Right after they left the city, a few merchant carriages were outside, near the gate, preparing to leave.

A few people had paid these merchants to use their carriage, sleeping near the crates, making use of it to reach their destination without walking.

Also, traveling with that many people was always safer than going alone. Arthur was not thinking of traveling with these merchants, but as he did not have the time to rest, perhaps that would be a good idea.

For that reason, he approached the merchant in charge of transporting the crates to the capital.

“Excuse me. Is there a place for two in one of these carriages?” Arthur said.

The merchant was from a race Arthur had yet to see, with gills and blue skin.

“There is, yes, and our destination is the capital. It is 20 gold coins per person.”

“Cheap.”

Arthur said as he tossed 40 gold coins to that merchant and entered x one of the carriages. Deulara could not understand how he had that much money.

People in the dark lands were not rich, and only a few strong adventurers or merchants like the one they had just met had a good amount of wealth.

Deulara, for example, had a shop, yet it was in a dead town, so she barely had any money before Arthur bought the pocket watch from her.

They chose a carriage with a few crates, but they had enough space. Plus, it was a carriage without anyone else but the two.

Others were also doing the same thing, using the merchant carriage as a means of transportation to the capital, so the other carriages had some people in them.

“What do you think about this war with the Dragon Scale Empire?” Arthur asked Deulara, who was preparing to lay down in an improvised bed they made with a few blankets.

“Honestly? I understand the point where we need a decent piece of land as a nation to prosper, and not in this area where plants barely grow. But I still think we could do something else instead of war, maybe finding another piece of land for us,” Deulara said.

She had a decent point. Whoever was the ruler of the dark lands wanted to get new lands so that its people could prosper, and the only grounds available nearby were the Dragon Scale Empire or the Elven Kingdom.

“I see.”

If only Arthur could find somewhere else for these people to live, then maybe he could have a way to stop the war.

“Why don’t you send them to the central continent?” George said.

They were still in the link, but Arthur asked George not to talk that much, as he was annoyed by it.

“But you said only strong people can go there?”

“Yes and no. You will need decent strength to stabilize the portal for everyone to pass through. Plus, the central continent is huge, and there is land available there for everyone, and if I am not mistaken, all the races here are there as well.”

George had a decent point and perhaps a way out of the war. Arthur would still have to get stronger, but that was something he could easily do in a short period.

He would also have to talk with the ruler of the dark lands about this and make it agree to go to the central continent.

“Maybe if I display my strength and they see that the war against me is impossible to win?” Arthur thought.

With these thoughts in mind, Arthur sat on the carriage in a meditative state, waiting for them to reach the capital.

~~~~

The dark lands were not a big piece of land; as such, reaching the capital would only take three days, yet, on the second day, a group of bandits tried to attack the merchant convey.

All merchants expected this, one reason they allowed these adventurers to travel with them. That merchant with gills also paid some adventurers for protection, so the bandits did not stand a chance, dying on the road like pigs.

Arthur did not even move to stop these bandits, as the others did just that. Why would he bother with such weak people? With a wave of his hand, they would die instantly.

Before reaching the capital, the convoy made a stop in a nearby town, where new adventurers paid the merchant for a ride, and one of these people went to the same carriage Arthur, and Deulara were in.

“Luck me, a gorgeous woman and a weakling,” a sturdy orc said.

He sat near Deulara, trying to start a conversation with her from time to time, yet she did not pay any attention to him and instead moved closer to Arthur.

The orc saw that, and it made him pissed.

“Seeking protection with this weakling? Come here, honey; I can do better than him.”

Arthur noticed how that man was getting on Deulara’s nerves, acting like a piece of **. He also did not like that man’s presence at all, so for that reason, he made his act.

At one moment, Arthur was sitting on one side of the carriage, and on the other, was right in front of the enormous orc, who had no strength to move when Arthur’s hand grabbed his neck.

“Hear me out, ugly green thing. Say another word, and you’ll die a horrible death that not even your parents will recognize you,”

“Before you say anything, I don’t care who you are, where you come from, or any of this bull**. Do orcs live in tribes? You can call your whole tribe, yet they will die like pigs in front of me. Could you please shut up before I rip your tongue out?”

Arthur made sure to exert some of his strength on the orc’s neck, making him unable to breathe. When he saw the frightened eyes of that creature, he let go of him.

The rest of the journey went smoothly, without a single sentence coming from that orc.