Bloody Exodus

For a moment, there seemed to be a brief pause. A very brief moment of silence. Then, chaos ensured. 

A frenzied mood spread across the battlefield like wildfire. Some bandits turned and fled. Their survival instincts overrode their greed. Others saw the leader's corpse and were filled with rage. They charged and continued to fight. They wanted to continue the bloodshed and fight without orders and reason.

Other opportunist bandits lunged for their fallen comrade's weapons and loot. They preferred to loot instead of fight.

This was a free-for-all. Every bandit for themselves. Groups of bandits continued to chase Lucas. Other groups continued to siege the adventurers. 

Some bandits turned on each other while others swung to any enemies closest in proximity to them. The air was filled with even louder war cries and the sounds of steel clashing. It was a looters' haven. 

Nearby Feng Ye, tons of bandits started to charge towards him as though he was a loot goblin. Both the leader and Feng Ye definitely carried uncommon loot! They could be called the ultimate main course. The most delicious piece of fat in a ravenous hungry battlefield. 

Feng Ye had to act. He was injured and needed to find an escape route out of this frenzied chaotic mess. He had to ensure he got out before the remaining bandits sealed off his escape route. There are too many of them. 

He immediately ripped off a cloth sack that the bandit leader's corpse had. He had to loot and get away. He threw it into his inventory and took off.

The nearby bandits stared at his sword with looks of greed and rushed him.

Feng Ye grasped the blade tightly and his body moved. 

A nearby bandit lunged towards him. Feng Ye twisted sideways dodging the bandit's rusty axe. His new blade seemed to move on its own. It slashed in an arc-like motion and divided the bandit in half across their ribcage. Blood splashed on the earth. 

The sword seemed to shiver with satisfaction.

"More." Feng Ye heard the whisper again. Oddly, his senses seemed to have heightened awareness once again. This was abnormal. He didn't feel this way before. 

His senses sharpened and his body felt a new type of energy invigorating his sore muscles. His exhaustion seemed to fade slowly. 

Super weird. This wasn't him. 

The sword pulsed in his hand and pulled him forward. It urged for violence. It urged him to cut. Kill…

Feng Ye hesitated, but this was no time to hesitate.

A dagger flashed towards his throat. An axe was being swung at him from behind. Feng Ye's instincts jerked him sideways in time. The dagger cut a thin line across his arm. The axe behind him missed its target. 

The bandit with the dagger snarled and closed in for another slash. 

Feng Ye doesn't have time to think. He must kill and survive. Gripping the sword with both hands, he slices in front of him in a wide vertical arc. He sliced through the bandit with the dagger and continued to swing while rotating his body to focus on the axe-wielding bandit behind him. 

Bang. The sword collided with the axe, but the rusted axe's quality was too poor and immediately gave way. The bandit's eyes widened as Feng Ye's sword cut through him after slicing up his weapon. 

More bandits ran forward. Feng Ye dashed towards the adventurers. 

-- 

Meanwhile, Lucas continued to run towards his goal. The adventurer's breakthrough point. 

He had no choice. Bandits pursued him like a treasure hunt. Their eyes glowing with greed. Only one reason drove his pursuers. It was greed for loot. They didn't care about any so-called revenge. The bandit world was ruled by strength and advantages only. They saw his robe and staff. Valuable things that he would no longer need if he was dead. 

Lucas was panting. His mana reserves were getting low. He had burned through a lot while constantly emitting fireballs. He needs a stronger spell. 

He continued sprinting and grabbed a small vial from his belt. This was a purple-colored potion. A buff type of potion. He popped off the cork and immediately chugged it. 

The buff would enable him to obtain a surge of mana. However, this would come with some backlash later on. He had no choice though.

Mana flooded his veins. His heart started pounding as though he had chugged an energy drink. He was ready. 

His fingers etched more glowing characters into the air. 

"Flame Wall!" he shouted while swinging his staff in an arc. 

A wide wild flame erupted outwards in a wide arc. It radiated outwards and formed a large fiery wall around him. It was many magnitudes larger than Anne's earlier fiery spell. 

