Chapter 46: Chapter 36: Bandit Attack (Part II)

Echoes of Fire and Shadows

Chapter 36: Bandit Attack (Part II)

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(Warning: There are a few mentions of rape and other crimes in this chapter!)

-----Rexon's POV-----

"How…? How is this happening…?" I mumbled.

I couldn't believe what was currently happening in front of me… I couldn't understand how it had come to this…

"Kid, how are things on your side?" A tall and muscular man shouted.

"I'm almost done cleaning up." A little kid answered with a nonchalant tone. His reply was followed by several screams of pain and terror…

Why…? Why is this happening!? It was supposed to be an easy job! Why were we, the Band of the Warhawk, decimated like this!?

The carnage in front of me made absolutely no sense in my head…

I couldn't believe that our infamous band of bandits was losing against a common-looking man and a creepy child when we have fought against countless groups of knights and have come victorious from those battles… It didn't make any sense.

How could our band lose so spectacularly against these two when the knights were even struggling to catch us and fight against us?

Our band that has kidnapped dozens upon dozens of people and sold them as slaves, the band that has stolen hundreds of gold coins worth of valuable objects, the band that makes every man, woman, and child faint thanks to their fear as soon as they hear the name of our band, the group of bandits that even Gabriel Laurent, the King of the Underworld, has recognized as useful and competent, a group filled with people who are all above Level 25 and have been in this business for years…

Why were they not afraid of us when most people are usually terrified beyond belief after being surrounded by a hundred bandits? Why didn't they surrender after I revealed our intentions like everyone else did? How could they take the magic away from our mages and render them useless? How could they defeat all of us so quickly? How could they easily humiliate us without putting much effort?

No matter how many times I asked myself those questions, the answer I reached was always the same…

They are monsters. We were extremely unlucky and attacked someone we shouldn't have attacked…

There was simply no other explanation that could make sense to me…

As I looked through the field of stone pillars, that explanation started to make more and more sense to me.

To my left, all of those stone pillars were covered in blood. It was almost like it had rained blood and covered the area in crimson… There he stood, the tall muscular man who had finished off a large number of my subordinates…

His knuckles and the sword on his hand were all drenched in blood while his clothes were impeccable. Not a single drop of blood had tainted those clothes despite the carnage around the man…

To my right, I could see many of my companions lying on the ground unconscious and badly beaten up. Rayna and Rakon, my second and third in command were also included there.

Everyone on that side was defeated in a heartbeat… They had been all knocked out and then restrained with Earth Magic… Their hands, feet, and even mouths were bound by shackles that the creepy child had made with his magic…

How could such a small kid take care of that many people in so little time without killing them…?

It had all happened so quickly that I was left stunned and even doubting my sanity… I couldn't even join the fight… I couldn't move from the shock… I could only bark orders at them while witnessing what was happening around me in disbelief…

"It is kinda strange that you didn't come to help your companions, Mr. Knight. It seems like you're not that good of a leader." The tall muscular man said to me as he walked over the corpses of my companions. "Though I must admit that I should have held back a little to make the battle last a little longer, but then again, you really pissed me off beyond belief." He said while awkwardly scratching the back of his neck.

"..." I couldn't help but remain silent.

My entire body was screaming at me to escape… However, I knew that would be impossible at this point… The horses had all run away from here and I was sure that the creepy kid would catch up to me in no time if I tried to run on foot…

"I'm done." The kid suddenly appeared on the right side of the muscular man. His sudden appearance was followed by a powerful gust of wind…

The kid immediately took a stance as soon as he saw me. He was ready to attack me as soon as I made a move.

Just like his father, his clothes were impeccable… The only red thing on his outfit was a long scarf wrapped around his neck. There wasn't any blood on his sword either… He hadn't killed anyone…

"Good job, kiddo." The man then started to ruffle the kid's hair. "I see that you didn't kill anyone from your side. I'm relieved that you didn't… Your mother would have probably shoved a sword up my butt if she found out I had let you become a killer at such a young age." The man said with relief to his child.

