Travellers - An Isekai, Cultivation Fantasy

They were in an underground tunnel located beneath the mansion that Astoria had followed the headmistress through. Though it was dark, she could see what was happening clearly due to the wall torch illuminating the entrance.

Several hours later, the headmistress came back and nodded to the guards who then closed the gate.

Astoria hid while the headmistress walked past her and back to the mansion. She hesitated for a moment but decided to stay longer and observe the guards.

By sunrise, a man approached the two guards. Astoria recognised the man as Bjorn Hale, a martial artist who had cultivated the undying body. He was famous across the villages as the 'Hammer of Leon' for his favourite weapon was a hammer which he used to crush his enemies.

He's on the same level as father, she thought.

As for the two guards before, they were George and Georgina Langston, a brother-sister duo who were famous across the three villages as the 'twin blades of Leon'. They had both cultivated the perfect-stage steel body.

The security was tight, and it would be impossible to break in by force. Astoria had no fighting skills, and although Sam was a martial artist, he was only in the tempered body stage and would be absolutely destroyed by any one of these guards.

So, she needed another way to get in.

Deciding it was time to return, Astoria silently crept back into the mansion.

For the next two weeks, Astoria and Sam kept meeting up in secret to discuss a plan to infiltrate the treasury.

One evening, Astoria was on her way to deliver Henry's meal when she bumped into a slave boy who was carrying food and drinks. Everything fell on the floor and splashed onto her clothes.

"You fool!" she shouted furiously and kicked him out of disgust.

Those who were nearby paid this no head as if it was a very normal thing. She was the one who bumped into him but who cared about that? He was just a slave.

"I'm very sorry miss!" he cried pitifully. "I will get you replacement clothes immediately!" he said.

"Hmph! I will find new clothes myself. You are serving Master George and Miss Georgina, correct? They should not be kept waiting. Here, take this food to them," said Astoria after calming down.

"There's no need for you to trouble yourself miss, I will quickly prepare a new plate for them myself," the boy replied.

"Humph! Are you refusing an instruction from me?" Astoria spat and kicked the boy again.

He coughed and fell to his knees.

"Get up!" she ordered.

The slave's body was in pain, but he got up regardless. His hands and knees were shaking, and his eyes were blurry. It took him a few moments to become steady again.

"Thank you for your kindness miss," he said with a smile before taking the plates and walking away with a limp.

Astoria scoffed and turned around, telling some other slave to clean up the mess on the floor who obeyed instantly, while she went to a changing room.

She was inwardly smiling.

That night, a hooded figure crept towards the back door of the mansion. Just as he was getting close, the door opened.

The figure snuck in, and the door closed.

"Sam!" Astoria quietly exclaimed.

She gave him a big hug and Sam was equally happy to see her. The two had gotten close over the past few weeks.

"Follow me!"

Astoria quietly led Sam through the mansion. Over these few weeks, she had worked day and night to learn everything about the mansion and memorise everyone's movements inside out. She knew what guards would be where and when, and what maid would be doing what – she knew everything.

So, she carefully guided Sam through to the entrance of the underground tunnel and they both made their way towards the treasury. They stopped a few meters away and under the light of the torch, could see that both the guards were asleep.

Still, Sam decided to move closer to them slowly on his own and only when he saw that the guards didn't react despite him being so close, did he call Astoria over.

Naturally, Astoria had drugged the food that she gave to the slave boy as a replacement, causing them to fall asleep.

The duo was standing in front of the entrance to the treasury. Finally, after so long, she was about to get what she came here for.

The two pushed the door open and were welcomed by the sight of numerous shelves.

"Woah!" gasped Sam and stepped inside.

But that was a mistake.

SCREECH!

A sound echoed from within as footsteps rapidly approached them.

Sam was taken aback and withdrew his sword just in time to block an attack that came from nowhere. The force of the attack was so great that Sam was pushed back.

The light from outside slightly illuminated the attacker's face, enough for them to make out what it was – a humanoid mechanical, puppet!

