The barrier pulsed once.
Then again.
The carriage slowed.
But it did not move forward.
Jax's eyes narrowed slightly as he reached outward through the skill, feeling the faint pressure against the edge of the moving barrier.
Blocked.
The road ahead was blocked.
That alone told him enough.
The subtle shift in his posture was all the Vixens needed to see.
Relaxation vanished instantly.
Only moments earlier, the atmosphere inside the carriage had been lazy and warm. The aftermath of a very comfortable night still lingered heavily through the oversized mobile home.
Blankets were tangled across couches.
Half-empty breakfast plates sat abandoned near the kitchen.
Nyxian was still barefoot.
None of them had bothered with armor yet.
Or proper adventuring clothes.
Instead, they wore what Bunny had proudly declared their "comfy road outfits."
Loose shirts.
Soft shorts.
Bare legs.
Relaxed hair.
And unfortunately—
Jax's outfit.
He looked down briefly at the aggressively bright floral shirt Bunny had picked for him back in Solmere.
Combined with the shorts—
he looked less like a terrifying overpowered adventurer and more like a divorced father on vacation.
Internally, he sighed.
I look ridiculous.
The barrier pulsed again.
No time to change.
Jax stood immediately.
"Stay close," he said calmly while moving toward the carriage door.
The Vixens followed without hesitation.
Weapons shimmered into existence as they walked.
World Breaker appeared first in Bunny's hands.
Lilith's Kiss coiled around Nyxian's arm like a living thing.
Starpiercer formed in Llandra's grip beside Sanctaris in Zee's.
The contrast was absurd.
Four dangerously armed women dressed like they were about to spend the day relaxing near a pool.
Jax opened the carriage door.
Then stepped outside first.
The road curved ahead near a river crossing.
A narrow stone bridge stretched across the water.
And it was occupied.
Roughly two dozen armed men blocked the crossing.
Bandits.
Mercenaries.
The kind of people who survived by choosing weaker prey.
Some wore scavenged armor.
Others had proper steel equipment.
Weapons rested lazily across shoulders and saddles while mounted beasts snorted impatiently beneath them.
As Jax's bare feet touched the dirt road—
his System chimed.
YOU ARE ENCOUNTERING NON-BEAST OPPONENTS.
WOULD YOU LIKE TO LEARN THE BANDIT SKILL:
INSPECT?
Jax blinked once.
That's new.
"Yes."
Information exploded across his vision.
Levels.
Classes.
Titles.
Most sat within the twenties and thirties.
A handful reached the forties.
Then—
one stood out immediately.
A heavily armored human sitting near the center of the bridge.
MERCENARY / MURDERER / RAPIST
Level 55
Jax's expression hardened almost imperceptibly.
Leader.
Behind him, the Vixens stepped out of the carriage and took in the scene.
The tension shifted immediately.
This wasn't training.
This wasn't monsters.
This was people.
The bandits noticed Jax's outfit almost instantly.
Laughter erupted across the bridge.
"Look at this idiot!"
"What is he wearing?"
"Did we rob a traveling theater troupe?"
"Those shorts are criminal!"
Jax closed his eyes briefly.
I knew it.
The leader finally raised one hand, silencing the others.
Jax smiled pleasantly and stepped forward a few paces.
"Good morning," he called politely. "What seems to be the issue?"
The leader smirked beneath his helmet.
"Our bridge," the man answered loudly. "You're trying to pass without paying the proper toll."
Jax nodded thoughtfully.
"I see. I must have missed the official signage. Or the governing paperwork. Or perhaps the legal authority allowing you to collect taxes on public roads."
A few mercenaries frowned slightly.
The leader's smirk tightened.
"What matters is that you pay."
"Interesting," Jax replied pleasantly. "And how is this toll calculated?"
The mercenary spread his arms casually.
"Depends what you're hauling."
Jax tilted his head slightly.
"So not a toll."
Silence.
"An estimate."
The leader narrowed his eyes.
"An estimate for what?"
"For how much you believe you can steal from me safely," Jax answered mildly.
A few mounted men shifted uncomfortably.
Jax clasped his hands behind his back casually like a man enjoying a peaceful morning walk.
"I assume you charge normal travelers small fees while robbing and murdering anyone wealthy enough to justify the effort."