"Too much information, Dad… Sigh… I  can't say that I didn't consider killing them at first, but since the woman from before said that they were running away from the knights, I decided to knock them out instead. Though… I think I might also have been holding back unconsciously…" The kid replied with a serious expression. "In any case, She has just confirmed that the knights should arrive any second now, so I guess it was a good decision... Also, please stop ruffling my hair with your bloody hands, dad!" The boy looked at his father with annoyance.

She? Who is he talking about, there's no one else here… Is he crazy? Ah! Maybe he can use telepathy like Rayna? That would make sense… Maybe he was talking to someone from their camp?

No… That doesn't matter right now… He just said it, the knights are about to reach this place…

Hmm…

Right now, my options are very limited… 

I can either die to these two now while trying to escape or surrender and be captured with my surviving companions so we can all be publicly executed by the knights at a later date.

Neither option is appealing for me to take… Seriously… What a shitty situation…

"Oh! Sorry about that! Hehehe…" The muscular man laughed awkwardly after he stopped ruffling the kid's hair. "So? What are you going to do now, Mr. Knight? Your friends were all defeated." The man asked me in a polite tone.

Tsk… What can I do to at least escape on my own? I feel slightly bad about Rayna, Rakon, and the others, but I ain't gonna risk my own neck trying to save them, especially against these monsters…

It is pitiful, but that's how things are in this line of work. I hope they don't resent me from the afterlife, but as long as I live, the Band of the Warhawk lives. It is as simple as that.

"What? You think that just because you took care of a bunch of weaklings you can win against me?" I held my spear tightly with both of my hands and tried to make a bluff. "You'll have a bad time if you underestimate me. I am still a Level 32 Warrior." I said as I infused my mana into my spear, making it spit a small wave of flames.

While I didn't lie about my Level or my Job, I knew that I couldn't possibly stand a chance against the two of them. In this situation, I could only bluff until I managed to find a way to turn the tables on them…

"Is that so? A guy who's only a Level 32 with a basic Job? Man, not gonna lie, you looked tougher before revealing that…" The muscular man seemed disappointed.

As I thought… The man must have really high level… Because of my level, most people and the knights take me seriously despite my basic job, but this guy is disappointed… This situation is only becoming even worse and worse than before…

"Just surrender now and save us the trouble. Sigh…" The muscular man let out a heavy sigh.

Fighting the muscular man is obviously not an option… Tsk! I need to find a way to escape before I run out of time!

"You're actually underestimating me!? I have killed hundreds with this spear! Don't mock me!" I yelled at the man while holding my spear tightly.

"Look pal, this kid here is Jobless and only a Level 20 and he could still beat you up." The muscular man said. "So why don't you just surrender, save yourself the trouble of getting your arms broken, and maybe die with some dignity when we hand you over to the knights?" The man immediately sheathed his sword and crossed his arm.

Just as I thought, this guy doesn't consider me a threat at all…

However, I just heard something that might save me from my current predicament…

"Is that so? If he's so strong, bring it on then! I'm not the one to fall without a fight!" I quickly changed my focus from the muscular man to the creepy kid and pointed my spear at him, challenging him.

I couldn't help but grin internally as I formulated my plan in my head.

An opportunity to escape had presented itself, but it was a dangerous gamble.

The creepy child is fast and can use a wide variety of magic from at least four of the six primordial elements. Judging by his level, physique, and the fact that he doesn't have a job yet means that he should not be able to use [Fighting Spirit]. 

If my hypothesis is correct, then I could pretty easily take advantage of that since I CAN use [Fighting Spirit]. I can match his speed and quickly overwhelm him with the stat boosts that I can gain from using [Fighting Spirit] and [Elemental Haki], then I will take him as my hostage so I can negotiate with the muscular man my way out of this situation.

Hehe! The Gods must really want Rexon of the Blazing Spear to continue living since they provided me with this wonderful opportunity!

"For a bandit, you are pretty stubborn… I don't know if I should consider this admirable or plainly stupid." The man said with an exasperated look on his face. "Do you want to handle this or should I?" He asked his kid, threatening to ruin my plans…

(No! Stay out of this, motherfucker!) I cursed him out in my mind.

