When afternoon arrived.
Anna slept peacefully on Ren's back, while Ren was holding her. Her head was lying on Ren's shoulder, nearly on his neck. Silya stood alert on his shoulder.
Ren narrowed his eyes slightly. He saw Silya bouncing on his shoulder.
"Oh... You sense it too?" he said.
Silya wiggled in response, her small body moving in Ren's shoulder.
"So... let's see what awaits us." Ren said quietly as he looked forward.
Up ahead, many armed men were resting beside the trees, on the ground, and near the carriages.
They were repairing a damaged carriage, working quickly on its broken wheel, other men laughing that echoing the sound around the near road side.
There were three carriages in total. The last one was the damaged one, and it seemed to hold something important inside.
"Will it be done already!?" the leader shouted at the men repairing it.
The leader was muscular, with arms covered in tattoos, and a sword hanging at his side.
Here is the grammar-fixed version with simple beginner English and the same meaning:
"Almost finished, boss!" one man replied while tightening the wheel.
"Tch…" The leader spat to the side. "Hurry up! We need to reach Dartmoth as fast as we can."
"Yes, boss!" The men answered quickly.
The camp became quiet again. Only the sound of metal tools hitting the wheels could be heard.
One guard sat under a tree, wiping sweat from his forehead. Another leaned on his spear and looked down the road.
"Why is the boss always rushing us? Is that thing really so important?" one of them asked quietly.
"Quiet! If the boss hears you," whispered the guard beside him.
"All I know is the boss got an order from an unknown organization, and the payment is one hundred thousand gold," he whispered.
"Huh! One hundred thousand gold!" He almost shouted in excitement.
"Shh… watch your voice." The first whispered sharply.
"But we need to deliver her as fast as possible. If we're late, there's something might happen." He added seriously.
The two guards fell silent after that.
One of them glanced toward the last carriage, the one surrounded by iron bars.
Inside, the elf sat quietly with her head lowered. Her hands were tied, and the cage rattled slightly whenever the carriage moved.
"Still can't believe she's worth that much," one guard muttered under his breath.
"Don't think about it," the other replied. "Just do the job and get paid."
Far away, hidden among the trees and leaves, Ren was kneeling quietly on the grass.
His eyes were calm as he looked at the camp ahead, silya wiggled slightly on his shoulder.
Ren watched them for a while, but he felt nothing unusual. They were just resting and waiting for the carriage to be repaired. Still, he could feel a strange presence coming from inside one of the carriages.
"We'll see if they have good intentions or bad," he muttered.
He leaned toward Silya on his shoulder, while Anna was sleeping beside a tree.
"Hey, Lemi, stay here and watch Anna."
Silya nodded quickly, but something felt strange about what Ren said. Still, he could not disobey Ren.
He jumped onto Anna's head while Anna was still sleeping.
Ren stepped out from where he was hiding, raising both hands slowly as he walked toward the armed men.
The others quickly noticed his presence and shouted the rest. "Someone here!"
The guards tensed, holding their weapons tightly.
"Who… are you?!" one of them shouted.
Ren walked calmly, his eyes scanning the camp. He did not look afraid at all.
He saw the men's faces—first confused, then excited, like they had found something interesting, to get over boredom.
Silya wiggled nervously on anna heads, feeling the tension in the air. Anna stirred a little under the tree, still asleep.
At first, the guards thought he was a strong warrior, but when he look closer that was ordinary. At first they disappointment but quickly turned into excitement—they felt like something was about to happen.
The camp leader stepped forward. He was very big, with tattoos on his arms, and he held his sword tightly.
"You can't just walk in here!" he growled, his voice angry and strong.
Ren stopped a few meters away, raising an eyebrow. He stayed silent, letting the tension grow.
The leader's eyes narrowed, his grip on the sword tightening.
"Who are you?" he barked, his voice echoing through the camp.
Ren tilted his head slightly, his expression calm and almost bored.
"I'm a traveler… just passing by," he said quietly, his voice low but steady.
The leader took a step forward, glaring. "Do you know this is private business? Leave, or I'll make you regret it!"
One of the men stepped forward, standing beside the leader.
