Chapter 7: Forced Entry (Part 1)

With the sound of horse hooves, noisy voices, and the creaking of wheels on the ground, Guo Shier said, “We haven’t seen any large groups along the way. Is this a caravan or an army?”
Ezekiel replied, “It doesn’t matter whether it’s a caravan or an army—as long as they don’t bother us. If they dare provoke me, I’ll turn them into dead men.”
Flames flickered—forming a long chain of torches. Soon, dozens of horses rushed over and stopped about dozens of meters away. Someone shouted, “Hey, come over here!”
Sitting in front of the campfire, Guo Shier sighed, “They never give us a moment’s peace…” He turned around and said, “We’re just passersby. We won’t interfere with your actions.” Waving his hand, he signaled them to leave.
Ezekiel sneered, “They won’t let us go. Hmph, their tone is hostile.” With his keen sensitivity, he immediately sensed their hostility.
Then someone shouted, “Send a few people to bring them over!”
Guo Shier scratched his head and said, “Ezekiel, don’t kill them. A little scolding will be enough.”
Ezekiel replied, “Why? They provoked us first. If we kill them, fine. Why be polite? These bastards came to us anyway. Even if you don’t kill them, they won’t treat you kindly.”
Guo Shier could only force a smile. Reasoning with Ezekiel was impossible. He said, “I said no killing. Do you still want to eat grilled meat…?” With no other choice, he used this to restrain Ezekiel’s murderous intent.
Unexpectedly, Ezekiel agreed. He said, “What does this have to do with grilled meat? Alright, fine. No killing. Damn it, watch this!” With that, he rushed forward.
Several horses charged at them. Before they could ask anything, there was a burst of noise—horses neighing, people shouting. In moments, the attackers lay on the ground, along with their horses. Immediately afterward, Ezekiel lunged at the group, roaring as he plunged into the horse herd.
Guo Shier stood up, watching helplessly. He didn’t want any conflict with the locals, but their aggressive attitude was infuriating. It was even impossible to communicate with them.
Ezekiel was a humanoid aberrant beast. His presence terrified the horses to the extreme. So when he rushed into the horse herd, chaos ensued, and he quickly knocked down over a dozen people. Someone screamed, “Enemy attack! Enemy attack…”
Then Ezekiel roared, “Hit the hell out of your heads! Get off my horses!”

Torches flew everywhere, warhorses neighed, and cries of shock and falls filled the air in chaos. Ezek cursed angrily, “Bastard, who do you think you are… disturbing my rest? Unforgivable!”
Boom! A horse was flung into the air, and a man was tossed up high, his movements resembling those of a ghost under the light of the torches. Guo Shieru crossed his arms and said, “Elder, I guess… this journey won’t be easy. With a temperamental guy like Ezek around, the locals won’t even talk to us.”
The elder smiled from the altar and said, “It’s fine. Under absolute force, everything is meaningless…”
Sure enough, someone shouted, “Stop! Stop!”
Guo Shieru also called out, “Ezek, come back!”
Ezek flew back and said, “Weak, so weak… I’ve been wondering why such weak people act so arrogantly. Isn’t that inviting trouble?” In their world, when encountering strange exotic beasts, the first step wasn’t to provoke but to assess their strength before deciding on action. But these people were already domineering upon meeting them—getting beaten wasn’t unjust at all. If not for Guo Shieru stopping him, Ezek would have wiped them out completely.
Guo Shieru called out, “One of you, come here!”
Soon, a man came over timidly. He spoke in a harsh tone, “What… what do you want?”
Guo Shieru found it amusing and said, “Hey, what do I want? I spent the night by the river, and you bunch of guys show up acting unreasonable. Tell me… what do I want? I want to smash your heads! You bunch of bastards!” His anger flared as soon as he spoke.
The man stepped closer. Guo Shieru restrained his anger slightly and asked, “Who are you?”
Ezek snorted coldly, sat down, and said, “A bunch of idiots.”
The man wore the attire of a hunter and said, “We’re hunters from Edlu Castle, following a caravan… heading to the Duchy of Ek, and also protecting the caravan…” He secretly sized up the two of them, shocked beyond measure. They were dressed in magnificent robes he had never seen before, and their appearances were very different from those of the locals.
Guo Shieru asked, “What’s your name?”
The man replied cautiously, “My name is Wutuqi, a Barbarian Spirit Warrior.” He had the strength of a second-level Barbarian Spirit expert, which ranked at the lower end among experts in this world.
Guo Shieru asked, “Wutuqi, are you the leader of these people?”

