By the time Lucas arrived at Farah's Butcher Shop, the Roth Family caravan had already arrived in town and had occupied most of the Central Square.
From an inconspicuous corner of the Town Square, Lucas counted a total of 28 wagons and carriages and just over 120 horses. All told, this group consisted of about 150 people, all of whom were at least in the Vein Opening Realm.
On top of that, Lucas could now clearly sense 12 auras in the Core Formation Realm, and 2 which were even more powerful coming from inside the most luxurious looking carriage, obviously belonging to Sea Establishment Practitioners.
Redwood Town had a population of about 3,000 people, and if one counted the surrounding farming, fishing, logging, and hunting villages as well, there were some 7,500 residents of the Newton Barony.
According to his Uncle Charles, Lucas knew that in the countryside, about 2 or 3% of people reached the Vein Opening Realm from the Body Tempering Realm, while about the same ratio could reach the Core Formation Realm from the Vein Opening Realm, though most such Practitioners left for bigger places with more resources where they could further their cultivation.
In other words, there were almost as many Vein Opening Realm Masters in this one convoy as there were in the entire Newton Barony! As for Core Formation Realm Practitioners, Charles was the only one around.
This was an incredible show of force by the Roth Family, one that made Lucas deeply realize the difference between a Baron and a Duke in the Rockwell Kingdom.
Across the square, Lucas spotted the characteristic red hair of his Aunt Sasha, but he also noted that she was just standing there, looking somewhat stiff.
Glancing back towards the luxurious carriage, Lucas soon frowned as he understood that his aunt was being disrespected. She had come out from the Manor to the Central Square to greet these uninvited guests some time ago, yet whoever it was from the Roth Family hadn't even deigned to leave their carriage yet.
No wonder Aunt Sasha has such a bad impression of these people, Lucas thought to himself, though his opinion was probably a bit biased.
Lucas knew there was no place for him in this situation, so he quietly made his way over to the back of the butcher shop before slipping inside.
A few months ago, Lucas would have knocked first before entering Farah's shop, but after doing so much business with the grumpy butcher, and after being beaten up multiple times by her in the name of 'training', Lucas had long abandoned such pedantic etiquette.
As soon as he was inside, Lucas made his way over to the actual butchery, where he found Farah casually dismantling a giant beast as usual.
Before Lucas could say anything, Farah called out casually, "Just find a place to sit down and wait. With any luck, these pests will be gone soon."
Pursing his lips, Lucas noted that there was a sharper edge to Farah's voice today, indicating that she too didn't have a favourable opinion of the Roths. Still, the boy figured this was none of his concern and simply decided to head to the front of the shop, grabbing a broom on his way.
While it would have been perfectly fine for Lucas to just sit back and hide, doing nothing while others worked made him feel… icky, so he decided that the least he could do was clean up the shop a bit.
Sweeping the dust gently, so as not to kick up a mess, Lucas worked his way from the rear of the shop to the main entrance after about 20 minutes, where he proceeded to gather dirt into a pan and dump it outside.
While outside, Lucas also snuck a peak towards the caravan, hoping to see them leaving; but to his disappointment, the escorts seemed to be unloading cargo from their wagons and moving it into the local inns.
Seeing this, the boy frowned deeply as he realized that this group was likely going to be in town for a few days. Their purpose was still unknown at this point, but whatever it was, it seemed it would be a while before they left.
Since that was the case, Lucas knew he couldn't continue hiding at Senior Farah's shop forever and considered making his way home, but then he noticed that several people from the Roth caravan were entering the local shops, including Jerry's bakery, and Kirk's meat shop.
It seemed they were stocking up on supplies.
Taking a closer look, Lucas noted that all the Roth Family guards wore light armour that offered a compromise between flexibility, mobility, and protection. Their weapons also consisted mainly of bows and short spears, better suited for hunting rather than fighting other humans.
Are they planning to enter the Great Western Forest? Lucas wondered.
Considering this possibility, Lucas felt it made sense.
Redwood Town was calm and peaceful, with a low ambient density of World Qi, so there weren't any powerful Wild Beasts or valuable plants to be harvested nearby. However, if one ventured further into the Great Western Forest, things were different.
The Great Western Forest was enormous, much larger than the Rockwell Kingdom in fact, and in its depths, there were all kinds of rare and precious treasures to be found. That is, if one was strong enough to reach and seize them.
There were actually a number of adventurers and foreign hunters who made Redwood Town their base to dive into the Great Western Forest in search of riches, but most of these people were Body Tempering or Vein Opening Realm Practitioners who travelled in small parties, spending 5 to 10 days inside the forest at most.
A group of more than 100 Vein Opening Practitioners, with a dozen Core Formation masters was clearly not aiming to just wander around the outer region of the forest.
What Lucas couldn't figure out was why such a big and powerful group had decided to come here at this moment. If his assumption was correct, and this group of people from the Roth Family was headed for the depths of the Great Western Forest, surely a time earlier in the year when it was warmer and less likely to rain heavily would have been better, right?