No one laughed this time.
"That suggests something important," Jax continued calmly.
The leader's expression darkened.
"And what's that?"
"You aren't powerful enough to control territory," Jax said pleasantly. "Only opportunistic enough to prey upon weaker people."
The mercenary's smile thinned.
"Careful," he warned. "You're getting close to raising my ire."
Jax nodded sympathetically.
"Of course. At your age, excitement can be dangerous for the heart."
One of the bandits barked out a laugh before quickly silencing himself.
Another finally spoke up from the left side of the bridge.
"Forget talking," the man snarled. "We should take everything. Including the women."
The atmosphere changed instantly.
Jax looked toward the speaker calmly.
"I'm certain you believe that would work," he replied. "But that would be like an ant attacking the boot that's about to step on it."
Several mercenaries visibly stiffened.
The leader sneered.
"You're awfully mouthy for someone dressed like a clown."
Jax looked down at his shirt briefly.
"…Fair criticism."
Then he looked back up.
"Do you perhaps have a blind companion selecting your wardrobe as well?"
A few nervous chuckles spread through the mercenaries.
The Vixens did not laugh.
Mostly because they were increasingly convinced Jax was intentionally escalating the situation.
The leader leaned forward slightly in his saddle.
"Here's how this works," he said coldly. "You pay based on the value of your cargo. If I decide that amount isn't enough…"
His smile widened.
"…we take more until I'm satisfied."
Jax nodded slowly.
"And here's the part you're going to dislike."
A massive sack appeared suddenly in his hands.
Jax opened it casually.
Gold spilled into view.
Hundreds.
Thousands.
He plunged both hands into the sack and deliberately lifted overflowing piles of gold coins into the sunlight before letting them crash back down loudly.
Every mercenary stared.
That amount of wealth was unimaginable.
Jax calmly returned the sack to System Storage.
Then gestured toward the bridge.
"I'm not even going to humor you with a bronze coin."
"Oh," Nyxian said quietly behind him.
"He's definitely picking a fight."
The leader's eyes sharpened greedily.
"That much gold?" he muttered. "Looks like you really are our meal ticket."
"No," Jax corrected calmly.
"You are going to disband and allow us to pass."
The mercenary laughed openly.
"And why exactly would we do that?"
Jax smiled pleasantly.
"Because if you live to see the afternoon sun…"
His eyes hardened.
"…it will be because we allow it."
The bridge went silent.
One of the men near the rear finally spat toward the ground.
"Keep talking, pretty boy, and I'll cut that deviled tongue from your head and feed it to your pets behind you."
Silence.
Nyxian's eyes widened slightly.
Then sparkled.
She leaned closer toward Llandra just enough for her voice to carry.
"Did you hear that?"
Llandra didn't answer.
Her eyes remained fixed on the man who had spoken.
Nyxian smiled wickedly.
"He threatened to cut off Jax's tongue."
That was all it took.
Llandra moved.
There was no warning.
No dramatic motion.
One moment she stood beside Jax.
The next—
Starpiercer was raised.
A bolt of compressed mana exploded forward with terrifying precision.
CRACK.
The bandit's head snapped backward violently.
His body launched clean off his mount before crashing fifteen feet behind it.
Dead before he hit the ground.
Silence crashed over the bridge.
Llandra calmly lowered her bow.
"You will not threaten my second favorite body part of my betrothed."
Bunny blinked.
"…Second?"
Zee tilted her head.
"I'm not even going to ask what the first is."
Nyxian snickered openly.
"They came looking for a fight."
Her grin widened.
"And now they're getting one."
The mercenaries stared at the corpse.
Then at Llandra.
Then at the Vixens.
Four women in oversized shirts and shorts holding legendary weapons while looking entirely unconcerned about murder.
The leader swallowed.
Jax sighed softly and rubbed his temple.
"Well," he muttered.
"Looks like that's one down."
His gaze lifted calmly toward the remaining mercenaries.
"Twenty-three to go."
Then he smiled.
Not warmly.
Pleasantly.
"Vixens," he said evenly.
His tone changed instantly.
Calm.
Commanding.
Certain.
"Formation Lima."
And the road to Crystalshire held its breath.