章 85: Chapter 81: The Bandits
Bandits? Fars couldn't help but chuckle to himself. He had been pondering where to find some prey tonight. In human territories, magical beasts were quite rare, let alone high-level ones. Ordinary small animals didn't pique Fars's interest at all. Only those newly transformed vampire thralls would resort to hunting livestock when humans were not available. Besides, having already left the Qihar Mountains, Fars was no ascetic; why would he deprive himself of human blood?
Scanning the area within a hundred meters with his mind, Fars wasn't sure if there were any hidden bandits nearby. However, the brazen bandit leader and his dozen or so lackeys were openly blocking the carriage. Those lackeys were nothing to worry about, mostly at levels three or four, while the bandit leader was at level seven. Although they were high-level professionals, the bandit trade didn't offer much promise. It was likely that the leader had fallen into some trouble and gathered a few people to engage in this low-risk robbery.
After a moment of thought, Fars said to Yuna, "Yuna, you go handle this. Aside from the bandit leader being at level seven, the rest are just small fry. Don't kill them all; just drive them off."
Yuna quickly understood Fars's intentions. Once they chased off the bandits, he would undoubtedly go hunting for them later that night.
Lilith, feeling a bit anxious, grabbed Yuna's hand. Yuna patted her hand reassuringly, saying, "I'll be back soon, don't worry. They're just ordinary bandits."
"Wow, look at this pretty little lady! Do you think handing over one woman will satisfy all of us?" the bandit leader shouted, a smirk on his face. His lackeys echoed him, shouting, "Not enough!" They began hurling insults at the people in the carriage, trying to scare them into coming out.
The merchant family, of course, huddled in their carriage, too frightened to emerge. Although they knew they had a powerful sorcerer among their guards, they were just ordinary people and couldn't help but feel fear in the face of danger. Otherwise, why would they have hired guards in the first place?
The response to the bandits came in the form of Yuna's short sword. With her natural agility as a thief and years of sword training, Fars felt confident letting Yuna handle the situation alone. The bandits below posed little threat; only the leader could match Yuna in a few exchanges.
As Fars had anticipated, Yuna quickly targeted the bandit leader. If she could defeat him swiftly, the rest of the lackeys would surely scatter. Though the bandit leader acted tough, he wasn't foolish; he could sense the overwhelming fighting spirit emanating from Yuna, which matched his own. After signaling his lackeys to attack together, he charged at Yuna with his great sword.
The lackeys, realizing their low strength, quickly surrounded the two carriages, hoping to attack the people inside. Fars, having taken on this task, couldn't let these small-time bandits ruin his first mission. He called upon Danis, waking her from her slumber, and instructed her to fly out the window. Fars was confident in Danis's abilities; while she might struggle against high-level professionals alone, her innate pressure would easily handle the lackeys outside.
As Danis appeared, the bandits were puzzled by the strange bird flying out of the carriage. Suddenly, a wave of fear washed over them from their souls. This feeling, though not intense, was sudden enough to leave the thieves momentarily stunned. By the time they regained their composure, Danis had already flitted over several bandits. Without exception, those who crossed her path were instantly frozen, followed by a strange black flame that burrowed into their bodies. The vacant stares from their eyes made it clear—they were dead beyond recovery.
Fars was aware of Danis's abilities, but the others were not. Witnessing this, Lilith's initial admiration for the beautiful creature turned into fear. Yuna was already effortlessly dispatching her opponents, using her speed to leave them in disarray, far from the bravado they had shown earlier. She even took a moment to witness Danis's terrifying prowess; everywhere Danis flew, the same fate awaited her foes—complete freezing.
The remaining bandits, already paralyzed with fear, scrambled to escape. It seemed Danis was enjoying herself; had Fars not been concerned about not having enough for dinner, he might have let her continue. Fortunately, the bandit leader, realizing he had hit a wall, took a sword wound from Yuna and immediately fled into the nearby woods.
Though it was called an escape, it was more accurate to say Yuna had intentionally let him go. From the start, she hadn't intended to kill him, and now that he was finally showing some sense, she was growing weary of the encounter and wanted to end it. She was also wary that Fars might vent his frustration on her if he found the night's prey insufficient, so she had refrained from finishing off the bandit leader who had dared to provoke her.
