9 Chapter 9

"What an idiot. Coming here while you're alone?" One of the bandits jeered. "You think just because you killed one of us that you could handle the Reavers? Fool! We'll teach you not to mess with us. Rush him!" He roared as 10 bandits waving their weapons in the air charged at him.

"To be only 10 minutes away from the road. You are an audacious pile of trash." Artreus muttered before letting his Aura envelop his body. Chanting under his breath, he lunged at a bandit. The bandit swung his sword and grinned from ear to ear as he saw Artreus is not dodging. But his smile quickly faded as he saw his hands flew off in a spray of blood as Artreus cut his wrist with one hand and punched him in the face with the other, sending the poor bandit crumpling in the ground screaming as his blood flows from his severed arms.

The bandits were stunned at the sight of their comrade screaming in the ground lying in the pool of his own blood. Not missing a beat, Artreus cut the head of the bandit nearest to him. Seeing this, the other bandits were enraged and lunged at him.

Fools. Artreus thought before he finished his chant. "HOLY FORCE BLAST!" A wave of bright light burst forth, pushing the bandits back, with some of them sent crashing to the cave wall by the force of the spell. Those who braced themselves have withstood the spell, but they were off-balance and wasn't in a position to attack. Taking advantage of the opening, Artreus chanted a quick sword-of-light spell, and although it lacks the power of the fully chanted spell, it was enough to deal with bandit trash. "Bestow upon me the light that cuts through the dark! SWORD OF LIGHT!" A blade of light appeared, enveloping the short swords and extending up to 2 meters. With a horizontal slash, he cut 3 bandits in half, and when one of them got too close, a downward slash he cleaved the bandit in two and even cut the ground beneath his feet. The light now gone from his swords, Artreus stepped in between the corpse of the bandit he just slew and slowly marched towards the bandits who were rooted in place after witnessing the gruesome spectacle before them.

Witnessing the massacre right in front of them, one of the bandits finally found his voice. "A sword mage! Fall back! We need reinforcements!" The bandit from earlier shouts as he started to run back to the cave. Seeing their 'leader' retreat, the remaining 10 bandits started panicking and ran after their leader.

"You think I am going to let any of you go? I will kill each, and every one of you bastards!" He then chants under his breath. "Haste!" He felt the warm light envelop him, lightening his body, and empowering his limbs. "Time to take out the trash!" He then charged, cutting the bandits down left and right.

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'This is insane! How could he move like that? He didn't show that level of fighting ability before.' Micaela thought as she hides in the shadow. She protested Drogo's command to have her follow the pervert in his mission to hunt down the bandits, but in the end, she relented since she is the only one able to follow the man without getting found out. She was expecting the man to rush in and attack the bandits like an angry bull since she thought that he and the old man have the same fighting style, but what she is witnessing right now is unreal.

'Is he hiding his strength? Waiting for us to lower our guard before killing us? There was no sign of the madness in his eyes when they were camping last night.' She shuddered at the thought that they would've had their throats slit as they slept last night as she watches the man brutally kill each bandit within his reach. He is not only fast, faster than when they first met, but he moves with so much freedom in this enclosed space, using the cave walls and even the bodies of his enemies as springboards as he lunges from one enemy after another. People might think that those with high mobility are lacking strength, often relying on finesse in hitting the weak points of opponents to deliver critical strikes. But this man is different. There was no finesse or grace in his movements. Only brute strength as each strike he delivers cleaves not only his enemies but also the surrounding. As if he is not fighting humans, instead, it feels like he was fighting giant monsters.

As the fight drag on, his fighting style became wilder, his face full of wrath and eyes red in anger as if he is being possessed by something. Chopping off the head of a large bandit, he blocked an errant attack headed to his head. His sword broke and he was forced to block the weapon with his arm. The bandit's sword bit deep, but with his body reinforced by Aura, it wasn't able to cut through his bone. Enraged by the pain, Artreus roared and grabbed the attacker by the throat. The other bandits were emboldened; the sight of the wounded man gave them hope that they could slay the beast. But instead of falling back from the charging crowd, the wounded Artreus used the bandit that he was chocking as a weapon and swung him around, both shielding him from the attacks and pummeling those who got too close. Once he cleared the way, he threw the broken corpse of the bandit in his hand and wrenched off the sword from his arm. The squelching sound and the spray of blood resulting from taking the blade off his flesh was sickening, but it was quickly healed as light covered his body, healing his wounds and probably torn muscles from overexertion.

