Chapter 27: Leader of the Bandits

A whip coursed through the air and wrapped itself around a knight that was pushing back three of the bandits alone. The knight groaned as he was pulled back by the force behind the whip. Right then, a ball of fire streaked down the sky and crashed against the whip. Before it could snap the neck of the knight, the whip was pushed behind and the owner dragged it away.

At the very center of the battlefield that was destroyed by a single flick of that whip, a man with a blue mantle walked up, the whip in his hands. His eyes shifted away from the knights that fought his men and turned to the one standing across from him.

White hair the color of snow.

Eyes crimson, a shade as deep as blood.

And a stern face that would never suit one with the frame of a young child.

"Newbie... I should have known," the man said, his mantle fluttering against the wind, revealing the dozens of scars on his face and hands.

"You," the child glaring at him, Eugene, spoke out loud. "Which one are you again?"

"..."

"..."

"..."

A wave of silence filled the place again.

"Wasn't the young master infiltrating this place? Hey, did you guys mess with our young master of Hall?"

"What the hell? Is the newbie actually scared? You knights, is the newbie actually an idiot?"

Eugene clenched his fist and held in his annoyance at the comments of the ones around.

"Hah!" The mantle'd man scoffed. "You're mocking me, huh? What a bold child."

"No, I am serious. You seem strong, but the whole lot of the top brass uses that damned mantle and whip! Which one are you?"

"ENOUGH!" A chilling wave spread through the air as the man extended his control over all the mana in the air. "A dying man doesn't need to know my name!"

The pressure exuded from the mana in the man's control was strong enough to make the knights and the bandits all freeze. Even the attendant standing behind the man was fearful as his legs trembled.

They all came to an immediate realization.

'This person is out of our league.'

Even the knights who were trained enough to be able to use charged blades and were as strong as intermediate-ranked mages were unable to move a finger.

Then, something that shocked all of them happened.

The tremendous pressure that they only felt the side-effects of scared them to the bone, but the one facing it head on was completely emotionless. In front of killing intent that would chase a lion away, Eugene sighed.

"I really am being serious though..." he scratched his hair casually, as if he were out on a stroll in a park. "Well, whatever."

The air around him changed again.

His eyes narrowed, his muscles stiffened, a cold, icy glare like the coldest tips of a snowy peak, a blizzard.

A blizzard emerged from his eyes as Eugene's pressure filled the air.

The knights and bandits held their breaths while the man in the mantle smirked wide.

"Great, just splendid." The man said.

"Leader..." the attendant behind him called out. "Please don't destroy the village."

His word made Eugene knock his head back in realization. Right, the strongest one here was the leader after all. The rest must have left without informing the lower rungs like him.

"Alright, Keith. You can have glasses back there."

"Tsk. I wanted to have fun too!"

Keith and Eugene casually chatted, ignoring the leader of the bandits and his attendant, much to his chagrin. Immediately, the bandit leader flicked his whip.

A whistle spread through the air as the whip cut through the skies faster than one could see.

Eugene's hand moved just as fast as he dodged the whip.

A crater was left in its wake with a cloud of dust, but the child was nowhere to be seen.

A gleam flashed next to the leader's face and he ducked low. From his left came in a swing of a sword right where his neck was mere moments ago.

The leader pressed his hands on the ground and flipped to bring his legs down with all the momentum. Eugene crossed hands and placed his sword in front of them to take the hit. The leg of the leader crashed against his flattened blade, his feet dug into the ground, but Eugene wasn't pushed back at all.

He sweeped his legs and kicked the man's hands, forcing him to jump back and create some distance between them.

"For a child," the man said. "You're pretty damn strong—" His words were held back in his mouth when he noticed the purple ki covering Eugene's sword and his feet.

"Double... type..." he mumbled, shocked.

Eugene stretched his hand out and crooked his fingers toward himself.

"Enough chit-chat..." he said. "Come here and die."