CHAPTER 20: BATTLE WITH BANDITS

Walking slowly, Brian arrived at the rendezvous point and waited patiently for the warriors he would be tagging along with.

"So you are the one the village chief talked about. Hope you won't slow us down," one of the lower-ranked warriors asked Brian in an arrogant tone.

"Enough, Cole. It's too early to start a fight with someone you just met," Harris, the leader of the group, said before offering a handshake to Brian.

"Pleasure to meet you, Sword God. I'm Harris, the leader of this team."

"Thanks for having me, sir," Brian said, accepting the handshake.

"Tsk, Sword God… what a showoff," Cole muttered under his breath. He refrained from saying more after receiving a death stare from the captain.

"Since we are all ready, let's set out," Harris said in a commanding voice, prompting a swift reaction from everyone, Brian included. They all set out, renting a carriage for the long journey. Of course, Brian's share had already been paid for by the village chief.

The carriage moved slowly, reaching the halfway point of the journey as they passed through a forest path.

"Halt!" a loud voice commanded. "You have to pay a passage fee before you're allowed to pass through."

The voice belonged to a heavily built man with scars all over his body, holding a large axe. He was clearly addressing their approaching carriage. Brian and his companions remained inside as Harris stepped out.

"I'm Harris. Nice to meet you. Please allow us through—we don't want any trouble," Harris said, tossing a pouch filled with copper coins toward the bandit.

The bandit caught the pouch and checked its contents.

"200 copper coins? Do you think you're dealing with some beggar? It's 500, young man. Don't test my patience," the bandit sneered.

Harris frowned. "That's a lot more than the usual bargain," he said, his expression darkening.

"Well, either you pay the full amount, or you offer your life to me," the bandit said.

Frowning, Harris unsheathed his sword. There was no way he would allow himself to be ripped off by some measly bandit.

"You all, get out of the carriage. This is going to be one heck of a battle," he shouted.

"Hah, fools. Boys, take them down!" the bandit ordered, calling his underlings.

And so, the inevitable clash began.

Brian unsheathed his sword, targeting the lower-ranked bandits who were on a similar level as him, elegantly and swiftly cutting them down. Harris, of course, went straight for the massive bandit leader—their duel the deciding factor in the battle's outcome.

Harris showed why he was the leader of the team. A level 22 warrior against a level 20 classless bandit, he used his prowess and experience to gain the upper hand, forcing the bandit leader into a disadvantageous position. His teammates weren't doing badly either, pushing the bandits back. The deaths on the bandits' side far outweighed the none on Harris's side.

Seeing this, the bandit leader gritted his teeth and took a few steps back, disengaging from his fight with Harris. Pulling out a red bead-like object, he shouted to his underlings, "Use the amplifier bead, all of you!"

He then placed the bead in his mouth and swallowed it. His underlings did the same, confusing Harris and the others.

The next moment, the aura of the bandit leader and his men flared up, increasing drastically in strength. Their eyes turned red, and small horns sprouted from their foreheads, varying in length among them.

"What the hell is this?" Harris muttered.

The bandit leader smirked cockily and stepped toward Harris.

"Let's resume from where we left off," he said mockingly before leaping into the air.

With a loud bang, his axe smashed into the ground where Harris had stood, creating a deep crater. Harris barely managed to dodge.

Pulling his axe free from the ground, the bandit leader charged again, swinging it toward Harris. This time, Harris blocked with his sword—but unlike before, when he could easily deflect the attack, he was sent flying.

BANG!

He crashed into a tree, shattering it on impact.

"How…" he muttered, quickly getting to his feet, trying to regain his balance.

Before he could, a sudden punch from the bandit leader sent him flying again, slamming into another tree.

His teammates weren't faring much better—the battle had suddenly shifted, the tide turning in the bandits' favor.

Brian could barely hold his own against the opponents he had previously found easy or manageable.

BANG, BANG, BANG. Harris was being pinched and beaten around, having no way to defend himself from the relentless assault of the bandit leader.

"If only you had paid the extra 300 copper coins, I would have been less aggressive against you, but you just had to be confident. Tsk. We need some great 'goods' in order to make a deal with them, but sadly, you are above the requirements, and I hate taking risks. In your next life, be careful who you come across," the bandit leader said with a sinister look on his face before swinging his great axe at the defenseless Harris, ending his life.

