The guards from Team 1 didn't pay attention to anything else other than getting Bernard away from the campsite as fast as possible.
Several attackers blocked their way, but Captain Vaan quickly ordered more teams protecting other groups of passengers to assist in distracting those enemies away.
Village Chief Gregory, who had been fighting against a few of the attackers by himself, saw this and cursed out loud, "Shit! Those bastards are abandoning the rest of the people for one person. This is no good! I have to help them."
However, before he could do anything else, a massive claw hit his back hard from behind, and he rolled over on the ground, grunting in pain.
"Aaaagh! Fuck!" He shouted in agony, trying to stand back on his feet again while blood seeped out from his wounds.
"Hahaha! Look at you! Old fucker, you are surprisingly strong! You took out five of our people already by yourself!" A rough voice spoke up from behind Gregory. "You sure don't look like some ordinary villager!"
Gregory slowly turned around and got back up onto his feet, ready to continue the battle.
However, his face twisted in horror when he saw the situation of the campsite.
"What have you done, you damn bastards! What can you possibly gain from this senseless slaughter? They are just normal people, for goodness sake!" he yelled back, filled with rage.
It was because his eyes landed on the two young men, Nial and Alrick, along with a bunch of other people nearby.
All of them were lying on the ground lifelessly, blood pooling from their bodies and eyes staring off into nothingness.
It was a terrible sight to behold.
"Hahaha! What do we gain, you ask? Are you that dumb, old man? It was your fault for being in the wrong place at the wrong time. If you weren't traveling with them, then you wouldn't have to die, but you see... We cannot leave a single one of you alive to spread rumors and create unnecessary trouble for us. So just die already!"
After saying that, he dashed towards Gregory again with a savage grin on his face.
As for Gregory, he clenched his jaw and charged forward to meet his attacker.
He had no intention of holding back anymore and unleashed his full strength to end this fight as soon as possible so that he could try and save other lives.
***
The fat merchant, Bernard, managed to get on his horse along with a few guards, and they sped off towards Sissar at full gallop with several attackers pursuing after them.
"Go faster! You slow ass, we cannot let them catch up!" He screamed while kicking his steed, trying to make it move quicker.
Even with this desperate act of running away, Bernard didn't hold much hope for their survival.
After all, their group had been reduced to less than half of its original size when they set off from the village.
Even the guards, who were supposed to protect him, now barely numbered ten.
Those people who were chasing after them were stronger than normal mercenaries.
No, it was more accurate to say that they possessed a strength akin to veteran adventurers or maybe even knights.
"Fuck! How did they know about me? Who told them our whereabouts!?" He couldn't help but ask himself again and again while gritting his teeth with frustration.
All this while he had everyone think of their caravan as nothing more than some regular merchants and travelers.
So, there was no way for a group like this to catch their eyes unless someone betrayed him.
Unfortunately, now was not a good time to dwell on this problem, and so he focused on his escape, hoping to survive and figure things out later.
"Lord Bernard! We are being chased! It would be wise to split up and try to buy some time. Otherwise, we won't be able to protect you if we are attacked together."
Bernard turned around to look at the guards that were following after him and nodded, "Very well, a few of you can continue protecting me, and the others can hold off the attackers. Is that clear?"
"Yes, sir!"
Some guards made turns to head towards the attackers chasing them, while a couple of them continued following Bernard to defend him.
***
Meanwhile, Captain Vaan was trying his best to make it through a tough fight with the leader of the attacking group.
This made him unable to leave the fight even though he wanted to help protect people and prevent casualties among travelers as much as possible.
Alas, it was just too difficult for him to do so because of how outnumbered the guards of this caravan were.
One by one, all those people died before the blades or claws of these ruthless attackers.
Even Gregory couldn't hold his own against such overwhelming force and had to use every ounce of strength to try and break through their numbers before managing to escape into the night.
"Haah... Haaah... Damn it!" Captain Vaan cursed when he saw another one of his subordinates fall dead, blood spurting out of his neck from a fatal wound. "Fucking scums... You will pay for this! You don't know who you are messing with!"
As he struggled against multiple opponents at once, he clenched his jaw and lashed out with his sword faster than before, slashing them repeatedly in quick succession to force them back for a brief moment.
Then he grabbed a couple of small glass bottles out of his pocket, breaking them onto the ground below him.
A cloud of thick black smoke started rising from the shattered glass, covering his surroundings in darkness.
Captain Vaan took this opportunity and jumped high into the air, avoiding an incoming arrow and landing on his feet.
He quickly activated a scroll he carried on his person and activated a magical teleportation spell that instantly transported him away from the chaotic campsite.
"Damn it!" The leader of the attackers cursed in anger while trying to search for Captain Vaan's whereabouts, but it was to no avail.
He had escaped in the darkness created by the black smoke.
"Forget him! Everyone! Let's finish off the rest of these worthless bastards and follow after the merchant who fled!"