[Desert in the Outskirts of Tekoa Town]

Three days has passed since then, the whole group itself had finally arrived at the territory of Mayor Zoabi, asthey would soon reach Tekoa town after a few hours of travel. During this three eventful days, many things had happened such as Asmaveth starting to learn how to control his death mana under the guidance of Azrael, Ester slowly opening up to the Hero's party due to their kind treatment which reminded him of his own family, and the daily sparring training between Sato and Takahashi under the teachings of Zaheer who volunteered to teach them how to improve their skills.

With almost everyone has their own thing to spend the rest of the day, their bond with each other further strengthened, aside from the unchanging fact that Ester was still restrained by the holy Chains that Ban had casted on him.

There are many reasons why he is still restrained, one of the reasons is the fact that they still can't trust him despite forming a bond.

This time about a few hours away from Tekoa town, Takahashi once more asked Sato for a sparring challenge, which is then accepted by the latter under the pretext of improving one's combat skills. Of course in this sparringmatch between them Zaheer was automatically designated as its referee as he can give out pointers towards the both of them regarding their flows during combat.

This has become a daily routine, that the rest of the group had already regarded their sparring match as entertainment. Of course despite still being slight hostile to the group, Ester is somewhat captivated by the fight as he saw improvement from both Takahashi and Sato. Even though they started as if they were both newborn swordsman, the improvement they made daily was quite significant to the point they seemed like geniuses due to how fast they learn and apply the teachings into their combat. A once I'm a lifetime genius per se.

"Alright! Both of you guys know the rules right? You can't use powerful mana attacks, all you can use on this sparring match is your own swordmanship and the sword wave, the only skill that is allowed on this match... got it?"

"Sure so" answered by Sato

"I'm ready!" Said by Takahashi

With both of them responding to him, Zaheer then finally gave the go sign, as Takahashi made the first move and dashed towards Hero Sato.

Upon seeing Takahashi dashing towards him, he then entered his own defensive stance as he gripped his sword and swung it to meet the sword that Takahashi swung. On that first initial contact, a small shockwave shook the field as the sand picked up and was blown away.

But not long after Sato defended himself from the first attack, he then quickly maneuvered his sword to block the consecutive slashes that Takahashi has made using the reverse swing of his sword.

Not giving up at all, Takahashi swung his sword three consecutive times towards Sato, only to get all of them blocked from hitting its target. In that moment when Takahashi failed to land a single blow, Sato quickly felled him back with a small push, followed by a counter attack coming from from his swing.

Naturally Takahashi saw through this, as he quickly blocked the attack, only to get blown away from the force of Sato's swing. Being blown away and crashing unto the sand, Takahashi quickly made a flip, as he got to stay on his ground, followed by a sudden burst of speed as Takahashi planned to attack Sato.

When Sato saw the speed that Takahashi had did, he was quite surprised for a second as he didn't expect him to suddenly upped his speed when fighting him. In response to this, Hero Sato stayed collected as he charged up his sword with mana and made a swing towards Takahashi.

"Sword Wave"

Seeing that attack, Takahashi quickly maneuvered his own speed, as he easily dodged the sword wave coming his way, which kicks up the sand and causing almost zero visibility. Using the sand as a cover for his charge, Takahashi then successfully sneaked behind Sato as he charged up his sword and swung it towards Shun.

"Sword wave"

This time Hero Sato was caught off guard as he got sent flying away and crash unto a dune near them. However despite crashing, there was no time of rest at all, as Takahashi made a huge jump and swung his sword once more. Upon seeing that, Sato quickly dodged to the side followed by a roll due to the sudden attacks.

However no matter how much Dato dodge them, Takahashi qas still quite relentless as he attacked them from beyond the sand and begun attacking h I'm quick succession. Faced with this, Takahashi foyght back as he swung his sword multiple times causing sparks to fly and swords to clash in mid air.

After the 40th clash, hero Sato then quickly dodged the next swing that Takahashi had done, as he charged up his swords mana, followed by a huge swing which blasted him away.