Astoria was stupefied! This wasn't supposed to happen!

Why didn't the headmistress get attacked? Was this a new security system that they implemented recently? But why would they do that? Was the puppet always there?

"Run!" Sam yelled.

There was no time to think.

Astoria sprinted back instinctively, and just as she left, the two guards woke up to the commotion and were surprised to find Sam fighting the mechanical puppet.

Astoria heard the fierce clashing of swords, followed by Sam's scream, followed by silence.

Fighting back her tears, Astoria ran back to the mansion as fast as she could.

…

The next morning, Elwin was dressed in full battle gear while facing Drake and Hazezel.

"Brothers," said Elwin. "I will be back!"

"You better be!" said Drake.

It was finally time for the expedition to set out and Elwin was going to leave. He was dressed in the finest armour and carried a long sword strapped to his waist, another sword on to his back as a spare, and carried several smaller daggers, knives, etc.

That spare sword which Elwin carried was none other than the sword that Drake made. He had shown his family the result of his summons and Elwin had really liked the sword. Drake didn't hesitate and gifted it to him on the spot. Elwin was overjoyed and thanked him from the bottom of his heart.

Similarly, Hazezel really liked the iron knife, so Drake gifted that to him as well.

"You're learning so fast, Drake!" Hazezel said excitedly as he took the knife.

Holt was also extremely proud of Drake as he remembered how long it took him to summon his first artifact. Drake talent clearly exceeded his by leaps and bounds.

The remaining artifacts he summoned were kept in the weapon store for the time being since he didn't have much use for them.

Despite Drake appearing confident, he was extremely concerned for the safety of his brother. He knew how dangerous the woods could be.

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Hazezel didn't say anything but just gave Elwin a deep hug.

"Please be safe," he whispered.

Just before he let go, Drake also joined in.

"Don't worry about him," said Holt reassuringly. "I have instructed Zhao Gaumond to protect him with his life, and the other person on the trip is no pushover either. They are a strong group. Coupled with the groups from the other villages, they make a strong team and won't easily be taken down."

They let go and the two brothers nodded in acknowledgement.

Elwin started walking away with Holt.

Taking necessary precautions, even if nothing major went wrong, a one-way trip may still take more than a month. So, they wouldn't hear from Elwin for a few months at least.

Drake sighed.

He knew that if they failed now, then it would be very difficult to motivate the villages to send another expedition. This group was already made of the best the villages could find, if even they failed then how could any other group fare better?

Hazezel stared in Elwin's direction for a few seconds and walked away as well, leaving Drake all on his own.

Drake could only return to his master and begin cultivating.

It was still extremely hard for him to get into focus, and since he was worried about Elwin today, it took almost three hours for him to begin his cultivation. However, over the previous week, he learnt to maintain his concentration, and wouldn't easily get distracted. Even if he did get distracted, he was learning to stop the cultivation technique properly so that he didn't suffer a backlash.

He could do this about twenty per cent of the time.

Unbeknownst to Drake, Ray was also worried.

One of the people sent out from the elven village was his close friend. Ray was stronger than this friend of his, so if Ray wasn't occupied with Drake, then the village would have probably sent him out instead.

As a result, Ray knew that if anything were to happen to his friend, he would blame himself as it should have been him going out on the expedition now.

…

Meanwhile in Leon Village.

Astoria was in despair from last night's failure while she watched Henry standing behind his father, sending off their village's people to the expedition.

It was only now that Astoria had found out what was going on in the Beast Woods and the village's decision. This wasn't yet common knowledge as the higher-ups wanted to keep this a secret to prevent panic from spreading across the masses.

As a servant, Astoria wouldn't have been told this information, however, she was Henry's personal servant and Astoria had been working very hard. As a result, he trusted her and revealed this information.

Astoria couldn't help but ask Henry, "I wonder who the other villages are sending out?" then immediately added, "It is just that our village even sent out Jin Tong who is a rising star and could be an important person of our village in the future. So, if the other villages don't send out people equal to him…" she didn't finish her sentence, but Henry knew what she meant.

