Chapter 122 - Hidden Stash

Chapter 122: 122 - Hidden Stash

The response came instantly. More than a hundred mercenaries manifested their Items at once, weapons and armour flashing into existence across the road, leather and steel locking over bodies that had been kneeling moments earlier.

The twenty who had followed Marcus reacted far more slowly. Some turned to one another out of habit, waiting for orders that would never come, while others stared down at Marcus’s corpse, then at Kael, then at Adrien. Confusion pinned them in place more effectively than fear.

By the time any of them understood what was happening, it was over. The rest of the company closed in without a blow or a shout, and the men were disarmed, forced to their knees and bound with rope cut from the cargo vehicles.

Within minutes they sat grouped near the verge, wrists knotted behind their backs and a second rope linking several together.

Adrien watched with mild surprise, since he had expected resistance, or at least a few desperate runs for the trees.

Whatever resolve those men carried into the ambush had died with Marcus, and without him they looked less like dangerous mercenaries than like men who had walked too far down the wrong road.

Kael came over once the last knot was tight. He had scrubbed most of the blood off his hands, though dark stains still marked his clothes and one sleeve was burned from his own spell.

"What do we do now, my lord?"

Adrien kept his eyes on the bound men a moment longer. "We wait. Vikir has already gone to notify the Crown. They’ll send people to collect them, but it will take some time."

Kael followed his line of sight. "So for now, we simply hold them here."

"That’s right."

Adrien turned back toward the rest of the company. "In the meantime, I want you to organize your men and start returning what was stolen."

He pulled a folded sheet from his coat and tossed it over. Kael caught it one-handed and opened it at once.

"There are names, locations and addresses there," Adrien said. "Everyone in our territory who suffered losses from the attacks is listed. Whatever goods remain intact, return them. Food obviously can’t be recovered, so compensate those losses in Crowns."

Kael read the first lines, then raised his head. "I don’t know if we have as much money as you think."

Adrien’s expression did not shift. "You do."

Kael frowned faintly. "You sound really certain about that."

"I am."

Adrien turned toward the path leading back to the Bloodfang camp. "Marcus had a hidden stash. Come with me."

Kael stared a second, then folded the paper and slid it inside his coat. "You knew that?"

"I suspected it."

The answer came calmly enough that Kael let it go.

"Leave some men here," Adrien continued. "There need to be witnesses and guards when the Crown arrives."

Kael nodded and began giving orders. Most stayed to hold the road and guard the prisoners, while he picked out around twenty he trusted to handle the returns once they had the money and the goods.

With that arranged, Adrien and Kael started back toward the camp, the chosen group trailing behind. Neither spoke much. Kael walked deep in thought, and Adrien could almost hear the questions stacking up behind his silence, though the young Spellblade kept every one to himself.

At the outskirts Adrien let Absolute Mana Sense spread outward, and what he had noticed during his first visit was still there. Back then, while counting Mana Cores, one spot had stood apart from everything else.

Not a person nor a monster, only a concentration that belonged nowhere in the area, faint enough that he had said nothing at the time and odd enough to stay with him. Now he had a reason to chase it.

Adrien changed course without explaining himself, and Kael followed, confused, as they left the tents behind and walked toward a large tree at the edge of the camp.

Adrien stopped in front of the trunk. Kael waited, then finally asked, "Do I need to do something?"

Adrien glanced at him. "Dig. Obviously. Or were you expecting me to do it myself?"

Kael shook his head and turned to two mercenaries behind them. "Get shovels."

They came back quickly and dug at the base of the tree. It took very little time before a blade struck wood.

The chest they hauled out was larger than Adrien had expected, and when Kael lifted the lid everyone went quiet. Crowns filled most of the interior, some in coins, though the bulk came as tightly packed paper notes.

Several manifested Items lay among them, stored physically rather than in an Inventory, most likely because Marcus had stopped trusting his own mana with that much wealth. A few rings sat in one corner beside a short blade, two pieces of jewellery and a folded dark cloak.

Kael took in the contents and went still. "So this is where it went."

Adrien glanced at him. "You didn’t know?"

"No." Kael’s voice had hardened. "We all knew Marcus had started taking a larger share, but not like this."

Adrien reached for the cloak and unfolded it. The fabric ran darker than ordinary black, with a faint sheen whenever the light caught it, and its quality stood far above the rest of the chest.

"Was this something Marcus stole too?"

Kael looked at it and shook his head. "No. That belonged to the previous co-leader."

Adrien’s eyes narrowed. "The one who left?"

"Yes."

Adrien said nothing for a moment, then folded the cloak over one arm. "Then I’ll keep it."

The instant his fingers closed around the material, the system responded.

[Item Acquired: Nightveil Cloak]

[Rank: B]

[Effects:]

[1. Reduces the user’s presence in darkness and low light.]

[2. Slightly increases movement speed while active.]

Adrien read the notification and dismissed it. The cloak would be useful, though not something to dwell on now, and he turned back to the chest.

"Count the Crowns. Use what’s needed to compensate the victims first. After that, gather whatever stolen goods can still be identified and return them with the names on that list."

Kael nodded at once. Men were already lifting the chest and sorting the salvageable items, while others prepared to leave with the list.

Before long they set out to return what had been taken and repay what could not be restored, while Adrien and Kael headed back toward the road where the prisoners waited under guard.

What Adrien had not expected was a familiar face arriving there so soon.