After moving the tree from the road, the trio drove the wagon and led the horses and 55 slaves to a town several miles away. The act of riding itself gave them a Mount Rider title and a Wagoner title, which was a tiny bonus.

The convoy continued on its way until it reached Coalfell.

If the wooden wall around Graycott was nothing more than to keep weak monsters from entering and cattle escaping, Coalfell was a stone-walled town that could resist strong monsters and raiders. Instead of one militia, there were several professional guards there.

As the trio approached, they saw Carrie's cart parked at the gate, and he was speaking with one of the gate guards. And once the guards noticed their carriage and slaves, they didn't look surprised, so the trio figured the guards were already briefed about the situation.

Soon, they reached the gate and were halted by the guards.

"Hold it right there. Mr and Mss Wolf, I assume?" The rough-looking guard asked, and on his shirt was a gold star.

"Yes. Are you the sheriff?" Asher, who rode one of the horses, asked back.

"I am Price, the deputy." The rough man showed a smile. "I heard what you three did. Mighty brave of you."

"Nobody likes bandits." Asher shrugged and replied.

"True... Did you bring the bodies? All of them?" Price asked.

"We kept them in the cart." Asher pointed to the back.

"Good. We will bring an analysis tool to check them, so if possible, please help us line up those bodies over there. At the same time, we will also review your information. Is that alright?" Price said.

"Fine by us," Asher nodded and then pointed at the slaves. "The slaves, horses, cart, and a few guns belong to the slave merchants who got ambushed. Two slaves, unfortunately, took the opportunity to escape, but we are not equipped or obligated to help with that."

"I am sure the slave merchants would be thankful they could recover most of their losses. As for the runaway slaves... stupid bastards. They wouldn't make it far." Price shook his head.

Asher noncommentally nodded, knowing full well that was the case. If the slaves died, they would revive in the church of the last settlement they visited after 72 hours. By then, their fate would be sealed. But it was their right to run away, and he wouldn't stop it if it meant fewer problems.

After quickly arranging the corpses by the wall and sorting them by guards and bandits, they removed the masks from the bandits and saw the wounds.

"Phew...~. You guys are crackshots." A guard whistled, impressed.

"Impressive. Interested in law enforcement?" Price half-jokingly offered.

"No thanks, Sir Deputy. We're good." Sonia politely refused.

"Suit yourself." Price shrugged.

Soon, several clerks arrived, holding some documents and a pair of analysis glasses.

While taking accounts from Asher, the clerks also double-checked the identities of the slave merchants and bandits. Soon, the results came out.

"We confirmed that the guards are registered caravan escorts of the Whitelily Trading Firm. As for the bandits, we found that five of them have outstanding bounties and belong to The Violent Ghost Band."

"Wow! You got big fish this time." Price exclaimed.

"Who are they? A bandit gang? Mercenaries?" Nidawei curiously asked.

"Both. They are a large gang of professionals working around the country who take on most types of dirty work, and when there is no work, they turn bandit. So your guess is as good as mine whether someone commissioned them to do it or they did it independently." Price pursed his lips.

"So what are you going to do with them now?" Asher asked.

"Oh, you will see." Price had a menacing grin. And then, he glanced at the trio. "I heard your situation from Carrie. Otherworlder Hell Challengers?"

"Yes." Asher nodded.

"Given your good behavior in Graycott, and that you hunted these bandits and even returned the valuables, I'll vouch for a full citizenship for you, skipping the probation period." Price smiled.

"Many thanks! That would be very appreciated." Asher smiled.

"Well, first things first. We will go revive them at the church before their automatic revival mechanism triggers." Price said.

When someone unnaturally died on Normal Difficulty, they would automatically revive in the last settlement they visited after 72 hours... unless they got revived by someone. If their corpse gets brought to a town church, a priest could easily resurrect them on the altar. Of course, they would suffer a level penalty for it regardless, but it was better than spawning naked!

"What about the property?" Asher pointed to the convoy.

"We called the Whitelily Trading Firm branch, and they will handle it from here. Don't worry, they will heftily reward you for this." Price smiled and then looked at the corpses. "Now... do you mind helping a bit with dragging these?

"Sure."

Asher, Sonia, and Nidawei each dragged two corpses and followed Price to a large church in the middle of town. It resembled a classic 1800s wooden Christian church. It didn't look that impressive, but it served its function.

Entering the church, it was arranged similarly to a Protestant Church, save for the detail that the cross was replaced with a burning coal sign.

The presiding priestess, a nun in her late 50s, walked over with a neutral smile.

"Greetings, Deputy. How can I help you today?" She asked, glancing at the corpses with a serene look.

"Please revive these eight first, Mother Reva. As for these 12 scum, they will get the treatment." Price pointed at the dead guards.

"Certainly." The nun nodded without a wince, as if everything was a breeze. "Please bring them to the altar."

Soon, one of the corpses was brought to the altar, and Mother Reva performed a prayer.

