Having slayed the last of the trolls, Marcus marched past several stunned people as he made his way back to the front of the caravan where Mrazivý and the brigand they had captured were.
Now that the imdiate threat was dealt with, he wanted to get so information on the group that had set their sights on the caravan.
When he arrived, he was t by a frazzled Louis who was accompanied by his guard Manuel.
Louis took a step forward and his mouth floundered like he wanted to say sothing, but before he committed, he stepped back and stared at Marcus with reverence, fear, and shock. He had objectively known that a mithril rank adventurer would be incredibly strong, but what he had just witnessed was beyond his imagination.
Marcus had just flown around like a legendary figure from a story and slaughtered dozens of powerful monsters that collectively could have toppled a large town.
"How long has he been like that?" Marcus whispered to Mrazivý once he caught up to her.
"Pretty much since you started cutting the trolls down midair. I'm pretty sure most people go their whole lives without seeing a display like that."
"Really?! I haven't even been on Mirrion for a half dozen years yet and I've seen stuff way more amazing than what I just did even within my first year on this world. It's not like individuals level fifty or higher are all that rare. We et incredible people that could easily do the sa all the ti."
"Marcus, you must realize that you are an astronomically rare anomaly, right? Most people don't throw themselves into life threatening situations at every chance they get and level up as quickly as you did. The only reason that sothing like what you just did seems normal to you, is because you have always been doing crazy things since you arrived on this world.
As for all the high-level people we have t, that is simply because the strong are naturally attracted to each other. Usually, mithril rank adventurers wouldn't take a simple guard mission for a caravan like this. Normal people aren't accustod to seeing people fly through the air and effortlessly chop up monsters with powerful magic."
"Okay, maybe my worldview is a little skewed, but I don't throw myself at every dangerous encounter that cos my way." Marcus said, not wanting to co off as so sort of thrill seeker always wanting to put his life on the line.
"Really now?" Mrazivý replied skeptically. "The second ti we t, you dove into a dungeon by yourself and fought a boss monster that was out of your league. At that point we barely even knew each other so it was baffling to that you would risk your life for an acquaintance you only spent a few hours with previously."
"I an, I heard you were in trouble and didn't want you to die. Also, it wasn't like my motives were completely selfless. I did want to make you indebted to since you are a powerful princess."
However, Marcus' rebuttal was t with Mrazivý offering up more examples of his recklessness. Like the ti he accepted a haunted and cursed mansion, and when he faced down a dangerous demon simply because an intelligent beast asked for his assistance.
And while Marcus wanted to respond with several examples of tis Mrazivý had demonstrated the exact sa behavior, he was unable to thanks to their captive finally waking up.
During their bantering they had been keeping a close eye on the brigand they had captured and waiting for him to regain consciousness after his nasty fall.
Of course, they could have sped up his recovery with healing magic or a potion, but they didn't want to waste such a thing on a murdering, pillaging scumbag.
"Ugh. Where am I?" The brigand that had been used as bait said the mont he woke up.
Clearly, he was confused about what had happened since he had taken a sudden fall and been knocked unconscious.
"You're currently with our caravan. The one you led a bunch of trolls to." Marcus said, squatting down so that he was eye level with the man who was leaned up against one of the carriages.
The man's face imdiately lit up with realization, and he looked around in a panic to see what was going on around him.
Yet reality was far from the image he had in his mind. He had been expecting to see people running and screaming as trolls slaughtered the mbers of the caravan. But everything was calm, and the only signs of carnage were several large smoldering bodies that clearly belonged to monsters rather than people.
"Impossible." The brigand muttered in disbelief.
"Sorry to burst your bubble, but reality is what you see before you. We wiped out all the trolls you led here without suffering a single casualty. Now we've got so questions for you, and we expect you to answer them honestly. Though, if you feel like keeping your mouth shut or lying, I can show you a fate worse than what happened to those trolls."
Marcus stared directly into the brigand's eyes and unleashed his Phantom Pressure with just enough force to not crush the man's soul.
Nevertheless, feeling the pressure exerted on his very existence, the man started hyperventilating and a cold sweat drenched his body. Instinctually he could tell that he was only a mont from his life being snuffed out in a manner far worse than a normal death.
Once he was sure that he had gotten his point across, Marcus retracted his Phantom Pressure.
The brigand inhaled sharply now that the mountainous weight had been lifted off of his soul.
"Now, I know that you must have so buddies waiting around sowhere. Why don't you first tell us where they are and how many are in your group?"
Thankfully, the brigand they had captured spilled his guts without any resistance. It had only taken the one quick interaction with Marcus for him to know that he was far scarier than his boss Axel or any of the other brigands in his group. Plus, they had forced him to act as bait for the trolls which destroyed just about any loyalty he ever had for his compatriots.
"I see. So, they are hiding around five kiloters away to the northwest. Thanks for your cooperation. You can go back to sleep now, and we'll figure out what to do with you later. I wouldn't get my hopes up, though."
The man attempted to protest and plead his case, but Marcus did not wait for him to get a single word out. With a swift chop to the back of the neck, he knocked their captive out.
"So, what do you want to do now?" Mrazivý asked now that they had information on the band of brigands targeting the caravan.
"Hm, it would probably be easy enough to send a big spell in their general direction and wipe them all out, but that would be a bit boring, and I don't want to cause undue damage to the forest. How about we guide them this way and make a show of crushing them.
We've managed to learn so useful things from the mbers of the caravan, but I think they will open up more if they see us taking down this group of bandits."
"Sure, let's go with that. But how are we going to bring them here? They don't seem like your typical dumb as bricks criminals. I'm sure they'll send more scouts out before coming here in force."
"Oh, I've got a pretty good idea." Marcus replied, wearing a devious grin on his face.
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