If they didn't send out equal people, not only would they hold Jin Tong and the others from his village back, but that also meant that their village would have to bear most of the burden. If anything went wrong, their village would suffer the most, but since this was just information gathering, if the mission was successful, all the villages would still get the same information.

However, Henry just chucked, "Only father knows the specific details, however, I heard that Holt in Jain's village is sending out his own son Elwin as part of the expedition. I've heard Elwin is a prodigy in Jain village as well, so it is only appropriate for our village to send Jin Tong, otherwise, father wouldn't have done so."

Hearing this, Astoria froze, her face cast with horror.

However, she quickly returned to her normal expression, and replied, "Ah, then I have nothing to worry about, young master. Thank you for enlightening me."

Henry waved his hand casually and started walking back to the mansion while talking to his father. Astoria quietly followed behind him, but her mind and heart were in turmoil.

Elwin was going!

'If something happened to him…' she didn't want to finish that thought.

Unlike her brothers, she didn't even get to say goodbye!

She was scared. Astoria loved her family deeply and would do anything for them. She was taking such a big risk now precisely for Drake. She couldn't fathom the thought of anything to happen to them.

'If only I wasn't so weak… why was I always so weak!'

Astoria and Drake were hiding behind a large boulder. Dum! Dum! DUM! Her heart beat faster than ever.

"Squeak!" cried a voice. Astoria recognised it immediately - the rabbit!

It was dead! Her heart beat faster. She couldn't help but turn her head and peek ever so slightly.

There stood a seven-foot-tall monstrosity, bulging with muscles, and two giant horns sprouting from its head, half man, half bull.

Astoria's jaw dropped, and she screamed. "AAAHHHHHH!"

The minotaur turned towards them.

"Astoria!" Henry yelled.

"Yes, master!" she gasped, startled.

"Are you okay? You look like you've seen a ghost!" Henry asked.

"No, I'm fine master. Thank you for your concern. Is there anything I can help you with?"

"No. But we are going to interrogate a prisoner now, so if you don't have the stomach for it, you are free to go do something else."

Prisoner!

There was only one person that it could be.

Astoria's heart was racing, wondering what they were going to do to Sam.

This was all her fault! Before, she almost killed Drake. Now, she had sealed Sam's fate as well. Why did everything she attempted go wrong?!

"Uh… no master Henry… As your servant, my place is by your side. I will accompany you wherever you go," she replied, trying to sound confident.

Henry smiled contently, and his father Byron was also happy.

"You are lucky to get such a loyal servant, Henry," he commented.

Henry beamed more proudly, however seeing his father's unamused expression, he immediately quietened down.

"So, father. Who is this new prisoner?"

Byron had only told him to accompany him to an interrogation but didn't give any details. As the future village chief, Byron wanted him to learn how to handle these matters.

"Humph. You won't believe what happened last night. Some fool actually dared to break into our treasury!"

"WHAT!?" Henry gasped.

Astoria was dead silent and kept her face down.

"Yes. If I wasn't busy preparing for the expedition last night, I would have dealt with him immediately."

"But how could anyone be so brave father? Was the treasury not being guarded by the twin blades? Working together, they could even hold back a grand mage. Could the attacker actually be at that level, or greater?"

Byron frowned. "He is… a tempered body martial artist."

"What!?" Henry gasped.

This is what Byron was confused about too.

"Where in the world does a tempered body martial artist get the courage to face off against two perfect steel body martial artists?" Henry gasped. It didn't make sense!

"It wasn't just the two, Henry," Byron replied. "He was also stopped by the defensive puppet."

"WHAT!" Henry was astonished once again. "But that puppet is only activated if the intruder enters the treasury first. Don't tell me that a tempered body martial artist actually forcefully entered the treasury despite it being guarded by two steel body martial artists working together to defend it! Did he have some extremely powerful artifact or something?"

