Burning more Spirit Stones as fuel, Zieve burned away months worth of hard work as fuel for the formations' operations. As long as he can ensure Juliet's safety until she succeeded in her comprehension.

His heart continuously bled as more Spirit Stones were absorbed by the formations. Placing his left hand on the hilt of his sword at his waist. Zieve remained attentive and observed for any changes.

His observation continued on for several days and Zieve finally couldn't keep up his state of alertness as drowsiness and exhaustion washed over his body.

Although cultivators possessed endurance stronger than mortals to the point that sleeping became an option, with his cultivation, sleeping was still essential and these several days of staying alert all around the clock affected his senses and state of mind.

"d.a.m.n it, I must hold on for Juliet's sake..." Zieve bit the tip of his tongue and the sharp pain awakened his senses. The method of boosting his body and mind didn't came without a cost as Zieve spat a glob of blood from his mouth.

In a dark alleyway just outside the Dreamy House's Pavilion. Rodger and Vanadis stood beside each other with solemn expressions on their faces. Staring at the pavilion, nothing looked out of place for mortals but in the eyes of the two, they could see a faint translucent barrier formed by formations that bestowed protection to the pavilion.

Back when the two of them first arrived here, they opted not to barge their way in since it meant that they couldn't do any sneak attacks against the Juliet who had numerous Heaven Grade Artifacts on her person. So Rodger decided that they should wait until the Dreamy House couldn't maintain the formations stability and operations anymore.

After all, maintaining such a high-leveled Pavilion Protecting Formation meant burning several thousands of Spirit Stones per hour. Even his Duterte General Merchandises couldn't wantonly throw away such a huge amount.

But to their dismay, even until waiting for several days. The formation remained strong and even looked reinforced than before which made Rodger grit his teeth in indignance and hatred. If the Dreamy House didn't stand on their way and stole their customers away, then they could've been as prodigal as they wanted!

"Young master, what should we do? Are we going to continue waiting in here or should we barge inside and deal with the b.a.s.t.a.r.ds that Juliet hired?" Vanadis asked and Rodger turned to look at him and said.

"You told me earlier that Juliet possessed numerous Heaven Grade Artifacts right? That only means that her background isn't something average! Her clan should've sent powerful guards to protect her throughout her secluded meditation so we must tread with caution!"

Vanadis nodded his head in understanding, Rodger's words were logical and sound. If Juliet's background was that formidable like what they expected then her clan should've sent powerful bodyguards protecting her amidst her enlightenment. Carelessly barging in may mean their death!

"In that case, we shall wait here, Young master. I refuse to believe that they could sustain those formations for as long as they wanted!" Vanadis cursed and leaned on the wall. The two of them kept their quiet and entered a state of semi-meditation to conserve their energy.

Natalie and Juliet dashed into dark alleyways one after another, clad in dark robes, she carried Juliet within her bosom and eventually arrived before a wide plain that contained dozens of garbage carts. The Luzon Clan's Garbage Disposal disciples disposed of these garbage at constant intervals.

Judging from the moonlight that struck her body. Natalie deduced that it should be about time to act on her plans. Sweeping her gaze around, she moved with slow footsteps towards one of the carts and directly leaped inside.

The smell of rotten vegetables, urine and feces surrounded her body yet Natalie maintained her composure and never panicked. As someone who lived through an incomparable nightmare, such a suffering wouldn't even bother her nerves.

She was more concerned about her daughter that slept close to her chest. Taking a small dagger from the pouch in her chest, she uncovered the blade and carved a small hole on the cart's body so that air could circulate and the two of them could breathe.

The peak of the night eventually arrived and the coldness that seeped from the outside mixed with the hot, festering garbage beside Natalie and Juliet made them feel suffocated. Fortunately, disciples of the Luzon Clan finally arrived and started moving the carts.

"d.a.m.n this job is really annoying. If not for the fact that I missed the sale of one of those Enhancer Pills, I could've broke through already!" A disciple complained to his comrade and laughter erupted amidst them.

