"The soldiers of Star Fort will punish you!"
A woman dressed in simple commoner garb, which was made of beast fur, shouted at a man while standing defiantly in front of a group of women and children. Her eyes were fixed on an obvious bandit, his grin wide as he spoke.
"What's that? Punish me? You think they care about you?"
He moved closer and grabbed her by the ponytail. His breath stank of cheap fermented alcohol, and his teeth were pure yellow.
"You have such confidence in your new lord and his orders? Making your way into the new villages doesn't change your fate. Now shut up. It's not my fault you were born weak."
The man threw the woman into the small group of people huddled in the corner after punching her in the face. The place they found themselves in was damp and dark. It was not even a proper dungeon with stone walls. Instead, it was a cave with iron bars keeping them from fleeing.
"You'll see. We are under their protection now."
Though the woman had been beaten and blood could be seen in one of her eyes, the hope in her eyes did not fade. The bandit who had thrown her began to frown, unsettled by the strange resolve she showed.
"What's wrong with these bastards?"
He stepped outside, slamming the iron door shut, and glanced at the other cells. More people were crammed inside. They had not been there long, yet something felt off to him.
"They usually don't behave like this. Could what they are saying be true?"
He turned to another bandit who stood nearby, scratching his oversized belly and yawning.
"They are probably just crazy. Don't listen to them. No one is coming to save a bunch of useless farmers. The nobles generally do not care about them, and the new lord will be the same."
"Hah. You're probably right. But the rumors of the new order still worry me."
"If someone comes, as long as we have our leader with us, everything will be fine."
"Yeah. We are lucky we followed him here."
"Beats working in the western desert."
The two men started laughing as they looked at the prisoners in the cells. For some reason, they all seemed almost cheerful. They were different from the people the bandits had kidnapped in other regions of Sanni Forest. Usually, now was the time when captives begged the most. Instead, these prisoners kept shouting about star soldiers who would come to save them.
"Wait… isn't that?"
As they were about to sit back at the table where they had just been eating and drinking while keeping watch over the prisoners, they heard it. A loud bell, the one their allies were meant to ring if their hidden encampment came under attack.
"Hah, you see? I told you!"
The same bloodied woman stepped closer to the bars and pointed at the two men as they began to panic. They glanced at each other, their faces paling slightly, though fear had not fully set in. Their camp was large. They had plenty of bandits and warriors, more than enough to fight off a group of mercenaries, which was what they assumed the commotion was about.
"Shut your mouth, whore!"
One of the men shouted as both grabbed weapons from the side of the table. They were not shoddy at all, surprisingly well-made for people who were supposed to be mere bandits.
"Just wait until we get back. I am going to have some fun with you and teach an extra lesson when I come back."
After threatening the woman, the two ran out. They joined the other bandits, who were clad in high-quality gear and steel armor and, in some cases, even mana-conductive weapons and shields. They were outfitted like proper soldiers backed by a noble or a wealthy merchant. However, once they reached the end of the corridor, their laughter quickly died.
The hidden encampment had been carved into the side of a small mountain, concealed behind trees and a hidden gate with a concealment rune. It was not something that should have been easily discovered or breached. Magical lamps lit the interior, and a full barracks stood stocked with arrows and replacement weapons. Their hideout was not a simple bandit camp but an organized movement that had been established. It was designed to survive for years without being discovered, so when the bandits saw their gate buckle under massive pressure, the sight was horrifying.
"What is happening? How did they find us? Did someone betray us?"
The question had barely left the bandit's lips when a thunderous crack split the air. It did not come from the ceiling but from the reinforced gate. The illusion clearly failed as the entrance shattered. The pieces of the shattered gate flew towards them. They raised their shield for cover. A lone person stood with a large Warhammer in his hands glowing with purple light.
"W-what? They have a person with a rare high affinity among them."
Through the uneven opening, armored soldiers poured in. Each was heavily armed, their weapons making the bandits' own gear look like rusted iron. The moment steel met steel, the difference was obvious. Their physical skills alone overpowered the bandits.
One of the first clashes between the two forces occurred when a brutish-physique bandit used his saber to attack the lean-physique Star soldier in front of him. The soldier used his sword to block his opponent's attack.
