Chapter 279: Skyreach Iron Zone (SIZ)
"Hiring mercenaries to travel around the Ironspine Route!"
"Our Merchant Company, Lunar Transport, is recruiting third circle mages!"
"Offering high prices for Mages and Knights for protection!"
Multiple shouts echoed across the area.
"What are these people doing?" Leonard opened the curtain and inquired.
"These people are recruiting strong people to protect their journey on the Ironspine Route," Curtis replied and explained the situation.
Ironspine Route was the winding trade path through the Skyreach Mountains.
The Skyreach Mountains were dangerously close to Ironvale, so it was inevitable that multiple merchants and people who wished to head to Ironvale would recruit bodyguards.
After all, there was a specific land that intersected both the Skyreach Mountains and Ironvale. The specific land was designated as Skyreach Iron Zone (SIZ).
Skyreach Iron Zone had the unspoken law that all sorts of fighting could happen without any consequences. The death toll in this land was the highest, but people still continued to enter in flocks.
"People die for fame and greed." Curtis lamented. Even though the danger was obvious, it didn’t stop anyone from seeking fortune and fame through Skyreach Iron Zone.
"SIZ... it does remind me of those demilitarized zones, except it’s heavy fighting," Leonard murmured.
Designated zones were meant to be peaceful, with absolutely no fighting.
Yet the designated zone in the endless world meant fighting was permitted, and so was killing.
"Who is this noble person in the carriage?"
"Those guards don’t look simple."
"Look at the weapon and armor they are wearing. All high quality."
"So what if they’re high-quality or nobles? Once they’re in SIZ, they are no longer anything."
"These people!" Curtis’ expression turned cold. They were openly discussing killing the Crown Prince in front of him.
"Just kill them in the SIZ," Leonard said calmly inside the carriage. "Those who wish to kill should be prepared to be killed as well."
Shortly after his statement, the multiple Crimson Guards flashed vicious eyes.
Their expressions turned murderous as they eyed each and every one who had uttered those words earlier.
Those who were stared at immediately lowered their heads. Some even began to sweat and apologized for their remarks.
The killing intent was so intense that they felt like they were suffocating.
"What kind of guards are these?"
"It’s like they had killed thousands before."
"This is definitely not your regular noble. I’d better avoid SIZ until they leave the area. Otherwise, we might be killed as cannon fodder."
In the blink of an eye, multiple people took their leave. They didn’t mind risking death, but they weren’t foolish enough to test their limits.
Leonard watched these rats scurry away in amusement. ’These Crimson Guards were all trained under harsh conditions. The passing rate is even more arduous than the Imperial Aldros Academy.’
But then again, he found the situation somewhat of a solace. During his journey previously, he had Mirelle to accompany him.
Although Mirelle was somewhat reserved, she was still able to talk with him without much formality as opposed to the Crimson Guards. They were too rigid, and the status difference made them incapable of having a proper conversation with him.
’I can’t believe I actually miss Eleanor at this moment.’ She was the only one who chatted with him without any reservation.
"Let the soldiers rest a bit more, and then we’ll head off," Leonard instructed, and told them not to disturb him.
"Understood, Crown Prince." Curtis obeyed and relayed the orders to the guards.
As Curtis approached the guards and had them relaxed, Leonard began to ponder the danger up ahead.
He had received a letter earlier about his second brother, Derrick, traveling to Ironvale via flying ship.
’How obvious do you want to be?’ Leonard sneered inwardly.
He wouldn’t be blinded by this fact. Derrick’s journey being known was definitely a decoy.
’Just what is he concealing?’ Such a high profile was not the style of an emperor. The more someone paid attention to Derrick, the higher the chance they would miss something small.
Magic transmission over a large distance was prone to being detected. Hence, a sealed letter was the ideal method of communication.
Leonard decided to write a letter back to ask Spencer to check the smallest details.
Once the letter was written, Leonard chanted in the Runic Tongue of Elarith.
With the rune language chanted, it activated the directive layer in the hidden formation on the letter to be sent back.