Harris' entire team, which consisted of about ten people, including Brian, froze in fear and surprise. Harris was dead—just like that. Immediately, they all felt despair from the bottom of their hearts.

The bandit leader threw Harris' corpse toward the adventurer team. "Surrender now or meet the same end as your leader," he said, his voice laced with arrogance and mockery. "No, impossible... Har-ris... no, it can't be! We promised to build a family together...

together... How is this possible?!" Linda screamed, her face showing nothing but despair. "I"Il kill you!!" she shrieked before running toward the bandit leader, brandishing her sword. Linda was Harris' lover, and they had planned to get married after arriving at the capital city. But now, their dreams and plans had been destroyed in just one day. Overcome with vengeance and lacking any sense of reason, she swung her SWord at the bandit leader. BANG. Linda was sent flying. She crashed into a nearby tree and lay immobile. "Idiot" the bandit leader muttered before ordering his underlings to capture and tie up every adventurer, planning to take

them all to his hideout.

**********

Charlotte pulled over at the entrance of Jessica's home, waiting patiently for her. A few minutes later, Jessica came out of the house with what seemed to be her belongings, her dad and mom following worriedly behind her. "Jessica dear, you can't really plan to leave your parents over the death of some boy, right? I mean, it's not like we had a hand in it," Jessica's mom, Margaret, said worriedly. "Let's not talk about it anymore. I've made up my mind, and there's nothing stopping me from leaving. I hope you all enjoy your wealth and triumph. After all, there's no one to fight against you guys now. And I hope you don't suffer the same fate as Greg and his family. You never can tell, what goes around comes around after all."

"HOW DARE YOU!" Jessica's father couldn't help but raise his voice against his doting daughter, her words cutting deep into his heart.

"Dear," Margaret comforted her husband, her voice showing hints of guilt and sadness over her daughter's words.

"Bye. I hope you enjoy yourself. Thanks for taking care of me and loving me with so much care," Jessica said, bowing her head. This time she showed genuine respect and appreciation to her parents. Her gesture eased the hearts of Margaret and John. Sighing, John said, "I hope your heart heals sooner, my beautiful child," before walking toward the house, finding it pointless to continue talking to the stubborn Jessica, who had her mind made up.

"Mummy loves you, alright? I'll always be there for you," Margaret said, flashing a brilliant smile at her daughter, which, of course, received a good response from Jessica.

Loading her belongings into the trunk of Charlotte's car, she opened the door and sat beside the driver's seat.

"What?" Jessica said, trying so hard to avoid Charlotte's gaze.

"Nothing," Charlotte said playfully before starting the car engine. The car roared to life and sped off, leaving behind a blur.

"Welcome to my home, Jess. While I've always wanted to live together with you, the method was rather... well, how should I put it? Bizarre. Now tell me, why did you decide to leave? I'm sure you don't hold that great a grudge against your parents," Charlotte asked, slumping into the nearest couch.

"I don't know how, but in the end, Greg meant a lot to me. Hearing about his death... was more than heartbreaking, it was another form of torture. I must pay back those who caused his death. I can't fight against Kyle if I'm still under the control of my parents, you know that too, don't you?"

"Yeah, yeah. I mean, they were all in cohort. But seriously, while Greg was charming and sweet, I can't really understand the reason you fell so deeply for him, not like it concerns me." Charlotte said lazily. "Anyways, what's your plan then, sweetheart? I'm sure you don't plan to fight them head-on, right?" Charlotte asked curiously.

"Nemesis," Jessica said calmly. "I'll join hands with Nemesis. Either I make use of him or he makes use of me, I do not care, as long as it enables me to achieve my goal of gaining revenge. I'll do whatever it takes. And as it stands, the enemy of your enemy is your friend, so I will be allying myself with Nemesis," Jessica said with conviction in her heart.

"Oh, what a dangerous game you're playing, Jess. Well, I'll be cheering and siding with you all day long, my love," Charlotte said, anticipating the inevitable clash between Kyle and Nemesis, with Jessica caught in between.