Chapter 74: The Caravan Expedition

Garris then turned slightly and gestured toward the southern edge of the village.

The reason for the guards’ gathering soon became clear.

The settlement was preparing its monthly trade expedition to the nearest provincial city, a major trading hub situated beyond the jagged peaks of the Blackwood Range. Four massive wooden carriages were already being arranged near the southern road, each one being loaded with supplies gathered throughout the season.

Heavy sacks of winter grain were being secured inside the wagons. Bundles of cured animal hides were stacked alongside rare medicinal herbs collected from the foothills, while tightly packed rolls of handmade textiles filled the remaining space.

Garris looked back toward Shadow One.

"The journey isn’t exactly a stroll through a garden," he said, his tone becoming more serious.

He leaned forward slightly, speaking with the blunt honesty of someone accustomed to discussing dangerous matters without wasting words.

"The forest trails are crawling with wild beasts. And lately, we’ve been hearing reports that several mountain bandit clans have started moving closer to the trade routes."

His eyes briefly shifted toward the distant mountains.

"Usually, ten guards are enough to discourage petty thieves from getting any ideas. But this season..."

Garris paused.

Then he looked directly into Shadow One’s crimson eyes.

"I want absolute insurance."

Shadow One listened in complete silence, his dark eyes fixed steadily on the veteran captain.

Garris released a heavy breath and held Shadow One’s unblinking gaze.

"I’m not asking you to enlist as a permanent guard, Arthur. I know you prefer to keep to yourself. But I want you to come with us on this trip."

His expression hardened slightly.

"If trouble shows up along the road, I want someone capable of crushing it before it has a chance to become a disaster."

Shadow One raised a single eyebrow.

His synthetic consciousness immediately began calculating the practical details of the journey. After a moment, he broke his silence with a simple gesture, raising two fingers while looking directly at Garris.

A question.

How long would the journey take?

Garris understood almost immediately.

"How long? About a full day and a night of steady travel, assuming the mountain passes remain clear."

Shadow One remained completely still.

Deep within his synthetic core, multiple streams of analysis ran simultaneously, evaluating the journey from every relevant angle.

From a purely physical standpoint, the expedition presented virtually no risk.

Even if a group of cultivators ambushed the caravan, Shadow One’s density-tempered body would be an almost impossible obstacle to overcome. Ordinary bandits and beasts posed even less of a concern.

But physical safety was not the real reason the journey interested him.

The provincial city offered something far more valuable.

Information.

Until now, Shadow One’s understanding of Velmora had been built from fragmented conversations with villagers, campfire stories, passing rumors, and isolated pieces of frontier knowledge. His data about the wider world remained severely incomplete.

A major urban center would change that.

There would be merchants who had traveled across distant provinces, wandering martial artists carrying knowledge from other regions, local records containing information about the surrounding territories, and possibly even cultivation manuals that could reveal the foundations of this world’s power system.

More importantly, the city could provide information about the three distinct paths of power that existed across Velmora.

Body-Refining.

Immortal Cultivation.

And the rarest of them all, Soul Cultivation.

Shadow One’s crimson eyes remained fixed on Garris.

Entering the city would give him access to an amount of information that could take months or even years to gather within this isolated village.

His comprehension of Velmora could advance dramatically.

For Shadow One, that alone made the journey worth taking.

Garris watched the silent giant carefully, catching the subtle change in his expression. It was barely noticeable, but after spending enough time around Arthur, the veteran had learned to recognize even the smallest shifts in his demeanor.

"You’re thinking about it, aren’t you?"

Shadow One gave a slow, deliberate nod.

Garris chuckled softly and folded his arms across his chest.

"I figured you wouldn’t say yes right away. But let me ask you something, Arthur. Why shouldn’t you come?"

He gestured toward the quiet village around them.

"You’ve seen what this place has to offer. It’s safe, I’ll give you that. But it’s small."

Garris then pointed toward the pile of massive logs Shadow One had just split with a single blow.

"You lift things three ordinary men struggle to move. You work from morning until evening without showing any sign of exhaustion, and I’ve never once heard you complain."

His expression became more serious.

