Chapter 179: Show of Strength
Even though Thufrat and Ephine were both a little surprised, they understood what Ark was trying to do. Ark wasn't someone brutal who would kill anyone who got in his way, but at the same time, he wasn't a saint. His purpose in hurting these people badly was to deter anyone else from coming after them.
Atar wasn't even phased by the screaming of the adventurers as he jovially looked around the street, this was his first time in a city after all.
Ark didn't know if more people were going to come after them, but if he had to guess, then that would definitely be it. Surely this noble wasn't going to be happy with them, and they probably had some experts that were going to take action shortly, but Ark wasn't worried. He was a little tense, but he tried his best to relax.
Not many people would be able to rival him in strength in such a small city. He would be way more apprehensive if he was in the capital, no matter the country.
Since sticking around would basically be asking for trouble, Ark decided that it was time to leave the city. He wanted to buy some more spices and some more clothes for all of them, but he decided against it after some thinking. It was better to just get out of here, they could go to a different city later.
Since he didn't want to talk openly about his plans when there were people around, Ark just conveyed his thoughts with the help of telepathy.
He couldn't speak telepathically yet, but he could easily convey some simple messages and feelings. Since Ephine and Thufrat seemed to understand him, Ark just started walking down the street, as if the 10 adventurers screaming on the ground weren't even there. The normal people that witnessed the scene tried their best to keep their distance from them, whilst some of them ran off to somewhere.
What benefits would they get if they helped out a noble? Such thoughts ran through their minds as they ran off in the distance. Some people were likeminded, but after thinking about what had just happened in front of them, they decided against it. To some of them, the benefits were not worth the risk. Ark could tell that some of them were up to no good, but he couldn't care less.
The word would reach the noble either way, as he probably had some of his own people around anyways.
After walking for a while, the large gates of the city showed up in the distance. Ark expected to see plenty of people blocking the exits to the city, but to his surprise, it was just like when they had entered the city. He knew that it wouldn't end like this, and since no one was blocking the way out, it seemed like they were going to deal with them outside of the city.
Ark wasn't bothered by it, quite the opposite actually. It just made things easier for them. After leaving the city, Ark didn't follow the road, instead, with everyone else in tow, he made his way into the forest. After walking for quite a while, Ark could feel plenty of presences in their surroundings, it seemed like they were about to be surrounded.
Even though being surrounded usually meant doom, Ark was far from worried.
Being surrounded only meant doom if the enemies were a threat, and these people could barely even be considered a threat to Atar if he was completely alone. It wasn't like Ark was the only who could take care of these people, both Thufrat and Ephine could singlehandedly defeat them if they wanted to. Not like Ark was going to let them get any chance to do anything.
He was getting a little tired of people underestimating him and creating trouble, so he was going to make this quick.
Hmm, how did he want to take care of these people? Augment his body? Magic? As he pondered, their enemies drew nearer, not like he cared. Since he had been using his body plenty lately, he decided to use some magic this time. Since there were about 10 people, and they were all spread out, Ark waved his hand, and summoned 10 javelins of light.
The javelins of light didn't even hover in the air for even a split-second before they shot out like bullets.
Thufrat and Ephine weren't even surprised, but Atar was a little befuddled, as he wasn't sure what was going on. He had smelled people earlier, were they bad guys? Atar wasn't really too concerned with what was actually going on, he was only excitedly observing Ark's magic.
Unlike Atar, the enemies surrounding them didn't have much time to observe Ark's magic, as it was currently whistling through the air straight for them.
Even though Ephine and Thufrat couldn't see their enemies, they could distinctively hear their enemies wailing in pain, before all sound abruptly came to an end. Ark didn't really care too much, as he just kept walking into the forest. Thufrat and Ephine had seen plenty of death at this point, so they couldn't care less if Ark killed people.
These people hade come after them, so if Ark didn't kill them, then they would take matters into their own hands.
This world was nothing like Ark's old world, if someone tried to kill you here, then you killed them. As simple as that. There was no police, there was no court. If you killed someone out in the forest, who would ever know about it? These small fries would arouse no suspicion if they were found dead. No one would care about them.
If there was no benefit to be gained, no one would be bothered to find out the truth.
That being said, there were still people with a sense of justice in this world, they were just not as easy to find. And if they had no strength, then did it even matter in the first place? Even the authorities would turn a blind eye for the right price, of course normal people would do the same.
As they were travelling towards their humble little home, Ark started to think about their next course of actions.
They now had plenty of money, and maybe it was time to get a base of operations, somewhere they could stay that wasn't inside of some gloomy cave. What was most important right now was not only strength, but also comfort. Ark wasn't sure what was going to happen in the future, but if they were going to die, then they had to not only try to strengthen themselves, but also try to enjoy their lives.
What was the point of trying your best to survive if you didn't even enjoy your time on this planet?