Chapter 174: Corpsebloom

"We only have tonight to save them then," Duncan said after being briefed on what Sol and Rex saw in the fort. The entire squad was discussing the bandit problem in one of the still intact buildings of Chilton.

Sol nodded. "Our priority is saving the captured people first and foremost, so we can't just charge right in. Here's what I have in mind…"

…

When the moon was at its peak, the bandits at the abandoned fort went to sleep, with the exception of those who were forced to keep watch. Though the majority wanted to drink and party all night after a successful raid, they were told they had to raid another town tomorrow. No one wanted to get hit by a random arrow because they were too tired to react in time.

One bandit who was posted on the wall of the fort let out a loud yawn. Another bandit close by gave him a soft jab on the waist.

"Hey man, don't fall asleep. You know what happened to the last guy who did that."

How could he forget? He had watched as the poor bastard was publicly executed after getting brutally mutilated.

"I swear, he makes us work harder than the damn army. I thought we became bandits to get away from all that. No responsibility, do whatever you want…"

"Not to mention his weird nobility kink. Why is he forcing us to treat him like some kind of lord? Does he get off from it?"

"Hah! Maybe."

The two went back to watching in silence. The bandit who almost fell asleep looked towards the starry night sky, a faint smile appearing on his face.

"I never really took the time to look at the stars. They're rather pretty, aren't they?"

"Oh yeah, you're right."

"You know, maybe the night shift isn't so bad. It's the only time this place is actually quiet, and it feels like I'm away from it all."

The bandits were always rowdy, with constant drinking, yelling, and brawling. Now that they were asleep, it made the sleepy bandit realize how nice the quiet could be every once in a while.

"Plus, we don't have to go in tomorrow's raid. We can sleep in while they do all the hard work."

"Heh, true that."

The two bandits returned to their silence as they watched their surroundings once more.

The sleepy bandit rubbed his left eye as he spoke again, "Hey Omar, what if we do this every nigh—OMAR?!"

The other bandit, Omar, was now lying dead on the ground as a woman with short dark green hair removed her spear from his chest. In the short moment the sleepy bandit was rubbing his eye, she leaped up the 20-foot wall and killed Omar in a single strike.

"Atta—!"

The sleepy bandit called for help, but before he could finish yelling, Lapis swung her spear and decapitated him immediately. He was but a weak C-Rank and didn't have any way to respond to her incredible speed.

Alongside the wall, the other bandits posted had also been killed in a similar manner. Rex was able to silently leap up the wall and take down his two targets. Nataly and Aron had to work together as she summoned vines to choke one of them while Aron took down the other. Duncan stood next to Nataly not only because his heavy armor didn't let him jump up the wall but also to protect Nataly as she cast her spell from a safe distance.

Once Duncan and Nataly received the all clear from the ones on the wall, she chanted a spell to bring them up as well.

"[Rising Beanstalk]."

The ground slightly trembled as a thick stem of a plant rose from beneath the two of them, carrying them up alongside the wall. Once they reached the top, the two hopped onto the wall and saw the six bandit bodies lined up.

"This should be enough, right?" Rex asked.

Nataly nodded. "Yeah… Gods, I really hate this spell."

Though she protested, she chanted the spell regardless. She put her hands together as she reached the end of the chant.

"[Corpsebloom Seeds]."

She opened her hand to reveal six murky green seeds. She handed them to Aron as she didn't want to do the honors herself.

"Put them on their chests."

Aron did so without complaint, as he wasn't one to be so easily grossed out. After placing a seed on each of their chests, the seeds cracked open as roots grew and dug into their flesh.

"Quickly throw them away!" Nataly urged them. Once the process started, it was irreversible.

Rex grabbed two and chucked them far to a building near the wall. "Toss them over there, that's where most are sleeping."

Lapis and Aron nodded, throwing the rest of the bodies in that direction.

"Huh?!"

A bandit who was still awake and going on a walk saw the bodies land near him and yelled in surprise. Others who were also awake came over to check it out.

"What the—?! Are we under attack?!"

"Wake the others!"

As the bandits scattered to wake the others and prepare to fight back, the seeds kept silently growing inside the corpses. Soon the bandits were awake, and they all rushed outside with their weapons in hand. One bandit with a vision related talent pointed at the wall and yelled.

"Over there!"

"What is that?!"

Another voice yelled, coming from one of the bandits who was checking the bodies. A small blood red flower bud had grown out of the body's chest and was about to bloom. As the petals opened up, the bodies expanded like balloons, and before anyone could even understand what was happening—

BOOM!

All six bodies exploded with violent force, blasting anyone unfortunate enough to be near them. Almost fifty bandits were caught in its radius, with the closest ones immediately killed and those further away critically injured.

Back on the wall, Duncan watched the scene unfold with cold eyes. He didn't care for the death of the bandits but noted that it was the perfect time to strike.

"Time to go loud. Let's go!"