Chapter 3

They persevered until dusk, after which they departed from the city and established their encampment in an outdoor locale. 

The tents were promptly erected with some individuals opting to share while most preferred their own. 

They ignited incense and dispersed powder around the perimeters of their respective shelters.

As it soon turned dark, they retired for the night. Solely Captain Litcht extended a benevolent gesture towards Saibot by providing him with a sleeping bag.

"The scent of the incense wards off wild beasts whilst the powder repels any peculiar entities that may lurk about. You rendered assistance today, hence Bam shall not trouble you as long as I am present. This location is secure."

"The incense keeps beasts away, and the powder keeps weird things away. You helped today, so Bam won't bother you as long as I'm here. It's safe here."

After he finished, he went into his tent. Saibot remained silent, casting a gaze towards the encampment of Captain Litcht before settling into his sleeping quarters.

He left a gap facing the scavengers' tent and waited.

Late at night, when everyone was asleep, Saibot got out of the sleeping bag.

"They're asleep," Saibot saw this and got his iron stick. He unzipped the tent and went in slowly.

Saibot saw Bam lying there, deep asleep. He was tired from the day and his injury.

Bam was an 'expert' and couldn't imagine Saibot would risk sneaking into his tent with everyone around.

He had no clue Saibot was there. Saibot looked at Bam sleeping. His eyes were calm as he got closer. When he was beside him, Saibot didn't hesitate. He used his dagger to cut Bam's neck without emotion.

The cut was clean, and blood came out fast. Bam woke up in pain, seeing Saibot's cold face. He tried to struggle, but Saibot covered his mouth.

Bam struggled, but Saibot's grip was strong. He also stomped on Bam's stomach to stop him from moving.

Blood kept coming out, and Bam got weaker. He looked scared and begged with his eyes.

But Saibot stayed calm. Bam's struggles were drowned out by the noise outside.

After a while, Bam stopped struggling. Saibot waited to be sure he was dead before letting go.

He wiped his hands and took out a snake head from his pouch. He used the snake's poison to melt Bam's body.

In the time it took for an incense stick to burn, Bam's body turned to blood and soaked into the ground.

Saibot watched and cleaned up. He made it look like Bam disappeared. Then, he left the tent.

The cold wind blew, and Saibot looked at the dark sky. He took a deep breath and went back to his sleeping bag.

He felt safe now that the danger was gone. He closed his eyes and slept, still holding his iron stick tight.

The next morning, Saibot woke up and saw Bam's tent was gone.

He felt uneasy. The other scavengers found out and looked around for clues. But since Bam and his tent were gone, they guessed he left because he was greedy or had other reasons.

This group wasn't close, so they didn't care much. Some looked at Saibot, but they didn't think he had anything to do with it.

Only Captain Litcht looked at Saibot when he took the sleeping bag back. He asked if Saibot still wanted to leave with him.

Saibot didn't say anything. The old man didn't say more. He told everyone to hurry because the sun was up.

Saibot looked at the ruined city, then at the old man. After thinking, he followed them.

Six scavengers and Saibot walked under the sun. Their conversation faded away as they walked. Saibot listened and followed, going further and further away.

“This is a calamity of the gods. The entire city was annihilated.”

“There’s one more forbidden zone in this world…”

“This cannot be counted as anything much. Have you guys heard about this story before? About seven to eight years ago, there was a major city in the northern region. The god opened its eyes and glanced over there. After that, that area, including the city, directly vanished bizarrely. It was as though they had never existed before.”

With that, as if nothing happened, they continued their journey. 

The forbidden zone formed in this part of the eastern region of the Hayami Continent wasn’t very big.

The ruins that Saibot’s group had left were at the edges of the forbidden zone.

This was also why the scavengers were able to rush over to the city on the first day the sunlight came.

Therefore, when the sky was gradually turning dark, they were almost out of the forbidden zone’s perimeters.

They had encountered some mutated beasts on the way, but the beasts were quickly taken care of by these scavengers.

Saibot came to an assessment after observing them... "I can take on any of them, except the old man. There's just something about him that doesn't sit well with me."