374: Scram

Scram

It was early in the morning as three people on horseback entered a city.2

There were rows upon rows of shops on both sides as they walked through the main road of the city. As it was just dawn, most of the shops either had yet to open or were in the process of opening.

"This is Ohka City, and is managed by my Clan." Ranze said, "Well, we call it a city, but when compared to the standards of cities on Earth, this is only the size of a town."

"Hmm, there are a lot of weapon shops around." Compass Carburettor said, noticing as they strode through the place. Only now was he able to take in the culture of the place, observing things and people as he noted their behaviour.

That's how he planned to behave from now on and fully assimilate into the place. That way, the System Hosts would have a hard time finding him.

It wasn't as if they would magically be able to find his location. They would have to luckily stumble upon the information related to him. And, as long as he didn't do anything special or had any weird qualities about him, news related to him wouldn't circulate among the people.

That would be the best choice of action for him.

This was another reason he planned to accompany Ranze to his Clan. It wasn't too large of a city and at the same time, had a constant influx of travellers. This implied that he would be able to collect information regarding the System Hosts.

It wouldn't be as easy as what he was saying. But despite that, Compass Carburettor didn't wish to gloss over any information. 'But first of all, I need to cultivate.'

It was strange, as he wasn't able to notice Mental Energy streams any longer. It felt like he had become half-blind. The fact that his body had turned damn weak didn't help much either.

Even if he had lost the Skills he possessed thanks to the Money-Making System, his body was still strong enough due to being strengthened by the ten Coordinates he had absorbed. 

But now, with everything sealed, and him having yet to embark on the path of cultivation, he was at his weakest state.

Soon after, they reached a stable where they left their horses. There was an organisation providing horses to travellers, allowing them to travel from one city to another.

Once they returned the horses, they reclaimed the deposit they had given the organisation. This deposit existed to ensure the organisation wouldn't make a loss if the horses were to get killed.

After all, chances of that weren't zero when someone travelled in the wild. Either a cultivator with hatred against them might attack or an Origin Beast or two might pounce upon them. In such cases, the first to be affected would be their horses.

That's why the organisation collected a deposit firsthand. And once the horse was returned safely, the deposit would be returned to the customer.

The process took time for them to exchange information between the respective cities through messenger birds. Once it was done, the trio collected their respective deposit and walked towards the centre of Ohka City.

It was where Ranze's Clan was located, the hub of the city that had a hand in a lot of the city's revenue streams. The Clan Head also acted as the city's authoritative figure, typically addressed as the City Lord.

It wasn't a long walk as the trio reached the Clan gates soon after.

Opposition Clan!

"What's up with the name?" Grisha muttered.

"In the Gaider Realm, Clans are named based upon their accomplishment. And, the Opposition Clan had been a leading force among those that opposed the corrupt regime that was ruling over us a century ago. Hence, we inherited this name as the Opposition Clan." Ranze explained.

"Our Clan has declined a lot over time. But it still wields considerable power." Ranze said as he motioned for them to follow him. The guards posted at the entrance had long since recognised him. but suddenly, two of them moved in his way, blocking his path.

"What's the meaning of this?" Ranze frowned.

"Young Master, we were only requested to stop you upon arrival." One of the guards smiled wryly, explaining their actions. He had a good impression of Ranze, having seen him many times before.

"Heh, he'll become a guard in the future anyway. You don't need to treat him that well." The other guard though, didn't mince his words, "That's the fate of those with a Trash Martial Spirit."

"Ahh, the trash still dares to return to our Clan!" Suddenly, a loud voice full of mockery resounded as a boy arrived near the entrance, waving a fan as he snorted, gazing at Ranze with obvious disdain.

"Is this your doing, Fonter?" Ranze spoke in irritation.

"Why should I concern myself with trash?" The boy addressed as Fonter smirked, "I'm just cleaning up trash that's taking up valuable space."

"Young master, let me take care of this filth." The foul-mouthed guard spoke, condensing his Spear Martial Spirit as he seemed intent to make a fool out of Ranze.

'This'll teach this arrogant trash a lesson.' Fonter thought, only now noticing that Ranze wasn't alone, but rather accompanied two others with him.

His eyes automatically fell upon Grisha, turning excited, "A beauty!"

"Young Master!" The guards suddenly rushed towards his aid.

"Eh? Why are you running towards me?" Fonter was confused before noticing that he was staring at the sky, only now realising that he was on the ground, "W-What happened?"

"We don't have time to waste on these…good-for-face-slapping characters." Compass Carburettor said, patting Ranze's shoulder, "Shall we enter now?"

"Ah…haha." Ranze laughed awkwardly, only now realising that even though they had lost their powers, the two people accompanying him were anything but ordinary.

Indeed, the race between them and the System Hosts had already begun. And when pressed for time, dealing with such annoyances that would only lead to further annoyances was just a waste of time with no worth.

"Though, he could have served as a good whetstone to hone my skills if he had a bit of strength in him." Compass Carburettor muttered as he gazed at the guards that had displayed gazes of mockery to Ranze, "Scram."

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