Chapter 11

I walked for a while until I finally could see the place where the bandits were, and I could feel how the corners of my mouth lifted.

I observed two roofed wagons, each of which was attached to two Holoplers. These creatures, similar to velociraptors, are often used as mounts for people or caravans traveling through difficult terrains.

They are more expensive than horses, although not as good as them when covering long distances, but they have much better mobility in various terrains. Additionally, they have very strong and sharp claws that they use to defend themselves from predators that try to get close. They can also perform better maneuvers, such as turning 180° in just a few seconds, unlike other four-legged mounts that have to make a big turn.

All property stolen by bandits becomes the property of the people who subjugate them, except for the kidnapped individuals.

I cleared my mind of those thoughts and focused on finding a way to deal with the bandits.

The two people who showed no hostility were inside the caravan, while the bandits were grouped on one side drinking beer, except for one of them who was watching the surroundings. But why do they drink beer when it's daytime?

I started to approach slowly towards the bandits and tried to go unnoticed. I walked at a steady pace and tried to make as little noise as possible. I got close to the bandits who were drinking, and they didn't notice me despite being several meters away.

I feel that the "scout" occupation was a great waste of talent. If Dylan had chosen "Apprentice Assassin," he could have killed all these people before they realized they were dead. Apart from gaining the ability to blend in with the environment, which, combined with the skill [Presence Decrease], could kill almost any enemy that doesn't surpass me many times in size.

I started to spy on them to see if I could take advantage of something to kill them right now, but they seem to be of an advanced age and probably have a lot of experience in battles against other people.

But first, I started listening to the conversation they were having.

"What good beer!" said one of the bandits who was drinking a large jug of beer.

"Isn't there anything better than having a beer after a successful assault?" mentioned another bandit.

"Even though we lost ten of our own and our leader, with the loot we got, we can stop looting for months, and we have fewer people to share the gains with. But besides that, we have two whores with whom we can have a good time for several nights before they break. It's a great occasion to celebrate!"

Just by listening to the conversations they had, I couldn't stop getting excited about what we (I) would get by getting rid of these bandits.

For a moment, I thought about poisoning their beers with one of the potions I found in the ruins, but they were drinking from a single barrel, and when one of them drinks it, the others will notice instantly. I also don't have poisonous herbs that take some time to take effect, and they don't usually grow in these plains.

I could also steal a caravan, but they could chase me with the other caravan, so it wouldn't be worth risking so much if I can't get the maximum benefits.

I could only resign myself and approached the wagon where the two non-hostile people were.

Listening to their conversation, they must be two girls, and when I entered, I could confirm that they were two girls. But I noticed that one of them had grayish hair with black streaks, feline ears, and tails of the same color. Apart from the ears and tail, she had hair and claws on her hands and feet. She doesn't look like a cat, but I don't know much about feline animals, aside from the most common ones.

The other girl had light brown hair and hazelnut eyes that stood out with her beautiful figure.

Both had their hands and legs tied with a rope, and their mouths were covered with a cloth.

They were awake, but I don't think it's something that matters, or at least, that's what I thought until the cat girl turned in my direction and started looking at me with anger, as if she wanted to kill me at any cost. The girl next to her didn't seem to see me until she started following the gaze of the cat girl, and suddenly reacted as if she had seen a ghost; she looked completely terrified.

Maybe I can take advantage of this.

I approached the girls and spoke in a very low tone.

"I don't belong to the group of bandits who kidnapped you. I'm just an adventurer passing by, so I want you to answer my questions. If you want to answer with a 'YES,' just nod your head up and down, and if it's 'NO,' just shake your head horizontally."

I don't want to risk untying the cloth that prevents them from speaking and screaming because they can reveal my presence, and if that happens, I'll be a dead man.

"Is either of you the owner of this caravan?"

Upon hearing me, both shook their heads in denial, which was good for me.

"Do you want to escape from these bandits?"

Both nodded their heads in agreement.

"Are you willing to work for me and follow all my orders for the rest of your life, if I save you, or at least ten years?" Both hesitated for a moment, and the human girl responded with a yes, while the cat girl responded with a no.

I approached the cat girl and began to whisper in her ear.

"A few moments ago, I heard one of those bandits say that they will rape you all every night until you break, and that you will no longer have the will to live, and then sell you as slaves." I made up some things, but I hope she understood my point. I know that slavery is illegal in this country, but there is always a black market that handles the business, and that was something completely embedded in the game.

She started looking at me with fear, all the anger she showed before changed to desperation, and she seemed like she wanted to cry. But I started to stroke her head in the hope of calming her down and preventing her from alerting the bandits.

When she relaxed a bit, I repeated the same question, and she shook her head up and down quickly.