"I'll take care of him. The Knights should be delighted if we capture their leader as well." The boy said to his father as he took a few steps forward.

"Aye. I guess we could also get their rewards while we are at it. A little bit of money never hurts." The muscular man nodded.

(Yes! That's it! Keep showing me that overconfidence! It will be easier to catch him off guard that way!) I was overjoyed that the gods kept smiling at me.

"Though before we start, I have a few questions for you." The creepy child lowered his sword and looked at me with a blank expression.

I guess I can indulge him while waiting for the opportunity to strike.

"Go ahead." I replied while pointing my spear at him.

"Does the name of Angelica Lalanaes ring a bell?" He said without changing his facial expression.

Hmm? Where have I heard that name before…?

"No clue." I said nonchalantly while watching the boy's every move. I couldn't afford to lose sight of him.

"No! Stop it! I'll pay! My family will pay for anything you ask for, so please stop! No! Don't touch me!" The boy suddenly tried to speak with a feminine voice. "Does that name ring a bell now? Do you remember how she desperately pleaded moments before you and your goons raped her and then left her to suffer a fate worse than death at the hands of a tribe of goblins?" The boy's eyes had lost their light. He was looking at me very intently. He looked creepier than before.

Oh! Good ol' Lalana! Now I remember! That bitch was so fucking hot! Hehe! I remember that her pleading voice and her cries for help made cum so hard! It was definitely one of the best fucks I ever had!

Though, I never imagined that I would come across someone that knew her…

But isn't this just perfect? Isn't he just allowing me to piss him off and make himself easier to capture?

Hehehe! My luck is changing so quickly! The gods definitely have a great plan in store for me!

"Now that you mention it, I do remember someone with that name…" I said nonchalantly. "What about her? Are you related to her or something? Oh! Could it be that someone saved her from the goblins! That's so good to know! Can you tell me where she is now so I can rape her again? I could maybe give her my congratulations for becoming a mother of litters and litters of those little cute goblins!" An evil grin appeared on my face as I did my best to piss off the creepy child.

"No. I have never met that young woman in my life and I never will." The kid said with a look of emptiness on his face. "She was put out of her misery by a party of adventurers who exterminated that tribe of goblins." The kid explained.

Ah, so they weren't related… There goes my plan to piss him off… Wait, if he hasn't met her then why does he bring her up now?

"As I thought… Your companions are irredeemable trash, but you… You're worse than them." The boy said angrily while clenching his teeth. I was able to notice that his entire body was trembling with indignation.

Oh! So my plan worked even though they weren't related? Man, gotta love these goody-two-shoes idiots! They are so easy to piss off!

"Hahaha! I'll take that as a compliment! I'm the boss, you see? If I wasn't worse than my subordinates, I wouldn't have any right to lead them!" I replied with a smirk on my face.

"..."

"..."

The whole place was silent, but both the muscular man and his child were looking at me with disdain. The child was trembling even more than before... He was actually enraged.

I couldn't erase the smirk I had on my face. It was finally time to act.

Without wasting a single moment, I gathered my mana and focused. As I unleashed my [Fighting Spirit], I could feel my muscles twitching uncontrollably for a second. That uncomfortable sensation was quickly followed by a feeling of overwhelming power. My body was quickly engulfed by a red aura, almost the same color as the flames of my spear.

However, before I could even prepare myself to thrust my spear, I found myself on the receiving end of an enemy attack.

"Ugh..!?" I groaned as I was barely able to block the enemy's sword with the shaft of my spear. The sword was clearly aiming at my neck.

The boy had jumped to attack me and had reached me in an instant…

"You know? I think I can give my all against you." The kid said with a serious tone as he was engulfed in a silvery aura while trying to push his sword against me…

His eyes were filled with fury and his body was no longer trembling like before. He looked serious and calm.

Oh! Fuck all kinds of ducks! He can also use [Fighting Spirit]!? How is it even possible!? I thought one needed years of experience and a Job to be able to learn how to use it!

