RISE OF EROS

Even though Oliver's presence gave them peace of mind, that didn't mean they relaxed. There was no doubt that they were in a dangerous situation, no matter how much it seemed like they had the advantage.

Since the event at the Cannaris Empire's elven village, Andrew had been training his strength and although his power increases came mainly from the release of his divine seals, that didn't mean he was weak in combat.

He certainly wasn't the most powerful expert in his category or could defeat higher-level experts like the protagonist in many of the novels he had read in his past life, but that didn't change the fact that he could defend himself.

This is understandable since he is not a God candidate with combat proficiency, so it is normal that he does not have many skills in this field, but he made up for it with the strange versatility of his skills.

Although his skills were not focused on combat, that didn't mean they couldn't be used for that. The perfect example is his divine massage that, while designed to give pleasure, relaxation, and even healing, if used properly, could be deadly.

Can you imagine what the pleasure that cannot be satisfied could do? Well, that was something that this ability could do. In fact, Andrew had developed a rather special combination with his abilities.

The only drawback he had was his lack of combat experience. Whenever he had to face an enemy, it was always a very powerful one and he had to ask Fluffy to take over his body and take care of it.

On the other hand, when the enemy was not very powerful, Oliver and the other guardians took care of it, which meant that he never participated in combat. It was for this very reason that he decided to take advantage of this opportunity to gain experience.

With the threat posed by the fallen god who could be revived, Andrew knew that he could not continue to depend on Fluffy for everything, even more so when Fluffy had told him that no matter how powerful he was, he would not be able to defeat a fallen god.

This forced Andrew to fend for himself and although he was not a god focused on combat, there were ways to fight. As they ate, pretending to be unaware of the threat, Andrew said quietly, "Oliver, when we are attacked, focus on the most powerful experts and only defend the girls in case of an eventuality."

Oliver cringed at that because while he knew that Andrew's priority was his family, for Oliver, Andrew was his priority since he is his guardian. Andrew understood his hesitation, but quickly reassured him by saying, "You know I have my hidden card. To be honest, I am the least vulnerable here".

Obviously, Oliver understood what Andrew was trying to say, but he also understood that if he used that card he would have to pay a price, something that was not ideal when they had just started their journey.

Andrew could clearly see his guardian's thoughts just by looking at his face, but he still smiled calmly and said, "Don't worry." While this did not give Oliver any security, he decided to follow his orders.

After the short conversation, the four of them finished eating and continued doing their activities as if nothing had happened. They kept the campfire lit, washed the cooking implements and dishes they used, and even talked about irrelevant topics.

It had been more than two hours since they felt the presence of their stalkers. However, they had also noticed that they were close enough to start an attack, but they still remained hidden.

This confused them, as they did not understand why they were taking so long to make their move, but Oliver, being an expert in military tactics, understood them. Seeing that Andrew, Aki, and Zany did not understand, he decided to clarify things for them.

"They are waiting for us to go to sleep. In fact, I am sure that even when we retire to sleep, they wait for the early hours of the morning when night attacks are more efficient."

His voice was soft and calm. He did not seem upset at all and continued to throw firewood on the campfire, expertly disguising that he had not noticed the enemies.

With this explanation, Andrew and his two wives understood. Now that they knew that, they decided to speed things up and pretended to go to sleep. Since they were traveling by carriage, there was no need to set up a tent, as they could rest inside the carriage.

Andrew, Aki, and Zany entered the carriage pretending to have gone to sleep, leaving Oliver as a guard, but in reality, they were chatting quietly awaiting the attack.

Just as Oliver had suggested, the attackers did not attack, even when they saw Andrew and the others going to sleep. These men knew that Oliver was the bodyguard of Andrew and the two girls, so there would be no guard rotation.

This gave them an advantage, as with only one person in charge of the night watch, it was much more likely that he would get tired at some point in the early morning and then attack.

Obviously, it wasn't hard for an expert to stay up all night, but you would still feel tired, at least if you were a minor expert, but these men had the wrong idea.

They believed that Andrew, Aki, and Zany were just spoiled children with experts under their command. While Andrew's strength is known in the capital city of Dunnas, this was only for those who had the privilege of information.

However, the guys who attacked them did not know this. They only believed that Andrew had connections with the royal family through other means and were unaware of his strength, in fact, that was one of the reasons why they were upset at being rejected when they spoke of cooperation.

In the eyes of these men, Andrew was looking up high, only because he had some connections and they were unaware that they were disturbing a sleeping tiger. The early hours of the morning arrived and then the men began to make their moves.

There were about 20 warriors surrounding them and 5 experts in the shadows. Oliver who noticed their movements immediately stood up and shouted, "It was about time for you to move!".

When they heard his shout, everyone was shocked, as it was obvious that they had been noticed a long time ago, but they still did not panic and came out of their hiding places with swords and spears in hand ready to fulfill their mission.

Some of them even smiled maliciously at seeing that they had been discovered and yet they had not run away. They even fantasized about taking Aki and Zany for themselves before capturing them.

Although they had been ordered to kill Andrew as a life lesson, these guys were already fantasizing about the two beautiful girls who were not part of their orders. What they did not know was that Andrew who watched them from the carriage could see their auras of lust and ill intent.

This angered Andrew who didn't wait for Oliver to make a move and, getting out of the carriage, exploding his aura, and charged at these men. This move surprised everyone, as they didn't expect him to attack, much less that he was that powerful.

These were normal warriors, they weren't experts, so Andrew's aura made them fall to the ground defenseless. Andrew stood in front of them with obvious anger and upon seeing his imposing figure and the pressure exerted by his power, they began to sweat coldly from fear.

Oliver didn't bother to see this scene, as he knew they weren't a threat to Andrew. On the contrary, he focused on the 5 experts who were still hiding in the distance.

These experts were relatively strong. They were a little above Andrew's level, but Oliver surpassed them by a large margin, and upon noticing that they had been discovered, they also turned pale.

They were wearing a special cloak that allowed them to hide, that was why Andrew and the others couldn't notice them, but for Oliver, it was child's play and they understood it very well when they noticed that even with their special cloaks they had been noticed.

Not being stupid, they immediately tried to flee, but Oliver wouldn't allow it and at high speed he chased them. Andrew who hadn't made his move yet looked at the men in front of him kneeling in panic, when until seconds ago they had bad intentions towards his wives and raised his right hand.

Everyone had their hearts in their throats because they couldn't move and they didn't know what Andrew would do, but they didn't have to wait long, because Andrew lowered his hand fiercely and an astonishing pressure hit them.

In an instant at the rate that Andrew lowered his hand, they felt as if a mountain was crushing them and in seconds they fell to the ground dead. All their organs had been crushed by the pressure that Andrew exerted.

Although it was short, they suffered hell before losing their lives. While it was a light punishment for what Andrew wanted to make them suffer, he didn't want to bother with them too much either, so he finished them off quickly.

Aki and Zany got out of the carriage when they saw that Andrew had finished and seconds later, Oliver appeared carrying 4 heads in his left hand and an unconscious old man in his right.

Andrew understood that he had eliminated the threat and had brought a prisoner to extract information. "Stick those heads on a stake as well as the bodies lying there," Andrew said macabrely.

Aki and Zany were surprised, as they had never seen him act so cruelly, but Oliver didn't feel anything and, dropping the old man, went to fulfill his command. Andrew walked towards the unconscious old man and when he was two steps away from him, he activated his sinful illusion.

It had been a long time since he used it and this was the right time to do it. Although this ability was not designed for that, Andrew knew that it could be used as an interrogation method, so he didn't waste time and used it.