Chapter 13: The Forest Bandits

Salazar slowly opened the door that led to his Lord’s bedroom. The inside was dim, and it took his eyes a couple of seconds before finally making out the silhouette of four people lying in a large bed. The scrawny man at the center was completely naked, and so were the three women that had their arms twined around him as they slept.

“L-Lord Viper?” whispered Salazar. He heard something whiz by his ear as a dagger flew past his face, before lodging itself into the wooden wall.

He heard movements inside the room, and he saw his Lord slowly sit up.

“What?” said Viper.

“Ah, sorry for interrupting your sleep Lor—”

“Get to the point,” spat Viper. Another whizzing sound was heard, and Salazar felt a pricking sensation in his cheek a second after. A thin line of blood dripped down till his chin.

There was no time to flinch from pain. Salazar immediately added, “S-Someone… Someone entered the forest!”

“You woke me up for this?!” snarled Viper. The Lord of the Bandits got down from the bed, his naked body exposed all over. He grabbed the white robe scattered on the ground then donned it. “You know the rules, right?”

“But Lord! It’s impossible to kill—moreover capture those that entered the forest!” said Salazar. There was a pleading tone in his voice. Before him, there had been numerous other messengers that died because of their Lord’s whim.

Viper snapped a finger, and the lantern on his left immediately blazed into life. His green, slit-like eyes licked Salazar. “What do you mean?”

“Hundreds. There’re hundreds of them—and all are knights,” said Salazar.

Viper’s sunken face sunk further. He sucked his thumb then silently stared into space. He whispered, “Interesting~”

Without warning, a loud chuckling sound echoed inside the room. Salazar jumped from fright, and the naked women lying on the bed started waking up one after another. Viper continued with his maniacal laughter. “Knights! And just right when I’m so damn bored of all the preys we’ve caught lately!”

Viper scooped out his left eye using his fingers. Surprisingly, blood did not drip down the now empty socket. “Now, let’s see what we’ve got this time?”

There was a squishy sound as Viper crushed the eye using his hand. After a full second, it turned into particles of light, before eventually disappearing from sight.

***

After seeing the broken bridge, Lancelot led his group towards the west. It was the longest path available, but it was also by far the most paved compared to others. Numerous trees surrounded them in all directions, with occasional boulders and shrubberies haphazardly spread out from the distance.

It was already evening when Lancelot finally told his men to stop and recuperate. They pitched tents, and some immediately started cooking dinner.

“This damn detour will cost us an extra three days of journey,” said Lancelot. He sat on top of a small boulder, his armor reflecting the flames of the campfire before him. “Have you told the knights already?”

Old man Gaston nodded. “Already did, Commander. Told ‘em to kill on sight.”

“Good. There’s no need to risk the lives of our men. Prince Ibrahim told me about this already… But I didn’t think that the problem has already escalated to this. Going as far as destroying the route to our Kingdom,” said Lancelot. He threw a twig onto the blazing flames, making sparks fly into the air. “I won’t be surprised if the King sends out an order to clear the forest of bandits.”

They saw Faith approach. Not far from her, numerous men were lined up, waiting their turn for food. Tonight was moonless, and if not for the campfires they had set up, it would have been pitch black.

“Jiablu’s still not waking up,” she said with a frown. She sat beside Gaston. The blazing flames flickered back and forth from the gentle wind. Its crackling sound filled out the silence. She added, “Maybe we should force him out of his sleep? It’s been three days already.”

“Tis fine! Try not to worry too much!” said Gaston as he punched the priest’s left shoulder. There was not much force behind that strike, and Faith saw him flinch after impact.

She said, “You’ll turn eighty this year, right? Shouldn’t you be retiring soon?”

“What are you talking about?” he replied with a smirk. “I was born in the battlefield. This is my home… and my grave.”

The last part was said in a whisper, but the other two heard it. Among the first division of Knights of Tesma, Gaston was among the most mysterious ones. He was among the oldest members—even before the current commander of the First Division, Frederick Lancelot was assigned the role of leader.

There were numerous stories of why the old man refused to retire despite his age, but no one knew which among those were true. Whenever asked, Gaston would just smile in response.