Why the fuck is this happening to me!? I should have been able to easily defeat the Jobless child who is ten levels below me! But now he comes out with this bullshit!?

Seriously, who the hell are these two!? How will I escape now!?

"Argh!" My thoughts were immediately interrupted as I barely dodged a kick directed to my stomach.

"What about Ginny Margos? Does that name ring a bell? The one that you and your buddies threw off a cliff after having your way with her?" The boy asked as he slashed vertically while aiming at my fingers.

His attack had missed by mere millimeters… Not only that, his attacks were the heaviest I had ever received…

His attacks were so heavy that I was literally being pushed back by him…

"What can you tell me about a woman called Olenna!? You know, the one innkeeper that you violated in front of her children! The ones that you later sold to slavery after stabbing their mother!?" I could feel the increasing anger in his voice, yet he was keeping that anger in check. His attacks were getting sharper, stronger, faster…

"You little…!" I cursed out the creepy child as he forced me to focus on the defense.

His attacks were endless… He swung his sword at unbelievable speeds… As soon as an attack had been blocked, it was immediately followed by another fiercer and stronger attack…

I was sure that I wouldn't be able to keep this up for long…

"Have you heard of Therese Garmund? No? The one that your entire gang took turns to rape while she was tied up and hanging from a wall. The one that you later marked with a branding iron as yours as if she was cattle? The one that later left to die out of hunger in your hideout!?" The boy shouted as he slashed his sword at me at near blinding speeds.

"Shut the fuck up!!!" I screamed at the top of my lungs as I parried his attacks and tried to kick him in the face.

The boy immediately retreated the moment he saw my boot approaching his face. He had jumped back and landed a few meters away from me.

"I don't know why you know about all that stuff and I don't care! So what if I raped them? So what if I killed them? So what if I sold those children to slavery! I don't fucking care! I did it because I could and because I was stronger than them! That's how things are in life! You can take whatever you want and do whatever you please as long as you're strong!" I screamed at the child with anger as I pointed my spear at him.

I immediately injected as much of my mana as I could into my spear. The crimson light that usually came from the spear became stronger than ever before. Almost instantly, countless small fireballs were shot from the tip of my spear toward the creepy boy.

The moment he saw the fireballs, he started running and deflecting them with his sword with ease. Not a single one of my attacks could reach him.

I was beyond furious… My plans to escape were ruined. The boy was actually just as strong if not stronger than me…

Even though I was so pissed off, I was feeling the urge to laugh thanks to the absurdity of the situation. The Band of the Warhawk and Rexon of the Blazing Spear… All single-handedly defeated by a mere child…

Everything was a fucking tasteless joke… I could only think that the gods must have a pretty sick sense of humor… Offering a seemingly good plan to escape, and then make it blow up in my face… They can be really cruel, huh…

"Die! Die! Die! Go to meet all my victims, you creepy brat! Go tell them that they can wait a few more decades before I go there to give them another quick fuck!" I shouted while my spear continued to shoot barrage after barrage of small fireballs while it absorbed my mana.

It was a useless effort. I already knew I was fucked. His abnormal strength made it pretty clear to me that he would be impossible to capture… Even if I managed to injure him, I knew that his father would jump in to finish me off.

What a tasteless joke…

But even if this was a tasteless joke and I knew I was fucked, I didn't want to die. I didn't want to be executed by the knights and I didn't want to pay for my crimes…

I want to live dammit! I want to keep pillaging villages, destroying things, setting entire towns ablaze, and raping all of those stuck-up noble bitches!

I refuse to die like a dog! I will fight to my very last breath! And even when I die, I will come back to haunt them in their nightmares!

I'm gonna take down that creepy kid and that muscular bastard, even if it is the last thing I'll do! Those sons of a bitch are going down with me!

(Boss! I'm sorry!) I heard a female voice in my head.

(Oh! Rayna! You're awake!) I said with relief while I kept shooting fireballs at the brat.

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I was immensely relieved after hearing Rayna's voice… There was actually hope for us to survive now thanks to her magic. Because of her telepathy, we could also coordinate a new strategy without the two bastards knowing.

