Thanks for the invitation. I am a parasite in Terra.

"This may be needed somewhere along the way... you can take it with you."

"This is..." Theresa looked at the small cloth bag handed to her by the other party with some surprise. It was not very heavy, but the faint metal collision sound coming from it allowed her to guess what was inside.

She lowered her head, untied the circles of rope on the cloth bag, and looked at the scattered metal coins inside.

There were coins minted by the Demon King of Kazdel and his royal court, as well as crudely made coins that looked like they were made by ordinary people, and even some coins that looked like they were from other countries.

Tracy had almost never seriously experienced the mercenary career that most Sarkaz would go through. All along, because he was worried about Theresa, he rarely participated in those life-threatening businesses.

In order to survive, apart from practicing sword skills, he would only take on tasks that seemed non-threatening. Of course, the rewards for such commissions were often pitifully small, and after deducting the money for purchasing necessary supplies, there was really very little left.

The few coins in the bag that looked like counterfeit coins, and others that looked like currencies from other countries, were even the money saved from Tracys' first completed commission.

Although he could only save a few coins each time, he had always hoped to use the money in the cloth bag to buy himself a brand new, shiny sword from a blacksmith.

Sometimes young people’s expectations are just that simple.

But, despite this, when my sister is about to be left alone...what?

What a joke! If he wasn't with her, he would be almost alone!

In short, this was the first time Theresa left her brother's side, and to go to such a far place... He knew that this day would always come, but... he didn't expect it to come so soon.

So much so that...

Tracy's eyes dimmed.

The only thing he could show off was this shriveled cloth bag.

as well as....

“Theresa, take this with you.”

Tracy looked at his sister, then solemnly handed the worn sword in his hand to her.

"Brother...it's okay without these, I..." Theresa looked at her brother, not knowing what to say for a moment.

A small cloth bag with a few coins in it and an old sword that was probably older than the brother and sister combined. These two items almost constituted the entire belongings of the young Sarkaz swordsman at this moment, and were all he could provide to his sister as a brother.

"Brother, you should keep these for yourself. Haven't you always wanted to make a new sword? And if you give me the sword you have, what will you do with it?"

Theresa tried to return all of her brother's belongings, but was sternly rejected.

"No, there will be many accidents out there. How can you survive without weapons? You must at least be able to defend yourself. As for money... just save it up. Nothing is more important than your safety, Theresa."

"But you..."

"Remember to hide your money, and hang your sword in a conspicuous place where you can easily pull it out. When you are outside, try not to deal with those guys wearing black robes... or other types of coverings!"

Theresis ignored his sister's refusal and just kept instructing Theresa on various things.

Until the latter understood that if she didn't take these, he probably wouldn't let Theresa leave the house. Finally, after nagging about various precautions, his eyes finally shifted from his sister to the left room leaning against the door frame.

Once again, Tracy lowered his head towards Zuo Jian, even twice for the same reason.

“Sama… I’ll leave my sister… Theresa in your care…”

"It's all right, Tracy, I promise."

Faced with the young man's solemn entrustment, Zuo Jian also subconsciously responded seriously.

The weight of an elder brother's advice cannot be measured by material things.

He has given his sister everything he could, including...he has always been unwilling to lower his head to a strong man like Zuo Jian.

Maybe ordinary people see

It seemed insignificant, but it was all he had at the moment.

For something that Zuo Jian had asked him to do with all he had, the latter would certainly respond with all he had.

This is also one of the many "bottom lines" of the left.

"Brother, let's go out!"

Theresa, holding her brother's sword, stood outside the door and waved goodbye to Theresis.

In this way, the girl, witnessed by her brother, began her journey to personally witness this land of suffering.

Just like what appears in countless repeated memories.

But...this time, there was another figure beside her.

"But speaking of which, you want a new sword, Tracys. Do you want me to bring you one?"

Zuo Jian stood next to Theresa who was waving, and said to Tracys who was not far away with some curiosity.

"...No need! I just need you to bring Theresa back to me safely!"

In fact, after hearing Zuo Jian's words, Tracy's expression relaxed for a moment, but soon returned to its previous tense look.

However, although Zuo Jian couldn't see it, how could Theresa, who lived with her brother day and night, not see it?

The girl at the side leaned over to Zuo Jian's ear and spoke playfully.

"The expression that Brother just flashed across his face actually meant something—"

"Hey! I can hear you!" Tracy spoke, interrupting his sister's pre-casting of the spell that was about to be dismantled. He then urged the two to leave quickly, saying something like it was too late to leave and it would be unsafe on the road when it got dark.

"Okay - got it~" Theresa nodded to her brother, then followed Zuo Jian and prepared to leave.

"Theresia!"

The moment she turned her head, she heard his voice again from behind her, but this time... it was a lot shorter than before.

Tracy hesitated for a moment, but finally just uttered four simple words.

"be careful."

"Ok!"

.......................

.............

.......

As the town behind them gradually became smaller, the two of them began their journey from the starting point to the middle of the road.

However, compared to following Tracys, Theresa was obviously a more suitable travel companion.

At least she would take the initiative to talk to me.

Just like Laurentina.

Instead of walking behind him without saying a word like Tracys, who always had a stern face.

Tsk... He's so young and yet he's acting like this. I don't even dare to imagine what kind of gloomy person he will become after a long time.

“By the way, Zuo Jian, you said before that it’s okay even if you have to stay in Kazdel for a long time. Is there a reason for that? Or do you have to spend a long time in Kazdel to get what you want?”

