Immortal Severance Zone, they would need some time to adapt to the suppression and alter their mindset to move on the ground. After all, old habits die hard.

This was where the advantages of Whack and other bandits could be seen. They had long since given up on returning to the world beyond, choosing to stay within the Immortal Severance Zone, completely giving up on progressing further in their cultivation.

This way, they had a lot of time to slowly adapt to the environment and become the region's fishes, or in this case, sharks. 

They were basically throwing away the prospect of longevity thanks to this decision. In their eyes though, longevity meant nothing. Only when a cultivator reached the Semi-God Realm would they attain longevity anyway.

Then again, reaching that stage meant needing to survive through a heavenly tribulation. Most cultivators had zero hope in succeeding that. Even among the wealthy families who had been gearing up for the heavenly tribulation, most of them failed to survive, turning everything they invested into waste.

On top of that, most people lead hard lives, struggling to procure God Stones to cultivate or buy their necessities in life. There were also constant battles waged in numerous places. Every demon beast habitat was a dangerous place to venture into. All in all, cultivators died early most of the time.

Even those that attained immortality didn't live long since they fought stronger opponents for cultivation resources and succumbed to one or the other. Instead of dealing through them all for the slim chance of attaining immortality, it was better to enjoy their life to the fullest.

After all, most of the cultivators pursuing immortality cultivated nonstop, with cultivation making up their life. They didn't do anything else. To these bandits, that was boring. So, instead of spending all their lives cultivating, only to lose their lives in a heavenly tribulation, it was better to enjoy it by doing whatever they wanted.

That was why they gave up on cultivation and entered the Immortal Severance Zone. The Immortal Severance Zone was tremendously big. It was one of the largest danger zones in the Zamuria Continent. So, one way or another, cultivators entered it for all sorts of reasons. This allowed the bandits to have a steady influx of entertainment. 

As the Immortal Severance Zone was the only place in the Zamuria continent where the Suppression Law was in greatest concentration, high-level cultivators also frequented the place. It was in hopes of comprehending the law. After all, the Suppression Law had numerous tangible uses and benefits. 

This made the place a hot spot filled with powerful cultivators. With that, the bandits never lacked prey. This was why bandit groups were plenty in the region. Of course, there were cases where the bandit groups were annihilated instead. But that was always caused by a miscalculation on their part where their prey had greater numbers than them.

Trivar looked at the whole situation, sighing as he cupped his fists. "Boss Bandit, we'll pay the toll for passing through. Please be magnanimous. Our merchant group has to use this route frequently in the future."

Trivar instantly displayed his cunning. He first showed his willingness to pay the price. After that, he hinted at how his group had to frequent the route. This meant two things. If the bandit group stole them dry this time, it was natural they would obtain a lot of wealth. But that would be it.

But, if they only took a portion of the goods, then it was as if they had established a trade deal. Every time the Pitlook Merchant Group used the route, they would pay homage to the bandits. This meant that the bandits would have a steady influx of resources. 

Trivar's words had opened two routes for Whack, either rob them dry for a measly one-time profit or accumulate a fortune through a long-time deal. 

"Fine," Whack laughed as he replied. "Since you seem like a capable person, I won't rob you too much. Please use this route as much as you please in the future. We'll only take a small toll."

"Thank you." Trivar cupped his fists, intending to motion the caravan members to move out a carriage when Hack cackled as his appearance slightly warped.

Seated on Whack's shoulder, he pointed at the caravan before saying, "The 60 Zenith Pluggers that you aren't using, give them to us, and we'll allow you passage."

"Nicely said, Hack," Whack patted his head while saying.

Hack cackled, squirming as he smiled bashfully, using his appearance to his advantage. "I was just stating your thoughts, Boss Whack."

"Such a fat prey has landed. I'm sure you can't gobble that up alone. Let me help you, Whack." A feminine voice resounded as a tall woman arrived at the back of the caravan, leading her bandit group of 400.

The situation had turned volatile immediately as Whack frowned. "We just formed a deal with this merchant group, Zuna. You won't get any share here."

"I don't care," Zuna shrugged as she replied. "I'll just kill the lot of you and take everything for myself. Why should I limit my options?"

"Sigh...fine." After a moment of thought, Whack scratched his head, sighing as he gazed at Trivar. "Sucks to be you. I guess we'll have to annihilate you."

"You go try and do that," a feminine voice resounded in response to Whack's words as the door on the first carriage opened. 

Krune immediately felt a dense fluctuation of Godly Energy that seemed intent to penetrate his head and control his mind. Krune grunted for a moment, using his mental energy to alleviate the effect instantly, extending it into a cocoon as well to wrap around the Silver-Winged Mouse couple.

In an instant, the grunting couple returned to normal as an expression of fear suffused their faces. Vardin looked at his hand, watching it tremble in fear as he muttered, "For a moment there, I had almost pledged my eternal loyalty to her…"

"Her…?" Krune frowned as he speculated, "You mean… Trivar's daughter?"

"Yes." Diana nodded, gazing at the first carriage as she noticed the door being opened. Xula and her team too saw the scene while Xula clenched her teeth in anger upon gazing at her appearance, muttering under her breath, "Wench."

A rotund figure stepped out of the first carriage, breaking the door upon her exit. Despite her round figure, she was charming for some reason, causing Whack to stare at her in a daze.

"I guess this is the first time I am seeing someone be this beautiful despite being fat. That's a first, even for me." Whack laughed as he said. Though, his laugh stopped all of a sudden as he noticed the four-legged demon beast he was sitting on neigh and bow its head towards Trivar's daughter.

"Lady Tina, the current situation is risky." Yuric stood behind her with a respectful pose. "Please allow me to clean them up."

"Alright, do as you see fit." Tina nodded as she replied, intending to return to her carriage. Before she entered, she shot a glance towards the end of the caravan, noticing Krune stare at her in return, unaffected by her ability. 

"So, you're Krune," she smiled as she muttered, returning to her carriage as Yuric began to walk towards Whack. Trailing behind him was Hwalian, another God Core Realm expert from his Mercenary Team. The remainder of Ink Sword formed a protective circle around the first carriage.

Trivar then sent a message to all the other mercenaries, "Ink Sword will handle the bandit group in the front. Please handle the one at the back."

The remaining 500 caravan members then took up arms after that. There were four caravan members per Zenith Plugger, taking care of it. Adding onto the remainder that stayed in the carriages, they numbered 500. 

At present, the cultivation bases of everyone remained the same, so they weren't disadvantaged that much in a contest of numbers. 

"Only retaliate when attacked," Krune said to Vardin and Diana when he shuddered involuntarily, sensing a powerful fluctuation of Godly Energy. 

Yuric calmly walked forward and stood 10 meters before Whack as he taunted him, "You said you would annihilate us all. I presume you have the capability to do that?"

"Oh, I do." Whack laughed. "I've seen a lot of arrogant cultivators like you. But alas, all that happened was them ending up in our bellies." His bandit group roared in laughter soon after that, fueling them with the energy needed for them to fight.