I could barely contain my excitement~.

(Yes! That monster really did a number on us… I'm still more or less restrained but I managed to free one of my hands! I also got my magic back, so I can get back at that monstrous child!) Rayna spoke with determination. 

(Rayna, quick! Tell me if you can see the child!) I said to her with an impatient tone. (We are doing THAT as soon as you get him in your sights! Shoot everything you have!) I gave her my orders.

(I can see him clearly from where I am! You give the signal and we'll attack together!) Just like me, Rayna was desperate to get some payback.

The moment I heard that she could see the little brat, I stopped shooting the small fireballs. As soon as I stopped, the creepy child stopped moving and just stared at me while taking a stance. He was completely unaware that he was about to get obliterated.

"I wonder what you'll do about this!?" I said with a maniacal smile as I started to channel my [Fighting Spirit] into my spear and only to then reinforce it with [Elemental Haki: Fire] to increase my firepower.

(Do it now, Rayna!) I gave her the signal.

(Understood! That monster will regret ever being born!) Rayna said with anger and excitement.

I once again pointed my spear at the child and fired an enormous fireball, which was almost the size of a house… The gigantic fireball was just as quick as the smaller ones I had shot before giving the child little to no time to dodge.

Little did he know that even if he tried to dodge, he was about to be hit by another fireball of the same size from behind.

It was our special attack, [Mega Flare]. An attack that had taken by surprise and has killed many of those arrogant knights!

With that, I was convinced of my victory. The boy was absolutely done for!

"What do you think of that, you bastard!? What are you gonna do now!? I'm going to pay a visit to your mother after your corpse is nothing but ashes!" I said as a malicious and lunatic smile appeared on my face.

As I watched the two gigantic fireballs that were quickly approaching the boy while he stood there stunned, I couldn't help myself and immediately started cackling maniacally.

I was going to live after all. We would be able to escape, I thought.

However, as I said before, the gods have a sick sense of humor… I was about to learn that my victory was nothing more than a cheap illusion…

Both fireballs immediately collided with the boy, provoking a huge explosion that sent a powerful shockwave all across the area. A huge cloud of smoke rose into the air while I watched the scene with the delight.

"Hahahahaha!!! How do you like that you creepy brat!? What happened with all the bravado and the bullshit you were spouting earlier!?" I mocked the child, who I was convinced was now nothing but a pile of charred bones.

I immediately looked at the muscular man, thinking I would be able to see the despair on his face as he had just seen his child perish, but I only saw him looking at me with a blank look on his face and his arms crossed, completely unconcerned and unaffected by what had just happened.

The look on his face immediately sent shivers down my spine…

"That's all you got? If it is then, quite frankly, I'm not impressed in the slightest." I heard a familiar annoying and childish voice.

I was the one left stunned instead… 

There he stood, the child I thought I had reduced to ashes… His body was still engulfed by his silver aura from his [Fighting Spirit] and on top of that, he was surrounded by a large torrent of water which came from several [Waterballs] that were floating behind him. There was a magic circle drawn beneath his feet and a rune both shining intensely with an intense blue light since they were filled to the brim with mana... He was completely unharmed… The only thing our attack had achieved was to create some steam after hitting the torrent of water.

"H-H-How…?" I looked at him wide-eyed. It was the first time someone had blocked that attack.

(N-N-No way!? He blocked that!?) Rayna seemed as baffled as I was.

There had been people who had blocked my attack and then proceeded to die after being hit in the back by Rayna's fireball… This was the first time that someone had blocked both…

Hahaha… I know I say this a lot but seriously, what a tasteless joke… The Gods really do have a sick sense of humor…

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-----Julius' POV-----

I stood a few meters away from Rexon, the leader of the bandits. He and Rayna, who had managed to break free from one of her restraints, had both attacked me at the same time. 

Their attack was one similar to the one I had used against Auntie several weeks ago during our training session. They wanted me to focus on one of those attacks and catch me by surprise with the other attack from my blind spot.

