Roadside Trouble

But this didn't last long as the tide of the battle quickly changed in favor of the bandits. After getting pushed back, the bandits formed a circle around the carriage and attacked the man on all sides. The more that Kies examined the situation, the more that he noticed that the man's fighting changed. He went from being on the offensive to being on the defensive. But it made sense considering there were two people in the carriage. They were probably non-combatants and needed his protection.

The battle went on for a few minutes before one of the bandits managed to hop in through the back of the carriage. Kies thought that the fight would be over now, but to his surprise again, it wasn't. One of the passengers inside the carriage held out their hand and the man suddenly went flying out of the carriage and hit the dirt. Magic. The two people inside were mages. Or maybe it was only one of them. But whatever it was, it all made sense now. That was why the driver was so on edge and why the carriage didn't have goods. It was a disguise to transport the two important people inside, and the driver is also likely an elite soldier or guard that disguised himself as a merchant.

Well then... That just meant that the bandits are screwed. One mage can single-handedly wipe out all of them without much effort. And based on what he just saw, it seemed the mage used an offensive spell. From the stance, Kies guessed that it might be fire or earth magic, or maybe even wind.

It also meant that he didn't need to worry about them anyway. He felt a little guilty letting them walk straight into the ambush but they seemed fine. But... For the third time in a row, Kies guessed wrong again. The bandit that got knocked out of the carriage got right back up and jumped in again. The person inside tried blasting the bandit with magic in an attempt to send them back outside, but it didn't work. The bandit resisted the attacks and edged closer to them. The driver also noticed it and tried to get the bandits he was currently fighting off him to help out the two but couldn't. Every single time he got pushed one off, another one replaced them.

How have none of the bandits fallen yet? Kies didn't get it. The man had hacked and slashed with what seemed like a sword in his hand but none of the bandits actually died. They only got knocked down at most, and got right back up in seconds.

Well, it was too late to figure out why that was the case. The bandit grabbed the two passengers inside the carriage, pulled them out, and tossed them onto the floor. The bandit pointed what is presumably his sword at the two and turned to the driver and probably told him to surrender. Kies couldn't perceive sound with the winds so he didn't know for sure, but it definitely looked like it. The driver dropped something to the dirt and kneeled down. He then put both his hands up behind his head.

But even though the driver surrendered, the two passengers were still fighting. One of them (the one who can use magic) continued to struggle and tried to break free from the bandit's grasp but couldn't. It was then that Kies sensed something strange about the person. The winds picked up on something. But he soon quickly realizes that it isn't the person but rather something they had. Near the chest of the person, the winds detected something odd.

You can't be serious... Kies scratched his head in disbelief. The thing bouncing around on the person's chest is a necklace. But that wasn't the important part. The important part is that the thing is the fragment he is looking for. No wonder the winds suddenly changed directions and pointed behind him... How did it even get there?

Whatever, this just meant that Kies had to get involved now. He gets up from the grass and hurries down the road to the carriage. He needs to hurry before the fragment gets destroyed. The thing is very delicate and breaks as easily as glass. He couldn't afford for it to get broken since he needed the magic in it to get stronger.

Kies spots the carriage ahead and also sees a bunch of heavily armored men. As it turns out, they weren't ordinary bandits. They looked more like soldiers than anything.

The bandits notice Kies' approach and they all raise their weapons and turn to face him. Behind them is the carriage driver he talked with earlier and the two passengers. Both of them are female and were dressed in fancy clothes. They were tied up and forced to kneel on the ground.

"You there, silver robe, stop!" one of the bandits yelled at Kies. He complied and stopped. The armored bandit looked at Kies and walked a couple of steps towards him and gripped his weapon tightly. Though Kies wasn't armed, they couldn't be careless. There could be a lot of hidden weapons behind his cloak.

In reality, Kies didn't have a single hidden weapon inside the cloak, but the bandits didn't know that. They saw him as a threat and were ready to attack him. "We let you go. Why did you come back?" the bandit asks Kies.

"I dropped something back there," Kies points down the road behind the bandits.

The bandits all turn to look down the road and then back at Kies. "Best you forget about it. Unless of course, you want to try your luck with us." The bandits weren't going to let Kies past them.

It really seemed that he didn't have any other choice... "I guess I'll try my luck then." Kies approached the bandits with his hands on either side of him. He had no weapon in sight and this confused the bandits.

"Are you out of your mind? You actually want to take on all of us. I don't think I need to say this since you can see it, but there is only one of you and a bunch of us."

"Sorry, but that thing I dropped is very, very important to me."

"Tell you what, you can come back later. We won't go look for that thing you dropped and take it. This is your last warning. Stop there and wait for us to finish business here. After that, you're free to pass." The bandits really didn't want to fight anyone they didn't need to. Kies could see this but unfortunately, it wasn't possible.

"Your offer is nice, but I need it right now. Not having that 'thing' on me makes me anxious. And when I'm anxious, I can't think straight. And when I can't think straight, bad things happen... For example, I might pick random fights and go on a rampage."

"What are you saying?" The bandits looked at Kies like he was crazy and he saw that the three hostages behind them were just as confused as them. They were probably wondering what Kies was thinking, choosing to fight them instead of the other option of just waiting.

"Look, you don't even have a weapon. What can you expect to do-"

A massive sword appeared out of the air and in Kies's hands. It is almost as tall as him with the black material absorbing the sun's rays. The bandits all took a step back in surprise but they quickly read the new situation they were in and raised their weapons. "Since you refused our offer, I hope you're confident that you can take us all down."

The bandits all charged at Kies. With one swing of his sword, he cuts down three who were unfortunate to be in the range of the blade. The other bandits saw this and stopped in their tracks. If the sheer size of the sword didn't scream danger, after seeing three of their own get cut down by that, the bandits should now have an idea of how dangerous Kies really is. The sword isn't just for show. Kies knows how to use it.

"Bylier formation!"

The bandits all backed away from Kies and formed three groups. They then advanced onto him from three different directions.

"Interesting..." It was strange to see bandits using a formation like this. In the first place, did bandits even care for something like a formation? The more that Kies talked and fought with the bandits, the more he saw that they weren't actually bandits. The way they fight is much too clean compared to that of a normal bandit's. These people were trained with the sword, something most bandits don't have the luxury to learn properly.

The bandits stopped a meter away from Kies and one of them asked him an amusing question. "Who do you work for!?"

"Who do I work for? I work for no one."

"Lies! Did 'he' send you?"

"He?"

"You don't need to feign ignorance. We will give you twice the price he is paying. Work for us instead." The bandits were trying to hire Kies and take him from whoever it is that they were referring to. It seemed that they knew how dangerous he was and wanted to steal Kies from "him."

"I really don't work for anyone." Kies didn't get anything the bandits were saying and don't care either. He messed around for long enough. It was time to clean up the rest of them.

"If you really don't work for anyone, then let us-" The bandit didn't get the chance to finish his sentence as Kies' sword suddenly found its way to his neck and cut his head clean off. He then slaughters the rest of the men in the squad and turns to the other two on either side of him.

"That should answer any questions you have left to ask. Raise your swords and face me."

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