Asher, Sonia, and Nidawei rode on a merchant cart belonging to the village merchant, Carrie Anderson, who traveled to and fro from the village and the town of Coalfell to send produce and restock supplies.

At this time, some of the villagers saw them off.

"Bye, Mister and Ms' Wolf! Come back to visit!" Cindy waved her hand. 

"Safe travels!" Chester also said goodbye.

"If you see someone hiding in the bushes, shoot first and ask questions later!" Tobias, who was guarding the village entrance, reminded.

"Goodbye!" Sonia waved back as the cart drove away.

After the cart left, Chester, Cindy, and Tobias looked at one another.

"Finally, they're leaving," Cindy said with a wary look.

"Yeah, they were getting so strong yet chose to remain in our village. I don't understand them." Tobias shook his head.

"They were apparently afraid for their lives..." Chester helplessly said.

Cindy and Tobias had bitter smiles.

"If they are afraid, then how are we supposed to live?" Cindy asked.

"And to begin with, isn't the strongest in Coalfell only lvl 70 at most due to the lack of higher-difficulty monsters?" Tobias frowned and said.

"Yes... and from what I understand, they have several Demigod and Saint level titles..." Chester warily added.

The three of them looked at one another, their lips twitching.

"The Hell Challengers are Freaks."

"Scary monsters."

"I feel sorry for anyone who antagonises them..."

.

.

.

While traveling, Asher spoke with Carrie, a middle-aged red-nosed man in merchant clothes, and his assistant, who sat shotgun, literally with a rifle in hand, a man named Mose. After all, bandits could sometimes appear, and monsters were also a hazard. But most of the monsters near the road were low-level mobs, so bandits and straying higher-level monsters were the greater threat.

"By the way, Coalfell is called that way since it specializes in Coal, right?" Asher asked.

"Yes. It features a low-level Coal-Production Dungeon that produces Magic Coal. Magic Coal does not have the harmful black smoke that regular coal does, and it can burn with the same intensity for ten times longer, making it worthwhile to harvest and more compact for trading and storage. Additionally, the occasional higher-quality magic coal is crucial for producing magical equipment and running more powerful machinery." Carrie explained.

"Hah... So that's part of this world's handwavium for staying Steampunk." Sonia muttered.

"It is a playground, after all." Nidawei warily said.

As they reached the middle of the road, suddenly-

Bang* Bang* Bang* Bang*

Gunshots and shouting were heard from a distance, making Carrie stop the cart.

"A caravan is like being attacked on another road." Carrie had a solemn look.

"From the number of shots, it sounds like a gunfight. Highwaymen." Mose raised his gun, vigilantly looking around.

Asher, Sonia, and Nidawei frowned and exited the cart, carrying their weapons.

"We will go to investigate. Stay in the cart."

After Asher said this, he ran in the direction of the shooting.

"W-Wait! It's dangerous!" Carrie shouted.

"We'll be fine, just stay in the cart!" Nidawei said, running after Asher.

"We'll be back before you know it!" Sonia added and followed.

Carrie and Mose blinked, watching the trio running even faster than a horse, and a thought crossed their minds.

"Those bandits are screwed."

.

.

.

On another road, a successful ambush already ended.

A tree blocked the front, and a loaded caravan cart with two oxen and six frightened individual horses stood, their riders shot dead. On the ground, over 50 rag-wearing slaves of various races lay on the ground, chained to one another, shaken and scared.

From one side of the forest road, several armed and fully masked gunmen walked toward the slaves, and on the other end of the road, four gunmen lowered their guns, having shot two escaping riders dead.

Asher, Sonia, and Nidawei, who had seen this from a hiding spot, knew what had happened. It was a classic L-shaped ambush, and a very successful and smooth one, too. 

The horsemen were obviously a slave convoy guard, transporting slaves on land to another town. Slavery was legal in this world, a natural result of slave-binding magic and Slave Titles being a real thing.

Meanwhile, the bandits' origin was uncertain. They could be a resistance group, wanting to free slaves and join their gang. And equally so, they could be sent by a business rival, either working for him as hired muscle or bandits paid to do the dirty work. And they could just as well be profiteers who rob merchandise before selling it to someone who doesn't ask many questions.

In this world, you undoubtedly gain Criminal Titles for committing a crime. That is a known fact. A pickpocket would gain a Petty Thief title, and a murderer would get a Murderer Title. However, this title remains hidden unless equipped or discovered, immune to conventional detection. After all, being a Criminal doesn't make you a Known Criminal!

For your criminal title to be revealed, you must be identified for it by the law. That meant the authorities needed evidence to declare you a criminal. Eyewitness was the simplest and most direct, while being found with stolen items was also incriminating. And when the crime is more complicated, special occupations could be used to find evidence. Meanwhile, someone accused of a crime could defend themselves with counter-evidence or by framing someone else.

Since revival was a common thing in this world, especially for Normal Difficulty, criminals therefore masked their identity to prevent gaining criminal titles. Being masked and unidentified also prevented identification tools from properly displaying criminal titles. Hence, wearing masks could be interpreted as criminal, depending on the situation.

