Death... and me

Rean and Roan looked behind them as their mouths twitched.

During the first week, everyone kept their guards up, but nothing...

During the following week, they decided to increase their pace a bit, but nothing...

As for the third week, the caravan began to think that most of the bandits had probably gathered at the end of the valley...but nothing yet again!

The twins could see the mountains starting to gradually disappear behind them. They also saw how the merchants cheered nonstop together with the guards. Nevertheless, the twins still had some hope, so they looked at Cynthia and asked, "Ahem...those mountains behind us couldn't possibly be the exit of the Ukilas Valley, right? There must be some continuation ahead. Yes, definitely! There's almost no way we could have avoided all the bandits with a caravan of this size...wasn't it you who said that? Where are our bandits?!"

Cynthia had a bitter smile on her face as she nodded. "It seems like...we were lucky?"

Indeed, everyone felt that they were lucky to not have encountered anything...except for the twins' group. Rean couldn't help but curse out loud, exclaiming, "Fuck that! Goddamn fucking pieces of shit! Are the bandits of the Yukirrom Region really that bad that they didn't find our location until the end?"

It was then that Rean thought about a possibility, muttering with a hint of doubt, "Wait, could it be that you used a hidden path inside the valley to avoid them?"

Cynthia looked away as she scratched the back of her head, saying, "In fact...I wanted to test out my strength now that I've reached the peak of the Soul Transformation Realm. What I want to say...is that I purposely took a very open path, hoping to get some action."

The twins couldn't believe that, with Rean asking her, "So, we made it this far while taking the most dangerous route without finding a single living soul?"

Cynthia nodded in response, finding it hard to believe as well.

At that moment, an idea popped into the mind of Rean, Roan, and Cynthia. "Perhaps...the bandits thought that the caravans would try to take safer routes and decided to ambush them on those paths. However, all of them just so happen to have had the same idea..."

Those three couldn't be any more correct. Because of the Royal Army's clean-up, the bandits took some time to return to the valley. They thought that the caravans or any other group traveling through the valley would definitely take the safer routes, so they all headed to those places. In the end, Rean's caravan happened to be the only group to pass through Ukilas Valley without ever encountering any obstacle since the clean-up was over.

Celis then arrived on their side before asking, "This went completely off tangent." Right after, he pointed back to the valley and asked, "Should we simply turn around and enter the valley alone? Since we passed the most dangerous place for the caravan, it's not like they need our help anymore."

Cynthia heard Celis's words, reminding herself that she still couldn't get used to seeing a demon tree talking. However, she quickly put those thoughts aside before saying, "Your friend is right. We should be fine from here on out, even if we haven't had the breakthroughs in the Divine Stream Lake. You can head back there to battle if that's what you wish. Just the fact you followed through the valley without going back on your word is more than enough of a payment for the favor of me explaining to you guys about the Divine Stream Lake. As for me, I was hired to protect this caravan, so I have to see it to the end until we reach Cosec City."

As soon as Cynthia finished her words, Kentucky came down from the skies and landed on their side, asking, "Rean, I can't see any more mountains. Are we still inside the valley? I haven't seen a single bandit yet."

Rean shook his head and gave Kentucky a quick explanation through Divine Sense. After that, Rean, Celis, and Kentucky looked at Roan. He was always responsible for the combat training, after all.

Roan, obviously, was the most disappointed one in their group. His hand itched as he held the White Star's hilt during the entire journey through the valley. However, he gave the mountains far in the distance one last look before giving up. "Sigh...forget it. Maybe it's just fate that we missed them." Naturally, the twins believed in fate. Their Soul Gem System basically worked on that, after all.

"We still know too little about this place, so Cosec City will be a good place to start." Roan then looked at Cynthia and asked, "You said that you were hired to protect this caravan, right? Is there some mercenary organization or place to take missions, or were you hired by the merchants directly?"

Cynthia understood what Roan wanted and took out a badge from inside her clothes as she explained, "There are indeed organizations for mercenaries. But in my case, I'm part of the Lukimira Sect. Simply put, I got this mission from the Mission Hall of my sect."

"Is the Lukimira Sect a big sect in the Yukirrom Region?" Roan asked back.

Cynthia laughed in response, remembering that the twins weren't from this place. "Hahaha! Not at all. In fact, we could be said to be one of the weakest sects, far from being considered average. Our Sect Master, for example, is only at the Late Stage of the Saint Realm. I'm an elder there, by the way. Isn't it hilarious? We have to even send our elders out to do some missions to help with the sect's finances."

Cynthia then pointed ahead and said, "This is my return journey and my job, by the way. You can find my Lukimira Sect a few hundred kilometers south of Cosec City if you want to join us. Hahaha!" Cynthia was basically being courteous. She could tell how young the twins were, definitely still in their thirties. On top of that, they also had their demon beast and tree friends. Although one couldn't say they were heaven-defying talents with their current cultivation and age, they were definitely far above average. There were many better options for them to choose from later.

"Alright, let's join the Lukimira Sect then," Roan said without even thinking.

Cynthia nodded with a smile as she shrugged her shoulders. "Hehe! It's fine if you refuse. I was jus-" However, her smile froze right after as she muttered in shock, "What did you say?"