"Boss, if we let him go, he'll expose what we're doing… just give us this brat," he whispered to the leader.
The leader thought for a moment, then nodded in agreement. The man beside him grinned, happy and excited.
"Fine. I want him dead for sure," the leader said, then turned and walked away.
The men stepped forward toward Ren. They held their weapons casually—swords, an axe, and daggers—laughing and grinning.
"Hehehe~ bad luck, brat!" the axe wielder laughed, cracking his neck.
"Young man, I feel sorry for you," another said with a cruel smile. "Because you can't leave here… alive! Hahaha~"
Their laughter echoed through the forest, but Ren stayed silent.
"Let's cut off his arms first!" one man said while licking his dagger.
Ren sighed softly, and the armed men were confused by his attitude.
"Unfortunately, I'm not an ordinary traveler," Ren replied calmly. "At first, I thought you were kind to people passing by… but you are just bandits who want entertainment."
"Hahaha~ he said we are bandits! Hahaha!" one man said while laughing.
A muscular man stepped forward, his heavy boots pressing into the dirt. His large body cast a shadow over the ground, and anger was clear on his face as he glared at Ren.
"You… you're comparing us to bandits?" he growled.
"It's over for you," another man said with a grin. "When that big guy gets compared to others, he gets angry and kills them on the spot."
One of the men stepped closer and nudged the big guy with his foot.
"Hey… get up already," he said, a little annoyed, his voice echoing slightly across the clearing.
But the big man didn't move. His body stayed completely still on the ground, as if he had suddenly turned to stone. The other men exchanged uneasy glances.
The man frowned. "Huh? What… is he doing? Is he pretending or something?"
Suddenly, the big guy let out a soft snore, loud enough for the others to hear. It was deep and steady, completely calm, as if he had no care in the world.
The men blinked in confusion, their faces filled with disbelief.
"He… he's sleeping?" one of them whispered.
"Sleeping… on the ground… like that?" another added, unable to hide his shock. He even rubbed his eyes, thinking maybe he wasn't seeing clearly.
Ren stood there calmly, his expression unreadable. The camp fell silent, and the armed men were unsure whether to laugh, panic, or attack.
Ren stood there calmly, his expression unreadable. The camp fell silent, and the armed men were unsure whether to laugh, panic, or attack.
Because if the big guy got angry, it would be impossible to stop him. But now… he had fallen asleep on the ground.
This was the first time anything like this had ever happened.
One of the men, growing impatient and confused, rushed toward Ren, pointing a finger at him.
"Hey! What did you do to him? Why is he… asleep?" he shouted, his voice a mix of fear and anger.
But before he reached Ren, he suddenly collapsed on the ground. Just like the big guy, he also fell asleep.
Ren slowly lowered his hand, his expression calm, as if nothing unusual had happened.
When the other armed men saw their companion collapse on the ground, they froze in shock.
Their laughter disappeared, replaced by uneasy silence as they stared at the two men lying motionless on the dirt.
Then they raised their weapons and rushed toward Ren.
"You…!" one man shouted as he ran at Ren, but before he could reach him, he suddenly collapsed on the ground.
"Tck…" Ren clicked his tongue.
Then, one by one, before they could reach Ren, they fell to the ground.
Then Ren walked forward slowly and casually. What was happening now was normal for him.
"He's a mage!" one of the armed men shouted, his voice echoing around the camp.
Even a man far away heard his companion's shout. But before he could draw his weapon, he suddenly collapsed to the ground.
Before the leader could figure out what was happening, all of his men were already asleep.
He quickly turned around, searching for someone who was still awake, but the only person he saw was Ren, walking toward him, like he was walking on the street.
The leader drew his sword and pointed it at Ren. Suddenly, he felt dizzy, and his vision became blurred. Still, he tried to keep his sword aimed at Ren.
"What did you do?! Agh!" the leader shouted angrily.
"Why do I feel so sleepy?" he muttered to himself.
Then he became alert when he heard Ren's voice, knowing he would fall asleep at any moment.
"If you had shown kindness," Ren said calmly, "this wouldn't have happened."
Then the leader fell to the ground. His sword dropped beside him. Before his eyes closed, the last thing he saw was Ren still walking toward him.