Naturally, crimes were also determined by region, and a criminal in one state might not be one in another, such as a licensed privateer.

In any case, Asher, Sonia, and Nidawei determined they were too professional to be regular bandits. That means they were either privateers from a business rival or professional freedom fighters.

The trio looked at one another and started communicating with sign language.

"There are 12 bandits, either freedom fighters or hired muscle. What to do?" Asher asked.

"Leave them if they are freedom fighters. It doesn't feel right to kill them." Nidawei said.

"Bandits are fair game, though. Business is business, and we can get nice titles." Sonia narrowed her eyes.

As the three discussed, they saw the masked bandits point their guns at the slaves, even kicking them cruelly and forcing them to get up. One of them even started molesting a pretty girl with fox ears and tail.

"Definitely not freedom fighters." Asher determined.

"Kill?" Nidawei asked.

"Kill." Sonia nodded.

"Put masks on, then. Just in case." Asher said, taking out three full-head black-ops masks and black-tinted goggles.

Wordlessly, the trio put on the masks and goggles and snuck through the woods, making sure there were no more hiding bandits, before raising their guns.

"Nidawei, take the right. Sonia, take the left. I take the middle. Avoid the slaves and horses. Four volleys in three, two, one..." Asher muttered, his metal sights on a bandit kicking a slave.

The other two wordlessly aimed and opened fire.

Bang* Bang* Bang*

Splat* Splat* Splat*

"AMBUSH- Bang* Splat*"

"TAKE CO- Bang* Splat*"

"FUCK- Bang* Splat* Gurlge..."

Bang* Bang* Bang* Bang* Bang* Bang*

Splat* Splat* Splat* Splat* Splat* Splat*

Thud* Thud* Thud* Thud* Thud* Thud* Thud* Thud* Thud* Thud* Thud* Thud*

Within seconds, the trio gunned down all twelve bandits, dropping them like flies with lethal shots to the head or throat. Along with it, the trio received several notifications.

 

 

Since they didn't obtain a criminal Title, this meant the system didn't recognize what they did as illegal. As for the Slayer Title, it is gained by killing certain types of enemies, including enlightened races. The basic title is earned by killing three of a certain species. Since each of them killed four, they naturally obtained it.

With guns still smoking, the trio then looked at the slaves, who got on the ground again, cowering. And then, their eyes looked left and right.

"Sonia, watch over the slaves. Nidawei and I will handle the lookouts." Asher said and ran ahead on the road.

Wordlessly, Nidawei ran the other side, while Sonia approached the slaves.

Several minutes later, Asher and Nidawei returned, each carrying two more dead bandits. Meanwhile, the slaves still cowered on the ground before Sonia, their chains preventing their escape.

Dropping the bandits on one side and placing the slave merchant guards on the other, the trio removed their masks, disarmed the corpses, and then started discussing.

"What should we do now?" Sonia asked.

"We will bring the bodies back to Coalfell. There might be a reward." Asher said.

"And the slaves? You know they are considered property by the System, right?" Nidawei pointed at the cowering lot.

Slaves had a special title called Slave of X, with X being the name of the rightful owner, including a state or government. And if they ran away, they gained a criminal title called Runaway Slave, and it was the known kind. Anyone who housed them could be accused of housing runaways. The only way to become free was to be openly manumitted.

In other words, unless they wanted to live as outlaws, they needed to go to the nearby town and submit themselves, even if they knew they might get thrown into the mines or forced into a brothel. And if they escaped and got captured, their fate was worse than death, suffering legal lobotomization by the machine cult, becoming a mindless Cog Servitor. Even if they died and revived, they were still property. It was that simple and cruel.

However, the trio was not legally obligated to act. They were just strangers, not law enforcers. Even if they caught and returned the slaves, whether they got rewarded or not was up for question. Additionally, just the three of them were not enough to herd so many slaves. Legally, they could walk away.

"I say let the ones who want to escape, escape. But I doubt they would make it far." Sonia openly said, intentionally saying this out loud to the slaves to think twice before they make the choice.

"Fair enough." Asher nodded and looked to the still-cowering slaves. "Anyone who thinks they can live as an outlaw and perhaps escape from this country, you can take the key from your slaver's corpse. As my companion said, your chances are slim, and if captured, your fate wouldn't be a pretty one. And no, we are not giving you a gun. We don't trust you."

After a moment of silence, two slaves hesitantly got up and walked to the slavers, patting their bodies before taking the key to their shackles, unlocking them, and saying "Thank you." Before running away into the woods.

The other 55 were not that daring. It was apparent they were too scared to try it.

"Very well. Just don't regret your choice later." Asher said.

"Boss, we should inform Carrie about the situation," Sonia said.

"I'll inform him. Put the corpses in the cart in the meantime." Nidawei said before darting off.

After several minutes of hauling the corpses, Nidawei returned.

"I spoke with him. He said he will meet us at Coalfell."

"Okay. Let's go." Asher nodded.

"You lot! Move!" Sonia ordered.

And so, they continued moving until they reached their destination.