In just one slash, Takahashi then fell unto the sand once more, as he rolled to the ground, and fall on his knees. Using this chance in which he was still confused, Sato then charged forward once more as he thrusted his blade forward, only to be dodged by Takahashi after trusting his instincts to move his head just in time to dodge his attack.

With the fail of that trust attack, Takahashi then smacked the sword that attacked him upwards, as he entered his stance and swung a sword wave in front of him, causing Sato to be blasted away and crash unto the sand dunes.

Been blown back, Takahashi charged to the spot where Sato had crashed landed, as he prepared for an attack, only to be greeted by a sudden ambush that Sato had made if Takahashi ever tried to follow up his attacks. Unfortunately Takahashi's intuition had saved him, causing his attack to miss its mark.

"Tch! That intuition of yours"

In that moment before Takahashi and Sato could clash once more, Zaheer quickly puts to a stop of their spar as he then begun giving out pointers.

"Enough!!!"

Hearing his intimidating tone, both Takahashi and Hero Sato stop dead on their tracks, as they slowly puts down their weapons and looked at Zaheer.

"I gotta admit, both of you did improve so much in just 3 days, with this huge improvement one could even m8stake both of you as geniuses in terms of combat proficiency... however despite your improvement, your flaws are as clear as anyone can see... anyone who has a knack for close quarter combat here knows what both your flaws"

Upon hearing that, both Sato and Takahashi turned to look at the audience as they simply gave out a knowing look and a nod, indicating that Zaheer was right. With that both of them listened back at Zaheer and waited for him to point out their flaws.

"First up Sato! Even though you have the title of a hero which is the greatest honor a warrior could attain, you have too many openings, your stance, placement of your feet, the way you move your body, all of it screams opening... its like your inviting any experienced warriors to attack your openings... you need to practice to keep your guard up no matter what stanceor position you have, remember too much exposure could kill you, don't be complacent"

Having many openings during a sword fight is dangerous because it leaves a person vulnerable to attacks from its opponent. Each opening presents an opportunity for the opponent to strike and potentially injure a peraon. It's crucial to maintain a defensive stance and minimize openings to protect oneself during combat. To reduce one's vulnerabilities in combat, working on maintaining a strong defensive stance, keep your guard up is a must, and constantly assess and adjust your position to minimize exposing yourself to attacks. Additionally, training to move fluidly and anticipate your opponent's moves to better protect yourself and react effectively.

By practicing this, eliminating openings could potentially make one stronger in combat alone.

After saying that to Sato, Zaheer then turned towards Takahashi as he said.

"As for you, having sharp instincts is good in combat, however it is not sharp enough to directly observe your surroundings without looking... you need to practice your instincts even more, sometimes during a combat our own senses might betray us due to the intervention of enemies, to prevent this, one has to practice his senses to feel the danger around one's self and further improve one's combat capability"

Instincts are innate, automatic behaviors and reactions that organisms, including humans, possess as a result of evolution. They are natural responses to stimuli, often occurring without conscious thought, and are shaped by genetics and past experiences. In combat, instincts help individuals react quickly and effectively to threats, enhancing their survival chances.

Instincts play a crucial role in combat as they allow fighters to react quickly and adapt to rapidly changing situations. Instincts help in sensing danger, anticipating opponents' moves, and making split-second decisions, often bypassing conscious thought processes. Training enhances these instincts, refining them to become more precise and effective in combat scenarios.

With that advices given out, the spr between Hero Sato and Takahashi came to an end. Once that ended, the whole group moved once more as they finally reached the forest in about 4 hour which is right in between of Tekoa town. The moment they reached this place, Ester is somewhat felt nostalgic as its been days since he returned to his hometown. On the other hand Azrael, Jophiel,  and Asmaveth felt sick just from the strong smell of death lingering in the air.

Alongside it the person who traveled with them with its camel then explained the presence of this trees and describe it as one of the oasis of the desert here.

Oasis was supposed to be something akin to paradise, however the stench of death slowly gets unbereable as none of the guys who didnt sense that horrifying aura notice the lingering death in the air.

"I don't like this place" muttered by Asmaveth as horrible memories kept popping out of his head.

Nevertheless despite this stench, the rest of them only care for one thing and that is to reach Tekoa town.

