Ethan told the two of them without pause.

"Though I did not remember him being this impressive, I have only achieved the level of a master with one of my spells recently. I can’t believe someone from the B class rose to that level so soon."

Desmond stared at the battlefield outside the carriage with visible disbelief in his eyes while listening to Ethan’s words. The flames created by Alfred’s spell still burned across the forest floor, illuminating the corpses of the fallen bandits.

The dwarf prince then turned his attention toward the driver of the cart.

At the front, Maximus sat quietly with the reins in his hands; his hood was partially lowered now. During the journey, all of them had taken turns either driving the carriage or handling the dangers along the road.

Traveling through No Man’s Land was never safe, and everyone had long since accepted the possibility of being attacked at any moment.

Now all three young men inside the carriage looked toward Maximus, waiting for an explanation.

Maximus shook his head slowly.

"We recently met during a banquet; this guy said that he wanted to grow strong and then challenged me to a duel."

He paused briefly before continuing. 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

"I defeated him, but his persistence is so strong. I remember that he was nothing like that before getting kidnapped by the Clayman cult."

"So he was the one from the academy who got kidnapped??" Desmond asked.

Maximus nodded.

"He has changed completely after that; even after that banquet, he has been challenging me continuously, and to be honest, his growth has been astonishing. He is improving at a monstrous rate, as if a switch was flipped inside him during the past incident."

Maximus glanced toward Alfred, who was calmly wiping blood from his blade outside.

"He is a descendant of the Duke of Draconis and also considered talented from the start, so in the beginning, I was not surprised much."

"But slowly, I realized that his temperament had also changed. Look how effortlessly he is cleaving heads and making decisions with a cool mind; I truly believe that something has changed within him."

His words caused everyone inside the carriage to grow thoughtful.

"Near-death experiences change people," Ethan spoke quietly, his tone noticeably lower than before.

The atmosphere inside the carriage became heavy for a brief moment.

Then suddenly "Argghhhhh!!!"

The furious scream of the surviving bandit leader drew everyone’s attention again.

The heavily injured vampire charged directly toward the cart in desperation. Blood covered most of his body, and severe burns from Alfred’s flames blackened his skin.

Before anyone could react, the bandit grabbed Maximus from behind and pressed a blade tightly against his neck.

"Stay away, or I will kill this guy."

His voice trembled with panic and rage.

Alfred looked at the scene calmly without even the slightest trace of concern appearing on his face.

"Sigh!! I wanted to take my time killing you, but it seems you were really in a hurry to die."

As he spoke, he slowly sheathed his sword. The bandit leader frowned in confusion.

Before he could understand what was happening, his head exploded under the force of Maximus’s punch that he launched from the back of his hand.

Bone fragments, blood, and flesh erupted outward like a volcano before the lifeless body collapsed beside the carriage.

Silence followed immediately afterward.

Maximus remained completely unharmed.

After all, he had already advanced into A-rank recently. A wounded B-rank bandit threatening him was no different from a child holding a knife.

Meanwhile, the rest of the group had advanced significantly as well during recent months. Ethan and Galeion had both stepped into S-rank, while Desmond stood at A-rank alongside Maximus.

Alfred calmly walked back toward the carriage with his sword still in hand.

Once he arrived before Maximus, he cupped his fists respectfully and bowed slightly.

"Thanks for your assistance, senior brother Maximus."

Maximus’s expression immediately twisted in irritation.

"What the hell are you saying? I am not your senior; call me Maximus, and that greeting I have never seen before. Can you just be normal!!"

He rubbed his forehead tiredly while speaking.

Alfred’s behavior genuinely exhausted him sometimes. The young man constantly forgot noble etiquette and insisted on calling him "senior brother" in the strangest situations possible.

"You are greater than me in terms of strength, so it’s only natural I call you ’senior.’ When I surpass you, I will call you ’junior brother.’"

Maximus took a deep breath to suppress the sudden urge to punch him in the face.

Eventually, he simply gave up trying to argue.

Inside the carriage, Ethan, Galeion, and Desmond exchanged strange looks with one another. They had all noticed Alfred’s unusual behavior by now.

Not only had his strength grown rapidly, but even the way he spoke and carried himself often felt strangely foreign, though it was much more refined than theirs.

Still, none of them pressed the issue further. Soon, the topic shifted elsewhere.

"How much distance is left?" Galeion asked.

Ethan unfolded the old map resting on his lap and studied it carefully beneath the dim light entering the carriage.

"About 1 day."

The map was the sole reason this entire journey had begun.

Recently, Ethan had stumbled upon an ancient-looking map while visiting a black market auction. Rather than blindly trusting it, he had carefully torn away a small section of the parchment and taken it to an appraiser.

His reasoning had been simple.

If the parchment turned out to be recent, then the map was likely fake. But if it truly originated from an ancient era as the auctioneer claimed, then the inheritance marked upon it might actually exist.

To his surprise, the appraiser had informed him that the parchment was nearly 10,000 years old.

The moment Ethan heard that, his instincts immediately told him this opportunity was worth investigating. Ancient inheritances generally contained strong spells and techniques, and a lot of treasures that could help one elevate their strength.

But still, he did not get arrogant; he knew that such places were meant to be dangerous, which is why he needed people with him.

Initially, he had planned to go along with just Maximus, but then he decided to tell all his influential friends like Desmond, Klara, Galeion, and others.

Ethan knew that when heirs of emperors moved, they were tailed by several high-ranking experts who ensured their safety. Ethan was counting on these experts to protect them in case any life-threatening situation happened.

With that intention, he had sent letters to Galeion, Kara, Desmond, Kathrine, Seraphine, and even William, since William had some solid backing too, according to what he had heard from rumours.