Byron frowned again. This is what he was very confused about too. The twin blades did not explain this part very clearly.

"They just said that the intruder was strong for a tempered body martial artist, plus they were taken completely by surprise, so he managed to get in, but they quickly stopped him afterwards with the help of the puppet."

Astoria listened to their conversation and was confused at this explanation, but then she had a lightbulb moment.

The twin blades did not know that they were drugged. If they mentioned to Byron that they had fallen asleep for some reason and allowed the intruder in, he would go ballistic. Hence, they just kept making excuses.

This was good for her. Otherwise, if they suspected and investigated the drugging, then she would be caught.

By this point, they had already arrived in front of a prison cell. Locked inside was a man. He was tied to a cross with spiked iron chains that dug into his wrists and ankles. He was stripped of all his clothes except his underwear and his whole body was covered with cuts and wounds.

Byron, Henry, and Astoria entered the cell and a guard awoke the unconscious Sam by pouring a bucket of cold water over his face.

Sam woke up in a panic and started to move around, but the spiked chains immediately cut into his flesh.

"AAAHHH!" he screamed.

In response, the guard punched him in the stomach. Sam stopped screaming as the wind was knocked out of his lungs and he was left gasping for air.

Taking a few deep breaths, he finally calmed down. His body was in huge pain but he was a martial artist so he could handle it to some extent.

"Seems I have visitors," Sam chuckled, glancing at Byron, Henry and Astoria.

Astoria couldn't bear to look at him anymore. She wished she could just beat up everyone here and free Sam, however she knew she didn't have the strength.

I don't have the strength to help Drake or Elwin, and now… I don't have the strength to help Sam either.

Astoria felt extremely helpless.

The interrogation began.

They asked him numerous questions, 'who are you', 'who sent you', 'why are you here', etc. But Sam didn't respond to any questions. If he spoke at all, it was only to make a snarky remark.

Every time Sam refused to answer a question or made some snarky remark, the guard would whip him. The guard was also a martial artist, so each whip left a deep scar on Sam's body which started bleeding profusely.

Every time Sam got whipped, Astoria flinched.

'Why? Why did I come here? Why did I sign up for this? If I had just stayed in my village, this wouldn't have happened!'

The whip tore open Sam's flesh and Astoria felt as if her own flesh was tearing.

When Sam responded with another mocking comment, the guard lost his patience.

"He needs to be taught a lesson, chief," the guard said before walking next to Sam's left hand. Then he took Sam's thumb and bent it backwards.

Snap!

The sound of cracking bones echoed across the cell.

Astoria felt sick to her stomach and threw up in the corner.

"Are you okay?" Henry asked worried.

"Yes master, I'm fine," Astoria replied weakly. "I will clean this up right away."

"No need, I'll get someone else to do it. You should go back and rest if this is too much for you."

"I'm sorry for being useless, master," Astoria replied, before excusing herself.

Then she left. And she ran.

She kept running and didn't stop till she reached her room. She locked the door behind her and then she fell to her knees, as if she was no longer able to bear the weight of suffering.

Why, why, why!? Why can't I do anything!?

She kept crying, thinking about all the ways in which she was a failure.

Elwin was going into danger and she couldn't help him. Drake was working very hard, and she couldn't support him. The only friend she made got captured following her stupid plan and was now suffering for it, and she couldn't help him either. Soon if the demon tides start attacking the village, she won't be able to help them either.

All she could do was run and cry.

Running and crying. Is this all I'm good for?

She kept cursing herself while crying. Soon her throat became dry and her cries became weak sobs, however, her sorrow only grew larger.

Outside, the skies darkened, and rain started pouring as if the heavens themselves were weeping with her plight.

Then, another cry started echoing through the mansion.

It was Sam who was being brutally tortured for information. His cries became louder and louder and soon, they reached Astoria too.

She couldn't escape. No matter where she ran to, she couldn't escape the cries of the people who she failed.