Wutuqi said, “We’re not the leader. We were all hired by the Oran Caravan…” He glanced fearfully at Aizek. This man was truly formidable—there were over fifty Barbarian Spirit Warriors, and he had nearly defeated most of them. If not for him stopping, it wouldn’t be long before they were all defeated.
Guo Shier said, “Go and call the caravan leader here.” He sat there in a domineering manner.
Wutuqi bowed in greeting and then turned to leave. They were stunned by Aizek’s attacks; his storm-like assaults made these Barbarian Spirit experts feel the threat of death.
Aizek asked in confusion, “Shier, what are you doing?”
Soon, an old man came over, followed by several Barbarian Spirit experts who approached the campfire nervously. Guo Shier asked, “Are you the caravan leader?”
The old man’s expression was grim. He stepped forward and said, “I am the leader of the Oran Caravan. It was our mistake earlier. As the leader, I come to apologize to you.” He bowed again.
Guo Shier waved his hand and said, “Sit down.” He didn’t want to pursue further. Even killing them all wouldn’t be useful, and he wasn’t a murderer who enjoyed killing for fun.
The old man breathed a sigh of relief. He had feared encountering an unreasonable and tyrannical person, especially one so powerful that he could overwhelm their caravan. Even though the Oran Caravan hired seventy or eighty hunters returning home, along with a hundred guards, he didn’t think they could deal with these two men.
“My name is Audoba.”
Guo Shier asked, “Audoba, are you going to the Duchy of Ek?”
Audoba replied, “Yes. This time, we collected some furs, ores, and herbs at Edlu Fort and are taking them back to the Duchy of Ek. We go to Edlu Fort once a year. After making purchases over the winter, we head back.” He briefly explained.
Guo Shier nodded and said, “The journey to the Duchy of Ek isn’t short. How long does it take? We’re also going there.”
Audoba said, “If everything goes well, it takes fifty days. The route is difficult because we have to pass through the Karabaza Trail… and the Shiba Grassland.” Karabaza meant “danger.” The area not only had treacherous terrain but was also plagued by bandits and robbers who specialized in attacking caravans. There were also hunters returning from the borders, who often carried many valuable items after hunting for a while.
The Shiba Grassland was dangerous because part of it was marshland, home to many fierce beasts and grassland bandits.

Guo Shier said, “Like this… aren’t you in great danger?” He had no confidence in the caravan’s combat strength at all.
Odoba gave a bitter smile. The road was indeed difficult and dangerous, but with repeated travel, they gained experience. After fighting against bandits many times, they knew that as long as they paid a small price, they could generally make it through. For smaller groups of bandits, they handled things this way; only in extreme bad luck, when facing larger groups, would they fight desperately.
Moreover, in the most dangerous areas, several caravans would often unite and travel together, making them much safer. So Odoba wasn’t worried about the caravan’s safety. Instead, he couldn’t figure out who these two people were—what kind of beings could defeat dozens of hunters so easily?
Suddenly, Odoba had an idea. He remembered what Guo Shier had said earlier—they were also heading to the Duchy of Ek. With these two’s strength, if they could join a caravan, their journey would be safer. He hesitated for a moment, unsure of their true intentions, and asked, “You… are going to the Duchy of Ek. Don’t you plan to join a caravan?”
Guo Shier replied, “We’re outsiders and don’t know which caravan to join.”
Odoba breathed a sigh of relief. Guo Shier had directly admitted they were outsiders. While foreigners did come here, it was very rare. He made up his mind and said, “In that case, may I invite you to join us?” With two top experts joining, the journey would be much safer.
Guo Shier had originally wanted to join a group, not for safety’s sake, but to explore the world.
Before Aizek could speak, Guo Shier stopped him, knowing that once Aizek opened his mouth, nothing good would come out. “Joining isn’t a problem…”
Odoba was overjoyed. He immediately said, “Ten gold pieces each.” He took out a small pack of gold bars—the same kind seen at Edlu Fort. Twenty gold pieces was just a small pack, which he handed to Guo Shier. This was his greatest concession. One gold piece was quite valuable, enough for a person to live well for several days.
Guo Shier didn’t refuse. He reached out and took it, saying, “Okay, let’s set off together tomorrow.”
…
The next morning, Guo Shier mounted his horse. But Aizek still couldn’t ride a horse, nor could he even sit in a carriage. Whenever he got close, any horse would collapse, tremble violently, and sweat profusely. Frustrated, Aizek howled in anger. In the end, he had no choice but to follow behind the caravan, running alongside it on foot.

To gather information, Guo Shier rode for a while before dismounting and sitting with Aoduba on a large cart. Only then did he take a close look at the leader of the caravan. Aoduba appeared to be in his sixties, with grayish beard, a bald spot on top of his head, and the remaining hair tied into a small braid. He was dressed in fine linen clothes covered with soft leather armor, carrying a short sword at his waist and a long-handled crescent axe beside him. He was also a skilled barbarian warrior. The cart was packed full of furs, secured with leather straps. It was pulled by two horses, with steel rings wrapped around the solid wood wheels. The furs on the cart hadn’t been processed yet and emitted a strong fishy smell. Aoduba drove the cart himself, with Guo Shier sitting beside him.