Soon, several fights broke out around their campsite, with dozens of people struggling against the attacking group while screaming their lungs out.
It was absolute chaos.
Alicia grabbed onto Nova's arm and looked into his eyes desperately. "Nova! What do we do?"
It was Gregory that answered her question first, however.
"You should run away from here. All of you, go now! These guys aren't normal bandits, so it's too dangerous for you here. I'll try to distract them and create an opening for you to escape."
He stepped in front of Hilda and placed both hands on her shoulders before saying, "Take care of yourself, Hilda... I will see you soon!"
As soon as he finished talking, he pushed Hilda towards Alicia and Nova before dashing off towards the nearest attacker.
His muscles expanded, and his skin took on an amber hue as he ran forward and then rammed into an enemy at full speed.
The impact knocked the enemy off his feet and sent him rolling across the ground with an audible thump.
But that wasn't enough to keep Gregory from continuing his assault.
Before long, another person approached him, and he spun around in an instant, kicking them hard enough to send them flying into a nearby tree trunk.
This surprised both Alicia and Nova, who were watching him fight.
They didn't expect the old man to have such amazing combat skills.
"This is incredible!" Nova remarked with wide eyes, staring at the ongoing fight between Gregory and his opponent.
However, Alicia wasn't in a mood to enjoy the show, so she grabbed Nova's arm again, shaking him to snap him out of it.
"Nova, stop admiring him and hurry! We have to escape from here!"
That shook Nova out of his trance, and he gave a nod. "You're right. Let's go!"
Hilda still appeared unsure of what she should do, but since she knew Gregory well enough, she chose to trust his judgment.
"Wait... Are we really running away? Won't he be in danger alone?" Nial asked as he saw the trio getting ready to flee the scene.
Alrick added in a worried tone, "He said they weren't ordinary bandits. If we leave this place, then there won't be any guards to protect us if the attackers catch up with us."
Both men didn't want to leave the safety of the campsite and run off into the night, where they might get killed by these mysterious attackers.
Nova didn't listen to them any longer.
Instead, he focused his attention on his wife. "Alicia, you know what to do, don't you?"
"Yes... We'll follow the same strategy we used last time!" Alicia replied in a firm tone, gazing ahead to pinpoint the direction to escape to.
Just one look was enough for Nova to know where Alicia wanted to go.
So he took off without saying a word, running ahead of Alicia and Hilda as fast as he could.
As both Nial and Alrick witnessed this scene unfold, they hesitated before they decided to stay put.
Meanwhile, Bernard, who was staying in his tent, peeked outside to observe the situation.
His eyes went wide as he saw how serious things looked for everyone else.
"Fuck this!" He shouted at the sight. "We were so close to Sissar! How could this happen?! Who are these people!?"
With panic rising inside of him, he moved back inside his tent, hoping that his guards could deal with those attackers somehow.
Then again, he soon realized that his guards weren't doing such a great job because of how outnumbered they were.
Captain Vaan yelled orders as he fought while his men tried their best to defend everyone around the caravan, but things weren't looking good at all.
It was a complete disaster, and they couldn't possibly defend everyone from this assault without receiving heavy casualties in return.
That's why Bernard gritted his teeth, deciding to prioritize saving his own skin.
He once again peeked outside of his tent and shouted in a loud voice.
"Captain Vaan! Forget about those other worthless people! You have to think about what's important here... me! Save me! Bring me back to Sissar safe, or you won't see another day even if you manage to survive this!"
The captain clenched his fists hard in anger when he heard those words, but he knew Bernard was right.
So he didn't waste time arguing and replied in a loud voice.
"Listen, Team 1! Go and get Lord Bernard and escort him to Sissar! Protect him with your life! As he said, if something happens to him, we won't live another day even if we survive this battle! I will join you once I am finished here, so be careful on your way!"
"Kekeke... No one here is getting away from us," said one of the attackers when he heard their conversation.
That attacker looked like an ordinary human, but there was something very unusual about him that caused a chill to run down Bernard's spine.
For starters, there was no pupil in his eyes.
Those eyes had only the whites, giving him a creepy feeling.
Another thing worth mentioning was the weird odor he carried around him.
It was pungent and repulsive.
Captain Vaan grimaced and shouted, "Shut up and come at me, you bastards! No matter who you are, you won't be able to harm Lord Bernard on my watch!"
As he roared his challenge, several men from Team 1 rushed to Bernard's side with their weapons at the ready.
"Lord Bernard, please come with us! We will make sure nothing happens to you!" One of them spoke hurriedly.
"O-of course," Bernard replied, still shaken up from the fright of having his life threatened like that.
The two women he had spent the night with rushed forward as well, clinging onto his arms and begging for their lives.
"Lord Bernard! Please don't leave us! We promise to serve you well for the rest of our lives if you just let us come with you!"
"What!? You crazy bitches! How can I bring you two along in a situation like this? It's too dangerous!" He growled back with gritted teeth and then pushed both of them away forcefully.