The day was almost done, and the last of the light was gone. The stars awakening and the moon a devil’s smile looking down at the madness and cruelty of the mortals.

Little Levis did not know why his chest was burning. Either way, he could not look as the scene not more than fifty meters away was capturing his full attention.

The first was the captain Zuger, whit an eyebrow up and one down, a face full of curiosity and doubt. As for the square face man, he seemed unfazed by the situation.

The old chief eyes were full of shock and dread for the child's well-being, but he knew more than anything that this was going to be the moment of his death.

The one most affected more than anyone was indeed old Ato as he drew his small carving knife and shot toward the bandit with the bow, with a death glare and the resolution to die.

However, there was someone even faster to act than old Ato, none other than grandma Hel, as she drew a violet pouch while holding it in reverse and scattering a cloud of violet-like dust towards the bandits. Disregarding the other villagers, including herself.

But just as she threw the dust, the bandit named Zuger made a swiping motion with his right hand, blowing away all the dust before could even touch the old chief.

As for the chief, he pulled a short, somewhat rusted dagger and jumped and pitted his life against Zuger.

However, against all his nonexistent hopes, the situation was just as he feared, as no more than two fingers, pinching and pushing was enough to stop, break the dagger and fling him away.

Old Ato was at just 20 steps distance from the archer, that in his youth could make in just two steps, but now with all his strength, he could feel his muscles, blood and bones die. But he was more than lucky as he could stab deep his carving knife into the bandit's abdomen before being kicked and flown away in the chest.

As old Ato body hit the ground, the only thing on his mind was not his well-being but the message for his little boy, as he began to shout even before pulling himself up.

"Go, hurry and go down the river, the county guards should come this way!"

Giving a push, for the villager's courage in the face of the hopeless situation.

However, the words had that same effect on the bandits, only in a different way, as further anxiety hit the four already stressed bandits.

As for captain Zuger a dense gloominess and slite anxiety alongside a grin on his face, as his attention was on the bush and trees not far away from him.

While the square face man revealed only a slight imperceivable surprise as he looked in the same direction.

However, the attention of little Levis was on the actions of the bandits, as they revealed glares of death to the villagers as they unsheet their blades and swords, even the one who crashed into the house rise whit anxiety on his face as he jumped towards the villagers in hope to kill everyone and stop whoever was hiding.

But at as his little brain was processing the whole situation, tears appeared as he saw his grandpa rising from the ground only to be kicked again in the head and fall once more.

As village chief was rising to swing his broken dagger to a bandit that was attacking him.

His grandma had been stabbed by a furious bandit that had been slightly poisoned, evidently taking his anger out as he immediately drew out the sword from her body and stabbed her repeatedly.

The villager's armed whit improvised weapons made a last and hopeless attempt that resembled nothing more than suicide.

As the life of the villagers was taken whit each swing of the blade. Their bodies fell, and their blood flew on the ground of the Down River village, a sight that horrified the very soul of the little boy.

As the eyes of the village chief were losing that something that was giving him the liveliness of the living was fading, as Its own body was losing the warmth of life while still holding the broken dagger, horrifying slashes could be seen on his chest, shoulders, back and face.

The bandit name Zuger watched as a particular understanding domed on him.

"Rank 1 cultivator, but just a superficial awakening nothing more that a parlor trick, might as well not having it at all, if that's all you have ever got as as cultivator, old man."

"And for you, spirited old man who has manage to injure one of the pieces of shit."

As silence fell after the hectic slaughter ended. Old Ato was still standing. But standing was everything could do as cuts and stabs that should have kill any man, could be seen on his old body. His eyes were still strong and his face stern as he glared at all that could see his face.

"My name is Ato Berg, never bowed to any one in my entire life, not to my father, not to my mother, not to any king or god, nor the one to kill me or death itself.”

"Go and make me proud."

"Grandson of Ato"

As little Levi was turning around in tears to run. He could hear the last words of his grandpa. His figure indistinct but firm in the last light of the day. The dawn of his life.

As the light was gone, so was it the life of the oldest generation of the Dawn River village.

As the only life left in the village were the six bandits and their horses.

Heavy paths could be heard as two of them were injured and poisoned respectively.

“Aaaa, four pieces of trash almost unable to deal with 13 old people, if this get back you’ll be the laugh to no end”

As the bandid captian Zuger was turning his head from the corpses of the old Ato that was finally falling, over to the village chief, to the other villagers and in the end to the bushes in the distance, he began to insult the four bandits that had murdered the villagers, in a very condescending tone.

As annoyance and ager piled on the four faces the began to sit and regain their breath while the injured one took a round pouch of white powder and applied on his wounds before siting down to recover.

“Should we hunt down whoever was hiding on the south side.”

As only one of them was relatively un injured, he was the first to propose a hunt to the unknown escapee.

"It won't make any difference. The county guards are already aware that we’ll try to make a swift clean as they have moved the villages and the provisions of the territory. Anyway, if the guards were to be so close, they would have already attacked instead of letting you kill the villagers.”

However, before captain Zuger could have come back at the bandit, the square face man interjected and gave an explanation before other insults could escape his captain.

“The three of you recover. You go and take all the supplies you can find “

As orders flowed from the squared face man, the bandit could do nothing and obey the order as he passed all the houses taking anything of value and food hower to dismay, the food was as little as nothing more than ten days' worth of an adult man whit nothing of value to be found.

“You go check those bushes.”

But before anything else could happen, captain Zuger ordered the man to search the bushes that had been the starting point of the whole slaughter. Intriguing the square face man and the bandits as curiosity filled everyone about the mysterious escapee.

"Wait, Square, take two white stones."

Two oval white stones were taken from a handbag at Square's waist, as he held each one in a different hand for a few moments before light started to emit from them.

Aa, the bandit, took a stone from Square and moved around the bushes, he returned holding what seemed to be a skin backpack.

"This backpack, whit provisions for a three days journey and a few drops of blood leading down south, more blood down, whoever it was is injured as I did not see the arrow.

"Hmm, the backpack is too small for a man, maybe a woman or a child. Either way, if it is injured, it will have a slow pace, in the worst situation attacked by animals. Not my problem. Prepare to leave you pieces of shit."

"Are you sure, brother."

"Well, I'm alive today, and so I do to be tomorrow. I don't want to wait for any unforeseen circumstance to happen, so better to leave immediately."

"You heard your captain, lets move"

As irritations and fatigue were piling on the bandits from their already log horse ride followed by a fight at the edge of their territory. Unsightly faces could be seen from the four bandits as they glared at the two that had done nothing during their entire journey.

As the sound of the galloping horses could be heard less and less, another anxious and depressed traveler could be observed running madly thru the bushes as tears seemed unable to stop.