Blood Knight(3)

The leader of the bandits dispatched one of his subordinates to retrieve a specific magical crystal and handed it over to the Blood Knight.

"This is the sole proof I possess. I kept it in case those wretches betrayed me. I would have taken them down with me, but now it's yours. I have given you everything you asked so please provide me an antidote."

His complexion resembled that of a corpse, clearly indicating the immense pain he was enduring.

After infusing himself with the magic from the crystal, the Blood Knight witnessed a vision of a particular group of soldiers dragging the captured individuals, having paid the bandit leader. Memorizing the soldiers' faces, the Blood Knight stowed the information away in his inventory.

"S-spatial Magic?!"

The bandits gasped in astonishment as they witnessed the magic crystal vanish into thin air.

"Now, it is time to fulfill my promise, but I don't have an antidote though."

"W-what?!!"

the Blood Knight declared, disregarding their bewildered stares. With a snap of his fingers, the bandit leader suddenly began to cough violently, expelling black-colored blood. As the black blood made contact with the ground, it emitted smoke.

Gasping for air greedily after the ordeal, the bandit leader's uncontrollable body tremors gradually subsided.

Taking a deep breath, he started to smile, feeling the poison within his body completely eradicated. A hooded figure from their group came and checked his leader's condition.

Blood Knight glanced at him and his comrades, his expression devoid of any emotion, as they celebrated the fact that their leader's life had been spared.

"Haha... you have done as you promised! Hahahaha... Thank you..."

The bandit leader's complexion had slightly improved compared to before. His complexion started to return to his face as his trembling considerably decreased. After double-checking his condition, he looked at the Blood Knight with a sense of relief. 

Blood Knight looked at them without disturbing them as they discussed something between them. A few moments later, he came to the Blood Knight with a wide grin on his face. 

"We're willing to spill everything, wherever you want us to, but I doubt anyone would consider the words of bandits as solid evidence. The magic crystal we handed over to you would be far more valuable than all of us accompanying you to testify."

"Besides, I don't believe you'll be able to deliver justice with the substantial evidence I've provided. There are influential figures involved in this matter, so my advice to you is to give up. How about we make another deal? We have a lot of money for your cooperation."

Blood Knight's lips curled into a smirk as he observed the fearless expressions of bandits who had trembled in fear just a moment ago. No matter what, it never ceases to amaze him just how fast they change their attitudes depending on the situation. Despite having seen this despicable behavior so many times, he couldn't get used to it.

"How thoughtful of you~ I also believe you lot wouldn't be of much use as evidence. However, you see, if you were to mysteriously perish after I extract all the useful information from you, it would be much easier to frame the soldiers of Border Town. I could simply claim they eliminated you to prevent any further connections from being made. Isn't that just splendid?"

Their smiles froze on their faces, liveliness in their face now nowhere to be seen. It looked like their hopes of freedom shattered as they listened to Blood Knight's words. Some of those bandits started to run off immediately before looking aback. 

Bandit leader who looked so confident before now staggering as he backed off while trembling. All of them held their weapon defensively with fearful eyes. 

"H-Hey, you promised you wouldn't kill us, remember?" The bandit leader attempted to maintain composure despite his profuse sweating.

"When did I make such a promise? I only vowed to save you from my Blood Poisoning spell. Now that you're completely cured, I've already fulfilled my end of the bargain."

Each time Blood Knight advanced with a smiley face, the bandits involuntarily retreated four steps.

"What if we offer you all the money we've managed to save, just so you spare our lives? We promise to renounce our life of banditry and refrain from stealing or kidnapping anyone ever again. Please, give us this chance," they pleaded.

Blood Knight halted his steps, studying their expressions closely.

"Are you serious?! You and your gang have mercilessly killed, kidnapped, and violated countless innocent people, ignoring their pleas and desperation. Because of your actions, numerous lives have been lost, families torn apart, and loved ones left grieving. You showed no remorse, even smiling as they met their gruesome end. And now, you have the audacity to ask me to spare you just because you claim to have turned over a new leaf? Is this some kind of sick joke?"

Blood Knight let out a long sigh.

"Just how shameless you guys can be?"

"NOW!! ATTACK HIM!!"

Just as Blood Knight finished his speech bandit leader retreated and hid in the middle of other bandits shouting to attack the Blood Knight.

Four bandits with a shield came forward and blocked the view of the Blood Knight, bandits in the back row prepared to release arrows from their bows, and two mages who wore a hood prepared to launch a powerful spell all at once.

They moved quickly as if they already planned for it. But contrary to their perfect coordination in attack, Blood Knight just shook his head with a calm look while looking at the group of bandits who were running forward while holding mace and swords.

Blood Knight already knows very well they exchanged some kind of signs when they talked to each other before discussing negotiation but didn't try to stop them even though he knew their plan to attack him together once their negotiation failed. Because he had an absolute confidence in his strength.

[Blood Magic - Blood Incinerate] He muttered in a low voice. 

"AHHHHAHHH"

"W-what's happ-AAAAhhhh"