He was old, but his skills as a guide were peerless among their group.

Gaston glanced left and right, making sure that no one aside from them were nearby. He said, “Commander, I got news about the third division.”

There was a trace of surprise within Lancelot after the remark. He replied, “What is it?”

“The Red Stone Syndicate was completely wiped out by those guys,” said Gaston. The eyes of Faith and Lancelot grew wide. “And there’s not a single casualty on the Third Division’s side.”

“W-What? That’s absurd! The Red Stone Syndicate has existed for almost a hundred years in our Kingdom!” said Faith. Her voice almost echoed, and some of the soldiers having their dinner shot a glance at their direction. “There’s no way of wiping out that group in just a month! Moreover without casualties!”

“Have you confirmed this, Gaston?” said Lancelot.

Gaston nodded. “Yes, Commander. My spies in the city have sent me the news. It’s not out yet. They are probably planning on announcing it during the Infernal Sword Festival.”

“But still… how did they do it? I can’t think of any possible way… without a single casualty,” whispered Faith.

“We’ll find out soon once we get to the city,” said Lancelot. Silence momentarily befell them.

A knight approached their group. With a hint of hesitation, he said, “Commander. We’ve found dead bodies inside the forest not far from here.”

Lancelot frowned. He got up and grabbed his sword. “Faith, come with me. Old man, stay here.”

The two nodded, and Faith immediately stood up. Lancelot said to the knight from before, “Fifteen knights and a scout. Be ready in a minute. We’ll enter the forest.”

“Understood!” said the knight. He went back to his group, and a few moments after, everyone started moving out.

****

The pungent stench that filled the air made the group grimace in disgust. Their every step inside the forest echoed, and the occasional chirping of ravens served as background.

Their scout waved his hands, signaling that they have finally arrived at their destination. Faith mumbled her chant and the small orb of light that served as their guide moved forward, illuminating a mountain of rotting corpses. One of the knights vomited on the ground.

“That is… not human,” whispered Faith.

It was the same thought that ran through everyone’s mind. There were at least two dozen corpses right before them, and each of them were decapitated beyond reason. Most of them had their innards pulled out, and some had their limbs severed from their bodies. The small orb of light did not fail to illuminate the empty eye sockets of some of the victims.

“C-Commander… this is the work of those guys, right?” said the scout.

Lancelot nodded. “We’ll be ready when they attack. Oh God Aquina, I pray that they attack.”

The last part was said with vehement ferocity that made even Lancelot’s allies shudder in fear. Those words contained within them a suppressed snarl that seemed to echo amidst the silence of the forest.

“Wait, did you hear that?” said the scout.

Everyone glanced at each other as silence befell the group. Another second passed, and a small voice flowed through the wind.

“H-Help… me…,” said the voice.

Faith willed the orb of light to grow brighter, and the shadow of the group danced with it. Eventually, they found the source of the weak voice. The knights immediately pulled the body out of the mountain of corpses.

“Are you alright?!” Faith asked despite knowing the answer. She almost wailed when she saw the horrible state the man was in. His lips were half-sewn, and his face was filled with numerous deep cuts that revealed the flesh underneath. His fingers were crushed and bent to the opposite direction, and his innards were protruding out his half-open belly.

There was absolute silence as everyone tried to digest the current situation they were in. Whoever did such a thing to the man before them was no less than a demon.

“B-Bandits… they… attacked… our… caravan…,” said the man. Tears uncontrollably dripped down his face. “They killed… my friends. My wife. My daughter. My son.”

Rage overflowed from the knights upon hearing the story. Faith looked at Lancelot.

“Do it. It doesn’t matter if you deplete your mana. If we let him die without doing anything, we are no different from the monsters that did these,” said Lancelot.

Faith nodded. She bit her lips then started chanting her magic. The survivor’s body was instantly enveloped in bright light, and the wounds that covered his body started to close on their own.

“It’s impossible to heal this overnight. What I can do right now is prevent him from dying,” said Faith. Beads of sweat started forming on her forehead. “Let’s take him to the camp. It’s better for me to get help from the other priests in our group.”