"So if something dangerous drops out of the sky or crawls out of the forest while we’re crossing those mountain passes, I’d much rather have you standing beside my men than sitting back here chopping firewood."

Shadow One studied the veteran captain in silence.

For several seconds, neither man moved.

Garris was not trying to manipulate him with exaggerated praise or empty promises. There was no hidden flattery in his words. He was simply being pragmatic.

He had recognized Shadow One’s strength and understood its value.

More importantly, he was smart enough to make use of it.

Shadow One tilted his head slightly.

His expression remained calm, but the question behind his eyes was clear.

What happens if I refuse?

Garris understood immediately.

He gave a simple shrug.

"Then we leave without you."

There was no disappointment in his voice, only honesty.

"We still have to make the journey. The village depends on the silver we bring back from the city markets."

He glanced toward the distant road leading beyond the settlement.

"We’ll manage somehow."

Garris then looked back at Shadow One.

"We just won’t have our strongest asset with us. That’s all."

That straightforward, unpretentious answer further raised Garris’s opinion of Shadow One. The veteran was realistic, disciplined, and direct. He did not waste words trying to impress others, nor did he make promises he could not keep. He simply stated the situation as it was and accepted whatever decision Shadow One made.

Shadow One slowly turned his gaze beyond the village square. His eyes settled on the long, winding dirt road that stretched toward the distant forest before disappearing beneath its dense emerald canopy.

Beyond those trees lay the unknown.

Cities. Cultivators. Powerful factions. Ancient traditions. And countless secrets that had remained hidden from him during his time in this isolated settlement.

The risk was negligible.

The potential gain in information was enormous.

For Shadow One, the decision was obvious.

He slowly raised his hand and gave Garris a firm, unmistakable nod.

He would go.

For a brief moment, Garris simply stared at him.

Then his weathered face broke into a massive grin.

A heavy breath escaped his lungs as if he had been holding it in for far longer than he realized. He slapped one hand against his thigh and laughed.

"Good! Damn, that’s exactly what I wanted to hear!"

Several of the younger trade guards standing behind him visibly relaxed. The tension that had been hanging over them disappeared almost instantly, and a few exchanged quiet sighs of relief.

One of them leaned toward his companion and muttered under his breath, "Thank the heavens. With Arthur watching our backs, those mountain beasts won’t dare step onto the road."

Garris’s head snapped toward them.

He gave the young guard a sharp, playful glare.

"Keep your voice down, boy!"

The young guard immediately straightened.

Garris pointed a warning finger at him, though the corner of his mouth twitched with amusement.

"If you jinx this and he changes his mind, I’ll have you running behind the carriage all the way to the city gates!"

A few of the guards struggled to suppress their laughter.

Shadow One remained silent, watching them with the same calm expression as before.

For him, the journey had already become something far more important than a simple trade expedition.

It was his first step toward understanding the wider world of Velmora.

A wave of nervous yet lighthearted laughter rippled through the guards. The tension that had lingered among them finally began to fade, replaced by a renewed sense of confidence.

Even Shadow One remained completely impassive. He simply stood there, watching the guards settle down. His synthetic consciousness, however, had already recognized the psychological effect his presence had created.

His strength had become more than a source of physical protection.

To the caravan, his presence itself was becoming a source of reassurance.

Garris turned back toward Shadow One, his expression settling into a more businesslike seriousness.

"Alright. We leave in exactly two hours."

He glanced toward the wagons and the surrounding preparations.

"The horses need to be watered, the axles greased, and the cargo properly secured. Get whatever personal gear you need, but travel light. We’re going to the city, not moving an entire mansion."

A few guards chuckled quietly at the remark.

Shadow One gave one final nod.

Without wasting another second, he turned on his heel and began walking back toward his small wooden shed. His footsteps remained steady and unhurried as he disappeared from the square, already preparing for the journey ahead.

Two hours from now, the mute guardian of the settlement would step beyond the boundaries of the only home he had known on Velmora.

He expected nothing more than a routine trading expedition through the mountain passes, a simple journey that would take him to a distant city and back.

But the road ahead held far more than merchants and mountain trails.

What Shadow One did not yet know was that this seemingly ordinary expedition would become his first true baptism into the brutal and complex reality of Velmora’s cultivation underworld.