Chapter 43: Zaos vs the Bandit King

Zaos hastily erected a shield in front of himself as he dodged to the side.

*Bam!*

The shield shattered, however, contrary to last time, Zaos was able to avoid being hurt by the arrow.

*Boom!*

The arrow lodged itself in the wall behind Zaos. The powerful momentum it carried shook the office as furniture and decorations were thrown off their original positions.

Zaos swiftly stabilized himself after successfully evading the attack. He looked at the bandit king cautiously only to realize that the other party had his bow down.

[What is he doing?] Zaos eyed the former with a wary gaze.

The bandit king did not immediately shoot his drawn bow, instead, he moved around slowly in a lost manner.

[He can't see me?] Zaos was stunned by the former's actions. He reached into his pockets, grabbed a few throwing needles, and hurdled the concealed throwing needles in the direction of the bandit king.

Immediately the needles entered a thirty-meter radius from the bandit king, he twisted his body to avoid the needles while shooting the arrow nocked in his bow.

*Boom!*

The arrow traveled at incredible speed towards the direction the needles had come from, yet Zaos had already left that position.

*Bam!*

The arrow crashed into the wall, missing its target.

[He really can't see me!] Zaos stealthy moved to another corner.

[The needles only got about a few tens of meters away from him before he sensed them. That means the method he is using to sense me is limited!] A big smile crept onto Zaos' face as he stopped his random movements around the room.

[Then I can still win this fight!] Zaos gazed at his still opponent with a renewed spirit.

Meanwhile, outside the fortress, a dozen or so groups of elves gathered. These groups consisted of different underground forces and a few clans that secretly wished to possess the mercenary city. They observed the battle silently, with none of them advancing towards it.

Yet among the many individuals silently watching the battle, two stood out the most. One had crimson-colored hair, a long crimson goatee, and an eye patch covering his right eye. He sported a set of gray leather armor with a raven engraved on it.

The other had short black hair, bright blue eyes, and a skinny physique. He wore a simple dark assassin outfit made from a type of light looking metal.

They both had their eyes glued to the intense battle taking place at the Thieves Guild headquarters.

"Are you not going to intervene?" The red-haired elf with toned skin asked the other individual.

"Why should I? This was the Bandit King's idea in the first place, and besides, I want to see what that kid is capable of," The dark-haired individual responded. His eyes were still fixated on the battle unfolding before him.

"Kid?" The redhead shifted his attention to the dark elf.

The dark elf shook his head and continued watching the battle.

"Tch!" The fire elf returned his attention to the battlefield but he had a pondering look on his face.

These two individuals were the leaders of two of the strongest forces in the mercenary city. The fire elf was the leader of the Raven Guild while the dark elf was none other than the Venom Panther.

Other than these legendary figures, there were a few other leaders of different forces gathered here but they weren't as noteworthy as the two aforementioned individuals.

*Boom!*

A loud noise thundered through the battlefield. All the elves, including the fighters and the spectators, stopped their previous actions and turned in the direction of the sound.

"It seems they have begun as well…" The fire elf focused his attention on the direction of the sound.

The dark elf nodded as he followed suit.

While the elves speculated on the outcome of the battle, Zaos and the Bandit King continued their fight, oblivious to the ruckus they were causing.

Ever since Zaos realized the trick behind the bandit king's detection he made sure to stay a safe distance away from the former.

After failing to find his target multiple times, the bandit king resorted to shooting randomly around the room. Yet, whenever Zaos wished to use the moment his opponent blindly fired to close in on him, he would immediately face an onslaught of wind blades crashing towards him.

[He will sense me once I enter his range, but if I can instantly appear in it, he wouldn't be able to react accordingly!] Zaos gave a bloodthirsty smile.

[I can only use teleport once, I can't mess it up!] Zaos focused all his attention on his opponent's movements.

"You can't hide forever, rat!" The Bandit King spoke with an annoyed look on his face.

He scanned his surroundings and after not finding anything, he nocked his arrow and shot in a random direction.

[Now!] Immediately the arrow left the bowstring, Zaos activated his teleportation elemental weave while thrusting his Superior-grade dagger forward.

He instantly arrived before his opponent and his hand gripping the Superior-grade dagger continued the thrusting motion but this time, it was aimed at the heart of his opponent!

"Wh–!" Before the bandit king could understand what had transpired, he was struck in the chest by the Superior-grade dagger.

"Ahhh!!!" He screamed as he frantically launched wind blades in all directions.

[Sh*t!] Zaos barely managed to form a protective elemental weave around his body before the wind blades crashed onto his body.

"Ugh!" He grunted. The shield he had erected was destroyed and the weakened wind blades slashed various parts of his body.

Zaos swiftly retreated. He didn't bother checking the massive wounds on his arms, legs, and chest, but instead focused on the frenzied Bandit King.

The Bandit King kept on blindly shooting out wind blades. His eyes were bloodshot and his expression was warped.

[He can still stand with his heart pierced?!] Zaos watched in shock as the opponent remained on his feet with a dagger in his chest. Just when he was about to launch another attack, his face turned pale and his vision blurred.

[Damned… mana… overuse,] Zaos struggled to maintain his footing, and due to the dizziness, he was forced to cancel his invisibility.

"I'll kill you! I'll kill you! I'll kill you all!!" The Bandit King shouted. However, before he could draw his bow, his expression fell as he gazed at the dagger lodged in his chest.

"This… is?" He fell to his knees while watching in disbelief as his skin darkened and his body slowly shriveled up. He tried to pull out the dagger but his slowly withering hands lacked the strength to complete the action.

"I–impossible…" His eyes rolled back and he fell flat on his face.

[He is dead?] Zaos looked at the withering corpse of the Bandit King with wide eyes. Yet, before he could verify the situation, he fainted.