The convoy was moving steadily along the road. Inside the middle carriage, a mage was playing cards with his teammates.

  "I say, can't you guys be a little more cautious? What if someone ambushes us?" A Platinum-ranked warrior looked at them helplessly.

  These guys were far too relaxed.

  "Come on, Dakota, I've had my magic perception activated the whole time. There's not even a rabbit within five hundred meters, so just relax." The mage waved him off, utterly unconcerned.

  "Besides, we deliberately set off a night early. There's no way anyone would launch an attack at this time..."

  His thoughts trailed off as he suddenly froze.

  Two figures had appeared out of nowhere within his perception range.

  They were less than fifty meters from the convoy. He had no idea how they had gotten so close without him noticing. After all, he had been maintaining his magic perception the entire time.

  Before he could make sense of it, a massive warhammer suddenly smashed through the carriage. Seeing the weapon looming right in front of him, the mage could only let out a curse:

  "Sh—"

  Before he could finish, the warhammer obliterated his upper body.

  The middle carriage was instantly torn in half by the impact. Several guards inside were flung out, and only the Platinum-ranked warrior landed steadily on his feet, though his face was filled with shock and terror.

  Dead... A Platinum-ranked mage had just died like that...

  Why wasn't there any alarm?!

  It was simple.

  Because Caius had been carrying his warhammer, Angel, and under the effects of the Anti-Magic Field, the Platinum-ranked mage had no way of detecting either Caius or Kiki.

  Only when the warhammer was thrown did the mage perceive the attack—but by then, it was already too late.

  A mage without preemptive defenses facing a direct, full-powered throw from Caius' warhammer was akin to an ordinary person standing in the path of a grenade explosion. His upper body was obliterated on the spot, leaving him deader than dead.

  And the moment Caius hurled the warhammer, he launched himself toward the carriage.

  After piercing through the carriage, the warhammer struck the ground, bounced up, and spun midair.

  Caius leaped high, caught the warhammer, and then swung it down savagely toward the Platinum-ranked warrior.

  "BOOM!!!"

  The impact echoed like a localized earthquake.

  A hundred meters away, Kiki hid behind a grassy slope, watching as Caius unleashed a massacre.

  The Platinum-ranked warrior barely lasted twenty exchanges before Caius crushed him with a devastating hammer strike. Caius then followed up with another blow, finishing him off completely.

  As for the remaining Gold-ranked guards, they were no longer a threat to him.

  Four archers and four crossbowmen loosed their attacks, but their projectiles couldn't even make Caius activate his magic defenses. He simply took them head-on with his body.

  Arrows that could pierce through carriages embedded no more than half an inch into his flesh. As long as they didn't hit his head or throat, they weren't even considered light injuries. His formidable regeneration healed them within minutes.

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  As for the warriors wielding shields and swords, they stood no chance. Not a single one could withstand a strike from Caius' warhammer. Even if they raised their shields, they were sent flying along with them.

  The moment they hit the ground, they might seem intact on the outside, but their internal organs were completely shattered.

  In less than ten minutes, the entire thirty-strong escort was annihilated.

  Two scouts, realizing the dire situation, attempted to flee but were swiftly hunted down and hammered to death.

  Only the carriage drivers remained.

  They fell to their knees, sobbing and pleading for mercy, claiming they were innocent—just hired hands paid to drive the carriages.

  Their tearful display even made Kiki hesitate for a moment.

  But the little catgirl never made decisions for the big brute. She simply looked at Caius.

  Caius grinned. "Don't try to play innocent when you're part of the crime."

  With that, he smashed them to death with a few swings.

  Innocent?

  That was like a driver working for human traffickers in the wasteland, claiming he wasn't guilty. The very thought made Caius laugh.

  And just like that, not a single soul from the convoy was left alive, save for the frightened horses.

  "Alright, let's clean up the battlefield." Caius lit a cigarette and exhaled.