That being said, Lucas was unfamiliar with adventuring in general, so perhaps there was some reason behind all of this he was unaware of.
I should ask mom and dad later.
Lost in his own thoughts, it wasn't until Lucas heard some heavy footsteps that he realized there was a group of people coming his way.
Looking up, the boy saw a middle-aged man with a slender build and well-kept mustache walking over while being escorted by 2 guards from the convoy. This middle-aged man had an imposing and aloof air around him, one that bordered on arrogant. One glance was enough to understand that he was someone of authority who was used to being treated with a level of deference and respect.
The fact that he was dressed in expensive looking blue and white robes and was being guarded by two Vein Opening Realm soldiers only reinforced this image.
Stopping in front of the shop, the middle-aged man spoke in a commanding tone, "Boy, call your storekeeper over."
With Lucas holding a broom, standing at the entrance of the shop, it was reasonable to assume he was an employee, so he didn't have a problem being mistaken for a shop-boy. As for going to ask Farah to come out and speak with this man, that also wasn't an issue, so Lucas simply nodded, "Please come inside, Sir. I'll get Shopkeeper Farah."
The middle-aged man didn't even give an acknowledging nod before strutting into the shop, his escorts following after him, not paying Lucas another glance.
Although this man's domineering and dismissive attitude irked Lucas a bit, he was mature enough to not make a fuss and just turned around, heading for the back of the shop.
"Aunt Farah…" Lucas began, but before he could finish, the middle-aged butcher promptly replied, "I know. I'll be out in a moment."
Lucas felt that keeping the man from the Roths waiting would only make the situation tenser, but he soon shrugged his shoulders, not caring if that was the case.
Walking back out to the front of the shop, Lucas relayed Farah's message, and the reaction he got was exactly the one he expected.
From his seat, the middle-aged man raised his brow, clearly displeased, while one of the guards snorted and muttered under his breath, "Damn peasants."
As for the last escort, he just stood there like a statue, like he hadn't heard anything at all.
Lucas felt a bit anxious being stared down by the middle-aged man, but he still held his ground. Fortunately, after a few seconds, the latter simply grunted, "Fine."
Time ticked by agonizingly slowly, and the atmosphere in the shop grew more and more awkward until finally, the seated man seemed to reach the limit of his patience and turned to one of his guards, "You, go back there and bring the shopkeeper out."
The guard, the one who had grumbled earlier, was clearly also annoyed at being made to wait and flashed a malicious grin, standing up and walking towards the back of the shop.
From behind the counter, which he had been pretending to wipe down, Lucas knit his brow and pursed his lips. Clearly, these men thought they could act however they pleased here and not have to show the slightest respect for anyone in Redwood Town.
However, if these Vein Opening Realm men thought they could bully and make an example out of Senior Farah, a genuine Mid-Rank Spirit Initiate, well…
"Something you wanna say, boy?" The guard suddenly snapped, seemingly noticing the strange look on Lucas' face as he passed by.
"Uh," caught of guard, Lucas quickly schooled his expression and tried to make up an excuse, "I was just… thinking, we don't normally allow guests in the back of the shop."
"And if I insist?" The guard said menacingly.
It's your funeral, Lucas thought to himself while keeping a neutral expression and saying in a flat tone, "If that's the case, I can't stop you."
"Hmph," snorting, the guard turned away and kept walking.
Thinking the incident was over, Lucas was about to go back to wiping the counter aimlessly when he suddenly felt a sense of danger coming from behind him.
After breaking through to the Second Step Sea Establishment Realm, Lucas' perception of his surroundings had been greatly enhanced, even when he wasn't actively using his Soul Sense. On top of that, the constant training he had been forced to undergo over the past 9 months had dramatically improved his combat sense.
So, when Lucas felt the incoming attack, he immediately ducked and pivoted to his left. In one fluid motion, the young boy executed a half-turn, dodging the guard's fist which had been aimed at the back of his head while simultaneously grabbing hold of the outstretched arm.
Now acting completely on instinct, Lucas caught his opponent off-guard and used their combined momentum to finish another half-turn and execute a shoulder throw, sending the man who was over twice his size crashing into the shop counter, smashing it to pieces.
The completely unexpected development didn't just stun the 3 foreign men, it also shocked Lucas who simply stood there frozen, his arms outstretched.
The middle-aged man abruptly stood up, his eyes wide with disbelief that one of his guards had actually been so easily dealt with by a mere boy. What was the point of having these escorts if they couldn't even handle a countryside child?
As for the guards, the one still standing had a dumbstruck look on his face, while the one lying in the pile of broken wood just stared up at the ceiling, seemingly not sure what just happened.
Silence reigned for a few seconds before an enraged roar sounded, "Boy! I'll kill you!"
Leaping to his feet, the thrown guard, who despite being a bit dishevelled was basically unharmed, reached for a dagger at his waist when suddenly, a new voice called out, "Draw that weapon and you'll lose that arm."