A heat blast swept the chasing bandits and knocked them down to the earth. The bandits didn't have any time to react and their bodies were swallowed whole by the wild flame. 

Lucas coughs some blood. He continued to dash towards the breakthrough point. He was safe for now, but he wouldn't last another fight. 

--

Nearby, the adventurers didn't have a smooth experience. They were struggling as well. 

Anne and the remaining adventurers pushed forward. They continued to cut through the chaos with a single objective. 

To get out of the bandit encirclement. 

The cleric was drained. Her face was clearly pale from exhaustion and overuse of healing magic. The warriors running ahead stumbled and almost fell. The entire party was wounded. 

"Keep going!" one of the tanks shouted. 

Unfortunately, one of the warriors was lagging behind and couldn't move. A bandit's rusty blade was buried deep into his back.

"AAAHH" the warrior yelled. His body trembled as he turned around and swung his sword violently at the bandit. The damage was done, however. The wound got larger. Additional bandits swooped in like vultures with their daggers and overwhelmed the warrior. 

"No…" Anne's eyes widened as she continued to run but glanced behind. 

The newly arrived bandits continued to stab and slice. The warrior collapsed. Dead. Only six adventurers were left. 

A small subset of the chasing bandits fought among themselves fighting for the warrior's belongings. 

There was no time to mourn. No time to stop. The adventurers had to continue to go forward. 

"Go!" the tank up front grabbed the cleric and forced her forward. A line of tears slowly fell from the cleric's face as she continued to move forward. The others in the party continued forward. 

Another warrior who ran alongside Anne yells. "Keep moving in this direction. Towards the trees!"

The adventurers broke free from the battlefield. They ran into the thick trees. Some bandits attempted to follow, but the others redirected their focus elsewhere. Fighting in the trees adds an incredible amount of extra risk that wasn't worth pursuing. It was more favorable to fight for loot in the clearing with better visibility. 

--

Feng Ye just struck down another bandit. He has lost count of how many he had slain. His entire body was wrapped in a bloody aura causing some weaker-willed bandits to hesitate.

The window to escape was closing fast. He must move. Lucas had already broken away. The adventurers were able to get out of the encirclement. He was the last one left. 

Another bandit jumped towards him from behind. Feng Ye leaned to his left barely avoiding a rusty axe. 

There were way too many. His body was in pain. 

Feng Ye continued to clear a way forward, slaying anyone who dared to be in his way. He had accumulated a variety of injuries. Nothing life-threatening or disabling, however, it started to take a toll on him. 

In the corner of his eye, he spotted some adventurers lurking at the tree line. They haven't completely left. They cleaned up the bandits that dared to pursue and were watchful for any others. He locked eyes with Anne for a brief moment. 

This was the key. He sprinted towards her. 

The bandits hesitated. He was too close to the adventurers now. A direct chase would be very risky and disadvantageous due to the terrain. Most turned back as there was still plenty of loot to fight over. 

Feng Ye rushed and didn't stop. He could feel his legs burning. Every wound he had accumulated was catching up to him very quickly. 

He continued to push and squeeze out any strength he had to keep going. Push harder!

The bandits were very few now. A few lingered watching him, but none continued to pursue. 

Feng Ye rushed and crossed the tree line. He stopped and gasped for air. His entire body screamed with pain. The adrenaline was wearing off. Blood soaked his cloak. It was impossible to tell which was his or his enemies.

He didn't arrive too close to the adventurers as it could not be concluded whether they were truly friends or foes. They were all forced to be insects on the same string and with a common enemy at this time, so it was unlikely a conflict would arise considering everyone's injuries. 

The adventurers watched him carefully. Lucas who was also nearby leaned against a tree and breathed heavily. He was pale and one could observe that his fingers twitched occasionally as he held his staff. 

The tank nearby glanced at Feng Ye and spoke. "Looks like you made it." His voice was calm but there was a sharp tone to it. 

"Fortunately." Feng Ye replies between deep breaths.