"Yeah, right. You're not the only one that feels that this job sucks, but what else can we do? Apart from obeying them, there's nothing that we can really do since our talent is basically rock bottom..." A disciple replied with self-mocking, evoking laughter from his fellow disciples as they all hummed a tune and escorted the carts out of the Luzon Clan.

"After this, I must really compensate by eating as much as I can at the banquet. After all, tonight's the night that the Patriarch chooses his successors, we must display that we're absolutely loyal to him or else we will be decimated by the compet.i.tion..." A disciple voiced out his concerns and another disciple replied.

"Definitely, everyone's gonna drunk today! No one's gonna get home without being wasted, ah!" The disciples laughed one after another as they escorted the carts towards their destination.

Natalie laid at the corner of the cart and used her robes to prevent the trashes from caving in and burying them. With both of her feet pus.h.i.+ng outwards, she had to constantly exert force so that the trashes wouldn't collapse and overwhelm them underneath.

Paired with the b.u.mpy road that the carts wheeled on, Natalie knew that she couldn't permit even a second of relaxation as she bit her lower lip, exerting all the force that she can in keeping those garbage above her from collapsing. Holding her daughter tight, she drew strength from her existence and kept on pus.h.i.+ng outward until she couldn't even feel her legs anymore.

After several minutes of moving through b.u.mpy roads, the carts finally stopped as the disciples dumped the contents directly at the landfill. Natalie and Juliet fell at the base of the mountain of garbage as the former hurriedly covered for the latter, making sure that she's won't be injured.

Crawling, Natalie heaved a sigh of relief when she saw that the disciples were far away enough to detect her. Lifting a smile on her face, Natalie carried Juliet in her arms as she discarded her and Juliet's filthy clothes. Stealing some clothes that were left to dry by their owners. Natalie ran towards the east, heading for the direction of the Empire of Dawn.

Using the gold coins that her uncle gave to her, Natalie managed to join a last minute caravan heading for the direction of the Empire of Dawn. The members of the caravan stared suspiciously at her first since those that frantically boarded the caravans away from the Empire were mostly criminals.

After seeing her bedraggled and exhausted figure and the sleeping child in her arms, the members of the caravan understood what happened as they thought in their minds that Natalie should be someone that escaped her husband, and judging from the bruises around her collarbone and neck, she must've frequently suffered domestic violence.

Natalie saw their sympathy as an opportunity to acquire their trust, weaving some stories. Natalie easily moved their hearts and paired with the fact that Natalie also cared for her fellow caravan members by cooking some meals for them, she quickly became the focal point of protection in the caravan.

At the last day of their journey, the members of the caravan rejoiced that no bandits attacked them in their journey, the camouflage that they wrapped around their caravans to disguise themselves as commoner caravans worked pretty well since those bandits didn't fancy attacking commoner caravans that were only used for transportation.

They celebrated, the men drank together while some of the women sang, danced and told each other stories about their life. Natalie and Juliet sat together with Juliet sitting on Natalie's lap. The smile on the little girl's face relieved the exhaustion of their fellow caravan members as her laughter raised their morale and mood.

"I still can't believe that someone out there had the heart to hurt someone as beautiful as you, Miss Natalie..."

A young caravan member said with despise visible on his face. His fellow comrades turned towards him and supported his claims.

"Yeah, I wonder just what kind of a b.a.s.t.a.r.d wasted such a precious beauty that can only be found once in a hundred years? How about you come with me, Miss Natalie?" A bolder caravan member instantly proposed, putting Natalie into an awkward situation as the girls around them scolded.

"Hey, don't bother her too much! You go away and stay there with your friends, also. You reek of alcohol!" A female caravan member that Natalie quickly became close with called Ruth scolded the males as they all scattered away in fear.

Ruth sat beside the two and pinched Juliet's cheeks, a sweet smile lifted on her lips as she enjoyed the sensation of Juliet's ample and elastic cheeks. Turning towards Natalie, she said.

"Sis, what are you going to do after you arrive at the Empire of Dawn? Do you have any relatives there that you can rely on?" Ruth's tone was filled with curiosity but her question dampened Natalie's mood as she hung her head low and said.

