Miki and Shao at least waited for me. Carmine and Salicia were already out of sight. I realized Raissa had also remained by my side. I hadn’t even noticed her standing quietly beside Ruby with her tail wagging. She really was a good ninja. She wasn’t even in black, or trying to hide, and I kept forgetting she was there.

Anyway, I followed the girls. It wasn’t like I didn’t plan to go investigate, anyway. However, it looked like a great deal of the red dots were descending on the area, and it’d be dangerous. I was more interested in finding a vantage point and observing than jumping right in and seeing what was happening. Fortunately, there was a nearby hill that no one seemed to be approaching. I headed there with the girls, making sure to chastise and redirect Salicia and Carmine using Slave Communication.

When we were finally safe on the hill, we could see a group of nearly three hundred bandits. They were attacking a group of people. It appeared to be a caravan. They were facing the city, so it was clear they were arriving, not leaving.

“What caravan of people would be stupid enough to try to break into a city in bandit country?” Shao asked.

It really was strange. Furthermore, they had managed to get so far into bandit country before being caught only a few miles outside of Regency.

“Are we going to save them?” Ruby asked, watching me cautiously.

“Three hundred bandits and counting! How strong do you think we are?” I shot Ruby a look.

She blushed and lowered her head. “I’m sorry. You’re right. Your team has just been making it look so easy that I forgot your limitations.”

It’s not like I wasn’t trying to think about a solution, but anything I tried would put us at risk. I definitely didn’t want anyone in my team to get killed, especially on the first day. As far as these people went, we could probably resurrect them later, worst-case scenario. It was a harsh thought, but that was the kind of world that we lived in. Sometimes, death really was the easy way out.

Still, I was definitely curious, so I pulled out a telescope and took a closer look at the caravan. There was a group of guards, but half of them were dead already. The fire had been shot by a mage. His barrier was the only reason the bandits hadn’t already overtaken them, and part of the reason I didn’t just barrel in to try to rescue them, as I’d be just as blocked as the thieves. Still, the mages among the bandits were tossing attacks at it, and the barrier was slowly crumbling. I’d say they only have about two minutes left.

I could toss up a Portal in the middle, but it would reveal that I could make portals! I was trying to keep as many secrets from the bandits as possible. It would add to the mystery. However, seeing Ruby’s worried look, I realized I couldn’t just let these people die. With a sigh, I lifted my hand to open a Portal. However, before I did anything, a portal opened up in the middle of the caravan. An old man stepped out of it. Actually, I recognize him. It was the one called a Grand Master. The apprentice must have been able to make portals! She was the first person I had ever seen able to create portals without dungeon points.

He raised his staff and then slammed it into the ground. He was just like a certain wizard! I suddenly really hoped that he said the line!

“You will not progress!”

I gave out a sigh. He was almost cool. That line just didn’t have the same ring to it. He didn’t stop there though. He picked his staff up and began to swirl it around over his head. It began to emit fire. As someone who was at least a Basic Magician, I had never seen magic used in such a showy matter. You just cast it, but this guy seemed to be putting on an act of it. To those who couldn’t use magic, it looked very impressive, but to me it felt very superfluous.

The fire began to grow, and just as the barrier shattered, a giant streak of fire wrapped around the caravan. No, it wasn’t a streak, it was a dragon! It was a Chinese-style dragon composed of pure fire. It walked along the ground, leaving a trail of ash in its wake. It kept growing longer and longer, curling around the caravan. As it began to dig into the crowds of bandits, those that got too close were burned to a crisp. They began screaming and soon running. Those that had pushed in from the outside ended up fighting against those who were now trying to flee the flames. In a moment, the tides had turned, and bandits fled in terror.

In a single moment, the Grand Master had accomplished a plan that would have taken me weeks to accomplish.