77 Chapter 77

"Surrender you say? " the bandit man said.

"Do you know what it means for the likes of us to surrender?"

"We will be handed death punishment upon reaching Blossom city. "

"And me, oh the the torture I am going to receive. "

"Do you know what I am?"

"Do you think I am a normal mage like you? "

"You know nothing boy, nothing. "

What was he saying? Of course Aaron hadn't seen a mage type like him, but it just meant Aaron didn't know every mage type. That was it right?

"You only know and believe what the association and the families tell you. You all are brainwashed into believing whatever they preach. " The bandit kept on ranting.

Looks like he had deep hatred for the mage association and the families.

"Do whatever you want to do. I am not coming with you. And I am not going out without a fight. "

He once again willed the vines into existence. They were much more in number now and much faster to attack.

Aaron once again used a gate to escape. He appeared out a few steps away.

The bandit leader stopped for a second. He breathed out some pollen like dust out of his mouth and continued with his attack.

Aaron once again dodged with a gate. But this time the bandit was able to anticipate where Aaron was going to appear. He changed the directions of the vine.

Aaron saw what was happening in the nick of time and he opened a gate in mid air before he even landed on the ground. He appeared at the furthest distance he could with the instant gates.

He had been scratched by the vines this time though. He could feel a small cut on his back and could see a little one on his arms.

Was that because of the pollen like thing he sprayed before? He somehow anticipated where Aaron was about to appear?

This was getting dangerous. He couldn't afford to be so defensive.

He attacked the bandit in the same way he had attacked one of his men.

He didn't want to kill him. To be honest he was a little interested in what the man was saying. He might be able to get some information off him which he couldnt get from the mage association.

And from the looks of how he was ranting before, he wouldn't have to put in a lot of effort.

So, instead of going in for a kill, he decided to attack a non vital part. Maybe the pain will make him surrender.

He chose to attack the shoulder.

He chose a dagger and used a gate to attack him.

The dagger stabbed him right where Aaron wanted. But the result wasn't what Aaron expected it to be.

"Hahahaha. I told you I wasn't going to surrender. Infact you can't make me surrender. These wounds mean nothing to me. "

The wound on the bandit's body looked like a tree bark instead of the normal muscle and blood Aaron expected.

And it was healing at a rapid rate.

What was this? This wasn't something he knew or heard about. The magic he had come to know somehow followed some principals of science. But this. This was not something science could explain.

Was he some kind of a living tree? The whole scene was shocking to Aaron.

Amidst his shock, the bandit attacked again. This time he had a crazed smile on his face. The number of vines further increased.

Just how many vines could he control? Aaron cursed and used his gates to escape again. He was ready to be attacked at his new position and opened multiple gates this time to confuse the bandit as to which gate he would be coming out from.

But Aaron knew this wouldn't work on a long run. Opening so many gates at once was very taxing. And the attacks were relentless.

"This is the last time I am asking you. Give up. "

"Hehe. I won't. Why don't you give up? I will let you leave "

He pulled back his vines as to show his good faith. Then gave a grin towards Aaron and attacked him again.

Aaron had enough. He knew he would be hurt seriously if this continued longer.

This time when he used his gates and was about to come out of it.

The bandit leader could feel two gates opening very close to him.

He brought the vines at those positions to defend. He knew it would be the daggers.

But this time the daggers had atomic edges to them.

They cut through the vines and stabbed right across the bandit. He had two holes on his body. You could see light through the holes.

But as soon as the holes were formed, they started healing. They once again looked like insides of a tree trunk.

"You can't kill me like that boy. But I can see you getting tired. Using so many gates must be pushing you hard. "

Aaron was indeed starting to get a mild headache. He knew this couldnt continue any longer.

He pulled out his sword.

The bandit laid dead. His head cut from his shoulder.

Aaron was heaving out the contents of his stomach nearby.

He felt nauseated. He had killed today. The first one was a normal person. He was a little far away and it had been a clean stab. He fell and he hadn't seen the corpse up close.

But this one was different. He was facing this person. He had even talked a little with him. And he had seperated his head from his body. This felt more real to Aaron.

For the first kill he had the excuse of saving Johan.

For the second one, it was a calculated kill. Perhaps that's what made it worse.

After he had emptied his stomach, he looked at the body once again. There was no blood. Both the body and the head shrivelled up a little and had a Woody look to it.

The other bandits had surrendered without any fighting. They revealed they were asked to join the bandit group by the mage. They thought it would be a easy task following the mage. They didn't know if the mage was working alone or working for someone.

Johan searched the body of the mage and found some papers on him. He also found a few gold coins. He handed them all to Aaron.

Aaron didn't keep the coins and gave them to Johan. He had killed, but he won't loot a corpse.

He went through the papers. From the looks of it he was in communication with someone and was supposed to meet them at Blossom city about a month later.

He still didn't know the name of the mage he had killed.

Johan had wrapped the head of the mage in a piece of cloth.

"You will need this if you want to claim the bounty."

"And what do I do with these other people following that mage." Asked Johan.

He had been very polite and acted like Aaron's man after he knew that he was mage.

"Take them with you to Blossom city and had over them to the authorities. I will leaving by myself. "

"Yes Sir Mage. "

Aaron had even more questions now. Just what kind of a mage was the person he killed? And shouldn't he be feeling more bad for killing someone? He didn't know how to answer those questions.

And he knew he wouldnt be getting answers to those questions any time soon either.

He took the head and opened a gate.

He needed to be out of this place first.