Transmigrated as a Ghost

"Everyone certainly was friendly. Honestly, I'm not sure if I've ever received such a warm welcome before." Lilia said, once they had finished making the rounds around the caravan.

"It only makes sense. We are the ones that they are going to be counting on to keep them safe. Without us, they would almost certainly lose many of their numbers along the way. Their so-called guards are all extremely weak." Roxene said in reply.

And while her words may have been harsh, they were not entirely untrue. Without their sudden arrival the caravan would have been sorely lacking in powerful combatants. The strongest guard that the caravan had outside the members of Marcus' party was only a level thirty silver rank adventurer.

Not long after Marcus and company finished getting acquainted with most of the caravan leaders and guards, Louis announced that they would be moving out.

Immediately everyone hastily packed up and prepared their vehicles to set out.

As everyone else got ready, Louis approached Marcus' party and directed them to three carriages that were noticeably higher quality than most of the vehicles around them.

"I'm sorry that we don't have anything better than these to offer, but I can assure you that they are among the best that my shop owns. Normally I would not even bring them out of the city, but once Vivi informed me that we would be having mithril rank adventurers joining us, I made sure to get them outfitted immediately."

"Thanks, your consideration is appreciated. But shouldn't we spread out among the caravan to keep watch? We're not here as simple passengers but were hired as guards. Won't everyone think we are slacking off if we just hole up in carriages the entire time?" Marcus said, his tone conveying a hint of concern.

"Perish the thought. Everyone knows just how powerful mithril rank adventurers such as yourselves are. Even if something does come up, you'll still be capable of springing into action no matter if you are resting inside a carriage."

Louis was obviously doing his absolute best to cater to Marcus and his companions. Just having them around was more than enough to bolster the confidence of the entire caravan.

"You may be right about that, but I think we will take shifts guarding the caravan and keeping watch as normal. Frankly we would be bored out of our minds just sitting in carriages the entire time." Marcus responded. The whole reason they were traveling with the caravan in the first place was for to kill time.

They could easily arrive in Armadura in a single day if they wanted to, but then they would just be stuck waiting around the city.

"Of course, you are free to do as you wish. Though, I am sure it will serve as a comfort for everyone to see you all so dedicated in your role." Louis said, laying his praise on thick.

After louis left to board his own carriage, Marcus and his companions had a quick strategy meeting to figure out how they would split themselves to guard the caravan.

"Okay, we will have to at the front, two at the upper middle, two at the lower middle, and two at the back at all times. That will leave three to be resting in the carriages. Does anyone have any objections?" Marcus said.

Everyone agreed to this plan as it would allow them to keep watch over the entire caravan and give them enough time to rest when they wanted.

The eleven of them then decided on the first shift and at what intervals they would switch out.

"Looks like we are starting to move. Everyone go ahead and take up your positions."

Along with Mrazivý, Marcus headed towards the front of the caravan for their first watch.

When they arrived, they found Manuel mounted on a horse next to Louis' carriage which was leading the entire procession.

"Do you mind if we walk next to you? The two of us will be guarding the front for today."

"If that is what you want, then I would be more than happy to have your company. But are you going to be okay walking the entire time? I am sure that I could find some horses for you both to ride." Manuel said, a look of concern on his face.

"No, that won't be necessary. We can keep up this pace pretty much indefinitely. I'm pretty sure we are faster than any of the horses here anyway." Mrazivý replied. Right now, they were only moving at a fast, walking pace. For individuals over level seventy, this would never tire them out.

"I see. You are mithril ranked adventurers after all. Since you're both over level fifty, I bet you could easily keep up with the horses even if we went at full speed."

"Yeah, I would say that would be easy enough. But enough about us, how about you tell us a bit more about the stores that are traveling with us. We only briefly introduced ourselves and still don't know much about everyone in the caravan." Mrazivý said, fishing for some information.

Luckily Manuel was more than happy to tell them whatever they wanted to know, and they continued with their casual conversation until reaching the north gate.

It took a while for the more than five hundred vehicles to exit the city, but once they did the caravan set out on the wide-open road towards the Fortress City Armadura.

'Wow, that was quick. They didn't even wait until the city's walls were out of view.' Marcus thought, sensing three individuals in front of the caravan and off to the side.

From their location off the road and their obvious attempt to stay hidden, he was pretty certain that these people were likely scouts for some group that planned on robbing the caravan.

Only he and Mrazivý had noticed them, and it was pretty clear that they were skilled at being stealthy. Without their enhanced senses from being high level it would be impossible to notice the scouts scoping out the caravan.

"I can't be certain from this distance, but I think they are likely all between levels twenty and thirty. This is definitely not their first time doing something like this. They're likely pretty experienced scouts." Marcus said, focusing his life sense skill towards the three individuals.

"Should we be proactive and get rid of them now?" Mrazivý asked.

"No, that would be a bit rash. We don't really know what their intentions are yet. Let's just leave them alone for now. And if they are as we expect, scouts for a group of brigands intend on attacking this caravan, we need only repel them when the time comes."

Shrugging her shoulders, Mrazivý went along with what Marcus wanted to do. Whoever these watchers worked for would be far less likely to try something if their scouts did not report back. She had pushed to join this caravan because she thought it might be fun. However, if the entire journey was peaceful, that would be boring.

Honestly, she was hoping that they would be frequently attacked by monsters, beasts, and thieves to keep things interesting.