  Kiki nodded and immediately got to work.

  The diligent little catgirl was quick with her hands and feet. In no time, she had stripped the bodies of their equipment and piled everything together.

  Most of it was ruined, thanks to Caius' hammer.

  But there were still plenty of valuable spoils—some intact gear, a good sum of gold, and eight spatial rings.

  Out on the road, one always needed cash on hand. Collectively, the thirty-plus people had amassed over thirty thousand gold.

  The salvageable equipment was worth another twenty thousand.

  Then came Caius' favorite part—opening the "blind boxes."

  Six of the spatial rings were low-tier, with storage capacities ranging from one to five cubic meters. They contained some gold coins, arrows, and miscellaneous daily necessities.

  The remaining two were high-tier. One belonged to the Platinum-ranked warrior—a hundred cubic meters but without space extension. Inside was a greatsword, slightly inferior to Caius’ own but still worth two to three thousand gold.

  It also contained over six thousand gold coins, a dozen mid-tier potions, and a single high-tier healing potion—unused simply because the warrior died too quickly.

  Altogether, the loot was worth nearly twenty thousand.

  As expected of a Platinum-ranked warrior—he had plenty of valuable items.

  The last ring belonged to the mage, also a hundred cubic meters in capacity but with spatial extension, making it more advanced.

  And, as expected from a mage, he was loaded.

  Just the gold alone amounted to over eleven thousand.

  There were also several mental potions, clarity potions, magic potions, an unknown poison, and a high-tier magic potion.

  Various trinkets and daily supplies were also present.

  But the biggest prizes were a magic tome, two magic scrolls, a magic stone engraved with Cleanse, and a staff.

  Naturally, the staff was the most valuable.

  A Platinum-ranked mage's staff had to be at least Platinum-grade. Such an item was worth far more than a sword of the same level—at least twenty to thirty thousand gold.

  And then there was the magic tome, containing eight spells—three wood-element, one fire-element, one wind-element, and three general utility spells.

  Caius couldn't use it, but Kiki might be able to learn something from it.

  What a haul!

  Caius was thrilled with their gains.

  The loot from thirty-plus people totaled around a hundred thousand gold!

  Of course, they still had to find a way to sell it. Regular shops wouldn't dare touch goods branded with the Seth Chamber of Commerce's insignia—it would be too risky.

  But Caius was sure Raymond had the right connections to offload this stolen gear.

  Adding in the commission, they might just walk away with one hundred fifty thousand gold!

  No doubt about it—convoys from big merchant guilds were prime targets!

  Caius was almost tempted to switch careers and start robbing the Seth Chamber of Commerce exclusively.

  After all, as the saying went, "No horse grows fat without night grazing; no man gets rich without ill-gotten gains."

  With the battlefield cleaned up, it was time to check the cargo.

  Raymond hadn't specified what was inside, nor had he forbidden them from looking.

  So Caius climbed onto the carriage and inspected the goods.

  Three cargo carriages, eighteen crates—clearly not human cargo.

  That was a relief.

  Not that he minded human trafficking, but this meant the goods could be stored in the spatial rings and transported discreetly without bringing the entire carriage back—reducing the risk of exposure.

  Caius had Kiki step back while he cracked open a crate, just in case there was danger inside.

  The locks were no obstacle—he simply smashed them open.

  The moment the crate opened, Caius' eyes widened.

  "What is it, Meow?" Kiki called from a distance.

  "It's a treasure!" Caius burst into laughter. "No wonder the Wargs Gang was desperate! Anyone would kill for this! Hahaha!"

  He reached in and pulled out an object.

  Kiki was utterly baffled.

  It was long, black, and thick—but she had no idea what it was.

  "What is it, Meow?" she asked, moving closer now that Caius had confirmed it was safe.

  Caius grinned, channeling magic into it. The long, black tube lit up with a blue glow.

  "A Magitech Cannon!"

  "I've always wanted one of these!"