Merkin's mouth was hanging open when he saw Zaos finishing up the first group of thieves. It happened so fast that he couldn't believe that a thirteen years old boy did that all by himself. Not to mention the things he did, firing five spells at the same time, using wing magic at his legs to suddenly increase his speed, and then cutting the enemies in half without a single sign of hesitation… Merkin couldn't see the boy in front of him like a person anymore… he was a monster.
The first group of thieves reacted in the same way. They were completely paralyzed by the attacks. They thought a carriage being guarded by a single soldier would be something easy to attack, and now they were imagining themselves being cut down by a monster.