The bandit used his imprinted spell of wind affinity to increase attack rate, but the lean soldier outperformed the bandit with the shield. Soon, the bandit's body, which now bore a long sword injury on the torso, showed signs of exhaustion from the excessive use of mana. Noticing the fatigue, the soldier used his imprinted spell for the first time, causing a stone spike to form beneath his foot and shoot toward the bandit's head.
The bandit's shield blocked the stone spike, but the soldier's sword passed through the opening created by the stone spike's impact and was buried deep in the bandit's chest. As he drew the sword back, blood sprouted from his chest. The bandit's body landed with a thud, but the soldier had already moved on to confront another bandit.
Several elements can be seen in the battle as both opposing sides started using their imprinted spells. Some threw fireballs or ice shards from their hands while others covered their blades or shields with their affinities.
A line of bowmen stepped forward and selected their targets and fired the arrows. Some bandits got hit in the chest or neck between the gaps of armor. They dispersed after firing and got in an exchange of arrows with opponents' bowmen.
A loud whistle was heard, and everybody planted their feet. The person with the warhammer struck the ground after charging the weapon, and the ground shook beneath them. All the bandits lost their balance, and the battle turned into a one-sided massacre.
After crushing the last of the bandit's skull, Herald took off his helmet and examined the battlefield. He quickly formed a team of 50 members of Tusked Bastion and decided to storm the hidden hideout based on the orders and information provided by the Olford.
Herald spent quite a bit of time checking if a bandit was hiding among the group of prisoners. Most of the captives belonged to the non-affiliated villages surrounding the Hatar territory. He also supervised the treatment of the prisoners especially a bloodied face woman, who for some reason had a big smile on her face.
A few of their new citizens were also among the prisoners. They were ambushed during a trip to their old village to wrap up final affairs.
-----
Sama looked up from the report, his eyes cold. "So, Herald was successful. The main 'Bandit' camp was exactly where Garren said it would be."
Olford nodded, his shadow long on the map. "Yes, my lord. But what we found inside the hideout is more troubling than the men themselves. We found the proof of eight of our senior non-combat members colluding with bandits. Currently in strict surveillance. But the biggest concern is the proof of communication between the unknown leader of the bandit group and the Krakan worshippers."
Olford set the heavy metal insignia on the table, which landed with a resonant thud, its cold surface catching the light as it settled. The creature resembled a shadow-cloaked titan with eight crushing limbs, two spectral whip-like lashes, and glowing, piercing eyes. The silver-etched words read:
"FROM THE DEPTHS, WE CLAIM ALL."
His face tightened. "These sea gunkers from Krakan worshippers have been a nuisance in the coastal region for a long time."
"What are they doing here, in these forests and mountains?"
Olford shakes his head. "All we know is that they have a business relationship together."
"Garren had been a bandit for a long time; he used to provide them with slaves from here, but they never made it all the way in," he said, scratching his chin.
"Send a warning to Nina and increase the surveillance both in and out of our territory. Also inform the Nemius, military, and duke," Sama said, recognizing the seriousness of the situation.
"Also, order recruits to join the bandits' eradication missions; it's time they learned to fight humans."
"Have you stored the cores from the pouch that I brought from the reconnaissance mission?" Sama asked in a low voice.
Olford nodded his head.
"Inform me immediately of any response from the Alchemists of Isa or the Tower of Alchemists."
Having delivered his orders, Sama sank into his office chair and let his head fall back, his eyes drifting shut. Taking the silent dismissal as his cue, Olford reached down and swept the heavy metal insignia from the table—ensuring it made no further sound against the wood—and silently withdrew into the shadows of the hallway.
----
In the deep underground prison of the Star Fort, Garren was sitting in his seven-by-five prison cell with shackles on all four limbs and neck as well as torso.
The marks of torture were difficult to see. But his mental state told a different story.
Since coming to this crammed place, he has been busy assessing where he has gone wrong.
He had been to other places far more developed than here. He never got caught, and a place like this never stood a chance against his skills.
The more he compared his past experiences to the experience here, the more he began to see the differences that he missed. Like with ease, he formed the black market by partnering with a proxy of that person named Hammet and making the big money very quickly.
He still didn't doubt the nobles but was fairly certain that they would soon have an ending similar to his.
The only conclusion that he came up with was that this place had been designed for the bigger fish than him.
He shuddered at the thought of delving deeper into the situation.
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