"Sorry if I seem somewhat aggressive, but facing those bandits will require me to risk my life, and the adventurers' main creed is never to take risks without benefits. Still, I don't plan on giving them orders they don't want to follow." It sounds hypocritical, but it doesn't bother me too much. If I just save them without them knowing about me, they will probably fall in love with Frex first, as one of the benefits of these events was the probability of acquiring new members with a high level of affection for the hero when they join.

I know this world has ceased to be a game, but I don't want to miss any opportunity that presents itself.

I seem as if I'm playing the role of a villain, and although I'm not sure if they'll keep their word when they are freed.

I don't want to waste more time in this place, so I stroked both of their heads and said, "Rest assured that I will save you, even if it costs me my life." I felt a slight shiver as I said the last part, so I distanced myself from the bandits.

 --- 

I returned to the spot where Alexa and I were, deactivating [Presence Decrease]. I had to wait about ten minutes until Frex and the girls arrived.

"Dylan, what's the situation?" Frex asked me with a very serious expression.

"I examined the area and found two caravans guarded by eight bandits who had two girls as prisoners. Seven of them were celebrating, eating, and drinking beers. Those seven are a bit drunk, while the bandit who wasn't drinking was watching the surroundings. But he didn't seem very attentive, so I think they chose the most useless one as a guard just in case, while the others celebrated their achievement." I explained roughly what I had seen.

"If they're drinking, can't we just wait for them to get very drunk?" Alexa asked, analyzing the situation.

"If we wait too long, they might try something on the kidnapped girls, or they could leave the place with the caravans." Frex commented.

"Why not just attack them from a distance with Alexa's arrows, and if they get close, the three of us take care of them?" If they charged us directly and had such a low IQ, it might work, but I don't think that's the case.

"It would be better if Frex and I handle them after making sure the girls are okay. My skill can make both of us go unnoticed. We'll get rid of the watching bandit, rescue the girls, and attack the bandits when Alexa shoots them with a poisoned arrow." It was a simple plan that occurred to me, but they are just simple bandits. I bet they only survived the assault they made by luck because they are so foolish to drink in such an open place.

"Don't you think it's too risky?" Lina said when she heard my plan. I know there are better options, but why go through so much trouble wasting time waiting or preparing a more elaborate plan against some drunken bandits? This kind of situation was common at the beginning of the game with an 85% survival rate, but after a while, it rarely happened, and enemies were alert 24/7.

"No, they're drunk. As long as we get rid of the one watching, it won't be a problem." I finished making my point.

"I think that plan will work." Frex supported me, and Alexa agreed with us.

"It's decided." We all agreed on this plan.

I handed the expired potion to Alexa. Lina cast the <Physical Strengthening> magic on us, and I activated [Presence Decrease] on Frex and me. Then, we went to the caravan.

The one watching looked bored until we approached, and Frex, without any hesitation, prepared in an attack position, and his sword released a faint white light. Then, he executed a horizontal cut towards the bandit, which ended up cutting his throat without any difficulty.

I held the body before it fell and made too much noise. The head hit the ground, but it made almost no sound. So the bandits didn't notice any of our movements.

We entered the caravan where the girls were, and Frex removed the cloth covering the human girl's mouth, and I removed it from the cat girl.

"Can any of you fight or are you adventurers?" I asked quietly, and I saw the human girl shake her head, but the cat girl nodded.

"That's good. Get ready because we're going to exterminate the bandits. You'll stay in the caravan, and when you hear a scream, you'll come out to fight with the two of us." She nodded, and Frex asked quietly, "Can't you two speak?" They looked at me for a moment, and I warned them not to say anything about what happened using my gaze. The cat girl spoke, "We didn't want to make too much noise." Frex didn't ask any more questions, and then the two of us went out and stayed behind the bandits.

Suddenly, one of them was hit by an arrow in the chest and shouted, "It hurts!" before having spasms and spitting out black liquid from his mouth. It was very surprising how she could hit an arrow from around 800 meters away.

I felt my heart beating very fast every second while that was happening. I took care of stabbing one of the bandits in the neck, and I saw how Frex executed another perfect cut on another bandit.

We had already eliminated half of them in a matter of seconds, leaving only the remaining four.

"We're being ambushed, kill... !!!" They didn't have time to react before I threw one of my knives at one of them, and Frex swung his sword as if it were the easiest thing in the world and cut a bandit in half. It was incredible how his sword shone with a white light, and suddenly, the cat girl came out of the carriage at an incredible speed for a human and jumped over one of the bandits before using her claws to bury them in his neck. The last bandit was scared, but he still had a determined look to finish one of us, and when he was about to run with rage and anger towards me, he was executed by another of Alexa's arrows.