The mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind

Kyoma, who was accompanied only by a cute grey rabbit perched on his shoulder, looked like an easy target to the bandits. In their line of work, bandits preferred to eliminate all evidence or ensure that their victims couldn't impede their future endeavors. Typically, they targeted passing merchants, either stealing their loot or demanding a "road tax". Whenever possible, they opted for the latter choice since merchants had a vast network. If word got out that a group of merchants had been robbed or killed en route, the area would be marked as a forbidden zone, reducing the number of merchants traveling through it and depriving the bandits of future prey. It was similar to poisoning an entire lake to catch a single fish. In the worst-case scenario, the merchant guild would hire high-level adventurers to eradicate the bandits' hideout. Thus, bandits chose to tax the easy prey to avoid attracting the wrath of the merchant guild and high-level adventurers and to ensure a consistent flow of revenue.

Bandits generally preferred to avoid being disturbed by outsiders, such as passersby. Therefore, upon noticing Kyoma's presence, they sought to ensnare him in their net, along with the spoils of their catch.

Kyoma pleaded, "P-Please don't kill me!" Stuttering, he offered his adorable-looking windcutter rabbit to the aggressive bandit approaching him. As he handed over the rabbit, Kyoma quickly cast appraisal.

The bandit's information surged into his head:

Name: Kochi

Race: Human

Class: Rogue

Level: 3

HP: 65/70

MP: 12/12

Strength: 5

Agility: 3

Intelligence: 3

Passive Skill: Dagger Mastery (Level 1)

Active Skills: Bleed (Level 1)

....

Kochi appeared to reject the cute, fluffy, and adorable rabbit that was shoved into his arms, showing annoyance at Kyoma's action as he threw the rabbit to his companion who was standing beside him. "Appraise," Kyoma casted.

As the third bandit in the group deployed to drag Kyoma back became impatient, he grabbed Kyoma's arm and forcibly pulled him towards the group of merchants. "Appraise," Kyoma said again.

As the third bandit was dragging Kyoma towards the group of merchants, he noticed that Kyoma was carrying a bulky bag. "Open up your bag before I smash yer head in," the bandit ordered Kyoma to lay out his goods on the floor.

Kyoma was terrified as he emptied his bag on the floor, which revealed thirty goblin horns and the corpse of an evolved windcutter rabbit. Upon seeing the thirty goblin horns, the bandits did not link the connection to Kyoma, who had killed the goblins. They assumed that Kyoma, who appeared like a pushover, had simply found his bag filled with goblin horns through a stroke of luck. Additionally, the bandits did not know that the grey rabbit lying dead on the floor was an evolved windcutter rabbit, having only seen regular field rabbits before. They assumed that the grey rabbit looked almost identical to the grey rabbit that was being tossed around. The bandits further assumed that Kyoma was nothing but a weakling as he was obedient throughout the ordeal. After stealing all of Kyoma's loot, the bandits redirected their attention back to the merchants, while the windcutter rabbit hopped around innocently and harmlessly, touching one bandit at a time and giving off vibes of a curious little animal who wanted to be petted.

The domineering tone of the strongest-looking bandit rang out, "So what's it gonna be, ya damn fools. Your neck, or 10 silver coins each?" This bandit stood over 190cm tall and had veins bulging over his muscular body, which was covered in countless scars. His battle-hardened face had a deep diagonal scar, narrowly missing his left eye. He wielded a battle axe and pointed it imposingly towards the supposed head of the group of merchants.

The head of the merchants begged the bandit, "S-Sir, 10 silver coins per head is too much! Please consider lowering the price! We are mere merchants trying to make a living by selling low-end goods." Hearing this, the bandit chief frowned in dissatisfaction and asked menacingly, "Are you trying to bargain with me?" The bandit chief's tone was menacing, as if the next wrong words from the merchant would spell his death. Kyoma observed the situation and realised that two of the bodyguards laying wounded on the floor were the group of adventurers who had saved him previously - Hikaru and Takumi. Meanwhile, Sora and Rina were tied with their hands behind their backs and were being held by a group of bandits, preventing them from doing anything.

As the bandit chief and head of the merchants conversed, the windcutter rabbit crept towards the bandit leader in a sly and non-threatening manner. With a soft voice, Kyoma whispered, "Appraise." With the final piece of information now in his possession, Kyoma smirked, calculating his chances of victory to be 99.9%. Though he lacked experience in combat with other humans, Kyoma knew better than to engage in a reckless battle with the bandits. His limited battle experience also prevented him from accurately estimating the strength of other humans, leaving him with no choice but to patiently cast appraisal on each bandit, using the harmless and adorable rabbit to do so. However, Kyoma soon realised that he had underestimated his own strength, as the bandits were pathetically weak, with individual stats only slightly stronger than those of a regular goblin. In total, there were only 18 bandits, with only the chief slightly stronger than the others.