However, they didn't take into account a couple of things. My [Water Aegis], the fact that I could sense the mana they were gathering before launching their attacks, and the fact that Lia could tap into their telepathic conversation.

Though, their attack wasn't that strong either… Rayna's fireball was stronger and more refined than that of Rexon. It made sense since Rayna was an actual mage while Rexon was only using an enchanted spear. I can understand why it would be a dangerous attack if they managed to catch someone off guard, but when you know it is coming, it is super easy to block.

(Julius… Are you sure you want to keep hearing about the things he did…?) Lia asked with a voice filled with pain and rage.

(No… It won't be necessary anymore… I'm sorry I made you tell me all of those things.) I apologized to her before setting my gaze back on the man responsible for this conversation.

Rexon was scum… Worse than scum… His band of criminals was bad, but this man had a special place in hell reserved for him.

For fear of holding back against him, I asked Lia about the worst things Rexon had done. I wanted to make sure that I wouldn't hesitate to kill him in case things went south…

Needless to say, I am enraged… Just imagining the things he did to those people and the things he would do to the girls and my mom make my blood boil…

This world would be truly a better place without him in it. It was time to end this…

I quickly took a stance as I kept several [Waterballs] floating behind my back just in case Rayna decided to attack again.

"Are you still surprised that I survived? Honestly, I've had worse." I said to Rexon while he looked at me wide-eyed. "Now then…" I said before rushing at him while using a combination of [Fighting Spirit] and wind magic.

In mere seconds, I was able to close the distance between us and slash at him from below.

Even in his shock, he was still able to block my attack with the shaft of his spear.

"Tsk! Why won't you die, you little rat!?" Rexon was enraged. He quickly used all of his strength to push me back, which he barely managed to do. "Whatever! I'll kill you myself the old-fashioned way!" He said as he aimed to thrust his spear into my heart.

Time slowed down for me at that moment… I could hear the sound of my heartbeat clearly as I saw the tip of Rexon's spear approach me intending to take my life…

I could say with confidence that it was something that would never happen. His spear was slow, painfully slow… So much so that it was exasperating…

With a sidestep to the left, I was able to dodge his spear the moment it was about to connect. At that moment, several tendrils came out from the [Waterballs] and the torrent of water behind me and were wrapped around his right arm holding it tightly in place.

"Wha…-?" Rexon looked at me with a mix of disbelief and acceptance.

As I made eye contact with him, I infused my blade with [Elemental Haki: Fire], setting it ablaze to enhance the power of my next attack…

Moments after that, I quickly swung my sword downwards, cleanly severing his arm with bone and all in one clean strike.

"AAAAAAAAAGH!!! FUCK!!!" Rexon let out a primal scream of pain and anguish.

His arm had been severed from below the elbow. As soon as his arm crashed against the ground, my nostrils were assaulted by the smell of burning blood and flesh. That was also his dominant arm, so his flaming spear was also lying on the ground.

"Boss! N-N-No way!" Rayna shouted from far away.

I wasn't done yet. With some nimble footwork and thanks to my high dexterity, I changed to a reverse grip and swung my sword again to sever his arm, this time a bit above the elbow.

"AAAAAAAAARGH! WHY!? WHY THE OTHER ARM TOO!? GODDAMIT!" My attack was followed by a mind-shattering scream of Rexon as his left arm was cleanly cut off from his body.

Rexon soon fell to his knees while blood was pouring out of his wounds. He was biting his lips and tears were forming in the corner of his eyes due to the pain provoked by losing both arms.

That was it for Rexon the bandit and the Band of the Warhawk. With one slash of my blade, I could end his life by cutting his neck… 

I didn't even need to keep using [Fighting Spirit] and [Elemental Haki] anymore, so I  stopped using those skills… My sword was left glowing in an intense orange color thanks to my magic.

As I held my sword and kept my stance, I noticed that Rexon was looking at me with despair in his eyes and a pleading look.

"Does it hurt? This is still nothing compared to the pain you have inflicted." I said with disdain.

The mere sight of him sickened me… For the first time in my life, I hated someone just as much as I hated Agmos.

