Chapter 34

"Bandits!!" shouted one of the man.

The carriages were pulled over.

"Rotten luck! All men come out of the carriages to defend. Simon give them weapons. " David Bellowed.

As Aaron stepped out the carriage, he saw everyone get equipped with weapons. Knives, swords and one man with an axe.

At a distance, Aaron saw a group of 11 men blocking the road. They wore shabby looking clothes and were mostly unkept. They hadnt pulled any weapons so far, but they had a fearsome aura to it.

The whole scene sent a shiver down Aaron's spine. He wasnt prepared for it.

His time spent on earth was easy. He never got into fights and was never stuck in a sticky situation. This life was easy as well. His home and academy had provided a good environment for Aaron.

This was the first time he had ever faced a situtation which resembled danger.

"The four of you, stay behind us. You are here to make up numbers. Fight those who gets through us. Stall for time for us to help you. Keep close to each other. Attack together if possible. " David gave precise instruction to the four of the passengers.

As David and his men got in a formation, one of the bandits shouted.

"We dont want any bloodshed. Leave the carriages and weapons here. You could leave with your lives. "

"I too dont want any bloodshed. I am willing to pay a gold coin for safe passage. " David replied.

"No. Our terms wont change. We have the advantage on numbers as well. Make your final decision. " The man pulled out his weapon to emphasize his point.

"We would be left with no way to survive if we hand over everything to you. 2 gold coins. That's my final offer. "

"I said our terms wont change. Everyone, make sure you kill everyone. Leave no witnesses. We dont want people hunting us later." The man who seemed like the leader shouted and began moving towards David.

Aaron was afraid of this happening. He was terrified. His body was shaking. He had never fought for his life. Sure he had training sessions with Hinds. But it was just training. He knew Hinds wouldnt hurt him. This was different. This was life and death. He also for the first time rued that he couldnt cast an attacking spell. A fire ball would be so handy right now. He also considered declaring his status as a mage. But he thought about what the man had said about leaving no witnesses. Revealing his status meant he would be the priority target.

He thought about making a gate to escape. But he couldnt concentrate enough.

He shakingly pulled out his sword. The feeling of a sword in his hand made him a little relaxed. It was the unconscious part of his mind telling him he had something to protect him with.

He saw the bandits slowly walk towards them. They increased their pace as they walked towards them. They all had weapons in their hands now. David and his men were ready as well.

You could feel the tension in the air.

The bandits reached them. They attacked David and others. They used the superiorty of their numbers and ganged up upon David and others.

David seemed to be the best fighter of the lot. He moved well to avoid most strikes and the ones he couldn't avoid, he faced them with his sword.

David's men were much more skilled then the bandits as well. But the lack of numbers soon proved to be their downfall.

They started getting pressured. Soon, first blood was drawn and one of the men defending Aaron and others had a slash on his legs.

Aaron gulped down the saliva he had in his mouth. He had sweat soak his back. He was afraid.

Soon one of the bandits had broken through David and the others.

"Attack him together. Dont let him get too close to you. " David instructed even though he was busy himself.

The family man Aaron had been travelling with was the first to make a move. Maybe the thought about defending his family gave him the courage. He made a wild slash at the man. The bandit easily avoided it. The bandits were less skilled than the team David led, it didnt mean they didnt knew what they were doing. They were better than Aaron and others on experience alone.

The bandit had a serious expression and moved towards the four of them careflly. One of the two business man seemed to be paralyzed with fear. He didnt even move a muscle. The other man too made a slash at the bandit, which the bandit avoided.

The bandit saw that Aaron was young and held a good sword. He approched Aaron.

"Give me the sword kid. I promise I will give you a swift death." The bandit was serious as he said that.

Aaron didnt say anything. He just held the sword in front of him.

Seeing that Aaron didnt make a move, made a slash at Aaron.

It was reflex or maybe it was muscle memory, because Aaron was sure he didnt do it in purpose. Somehow his hands moved and he brought his sword to interrupt that sword strike. His hands jolted from the clash. That shock woke Aaron up.

The bandit was a little surprised as well. A young kid blocking his strike. Although it was a casual strike, it was perfectly blocked. He made a stronger strike, this time the action from Aaron was more controlled. He once again dedlected the strike. Aaron could feel the power behind the strike. Hinds had fought him many a times. But he mostly tested his skills, not power. Aaron trained and worked out a little. But he was still 15 years old. He lacked the strength of a grown up man.

A couple of strikes later, he was being pushed by the bandit. But it also relaxed him a little. Fighting like this was almost a daily routine of he forgot the situation he was in.

"What are you waiting for, attack him while the kid keeps him busy." David shouted in between he fending off his attackers.

David was a competent fighter. He didnt only had the physique of a fighter he had the awarwness of the situation around him too.

The family man held the sword and made a strike towards the bandit. It struck on the back and left a bloody gash. The bandit screamed and turned towards the family man and lunged at him. He struck the man on his shoulder. The man shouted as well.

Aaron did try to take the benifit of the situation but the bandit was out of his range by then.

"Daddy" shouted Maria from inside the carriage hearing her father scream. She rushed from the carriage and tried to get to his father's side. Her mother was out as well trying to get Maria back in the carriage.

"Maria, daddy is ok. Go get back in the carriage."

Maria could see her father bleeding and began crying and still tried to get to him.

The bandit leader saw this.

"All of you put down your weapons else the girl and women wont have a peaceful death. " The bandit leader shouted.

"Dont stop. You are dead either way. Our only chance is to fight our way out. " David commanded seeing the doubts in the four passengers including Aaron.

David was right. The bandit leader made it clear, they wont be leaving any witnesses.

Seeing that his words had no effect, the leader was furious.

"Kill the girl first." He shouted.

The bandits increased their intensity at this command.

The one who Aaron and Maria's father had injured before tried to move towards Maria. Aaron, the business man and Maria's father tried to block the man.

As kept blocking him, another bandit managed to make it past the caravan team. He moved towards Maria with no one blocking him.

He hated killing such a young girl, but he didnt have any option. It was either killing her or being chased by the guards later on. He chose the first.

Maria was scared seeing the man approach her.

She shouted for her father to save her and hugged her mom who had reached her by then.

Her father tried his best. But the bandit managed to stop him everytime. He was careless and tried to rush towards his daughter, this gave the bandit an opportunity to leave several cuts on him.

The man weeped and begged asking the bandits to spare his daughter.

Maria and her mother moved towards the carriage and the bandit followed them.

The man tried and kept on rushing, it had no effect. The bandit was too good for them. It wasnt that Aaron wasnt skillful enough, he was. He was just too green. And he lacked the physical strength.

The bandit had reached the girl by now. He lifted his sword and made a swing at Maria.

Her mother at the last moment turned around holding Maria so that the sword would hit her back protecting her daughter. She waited for the sword to strike. But the strike didnt come. She waited for a few seconds, and turned around to see what happened.

She saw the bandit look at her weirdly.

He once again raised his sword and made a strong slash at her. She once crossed her hands at front to block the sword.

This time she was able to see what had happened. The sword seemed to bounce off few centimeters before her. She was astonished at this. So was the bandit. But he understood.

"We have a mage here."