The situation was resolved quite satisfactorily. The merchant family from the other carriage, seeing the danger had passed, hurriedly rushed out to thank Yuna profusely. Yuna paid them little mind, simply instructing them to continue on their way.
That night, after setting up camp, Fars instructed Yuna to take good care of Lilith before flying back to the area they had passed earlier. Since the bandits had set up an ambush there, their hideout was likely nearby. Moreover, the traces they left behind when fleeing were too obvious; Fars followed the trail of blood left by the bandit leader to locate their lair.
The hideout turned out to be quite sizable, with two level four swordsmen lazily leaning against their long swords, chatting idly at the gate. Fars approached them silently, hoping to overhear something useful. Given the size of the hideout, it could easily accommodate over a hundred bandits, so he needed to be cautious not to fall into a trap.
"Did you hear? The third leader got chased back here by a pretty girl today, and the brothers who went with him suffered heavy losses," one of the guards said, trying to find a topic to pass the time.
"Right? He must have run into someone tough. But in our line of work, just making it back alive is already a blessing. That group probably wandered out of our territory and just had bad luck," the other guard replied.
Fars was here tonight to find some prey and had no interest in listening to their chatter. He figured it was enough to know there were three high-level professionals among them. If even the bandits in a small duchy like Don had level eight fighters, it would truly be a disaster. Easily avoiding the two somewhat diligent guards, Fars slipped quickly into the hideout.
It was still early, and many bandits hadn't gone to sleep yet. In a raucous hall, a group of them was eating and drinking. Their noise was impossible to ignore. After observing carefully, Fars spotted the injured "third leader" from earlier, along with two others who seemed to hold higher positions—likely the big leader and the second leader. With so many people inside, charging in directly was an option, but it would alert all the bandits, creating a hassle. Since he had plenty of time, Fars decided to investigate whether there were any hidden treasures in the hideout. At the very least, he wanted to empty their treasury.
A hideout capable of housing over a hundred people wasn't very large; it consisted of just a few rows of buildings. There were clearly a few lavishly decorated rooms, and Fars pushed the doors open, putting the nearby bandits to sleep with a spell. He had no interest in these weaklings, especially since they weren't young, beautiful women. If he found anything valuable, like gold or jewelry, he wouldn't hesitate to take it, stuffing it into his spatial ring.
However, being a bandit wasn't easy. In what appeared to be a sizable treasury, there was only half a chest of gold coins, with the rest being worthless weapons and armor. Out of consideration for these bandits, Fars only took the chest of gold. After all, once he had his fill of the leaders for dinner tonight, the remaining bandits would have nothing left, making it impossible for them to continue their trade. He didn't want to completely cut off their means of survival.
As Fars reached the last row of buildings, which seemed to be holding captured women, he felt an inexplicable tension. Could there be something here that frightened him? Fars thought to himself. He had felt fear before when encountering the sorcerer Perugino, but this was a different, instinctual kind of fear.
Yet this didn't deter Fars from continuing his investigation. It was natural for bandits to be lecherous; they often captured beautiful girls. Fars thought he might get lucky and find some delectable prey. Upon pushing open the door, he finally understood the source of his unease.
A stronger, more potent scent of divinity emanated from a young man bound tightly before him. Ah, so that's it. It turned out to be a member of the church, the sworn enemy of vampires. However, he didn't seem to be in good shape; he was likely captured by the bandits.
This cell held not only him but also two merchants who had been locked up. They cowered in the corner, probably thinking Fars was just another bandit. Fars had no interest in them; besides, any valuables they might have had were likely long taken by the bandits, so he cast a sleep spell on them as well.
The young man looked battered and bruised, indicating he had suffered quite a bit here. Fars sniffed the unpleasant divine scent and estimated that this guy was a priest of some sort. He couldn't be more than two years older than Lilith, yet he had already achieved this level. If he wasn't killed now, he would surely become a key figure in the church later. Besides, a priest of this caliber should have blood that could rival the sweetness of a young girl's. Just as Fars was preparing to savor his taste, his eyes inadvertently caught a glimpse of a staff adorned with a sun emblem on the young man's clothing, which startled him.
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