"I don't have any relatives there, but my uncle gave me some money so maybe I can establish a little business there so I can feed Juliet and make her have the life that I wished for..." Natalie said the desires that she had in her heart and it made Ruth teary as the two of them huddled together, embracing each other's warmth.

Natalie knew that his plan wouldn't possibly go as smoothly as she thinks. The Empire of Dawn was a place where criminals from the Empire of Eternal Faith exiled themselves. In other words, it's a bandit's lair and in that place, she couldn't trust anyone.

Nevertheless, it was a thousand times better than the nightmare of a place where she previously lived. Caressing her daughter's chin, Natalie lightly kissed Juliet's forehead as their journey continued amidst the darkness.

With only the moonlight and the eastern star as their guide, the caravan proceeded quietly on the plains. The male members' nerves were stretched taut for any ambushes as the female caravan members slept soundly inside the carriages.

Amidst the darkness, six men clothed in dark robes rushed directly at the caravan where Natalie stayed. Within their hands were hidden weapons and daggers as they swiftly a.s.sa.s.sinated the sentries at the backline of the caravan.

Heads rolled and blood spurted out, the sentries didn't even have the time to scream out as the men reaped their lives. Cleaning their daggers, the men flicked their wrist towards the carriages and their hidden weapons dug deep into the wooden walls as their Spiritual Energy rotated, sending a ball of fire towards the carriages which formed a chain reaction of explosions that consumed all carriages at the back.

BANG!

A deafening roar reverberated across the plain, awakening everyone within the caravan as they all stared in horror at the ball of flame that consumed all carriages behind them.

"Enemy attack!"

A roar came from the front of the caravan as the cultivators that the caravan leader recruited came out one after another and faced their enemies.

"Where are they?! And how many bandits are attacking?" A buff middle-aged man whose energy fluctuations where the strongest summoned his entire cultivation base in preparation as he roared, asking for information from the scouts.

"Five... No- Six! There are six of them! They're at the back line and approaching us in a straightforward manner, their weapons are daggers and need-" Before the man could finish his sentence. A needle pierced through his throat and sent him tumbling on the ground.

"s.h.i.+t, just how strong are these guys?" The buff middle-aged man asked with a frown visible on his face. His expression darkened when he realized that he couldn't even probe for his enemies' cultivation base which only meant one thing. Either they hid their cultivation base using some Artifact or their cultivation was at least two realms higher than him.

"d.a.m.n it, why are we being targeted by these people? Just what is going on here?!" He mumbled in a panic and swiftly shouted at the approaching enemies.

"Pleased to meet you, Seniors!" He clasped his hands together and respectfully bowed, "I think we both have a misunderstanding here, Senior. We have nothing that can possibly pique your interest. Did Senior perhaps misrecognize us for Seniors' enemies?" He asked in the most humble tone possible.

The atmosphere turned solemn as the remainder of the caravan members turned nervously at the six men that stalled in their movements. Gulping a mouthful of saliva, they knew that unless the six men wanted them to live, they would definitely die tonight.

The six men clad in black never replied with his inquiry. Instead, they flicked their wrists forwards, sending a volley of needles flying towards the cultivator members of the caravan before their figures disappeared and started their slaughter.

Heads rolled one after another along with anguished screams of the d.a.m.ned, children, women and even livestock were not spared as the muddy plain turned scarlet from the blood that drained down the heads of the dead.

Ruth, Juliet and Natalie huddled around each other. Their faces pale, particularly Natalie who started s.h.i.+vering furiously like a sieve as she tightened her embrace around her daughter, making sure that she couldn't hear nor see what was going on outside the carriage.

Ruth chanted her prayers, her furious mumbles added fuel to the fire that raged within Natalie's heart as she became even more anxious to the point that she eventually hyperventilated from fear.

Soon, the outside world became quiet and the miserable shrieks couldn't be heard anymore as footsteps gradually neared their vicinity.

With their hearts and nerves stretched taut, it became closer, closer until the door of the carriage exploded into pieces along with the consciousness of the two young women who fainted from shock.

Entering the carriage, a man clad in black saw them and said with a smile, "Finally found you, Natalie..."