Theresa spoke with some curiosity to this man whose origins were unknown and who seemed out of place in Kazdel.

"Well, how should I put it? You're right. I did realize that I need to spend quite a bit of time looking for something in Kazdel that I didn't expect at first."

Facing the girl's question, Zuo Jian gave his own answer without any intention of hiding anything.

"Well.....can I ask what you're looking for? Maybe I can help or something."

"Strength. I am going to find strength here."

"Strength? Eh? Zuo Jian, do you want to become stronger? But I heard from my brother that you are already terrifyingly strong."

Theresa was a little surprised, as if she couldn't believe that what Zuo Jian wanted to find would be this kind of thing......

“No, not strong enough.” He responded to Theresa with narrowed eyes, and then when passing by a large tree, he raised his hand left, stretched out his palm, and placed his fingertips on the tree trunk.

Then, he exerted his strength all of a sudden, and a huge force instantly exploded within the distance of his palm! So much so that Theresa didn't have time to realize what happened, and all that was left in front of her was a half stump and a mess behind it!

"Some people would think that this is great power, but if it is just for the purpose of inflicting fear, the force of blasting away huge trees and rocks is no different from a small dagger at the victim's neck."

"Is it really that powerful? With this kind of power, it would be easy to kill an enemy."

"But it can't grow food, create medicine, build houses, write poetry, or paint the magnificent mountains and rivers. It can't resolve people's disputes and hatreds, and it can't make everyone on this land walk in the sun with their heads held high."

At this point, Zuo Jian glanced at Theresa beside him and added:

"I can't weave and sew like you, Theresa."

"Too weak, Theresa, this is too weak." He said to himself.

"But, although Zuo Jian can't produce food or medicine, you can really draw. I saw you draw with charcoal on paper before! It's amazing! I've never seen a painting like yours!" Theresa suddenly spoke to Zuo Jian.

"Besides, if Zuo Jian wants to learn, I can also teach you the craft of a tailor!"

"I may not be able to teach you other things, but I can try to help you find the 'powerful force' you mentioned! Just like you said, the force that can make everyone walk in the sunshine with their heads held high!"

Theresa grabbed Zuo Jian’s hand and spoke seriously.

The latter was stunned for a moment, then smiled faintly.

"Really? Then when we get back, I'll ask you for some tips on mending clothes. Let me make it clear first, I've never been a very talented person, and I might not be able to learn it even if I try several times."

"It's okay. Remember what I said? I'm not a talented person, and I don't quite understand the path of a tailor. But doesn't this mean that we can learn together later?"

Theresa put her fingers together against her chest and looked at Zuo Jian, as if she was expecting his answer.

Zuo Jian looked at the girl's posture, was stunned for a moment, then smiled.

"Then please give me more advice, Teacher Xiaote~"

"Hey, hey, the title of teacher is too————"

The two of them chatted like this, marking the beginning of this journey.

(What is Xiao Te doing? Xiao Te is stealing the tower! Can she steal it?! She’s going to take it back! She’s going to take it back!! She’s going to steal it!!! She can’t steal it! There are some! Perfect!! She has created a civilization that continues to exist!!!)

Chapter 34: On the Journey

hula.

On the forest path late at night, two lit torches illuminated the way forward.

This method is primitive, not very efficient, and extremely easy to expose one's position in the dark, resulting in a sudden arrow flying from behind or from an unknown direction. Obviously, it would not be accepted by a normal Sarkaz mercenary.

Without some special Originium skills or racial talents that can accompany the night, most Sarkaz mercenaries would choose to find a slightly hidden place to accompany the darkness. Even if they are starving, they will not light a campfire, but choose to chew on hard rations or cold "game".

However, although this was considered an attempt among the Sarkaz mercenaries, unfortunately, one of the two people holding torches to explore the way was just an immature clothier, and the other only knew about the mercenary business from a brief conversation in the previous battle.

However, for Zuo Jian, knowing these so-called "common sense" among mercenaries doesn't matter, he will still do the same thing... After all...

He held a torch in one hand and tossed a few relatively round stones picked up from the roadside with the other hand, watching them being thrown into the air and then falling back into his hands.

until......

"Theresa, please hold the torch for me." Zuo Jian suddenly stopped where he was, then turned around and handed the torch in his hand to Theresa behind him.

"Yeah." She took the torch, then stood behind the left room and looked at him quietly.

Then, a sharp sound of wind rushed towards them like the cry of a wild beast, carrying with it an arrow whose shape was almost invisible in the darkness!

call out! ! !

Finally, at the moment when the whistling sound came to them, Zuo Jian raised his hand and grabbed the incoming arrow with lightning speed.

"A crossbow again... No, this time it looks like a longbow?" Zuo Jian looked at the slightly longer arrow, and...

In the firelight, the tip of the black arrow was stained with a few drops of liquid that reflected bright colors under the light of the torch.

"Is poisoning arrows a standard that all mercenaries in Kazdel have in common? This applies to both crossbows and bows..."

He complained somewhat helplessly, then picked up the pebble in his hand and threw it skillfully!

"boom!!!"

The pebbles thrown by bare hands tore through the air, making a sound even more violent than an arrow breaking through the wind!

Then, Zuo Jian tilted his head slightly, and Theresa behind him immediately understood, as if they had repeated this process many times before.

....In fact, it is true.

Theresa held the torch in both hands and threw it directly towards the open space on the side!

The torch fell to the ground and went out immediately.

"Oh——" Zuo Jian sighed, and then stood in the dark with Theresa and counted silently.

In the silent forest, there seemed to be a few whispers coming from afar.