The people behind the soldiers paled once they heard these words.

They felt sorrowful about the situation.

Sure enough, the difference in strength was too big.

Marvin guessed that this group of soldiers had been in charge of defending this refuge when the Calamity struck.

When the disaster began, Steel City would have reacted as expected of a military city.

The army's higher-ups sent the order to lead the noncombatants to the Sanctuary.

But they couldn't handle what happened next.

The berserk Wizard Monsters destroyed everything.

Most soldiers died within the city proper.

Only a few of them survived the initial turmoil and were still able to defend the refuge with all they had.

Originally, the food and the weapons in the refuge would have been enough for them to survive for quite some time, but for some unknown reason, the Illusory Scorpion bandit group found the entrance of this Sanctuary.

The soldiers noticed some strange signs of activity a few days ago, and sure enough, Senma brought a large group of men to Morrigan's Heart.

The defenders were completely caught off-guard and tried to rely on the advantage of their defensive positions to face the bandits.

Morrigan's Heart was a true underground fortress, but it needed to be controlled by a Wizard Craftsman.

Normally, Steel City wouldn't activate this kind of war refuge without a special signal.

The status of Wizard Craftsmen was also very high, so one wouldn't stay hidden in an underground fortress for no reason.

When the disaster struck, the Sanctuary didn't have a Wizard available.

Thus, even if they avoided the brunt of the Calamity, they still met with another source of trouble.

Since the soldiers didn't understand how to activate the fortress' defensive runes, they could only rely on the most basic physical defenses, which consisted of a few gates and traps, to confront the bandits.

If the other party really insisted on a fight, the outcome wouldn't be good.

Marvin made an assessment of the strength of both sides.

The soldiers roughly had the manpower of a city guard squadron, twelve people. Apart from them, the group included three times that number in noncombatants consisting of women, children, and the elderly.

As for the bandits, there were thirty of them. Although their equipment wasn't as good as what the soldiers used, they had a lot more people that could fight, even if their strength was uneven.

Besides the leader Senma, who was a 4th rank expert, the strength of the rest was around the 2nd rank, some were weaker, some stronger.

The soldiers, on the other hand, were all at least 2nd rank.

Two of them were 3rd rank experts and were probably vice captains.

Their leader was a 4th rank powerhouse, and was probably the reason why the bandits had yet to attack.

They might stand to gain a lot by fighting, but they would also suffer heavy losses.

...

'4th rank Fighter… This guy should be one of the strongest soldier in the army.'

'Although Steel City had many talented individuals, a Fighter at that level shouldn't be just a Captain, right?'

Marvin was somewhat doubtful about this person's identity, so he carefully observed him for a while and noticed that the soldier's right foot slightly shuddered.

As a trained soldier of that rank, and in this situation, the trembling wouldn't be caused by nervousness.

There was only one reason.

It was an illness.

Senma's eyes were very vicious. Although he was wary of the other side's strength as a 4th rank expert, he had already noticed this flaw.

Thus, he dared to haggle shamelessly.

But he still received an icy answer: "Dream on!"

The leader of the soldier group seemed to be unyielding, as he suddenly took a step forward.

This step thoroughly exposed his disabled right leg.

But his expression didn't change, "Since you are clearly looking for trouble, I don't want to waste too much time with you."

"If you want to fight, let's fight!"

Once he said those words, everyone behind him suddenly yelled angrily, "Fight!"

"Stake it all!"

"We are soldiers, how could we be threatened by mountain bandits?!"

A few of the elderly even tightly held their walking sticks while holding daggers hidden in their hands.

The girls silently wiped their tears.

These twelve might be the last group of soldiers in Steel City. They guarded the choke point that led further in.

There was no door there, but the soldiers stood strong, forming a city wall to protect the civilians!

...

Senma furrowed his brows.

Although bandits were people that liked to see blood, they also tended to be very cowardly.

They clearly lacked the valor of the soldiers.

Although he had obtained guidance from a mysterious person that helped him find the Sanctuary, that person had clearly said that only after Senma personally conquered this fortress would she be able to help him.

He knew about that person's remarkable power and knowledge. She was too powerful; that might even be the case among Legends.

If he could get her help, he might really rise to power in this era.

Thus, he had to get ahold of this Sanctuary!

A cold light flashed in Senma's eyes.

A smiling expression was plastered on his face as he muttered, "Unneeded."

"We will just waste manpower."

"Now that the Human Race is facing a disaster, it's better to be united."

The leader of the soldiers coldly said, "Your previous words didn't suggest that."

Senma spread his hands in a shrug. "Well, I'll apologize, that was just a joke."

"How about this, let's change the rules of the game."

"I know your fortress has a lot of food and weapons inside, but if we can't settle on a deal, then fighting it out would be really too bad, too hurtful."

"So instead of that, how about we each come up with a proposal and then set up three duels. We will choose the proposal of the side that wins at least two of the three duels. What do you think?"

Senma laughed as he continued, "Naturally, I'll guarantee that my suggestion won't include those girls behind you, haha."

"We only need food and weapons."

The leader of the soldiers hesitated.

He was quite suspicious about Senma backing down.

But if he remained stubborn, it would only go against the interests of the people he was protecting.

"Duels… Three Duels…"

He subconsciously looked at the bandits and then at his own people before biting his lips.

"Fine. But I need to see your proposal first."

Senma had a proud smile, "If we win, we will take half of the food and two pieces of military equipment per person!"

The soldier leader frowned, thinking it was too much.

But after thinking it carefully, his group had a higher chance of success, and if they just kept haggling, it wouldn't lead anywhere.

"Good!"

"It's time to duel!"