(Third Person POV)

The bandits started to form two groups right after. They waited out until the designated time of the change of shifts had come. Like the informant said, at eight o'clock sharp the two men guarding the entrance left their posts.

"Such diligent b*astards." The boss swore with a low voice.

But after the two mercenary guards left, no one came to change their guard post. What the informant had said was only one had a stomachache, so there should be one other to replace the guard post.

"This is odd." The boss said with the feeling of uneasiness.

"What are we waiting for boss?" One of bandits asked.

"Yeah, it looks like the other one is not coming." Another one of the bandits said.

The boss still had second thoughts. He noticed something out of the ordinary and had an itchy feeling about it.

"This is our chance boss." One of the bandits whispered to him. "Like you said, lady luck is on our side tonight."

The boss nodded in agreement and pushed away the doubt in his mind.

"Then let us still split in two group." The boss said. "One will go to deal with the mercenaries at the inn, while my group will go to the village leader. I need to pay him a visit."

The boss was irritated with the mayor for giving them such a hard time in hiring mercenaries.

"If he just had become a submissive good boy and let us in with open arms, then I will not be this irritated." The boss said.

One of the boss' reason to go to the village leader's office was also because the store house for food is found there. The village maybe low on monetary and valuable objects to steal, but at least they always store food to keep the villagers fed until the next harvest season.

One of the main reasons why the bandits particularly chose this village was because of the bountiful harvest they have every harvest time. And because the first harvest was just finished, the bandits knew that the village have ample food to keep their bellies filled until the next year. It was the bandits' boss that thought to lay low for a while these mercenaries were out and about clashing with them in every turn.

"Come, lets go quietly." The boss told the others.

The group of bandits emerged from the tree line and confidently marched inside the village. It was quite late at night and so only a few of the villagers saw their entry.

"What are you looking at?" One bandit strike fear onto the villagers they saw on the road.

The villagers looked at the bandits with fright. They rushed into their houses and locked their doors.

"Hehe, as if that can help them." One of the bandits said.

"There are some lookers here." Another said.

"We will have a fun night tonight." One of them said.

"You can do all that after you finished your job." The boss said. "But I have always liked the village leader's daughter. She must be all grown up now."

"Hehe, you have such fine taste boss." One bandit said.

"Enough of this. Now go to your job." The boss said with force.

"Yes!" The bandits replied.

The bandits split into two groups as they planned. The other took the road towards the inn where the informant said the mercenaries were staying. The boss' group took the road towards the village leader's office.

It did not take long when the boss' group arrived at their destination. The store house where the harvested food was stored was just beside the village leader's office building.

"You, go and take a look at the store house." The boss pointed to the group of bandits. "You two accompany me."

The group of bandits walked towards the store house while the boss and two of his subordinates followed him.

"Will you let us get a taste as well boss?" One of the bandits asked.

"Yeah boss. We have been good and loyal to you since we started the group." The other said.

"You can have a taste of her after me." The boss had a sinister smile on his face.

The boss opened the door with a bang. The first floor's lights were on, but it was quite quiet.

"Hello, is anybody here?" The boss yelled. His voice vibrated inside the building's entrance hall.

"You know hiding will not do you any good." One of the bandits said.

"Come out, come out wherever you are." The other one said.

They looked around, trying to find any person around. The boss looked up the second floor and saw light seeping out from the slightly opened - door. That door should be the entrance to the village leader's office.

The boss took the flight of stairs going to the second floor.

"Boss, should we still look down here?" One of the bandits asked.

"Yes, I am sure that his daughter should be around here somewhere." The boss replied. "But remember not to lay a finger on her until I do, or I will cut out your hand." He said menacingly.

"We understand boss." The two replied in unison.

The boss continued to climb up the stairs and walked towards the slightly opened door. He took a peek and saw someone sitting on the chair with the back facing him. The boss grinned after seeing the person he thought the village leader.

"Well, well, well. You gave us such a hard time village leader." The boss said with a proud demeanor. "I never thought you had the money to hire those mercenaries. Maybe you have sold a lot of your valuable just to pay them."

The person seating on the chair remained silent with the bandit boss' words and this made him curious.

"Do you know what that Crimson Mercenary b*stard had done to my group?" The boss' voice started to get high pitched. "They have killed few of my good men. They have disrupted my business dealing with other villages. And to think you as well have done the same and hire them."

The person still did not reply to the bandit boss' words. This made him irritated but still calmed himself down.

"Heh, you will pay the price for what you did. My men have probably deal with the mercenaries by now, and that means this village is ours for the taking. I will spare your life for old times sake, but with a price. I want your daughter in bed with me this night." The boss said. "I remember your little girl was quite a beauty when she was still young. By now she must have grown to a beautiful lady. Be thankful that I was the one to choose her. If it was my subordinates, then I cannot guarantee she will be left unscathed."

There was no reaction to the boss' words. It was as if all of his words were given to deaf ears. This infuriated the boss even more. He quickly took out is big battle ax that was saddled at his back.

"Will you say nothing!" The boss yelled. "I will cut you down where you sit you mother f*cker!" He swore.

Then the seat turned around ever so slowly. The boss' eye that was not hidden in an eye patch went wide. He was shocked looking at the person seating on the chair.

"W-Who are you?" The boss said with goose bumps.

The man seating on the chair was a young man with black hair and blue eyes. All the hair on the boss' body stood in attention. He can feel the terrifying aura the young man was emitting.

"Y-You are not the village elder." The boss said. "Who are you and where is the village elder!" He demanded.

"The village elder you say." The young man's voice was coated with coldness. "I have let him go home early."

"W-What?!" The boss was confused. He did not know who this man was, but what he knew based on experience was this man was just an ordinary person. He was emitting such an aura that only seasoned warriors that had many experiences in the battlefield emits. "Are you one of those mercenary b*stard?"

The young man looked at the boss with a blank gaze, like he was looking on trash.

"Me? Well, you have no right to know my name." The young man said. "But to you at least I can say that… I am the one that will end your pathetic life."

The young man stood up slowly. The boss was feeling his knee weakening in fright, but he stood firm after remembering that he too was a seasoned warrior in the battlefield. He was laid off from the Jennovian army because of the injury on his eye that turned him blind. He was stripped of his rank and was cast out without any severance payment that they were promised. He became resentful and hateful of those who were in authority and on top, hence he rebelled and founded this bandit group to harass the people of this continent.

"I am not afraid of you!" The boss held his battle axed firm and stood in a battle stance.

The young man drew out his sword, his killing aura intensified even more.

*THUD THUD*

Something fell at the back of the boss. When he looked around, he saw his two subordinates lying on the floor with fatal wounds on their bodies and blood oozing out.

"B-Boss… save me." One that was still breathing said and held onto the boss' shoe.

"W-What happened?!" The boss asked in surprise.

"It looks like your subordinates are dealt with accordingly." The young man's tone was menacing. "It is your turn to pay for your crimes."

The young man charged towards the bandit's boss.

edited by: nalyn

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