*********
[Tekoa town]

Meanwhile during the time when the sun was about to set, Ziv returned home from her work in order to spend time with her daughter Talia, but the moment she got home, she realized that her daughter was nowhere to be seen and soon heard that her daughter was brought to the Mayor's home by some guards.

Upon hearing that Ziv's expression sunked as she heard that piece of information. After all ever since the news of her husband Ester dying on the field, Mayor Zoabi became excessive with his approach due to being captivated by her beauty. Unfortunately she was not interested on him nor do she plan to cheat on her deceased husband. Never did she expect that Mayor Zoabi would involve her daughter in this in order to just make her come to his home.

With no choice at all, in order to retrieve Talia from Mayor Zoabi, she has no choice but to rush at his home. Surprisingly the moment she arrived, no guards had stopped her as she soon entered the room where Mayor Zoabi is entertaining her daughter Talia under the guard of Jabarin.

The moment Ziv arrived in the room, Talia happily dived into her embrace as she called out.

"Mom! Mayor Zoabi is so kind, he actually played with me... look he even gave me a toy dolly made out of sack"

Seeing her daughter safe, Ziv simply smiled at her as she carcasses her head, before she smiled and put her behind her.

"This is enough isn't it? You only need to get my attention, there is no need to involve my child"

"Your right! However it is your fault why it has reached this point, you avoided me for three days, I tried to woo you for three days and invited you to my place, however you didn't show up and instead even rejected my sincere offer"

"Well I'm here now! What do you want?"

"What I want? What I want? I want you"

"What?"

"You heard me, I like you, I'm attracted to you, I want you to be mine"

"I have a husband mayor"

"HAD and a deceased one at that... your beautiful Ziv, it's a shame that your husband died, but I know you won't be able to to give your daughter a good life all on your own, you need a support... and support is what I'm about to give you, be my woman, then I'll give you all the riches you desire"

"... I won't, I'm Ester's wife and will always be his wife... I don't care how many riches you give me, but ill only offer my body to Ester"

"Hmm... wrong answer, I wasn't asking Ziv, it was a command... you got to choices here, submit to me, or both you and your daughter's life will be ruined right this moment"

"What do you mean?"

"Not only will I destroy your reputation, I will also make sure both you and your daughter will suffer, while you will be my personal sex slave, your daughter on the otherhand might become a plaything for my boys"

"You.... you sick bastard! She's six years old"

"Not my problem... but if you choose to be my woman, I'll promise that no harm will befa your daughter"

"You.... you monster, do you hear yourself?"

"You got three seconds to answer, if you don't answer me, I'll just choose the worst option" said by Mayor Zoabi as his men blocked the exit and pulled out their sword which scared her daughter Talia

"My body only belongs to my husband, how dare you ask of this from me? And how dare you involve my daughter"

"3"

"Don't you even care about your reputation? My husband looked up to you"

"2"

"Mommy!!!!"

"Leave her out of this! Don't you dare do anything to my daughter!!!"

"On-"

"Mommy!"

"Alright!!! I'll accept!!!"

Hearing the answer from Ziv, due ti the pressure of the armed men around them, Ziv tearfully hugged her duaghter as she said.

"I'll be your woman, just please... leave my daughter out of this, don't hurt her"

Hearing that kind of answer, Mayor Zoabi clapped his hands as he said

"Well isnt that great? You get to love a good life with your daughter from now on, while I get what I want from you... I'm a man of my word... take the child out and get out of here, all of you"

Under his command the guards took Talia by the hand, causing her to call out to her mother. But before Ziv could reach out her hand, Mayor Zoabi grabbed her reached out hand as he said.

"Don't worry about her, she will be safe as long as you follow my orders"

"... if something happens to her, I assure you I'll curse you even in death"

"I'm a man of my word"

"What do you want me to do?"

The moment Ziv asked this question, Mayor Zoabi pressed himself on her as he grabbed her waist and begun touching her chest.

"Its simple! Strip for me"

From that moment on unknown to Ester who is currently with Asagi's group, his house was tainted by a man's lust and greed, as misfortune befall on his family