Begin of Bandit Extermination

 After the royal family left, Ryker, Sela and Adia had a small meeting regarding the plan of their excursion. After an hour of discussing, they agreed on meeting at the gate where they hold the bandit's temporary before going bandit hunting.

-x-

 "Looks like you are- Why do you have a Spirit Giant Tiger?" Sela asked in shock, Adia reacting the same way.

 "Tashirn over here will help us, in case there are more Noble experts than we expect. After all, we don't know how many of the 10 strongest bandit groups is in the vicinity of the Birak Kingdom," Ryker explained.

 Glancing at one another, the two nodded, seeing nothing wrong with it as the Spirit Beast seem tame, or at least don't have the perchance of having them as lunch. With nothing else to say, the group of four make their way out of the city, heading to the wilderness.

-x-

 "What is the plan, leader?" Sela asked. She had accepted Ryker will be the leader but considering he did not have any official title, yet, she will not call her captain or anything of similar.

 "We are going to the previous hideout, in case it is occupied by different bandit groups," he told her, earning a nod in return. With the explanation, the group make their way towards the hideout. 

 Once they got near enough, Ryker used his Soul Sense, trying to detect if there is anyone inside.

 "Nothing as of now," he told the two. "This make things difficult. We only find this place by luck and I have thought there will be someone who would come if this group did not respond," he said with a frown.

 He then look at the two, "What of the prisoner? Is there any more information that the interrogater managed to get out of him?" 

 The two shook their heads. "Nothing else than what he told us that day. Apparently they are to act as independently as possible, with little contact with other groups unless there are any huge plans commencing,"

 "This make thing more difficult. How about this, I will fly all over the place and used my Soul Sense to detect their presence. Meanwhile, the two-" Tashirn growled, "sorry, three of you will go by foot. We will contact one another when I sense a hideout or a group of people,"

 The two looked reluctant but accepted it nonetheless. With they agreeing, Ryker did not say another word as he flew, planning to fly at a consistent distance to the city, hoping to find the hideout this way.

-x-

 Ryker manage to meet them, the trio had only gone about 2 kilometers, no thanks to the fact they move as slowly as possible, not wanting to alert the opposition.

 "Bad news?" Adia asked, seeing his troubled expression. He nodded.

 "I just circled the capital while keeping my distance away from it. By the time I done, I manage to detect 17 different hideout, or at least caverns of some sort," his words make the the two guards' face to turn dark.

 "What is the plan?" Sela asked. After all, 17 possible hideout would not be something even them could handle in a short time.

 "I will send a message to the Crown Prince, as well as giving him the coordinates of each place. I have leave some marking on it, along with giving him a map of the location of the supposed hideout.

 We will work with the others as this is too much for us to handle," the two guards nodded. After all, even as powerful as Ryker is, he is just one person. If he attack one hideout, there is a chance for the rest to be alerted and make the others leave the hideout.

 He got lucky before, managing to destroy a the bandit groups without alerting the rest, but they could not hope for miracle all the time, could they?

 "Do we wait for them to make a move or-? Adia was stopped when the communication token of Ryker began to buzz. The dual-haired man took out the communication token before sending a message to the one who call him out.

 The man looked at the two guards with a smirk. "The others are ready to go,"

-x-

 With the confirmation of the other guards already mobilized, Ryker and the two guards make their way to the closest hideout. Of course after telling which place they are going to strike so the guards would not go there and waste valuable manpower on an already assaulted hideout.

 It did not take long for them to reach the hideout. Ryker used his Soul Sense to determine the might of bandit group, and what he found, is assuring.

 "4 peak Genesis Sea, and 11 other Genesis Sea of carrying degree, the second strongest after the peak would be at 8th Stage," he told the two what he found. "Focus on crippling them. We need to know if there are other hideouts, either more hidden or further away from the capital,"

 The guards nodded in understanding. After giving them their task, he told them of the plan, "I will handle 2 peak Genesis Sea, while each of you will take one. Tashirn will exterminate the rest,"

 It is weird to have the strongest, well, in term of cultivation, the easiest task but considering she is a beast, restrain is something she did not have, and they need to make sure the leader is alive.

 After the briefing, the four quickly head straight inside the hideout, ready to give the bandit group a horrid nightmare.

-x-

"Sir, we are attacked!"

 "How many?"

 "Four people, 2 at peak Genesis Sea while the other 2 should be weaker,"

 "Huh, let them come. We have four peak Genesis Sea, and more Genesis Sea below that. This will take less than 5 minutes,"

-x-

 4 minutes later, Ryker is holding two peak Genesis Sea bandits by the throat.

 "Tell me where the other bandits are, and I will not feel inclined to castrate you," the bandits squirmed, the threat of castration no doubt effective.

 The guards also have the other two on the ground, stepping on the two other peak Genesis Sea. "Tashirn should end this by now," as he said it, the Spirit Giant Tiger roared, the signal of her having finished her opponent. 

 Then again, she is a Spirit Beast. The only reason it took longer than them to finish her foes despite them being way weaker is the number and the fact they ran away, scruying like rats at the sight of the powerful Beast.

 "What do we do with them?" Adia asked. Her respect for him goes up as she saw him manhandled the two peak Genesis Sea with ease.

 Sure, both her and Sela could do the same, but not as easy as he make it look, especially considering the difference between cultivation realm.

 "Hand them over to the Crown Prince and let them do the interrogation. We see if there is any more such task after this," he answered.