Chapter 39: Bandits Grey finished his meal, and prepared to leave. Heading to the Misty Mountain on foot would take him about three days. So he planned on starting his journey as soon as possible. He said goodbye to his friends before leaving under their watchful gazes. He took out a map of the area, he had already mapped out his route. He would have to pass four cities before he could get to the Misty Mountain. The Misty Mountain was located northwest of the Academy. He just had to follow the routes on the map and he should be able to get there within three days. He started his journey and soon disappeared into the horizon. ******************* Tranquil City Just as the name implies, this city was very calm. And not many people could be seen outside. Unlike most cities which were busy, this city was quiet, too quiet even. A youth could be seen walking through the door of an Inn. He went over to the receptionist to take a room. Grey would need to cross one more city before he gets to Misty Mountain. This was the second day since he left Lunar City. He was already almost totally broke. After paying for the room, he would only have enough for a meal in the morning. He even had to cut down the amount of food he usually eats, just so he could have some money left before reaching the mountain. He already had a plan for making money, he would hunt magical beasts and sell their cores for money. He heard the cores of magical beasts in the Arcane Plane fetches a good sum. The next morning, he had a meal with the last money with him before heading out. After going broke, he sought for a quicker route to the mountain. After studying the map, he found a route which lead past the rocky canyons. He headed over to the direction of the canyon since going through it would cut down the time needed to reach the mountain by nearly half. Once he gets to the mountain, his first objective was to hunt for a meal. Grey walked into the canyon in a dull state. He had never really felt the need of money since he never really uses it, but now, he was totally dependent on himself. He kept sighing at the thought of how poor he was. Grey suddenly stopped in his track and looked over his shoulder, he had already walked into the deeper parts of the canyon and could most likely have reached the middle of it. He saw a group of eight men walking in his direction with savage smiles. Some of them held metal baton, daggers, while others held swords. “Hand over all your money and scram” The man in front said haughtily. The rest of the group burst into laughter when their leader said this. They were amused by the fact that a youth would walk in this canyon all by himself. When they saw how Grey looked, they felt he was just a green youth who didn’t have any experience. From his clothing, fair skin, and handsome appearance, he seemed like someone who was rich. “Bandits” Grey muttered in a voice only he could hear. He turned and observed the bandits clearly. He chuckled when he noticed their Planes. The one at the front had the highest cultivation level among them, being at the Eight stage of the Fusion Plane. The rest of them were around the Fifth and Third stage of the Fusion Plane. The leader immediately felt annoyed when he realized Grey was just staring at them without heeding to his command. “Seems like you’re deaf” He said with a sneer. “Go get all his money, and try to be ‘nice’ ” He ordered his men. When they heard him say ‘nice’, they once again laughed. Two of them walked towards Grey with a wicked smile on their faces. “Kid if you had listened to our boss, you would have been able to walk out of here in one piece” The one on the left said. He was wielding a dagger and had a scar just above his right eye. Grey didn’t move from his spot and just stared at them as they edged closer. “What?, you’re so scared that you can’t even move?” The other one said with a big grin. The man on the right stretched out his left hand after getting close to Grey. He placed it on Grey’s shoulder. “Boss, can I keep his blades?” One of the men with the leader said. “I’ll check it out first” said the leader coldly. They continued their conversations before they were interrupted by sounds of something hitting the ground. *THUD, THUD* When the leader raised his face to check what made the sounds, he was stunned. The rest of the group already had their mouths agape since they saw how Grey dealt with the two men who were sent to him. “What happened?, why are they on the floor?” The leader asked with a confused voice. He knew how strong those guys were since they were part of his squad. Although he could defeat them, it wouldn’t be this fast. “Boss, he..he” One of them tried to explain but couldn’t stop stuttering. “He what?” The leader roared in anger on seeing how flustered his men were. “He knocked both of them out in seconds. We didn’t even see how he moved” Another was able to calm himself after their boss’ shout. The leader stared at the man who spoke with a dazed look. Even though he was stronger than they were, they were still able to see how he attacks. For them to say they didn’t see how Grey attacked was shocking to say the least. “What are you all still standing here dazed for, get him down for me” roared the leader. “But boss, he was able to easily defeat Jack and Dorian” One of the men said timidly. “Are you stupid?, it was because he attacked them suddenly so they were unable to react. Now go get him down. He must be taught a lesson, we’re not people he can offend” He said with annoyance. “Make sure he doesn’t die” He added. When the rest of the group heard this, they felt what he said was logical. Although they didn’t see how Grey attacked, they knew it wasn’t something spectacular since both men only fell by his side. They were only shocked by the fact that Grey was able to defeat them, so after the initial shock, they calmed down and prepared for battle. They were all experienced fighters, so they knew just how to deal with him. Amongst the five men, two were wielding batons. The others dropped their weapons since the boss told them not to kill him. Grey calmly stared at them. ‘Come’ He roared in his heart. This was going to be his first battle, and he was exhilarated by it.