A Destroyed Town

  After he returned to the mansion's living room, the girls ran towards him. "Are you okay?" Ina asked, unsure of his current state.

  "Yes, don't worry about it. I miss my parents but I still have my siblings and now I have you," he emphasized by kissing Ina on her forehead before doing the same thing to both Era and Miriam.

  The girls blushed, his show of affection could be too much for them to handle. 

  "So, are we going to do 'it' tonight?" Era asked, her body feeling hot from the kiss.

  "Yes, but we going to for one round only," he said, not wanting the girls to tire themselves out while at the same time stopping his siblings and Mashia from being suspicious.

  "Ok dear," she replied, getting a quick kiss on the nose from Ryker.

  The group then returned to the living room, where the girls headed towards the kitchen to cook while the rest decided to do their own things, with Mashia taking the opportunity to play with Ariana.

  When the girls finished, they all ate their fill before calling it a night, at least, they were supposed to. Ryker and his lovers decided to have some intimate moment after separating for almost an entire week.

-x-

  "Yes, that's the spot!"

  "Ahhh, do me harder!"

  "Hyah! No, I'm still sensitive!"

  Mashia covered her ears, trying to not hear her supposed guide having his way with several women. She closed her eyes, trying to forget what she just heard. Unfortunately, it only makes things worse as her imagination decides to run wild.

  "Curse my superior senses. And curse that idiot too! Why do you have to do 'it' now you horny beast!" she grumbled, closing her eyes once more, hoping that sleep wouldn't elude her this time.

-x-

  After a quick breakfast, the group exited the Hidden Ancient Mansion, all fresh and ready to travel, except for one.

  "Mashia, what's wrong? You look like you don't sleep at all. Does the destruction of your clan still haunt you?" Miriam asked concern filling her voice.

  'You are the reason why I can't sleep! Why do you have to be so loud? Aaah! I can still remember everything' "Ah, yes, I still remember it. It's really hard to fall asleep when you can see the destruction," she lied convincingly, hoping they won't pry any further.

  Thankfully, Miriam dropped the subject, leaving her so she could take care of the boys. They decided to switch the guardian of each carriage every day, so she got to spend some time with Ariana, something she needed to cleanse herself.

  The other women, surprisingly, didn't limp from their night session, though it's mostly because Ryker held back for the night. Still, all of them were satisfied, their brief separation made the act of making love more fulfilling.

  With everything set, the group starts their journey for the day. Thankfully, no bandits are stopping them though with two experts at the Genesis Condensing realm, most bandit groups were mere nuisance.

  However, as they traveled through the path, they spotted ruined buildings, most likely battle towers, and outposts of a small town. Feeling something wrong, Ryker told the others to stay close to Mashia, the dragon girl exited her carriage in case of emergency.

  He galloped straight, Terrablitz dashing through the road. As he followed the road, he passed more ruined buildings, though most of them looked like they had been destroyed for quite some time.

  He soon spotted a crumbling wall, several people manning it. Most likely they were bandits. He wondered what he should do before deciding to take a look at the destroyed town first. He ordered his stead to remain hidden while he walked slowly towards the town, using the Shadow Traversing Art to remain undetected. 

  He quickly went to the town hall, before using his divine sense to detect how many bandits were present. After a quick scan, he counted roughly 50 bandits or so, their strength mostly at the Genesis Gathering realms, with 3 at the Genesis Formation realm.

  He began hunting down the weaker bandits, the stronger one might know more about the town and the bandit group they are from. Because of his strength, he cleared the town from bandits in no time, herding the three Genesis Formations while at it.

  By the time he finished the last Genesis Gathering bandit, he quickly went to where the Genesis Formation realm bandits were, appearing right in front of them. The bandits, realizing something wrong try to run away but he easily covers them with his aura and knocks them off.

  He sent a quick message to Mashia, telling her that the problem had been removed, asking her to get the others into the town. After receiving a quick "Yes," he decided to take a quick look at the town.

  From what he could tell, it was most likely destroyed by a human force, most likely the bandits even though it is such an unlikely thing for bandits to do.

  Bandits are considered criminals, though some become one because they don't have a choice. But most of the time, bandits were people who wanted to take the easy way to become rich. However, despite being a lawless bunch and on the other side of the law, they have some rules, or at least guidelines they often keep.

  The most important one is they never destroyed a settlement, whether it was a village or a small town, most of the time they raided the place, taking all valuables while leaving the place mostly intact.

  They did this so they could go raid the place again, having a permanent raid spot would put food on their plates. Some of the more established ones even make a deal with some villages, in return for giving them food, they won't take any other valuables.

  Besides, even if they destroyed the village, taking all the loot and selling the inhabitants to the slave trade, they would face greater trouble than just losing a raid spot. Destroying a village would make nearby forces, whether from the bigger towns or cities label the bandits as a threat, which would make them hunted by guards, bounty hunters, mercenaries, and even adventurers.

Destroying a town is an even greater folly, as it would be noticed quickly. The bandits could attack some remote villages and the nearby towns would likely not notice it in time. A town being destroyed is something on a different scale though and nearby forces would come and destroy the one responsible.

  He goes to the town hall, wanting to see if there is any document regarding the town. Even if there is none, at least he could find something about its name before it became Ruined Town.

  As he walked to one of the rooms, he sensed something underneath the floor. He used his strength to excavate the place. In a short time, he thoroughly excavated the room, and his effort paid off as he found something.

  It looked like a pearl, probably some kind of spatial tool. Before he could check if he was correct, he sensed the presence of his family. He headed out to meet them.

  When he arrived at the entrance, the group had already exited the carriage, clearly not wanting to be stuck in it any longer. 

  "Have you found anything about this town?" Mashia, the second strongest in their group, asked. Her question, while being logical, was not something he could answer.

  "No, I-" "This town was once called Akuraz Town, and was destroyed by a large group of bandits and traitors in the rank of the guards and a town higher up," Era suddenly said.

  "How do you know this?" Ina asked, the other shocked by her cutting Ryker off.

  "It's because my father was the town mayor and I was there when this town was burned to the ground,"