Suddenly, the corpse ignited, and steam rose from it, forming a small cloud that dripped water. Doused by the water, the bullet wounds on the corpse closed, the bullets were extracted, and the color returned.

"Hah... Well, that's an interesting effect." Asher thought, observing everything.

Suddenly, the corpse opened its eyes wide and took a deep breath.

"Hah! Cough* Cough*... Fuck! Cough* We got robbed! I died, didn't I?!" The revived dead man exclaimed while coughing.

"Damn right! Now get your ass off the altar. We have other people to revive." Price pointed at the other corpses.

"Oh..." The revived man nodded in a daze and slid off the altar.

He looked unsteady, like someone with a massive hangover, but still managed to walk to one of the benches and sit.

"How do you feel?" Sonia curiously asked.

When the guard looked over and saw Sonia's near-supernatural beauty, he was stunned silly.

"I-I-I-I..." He repeated like a broken record.

Sonia's lips twitched as she saw the familiar result.

"You broke him." Nidawei gave her a resigned look.

"Hey, it's not my fault!" Sonia pouted.

"You impossibly beautiful ladies should stay away from the newly revived. Their heads are banged up." Price helplessly said.

He was also slightly stunned by their looks when he saw them, but he couldn't feel attracted to such impossible beauty. It was too alien. And he believed any sober man would feel the same. If anything, it was more like looking at pieces of fine artwork.

"I thought they only lost 5 levels, capped at level 1." Asher curiously said.

"They also suffer from Confusion, Mental Down, Lethargy, and Weakness for 6 hours post-revival. Unless they can afford potions or spells against that, we force them to stay in the church for 6 hours. Otherwise, they could get scammed or mugged outside." Price said.

"HAH! Cough* Cough*... I was shot!" A newly revived exclaimed.

"Sigh..." Price sighed before shouting at the newly revived. "Get your ass off the altar and make way!"

"Oh..." The 2nd revived guard dumbly stumbled off, wandered like a drunkard, and slumped on a bench.

"Tough work being a deputy." Asher had a lukewarm look.

"Tell me about it." Price pinched his nose bridge.

"Want a drink after? My treat." Asher invited.

"Sure. I could use one." Price grinned.

Within a few minutes, all 8 guards were revived, sitting on the benches in a daze.

"Good... now that they are revived, we can start giving the assholes the treatment." Price narrowed his eyes.

"What's the so-called treatment?" Sonia curiously asked.

"We repeatedly revive and kill them until they are level 1, before making them public mining slaves. If they misbehave, we send them to the machine cult." Price said with an evil grin.

"Spawn camping, followed by forced enslavement or lobotomized servitude? That's horribly dark and utilitarian... We approve!" Nidawei smiled and gave a thumbs-up.

Price blinked, not expecting that reaction.

"Hah... That's a first."

"Forget it, we've seen so much shit that this barely tickles us." Asher waved his hand.

"NOW I want to hear about it." Price said with an interested look.

"Deputy Price, whenever you are ready." Mother Reva reminded.

Price nodded and then looked to two of his men.

"Giles, Milford, you two handle it. It's a good opportunity to raise your level."

"Thank you, Deputy!" The two rough-looking subordinates smiled.

Price then turned to Asher and explained.

"This is one way to force-level our law enforcement, who need to stay in town all the time. In the meantime, let's go sort out your reward and citizenship with the mayor. As for the Whitelily Trading Firm reward, it is a separate one, but they will amply reward you for this."

"Then let's get a move on." Asher smiled.

The four of them then headed to the Town Hall, which was only a short distance away. As expected of the town hall, it was the largest building in town and was mostly made of wood.

After Price spoke to a female receptionist, who was stunned for a moment by the trio's beauty, they were quickly led to the mayor, a stereotypical round-bodied, bespectacled, moustached, bald man in his 60s, wearing gentleman's clothes and smoking a pipe.

After a short moment of being stunned by the trio's looks, the mayor smiled and welcomed them.

"I am Mayor Irl Walla. On behalf of the 2,500 citizens of Coalfell, I would like to thank you for making our community safer, and we'll gladly accept you as our citizens, otherworlders."

After filling out the necessary documents, the trio received their new citizenship. It only took 15 minutes.

 

 

After a quick check, it was merely that. It was just a proof of citizenship. They also received a physical card, but the title could save them some trouble.

And then, they received their reward.

"The five wanted criminals from The Violent Ghost Band are regular members, but each still fetches 20 pounds. As for the regular ones, although they have no bounty, we will buy them for 5 pounds each as bottom-end criminal slaves, including the wanted criminals. So your total compensation is 160 pounds."

After he said that, a servant came inside the room, bringing two pouches filled with coins.

Once Asher and his group received it, they earned a title.

 

 

"Not bad." Asher smiled while Sonia and Nidawei counted the money.

"By the way, as citizens of Coalfell, you are eligible to rent, buy, or build a house, and purchase or rent land. However, I would wait a bit before choosing a parcel. The Whitelily Trading Firm owes you now, and they own quite a bit of property in town. They could give you a big discount." Mayor Irl smiled.