This was his routine from the start of the battle.

He attacks recklessly, relying on Aura, his buffs, and beastlike fighting instinct to slaughter his opponents. But such a reckless style of fighting is not without drawbacks. Not only does he need to steal or grab a new weapon every 2 or 3 attacks due to them breaking after he recklessly uses too much strength in each of his attacks, but he also constantly need to heal his body, not only from wounds that he got from enemies but also from wounds that he inflicts on himself. Multiple times has she witnessed him break his arms from punching a man through a wall or swinging his weapon too hard, his legs bent unnaturally or broke from using too much power to achieve faster lunges or judging from the craters all around the cave, stronger kicks. She is even afraid that there would be a cave-in if this continues.

But even when he uses such a self-destructive fighting style, there was no disruption with his flow. As if he has been fighting like that his whole life, he constantly chants his prayers and manages to heal himself as soon as he receives damage as if he knows when his body would break from the pressure, enabling him to continue fighting like he didn't have 2 broken legs a split second ago.

She then watched Artreus throw his sword that was still coated in this blood with such force that it pierced through a bandit and impaling another. With their original group of 30 now cut down to just 10 in just a few minutes of fighting, the bandits are now too terrified to even approach this lone man, dressed in nothing but a tattered cloak, drenched in the blood of their comrades.

As if driven by the madness of the slaughter in front of him, one of the bandits charged at Artreus, tears running down his face, yelling the name of a woman, must be the impaled bandit woman Artreus just killed. He lunged at Artreus, determined to stab him even if it cost his life, only to have a hole punched through his gut and thrown against the other shaking bandits.

She then realized that she was shaking. Palms sweating and her body quivering, is this fear? She grew up with the old man, saw him fight off hordes of enemies both human and beasts. By far he is the strongest she has seen. But she never has she felt afraid of him.

But right at this moment, she is afraid of this man in front of her. Is he even human? Seeing the madness in the face of the man as he bit off the neck of a man who caught him in a bear hug, all the while muttering something about protecting the world from evil like it is a mantra, there is only one thought in her mind. That right now, she is looking at a monster wearing the skin of a man.

As terrifying as the sight of a madman drenched in blood, fighting like a rabid beast rather than a man, there is one thing about him terrified her more. It is the chants, no the prayers. "Yue, Goddess of the Radiant Moon…" She hears him start chanting again. How could he chant such heartfelt prayers and have that expression on his face? Who even is this Goddess he is praying to? Apart from the three Gods, she has never heard of this Radiant Moon Goddess Yue.

Is he a cultist? A heretic?

This is bad. She must report this to the old man.

But even as her mind screams that she must leave this crazed beast alone before he senses her presence, the old man entrusted her with a mission, and damn it, she will see this through. Then once she gets back, she will complain to him for making her watch over an insane pervert.

As she curses Drogo in her mind, she suddenly heard a noise coming from outside the cave. It must be a patrol coming back to their base. She thought as her gaze falls upon the gore covered man that she was ordered to keep an eye on. As strong as he may be, he is still human, and after slaughtering all those bandits, it was clear that the man's Mana and Stamina is getting low from all the reckless use of Aura, Buffs, and Healing throughout the 15-minute battle.

'Should I stay hidden and let him fight the patrol and the bandits in front of him? No… That won't do. Even if he is strong, he is already exhausted. He would surely fall if he gets surrounded by enemies now. Should I jump in and help him defeat the bandits here first before facing the incoming patrol? No. That is also not a good idea. For all I know, this insane man would attack me first if I approach him. If both are not feasible, then only one option is possible.' Micaela thought, then with a determined look in her eyes, she gripped her daggers and started sneaking towards the cave opening to face the bandit patrol before they enter the cave. From the sound of the footsteps, she estimates the patrol is composed of at least 10 bandits.

She is not leaving because she was terrified to watch over a deranged man, no, she is keeping him safe by dealing with the enemy reinforcement. Micaela keeps on telling herself as she tries to calm herself. After a minute, she finally catches a glimpse of the bandits. Her hands were shaking as the memory of the slaughter just inside the cave was still fresh in her mind. But she shook those thoughts away. She is an adventurer. The old man raised no coward. Finally settling her nerves, she kept herself concealed as she waits for the bandits to enter her range. As soon as they did, she threw 3 daggers which found their targets and struck the necks of 3 bandits, killing them before they even saw her.

Why is she so afraid of that pervert? She could also deal with these weaklings. All the while not injuring herself like an idiot in the process.