Chapter 77: Bandits [3]

The first clash of swords sent a shockwave through the air.

Adam stared at the bandit’s smile, noticing his misshapen, yellowed teeth. His arm trembled from the force he was exerting, but he didn’t budge an inch.

Instead, he spat out with contempt:

“To think you’d be the kind of bastard who’d use demonic energy to rob merchants.”

The bandit leader let out a disgusting cackle:

“Kakakaka, don’t give me that typical knight’s lecture—you lot think you’re so noble when you’re all just trash, driven only by money.”

“…”

Adam didn’t answer; only a faint smile touched his lips.

Their mana collided like invisible bolts of lightning, generating electric crackles that filled the road with a vibrant, oppressive atmosphere.

Adam felt the bandit’s weight growing; he knew it was due to the demonic energy.

His feet sank a few millimeters deeper into the ground. However, not the slightest trace of discomfort appeared on his face.

Suddenly, he applied more force to the sword. The blade flashed coldly, and with a precise movement, he parried the bandit’s attack.

His body rose slightly as he took a small step backward, landing lightly, as if his feet were weightless.

The bandit leader’s eyes widened. His knuckles cracked as he stumbled backward.

The bandit looked up at the sky, as if searching for an answer. He let out a long sigh. His lungs expanded, filling his body with air, and he immediately began to sing in a deep, resonant voice:

“Vermin! Hear the Old Wolf roar! My axe is hungry, and the forest demands its tribute!”

His voice echoed like a roar as the ring began to glow brightly.

“We are thieves… we are the ultimate end!”

As he chanted, Adam felt the demonic energy begin to surge, only to be overwhelmed by a red energy tinged with black.

Veins bulged beneath his skin like living snakes. His muscles swelled in seconds, tearing through his clothes, while his frame grew and his shadow lengthened like that of a monster emerging from the depths of the forest.

The atmosphere grew thick and heavy.

And before Adam, the bandit no longer looked like a man, but a beast.

The strong smell of blood hung heavy in the air, mingling with the clang of clashing swords.

The bandit leader was the first to act. He swung his sword violently, lunging at Adam with great force. Despite his size, his body moved with surprising speed.

Adam dodged with pinpoint accuracy. His response was immediate: he counterattacked with all his might. His blows were so fast that the bandit barely realized what had happened.

A moment later, his arm was completely severed. The flesh tore apart, and blood gushed like a fountain, spilling onto the ground in a grotesque spectacle.

Even with the wound gaping open, the bandit leader didn’t stop. Instead of retreating, he roared furiously as he threw a devastating punch.

The speed of his attack sliced through the air, creating a friction that echoed across the deck.

“…”

Adam watched him in silence. His gaze did not waver. The smile that had previously graced his face was gone.

When the fist was a hair’s breadth away from reaching him, Adam turned his body just enough: a millimeter. That slight movement was enough to dodge the blow. The blast that erupted behind him was so violent that it sent several corpses flying.

The disappointment on Adam’s face was plain to see. By using the ring, the bandit had sacrificed his rationality in exchange for greater power.

In that state, he was nothing more than a raging beast, driven by primitive instinct, too, like Adam, which made him an easy target.

The counterattack was relentless. The bandit, deprived of reason, lacked the cunning necessary to defend himself.

If it hadn’t been for that burst of demonic energy, perhaps he could have reacted. Perhaps he wouldn’t have lost his arm. But now, reduced to an animal that knew only how to charge, his fate was sealed.

It was disappointing. And pathetic at the same time.

Adam vanished at supernatural speed. His figure faded as if he had never been there, and in the very same instant, he reappeared behind the bandit leader.

The mana-coated sword glowed in his hand. However, his gaze was not fixed on his enemy, but on Asterin, who was looking toward the forest.

A second later, reality seemed to catch up to Adam’s speed.

The blade had already done its job.

The bandit’s head was cleanly severed from his body as his voice faded, spinning through the air before falling with a thud onto the ground.

A stream of thick blood gushed from his slit throat, spurting violently like an overflowing fountain, staining the grass and mud red.

The decapitated body staggered, as if refusing to accept death, and finally fell heavily to the ground.

The impact echoed throughout the area.

And so, quickly and disappointingly, the bandits’ assault came to an end. A conflict that had begun with screams ended in silence and corpses.

The floor was littered with bodies.

The survivors of the attack looked around in fear. Their steps were clumsy and heavy, as if every movement were weighed down by fear. As they looked around and saw the bodies of the bandits scattered across the floor—including that of their own leader—a deathly silence fell over the place.

Then the tears began to flow. Some fell to their knees, trembling, unable to stand in the face of the sheer scale of the slaughter. They wept for those they had lost, for those who would never return… for themselves.

The strong, metallic smell of blood filled the air, seeping into every breath.

…

Wielding his sword, Adam crouched down and took the ring from the bandit leader’s corpse; he examined it for a few moments, frowning, before flinging it upward and shattering the glass with a swift swing of his sword.

After doing that, he approached the convoy, covered in blood, to assess the damage and see how many mercenaries had survived and how many had fled.

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