Trash. That's what he was. Complete and utter trash. Blight. Someone who shouldn't have been born. A man that ruined the lives of many without a care. He was all of those things and more, and I had the opportunity to get rid of him for good and do the whole world a favor…

As if sensing my thoughts, Rexon started to cry and whimper while he was slowly bleeding to death thanks to all the blood pouring out of his arms.

(And now he dares to cry!? After all the atrocities he has committed!?) I was outraged and disgusted beyond words.

(Umm… Julius, calm down. He is defeated, you don't need to kill him! The knights are about to…-) Lia calmly tried to make me cool off, but…

The sight of such a vile man crying so he wouldn't be killed sent me over the edge… I was seeing red. I was overwhelmed by my rage.

"Die!" I grasped the hilt of my sword with so much strength that for a moment, I thought it would break. I swung my sword as fast as I could, aiming for his neck to kill him.

(Julius, wait!) Lia screamed in a panic.

I knew that I couldn't stop now, so I ended up ignoring Lia. I had already put all of my strength into my final attack to finish Rexon off for good.

I could picture it in my mind clearly… In less than a second, his blood would be in my hands and he would become my first kill…

I kept looking at him as I wanted to witness the last moments of that monster. He had closed his eyes the moment he saw me swing my sword, almost as if he was accepting his end.

However, that would be an end that would not come yet…

My blade was suddenly caught by the big hand of a strong man a few centimeters away from Rexon's neck. That hand belonged to my dad… He had stopped my attack as if it was nothing.

"Phew… That was close…" My dad let out a sigh of relief.

Rexon opened his eyes and looked at us stunned. He probably couldn't believe that he was still alive.

"Dad, why did you stop me?" I asked with a serious tone.

"There's no need to kill him. You don't have to become a killer at such a young age." He had matched my serious tone and quickly took my weapon away from me without any effort whatsoever.

"Why!? The knights are going to kill him either way! I need to do this for my mission! If I do it now, I won't hesitate in the future!" I tried to argue angrily with my dad.

"Drop it. We are handing him over to the knights. I won't let you become a killer like me when I was a kid." My father said sternly.

I was about to continue to argue with my dad, but Lia stopped me.

(Julius, please stop! You are still young! You don't want to burden yourself with something like this at your age! Please listen to us!) Lia said to me with desperation. 

After hearing Lia's voice again, my anger immediately subsided… It was almost like I had broken free from a trance.

"Ah…" I started feeling increasingly dumbfounded as I realized the amount of bloodlust I was feeling moments ago.

(Oh, thank goodness that Fred was there to stop you…) Lia sounded incredibly relieved. (Don't make me worry like that! I don't think I could sleep at night knowing that I couldn't stop you from doing such a thing! I don't even know what I would say to Pyxis if you had killed him!) She immediately got mad at me.

"I'm sorry…" I lowered my head and apologized to both my dad and Lia…

"Don't sweat it. You're forgiven as long as you understand." My dad replied. He sounded relieved but he was still keeping my weapon away from me.

(I'm a little mad that you ignored me, but I'll forget about that if you come to my Divine Realm to spend time with me while you're asleep tonight.) Lia replied. She was still a little pissed off, but she accepted my apologies.

(I guess that's only fair…) I smiled awkwardly.

"You don't need to apologize kid!" A loud female voice spoke to me from nearby.

As I turned my head to the side, I saw a large group of hundreds of people in plate armor mounting horses, most of them outside the field of stone pillars I had created while there many had already dismounted their horses to walk into the field to apprehend the bandits. The actual knights were here. 

One of the knights, in particular, was already about to reach us.

"I have to thank you for helping us and doing a service to this country but I have to agree with your father, the knights aren't so incompetent that we need to leave the job of executing criminals to a young child." The knight said to me before taking her helmet off. 

