CHAPTER 10 - RAID

The flames burn some of the buildings and tents that hold the food storage of the bandit camp. While some bandits try to control the flames, the others look for the cause. Yoma notices that this attack happened on the east wing of the camp. With this in mind, he runs towards that area and jumps onto the wall.

"Archers! Search the forest for the cause of the fire!"

"Alright, you heard Captain Yoma!"

The archers heighten their senses, in search of the flame wielder. Meanwhile, on the opposite side of the camp, a young man is seen, cloaked and walking with a sword clad in flames. The mask on his face is all too familiar and the sword is also reminiscent of one person. It was none other than M.

"It seems that you are more useful than I thought, Kibe. Take care of the east well. They will regret embarrassing me earlier."

The wind flows as M raises the sword above his head once more. His aura flares with a crimson hue as the sword forms another fireball, comparable in size to the last one.

"Flamebringer! Great Burning Flame!"

He launches the fireball into the west wing of the camp, destroying more trading equipment as well as goods. Cries of agony are heard in the camp as some bandits who were caught off guard were killed by the flames. On the East Wall the archers locate the cause of the flames as they see Kibe walking through the forest and holding his longsword unsheathed.

"Sorry guys! I know this is your job but I have to let off some steam!"

Kibe opens his mouth and a ball of light forms.

"DRAGON'S SHOUT!"

The beam tears up the forest that was ahead of him and hits the wall, crumbling a big portion of it. Some archers who were on the wall as well as some bandits who were headed there get blown away. Some archers retaliate by Shooting a series of arrow shots at Kibe. Seeing this, Kibe changes his longsword to a child with the spatial core of the storage ring in the middle. Using this, he takes in most of the arrows that were shot at him.

"I never thought that would work haha! I'm a goddamn genius!"

"Is that something you should say so freely?"

"...eh?"

After Kibe hears an unfamiliar voice, the sound of a bow being released at full force hits him. The problem is that he hears the sound from all directions so he does not know where to dodge. The arrow which was aimed at his head flies through the air in an attempt to hit him from behind. The moment that it was about to make contact, a longsword, clad in flames deflects it.

"It seems that I came back at the right time!"

"So you saved me it seems, M!"

The two stand back to back and Kibe searches for the one that shot at him. His eyes meet a branch that has an excess of leaves and he uses a light slash to cut it, revealing a woman who jumps to another tree. Her hair was short-cut purple with blue highlights at the tips. Her clothing is reminiscent of an assassin, with purple accents on the sleeves. Her bow draws back once more and she shoots at the two but they dodge and get separated.

"We don't have the time for this! M, could you try to gather the bandits into one area?"

"Sure, if they allow me."

"Let's go."

The two rush at a group of bandits. One seems to hold a greatsword while the other has some gauntlets. The fight begins with both parties exchanging blows and dodging with everyone taking minimal damage. Marlin changes Excalibur to a blade which sparks with electricity and shoots two lightning arcs at the group. The bandit tries to block the attack with the greatsword but still gets pushed back. The others get hit with a fierce attack that stuns most of them. The archers aim their bows at Marlin and fire but Kibe jumps up and absorbs the arrows with the shield.

"We make a pretty good team, it seems."

"You could say that. Pull some more weight and maybe I would agree."

" You didn't have to be an ass about it. Anyways! It's ready!"

Kibe raises his shield and points it at the group, who is now stunned and the storage core glows.

"Improvised Move: Arrow Raid!"

All the arrows which were stored up until now get released at the group of bandits, including the archers on the wall. With no way to block and no place to dodge, they all get hit by what seems like over 50 arrows. The group falls quickly as most of the archers die in the process while the others become gravely injured. Marlin then puts his sword to the sky and uses his remaining Qi. The clouds begin to form and it begins to rain, putting out the flames in the process.

(This one will take a while.)

Meanwhile, the leader of the camp directs some carriages holding important merchandise into a portal. In an instant, the female archer appears before the leader, kneeling.

"Sir, your subordinates are dying out there. What are we going to do?"

"Absolutely nothing, Ishyrna."

"..."

"Surprised? I expect as much but you should know this by now. I am not a nice person, I simply do what I must to provide for my family. They will be the bodies that cover our escape. If you have any problem with this, speak up now."

He looks at her with a serious look and Ishyrna begins to sweat profusely. In her mind, the leader of the camp grows to the size of a giant and looks at her with an intimidating glare.

"...I have nothing to say Sir."

"Good. Now then, let's go."

As they walk through the portal, they hear someone chuckle.

"So, when are you guys planning on releasing these chains? You clearly don't wish to take me with you so how about letting me go?"

"I refuse to get involved with that country any longer. Figure it out on your own."

"Heh, how brave."

They walk through the portal and it closes behind them. M finally completed the qi control required to perform this attack and releases it with everything he has.

"Thundercaller! Storm Crash!"

A giant bolt of lightning hits the bandit camp, tearing everything apart and killing the rest of the bandits that were present. The fire gets extinguished by the rain and the walls crumble as Kibe and Marlin walk in.

"Be honest, do you think you could do that attack again?"

"That was what the sword allowed me to do. It just means my connection with it grew even more over the course of a couple days. My cultivation will definitely increase once again relatively soon.

"And they say I'm the monster."

"Regardless, let's salvage some stuff from this place."

They walk in and see someone rummaging through the debris in search of something. It seems that Ruben came back after leaving when he heard the explosions that were coming from the camp. Marlin rushes at him and places his blade at Ruben's neck in an attempt to kill him but gets stopped by Kibe's Dragon Arm.

"Why are you stopping me, you idiot?"

"Take a look at him first before you attack! He's about our age. Killing people who wrong us is valid by all means, sure. However, he is still learning about the world as much as we are."

"That and I'm also not a bandit you goddamn psychopath!"

"...eh?"

Ruben explains some of his situation to the two, omitting his brother and his absence from the explanation altogether.

"Alright, so it seems that you are not lying. Take whatever you want and leave."

They keep searching through the debris until they hear a voice.

"So I know you guys are not bad people so could you release me from these chains?"

There, they see a young man, chained up and unaffected by Marlin's previous attack.

[END OF CHAPTER 10]