Although anyone could speak in the Runic Tongue of Elarith, they required a specific chant of the said letter to trigger it. Anyone else who attempted it without knowing would immediately cause the letter content to be destroyed.
"Crown Prince, we can set off to the Skyreach Iron Zone," Curtis informed him.
Leonard was about to nod in approval until a loud commotion was made.
"Move along, slaves!"
"If you dare to hinder our time, we’ll feed you to the beast!"
"Don’t harm that special merchandise. Customers enjoy their exotic appearance!"
"What’s with the commotion?" Leonard was annoyed by the ruckus. Their voices were so loud that they pierced through his carriage’s sound barrier.
The carriage’s sound barrier wasn’t turned on to the maximum, granted that absolute silence was usually for sleeping. But it was daytime, so he needed to listen to the surroundings.
"It seemed to be a slave trader company specialized in exotic beastsmen," Curtis explained. "These beastsmen had the appearance of half beast and half human. Their strength and dexterity are vastly superior to the normal human."
’Okay, so one of those weird kinks with cat ears or bunny ears.’ Leonard lost his interest immediately. There were many freaks in the wealthy circle that might enjoy such exotics, but not him.
In his old world, there was also something called cosplay, and he would frown when they put on some animal costumes. Maybe it was because of how he grew up, but the animal aesthetic simply didn’t align with him.
"Should we wait for them to pass through first?" Curtis suggested. He could somewhat discern Leonard’s dissatisfaction with being associated with them.
Moreover, the incident at Velastra was still vivid in his mind. Leonard was the type to frown at slave trading.
"No need, just continue ahead. If they don’t mess with us, we’ll just ignore them." Leonard said coolly. Mirelle wasn’t present because she was still occupied by the academy’s task.
Without Mirelle’s presence and her sympathy, he was freed from trying to be the hero.
Life was never fair.
This was something Leonard knew since his birth. If one wants something, they must work hard and strive to reach their target.
Excuses such as impossible or exhausted were for the weak. Those who don’t put in the work shouldn’t expect anything.
As Leonard’s carriage began to enter the route toward SIZ, the other slave trading company noticed them.
"What should we do now, Boss? They don’t seem like easy people to deal with?" One of the subordinates asked. They had noticed the Crimson Guards’ might and were worried they might be after their exotic goods.
"Haven’t you noticed the symbol around the carriage? It’s royalty." The slave trading company boss, Ryder, pointed at the carriage.
"We’ll continue our path as usual, but tell our men to avoid any conflict with them. To be able to deploy so many powerful guards meant that the person inside the carriage isn’t someone we can mess with."
"Yes, boss."
Soon, their cargo began to move, and the exotic goods within the cage tried to struggle.
WHACK!
The moment someone went out of place, a whip was swung at them.
"Silence! If you don’t behave well, then we’ll take one of you out to enjoy some of our new torture method." A worker assigned to oversee the goods shouted fiercely. They had just been warned to keep the goods in order to avoid offending the carriage up ahead.
Sure enough, the whipping method worked, and the goods started to quiet down. Or at least that was what they believed.
Inside the cage, a few groups of beastmen gathered together.
There were 2 females and 3 males amongst them. Their bodies were sparkly clean, a clear sign that they were considered the exotic kind. Thus, they didn’t receive any physical torture to avoid their prices being lowered.
"Brother, do you see that carriage symbol? If my memories serve me right, they should belong to the Aldros Empire." One of the females whispered.
"Even if that’s the case, what can it do for us, Amira?" The brother, Dayton, asked. "They won’t even glance at us for one bit, much less help us out."
"Who said anything about seeking help?" Amira narrowed her eyes. "Our powers are sealed because of these chains. But our raw strength remains. As long as we work together, we can charge at them."
"You want us to target the royal carriage?"
"Exactly. Only then can we escape." Amira knew their fate would be sealed once they got through the SIZ route. They must act within it and trigger the person inside the royal carriage to target these slave traders.