Name: Garou

Race: Human

Class: Warrior

Level: 5

HP: 120/120

MP: 25/25

Strength: 15

Agility: 9

Intelligence: 5

Passive Skill: Axe Mastery (Level 2), Extortion (Level 2)

Active Skills: Hack (Level 1), Shout (Level 1)

Titles: Chief of Bandit, Murderer

The negotiation between the bandit and merchants broke down as the chief of the bandit grew increasingly aggressive, hurling derogatory remarks at the merchants and violently grabbing the nearest one by the hair and slamming their head on the ground. "NONE OF YOU WILL LEAVE HERE ALIVE!" he bellowed. Suddenly, his temper was cut short by an arrow imbued with dark energy that pierced through his chest from behind. Although the arrow missed his heart, it punctured his left lung, causing him excruciating pain and rendering him immobile. He fell to his knees, gripping the arrow as he coughed up blood and moaned in agony. Witnessing their boss getting shot, the other bandits became agitated and started to swarm like an angry hornet's nest, demanding to know who fired the shot.

Simultaneously, the formerly harmless rabbit sprang into action, transforming into a blur of grey, dashing towards the closest bandit and slicing through his body with ease, rendering him immediately incapacitated. In a flash, the windcutter rabbit darted from one bandit to another, delivering swift blows that reduced them all to critical health. Its movements were so quick that it appeared as if it teleported from one target to another.

Meanwhile, Kyoma drew the iron dagger he had purchased from the adventurer's guild and swiftly attacked the nearest bandit, who was unable to retaliate in time against Kyoma's lightning-fast speed. It was a one-sided confrontation, with Kyoma attacking like a tiger pouncing on its prey, leaving no chance for the bandit to react.

As Kyoma focused on his target, a bandit next to him saw an opportunity to strike and swung his worn-out sword with countless nicks towards Kyoma. However, his stance and breathing were entirely incorrect, revealing his inexperience with a sword. It was akin to a street thug charging at Kyoma with a bat, without any knowledge of proper techniques.

Before the bandit's sword could make contact with Kyoma, a dark goblin appeared seemingly out of nowhere and smashed its mace onto the back of the bandit who attempted to attack Kyoma from behind. The goblin did not even bother to use "dark matter" to reinforce its mace, as it would be overkill for the feeble bandits.

As the chaos ensued, arrows flew sporadically from the woods, impaling any bandit unfortunate enough to be caught in their path. The first two bandits to fall were the ones tasked with keeping watch over Sora and Rina, leaving them helpless and unable to intervene in the mayhem. Kyoma, the tanned goblin wielding a mace, and the ferocious rabbit continued to take down the remaining bandits one by one, while the occasional stray arrow contributed to the carnage. The hobgoblin, on the other hand, was ordered to stand guard over the merchants in case any of the bandits decided to use them as hostages. The merchants were initially terrified by the sight of the towering hobgoblin, never having seen one so large before. However, Kyoma quickly reassured them, informing them that the hobgoblin was his familiar. As Kyoma continued to dispatch the remaining bandits, they began to regret their decision to pursue a life of crime.

As the battle continued, Kyoma and his undeads easily incapacitated 12 of the bandits, leaving only 8 remaining. These bandits quickly dropped their weapons and surrendered by kneeling on the ground. In comparison to the dungeon Kyoma had just conquered, defeating these bandits was a piece of cake. The battle was over almost as soon as it began. The bandits' individual stats were so laughable that Kyoma could have easily defeated them all on his own with his overwhelmingly superior stats. Despite not having any prior experience in close combat against humans, Kyoma's absolute strength was enough to overpower the bandits. It was similar to how an adult could defeat a toddler who had some martial arts knowledge, but the difference in strength between the two was so great that the toddler's techniques were useless. When a significant difference in strength is present, techniques and strategies pale in comparison to sheer strength.

Later on, Kyoma and the merchants bound all the bandits with ropes provided by the merchants. The grateful merchants expressed their gratitude to Kyoma for rescuing them and gave him a Meji Merchant token as a token of their appreciation. This token could be used to request a reasonable favour from the Meji Merchant association, and was typically given to individuals who had performed a meritorious deed for the Meji Merchants, such as saving them from bandits. Kyoma then approached Sora and her companions, finding Sora in the midst of healing the two swordsmen who had sustained fatal injuries during the attack.