The moment she took her helmet off, the beautiful face of a smiling older woman with blonde hair and green eyes. Her hair was arranged into a short ponytail and had a few silver accessories adorning it. She was about 1.76 meters tall and she seemed to be in her thirties. Her armor was clearly more extravagant and had a more elaborate design compared to the ones that the other knights were wearing. Hers was decorated with very elaborate gold patterns all over her pauldrons, gauntlets, and helmet, and on top of that, her cape was a very intense red-colored instead of the usual blue the other knights wore. A huge shield and longsword were hanging from her back.

The woman was definitely a noble and the one in charge of the knights. Her attire and her demeanor were proof enough. 

"Long time no see, Frederick." The knight spoke to my dad with a nostalgic tone. She had a friendly smile on her face.

She smiled at us for a few seconds before suddenly sucker-punching Rexon who was still dumbfounded that he was alive but also a little dizzy due to blood loss. He was knocked out instantly.

"Healers! We have one individual here that requires immediate healing before we can take him away! Make it quick, but don’t bother to reattach his arms! He won’t be needing them anymore!" She shouted merrily at her subordinates while cleaning the blood on her gauntlets before showing us a sweet smile again.

A group of hooded men and women quickly ran toward our location after receiving their orders to keep Rexon alive. 

"Ophelia Nalesi Nebandia… I didn’t think I would see you this soon." My father replied as he shoved my sword into the dirt.

"I can say the same about you. I never expected to find you in this kind of situation, but I suppose I should consider this an enormous blessing since you really helped us out by defeating these bandits. Sigh…" Ophelia let out a sigh of exhaustion in an extremely graceful manner. "It was really hurting my pride that we couldn’t catch them… Somehow they were always four steps ahead of us! The people were even starting to think that we were incompetent because of that!" Ophelia complained a little.

"Hahahaha! I see that you haven’t changed at all since the last time we met, Ophelia." My dad so loudly that the hooded guys from before all flinched from the surprise.  "Though, I wouldn’t call it a blessing. We were just camping around here and the bastards came straight at us." My dad said while scratching the back of his neck.

"It is funny to hear the commander of the former Bastard Knights calling someone else a bastard, you know?" Ophelia said after chuckling a little. "So? Are you going to introduce the child to me? He seems pretty strong… Is he your new apprentice? I never thought that you’d get another after training Tiria." Ophelia asked my dad with a curious expression.

"Actually, he is my youngest child." My dad answered her questions while ruffling my hair. His hand was still drenched with the blood of the bandits, so I was a little peeved…

"Dad, your hand again…" I said to him as I pushed his hand away.

"Hehehe! Sorry, kiddo!" He apologized while smiling awkwardly.

"Wait… Your youngest child…?" Ophelia was suddenly caught off guard by the revelation. She seemed like she was doing some mental math in her head and things didn’t add up.

"I’m adopted." I said to Ophelia before bowing and lowering my head in the way that Professor Tian had taught me. "It is a great honor to meet you, Lady Ophelia My name is Julius." I introduced myself politely to her.

Ophelia was suddenly taken aback by my politeness. She had the look of a deer caught in the headlights while staring at me.

"Hahaha! Her highness Marina and Eliana had the same reaction when Lilia and I introduced him to them."My dad looked at me with a mix of pride and amusement. "Well, if you don’t mind how about we have a meal. I think that your subordinates should have everything under control, so how about we go back to camp to have some drink and a meal? This whole ordeal made me hungry." My dad smiled at Ophelia before pointing at our camp.

"Ah! Sure! Since we didn't need to fight the bandits, I guess I have some time to spare. Those words made Ophelia snap out of her thoughts and she immediately nodded. "Knights, you know your orders! Capture the bandits and prepare to take them all back to the capital! If any of them resists, you know what to do! Anthony will be in charge while I’m gone!" Ophelia suddenly turned around and shouted with authority.

"Yes, Ma’am!" All of the knights shouted back in unison.

"Very well then!" Ophelia sounded pleased as she turned back to face us. "Shall we go then? I wish to get to know the son of the mighty Skull Crusher." Ophelia smiled once again while looking at me with interest. 

And thus, the battle against the bandits ended as a one-sided beatdown with little to no injuries on our side.

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Chapter 36: Bandit Attack (Part II)

END

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