Bandits jumped down from the trees. A bandit got his neck pierced by Siderius' arrow in mid-air and fell to his death.

Another bandit got hit in the rib. Blood gushed out like a fountain. A few more that barely landed on the ground were bombarded with arrows. Some got hit in their arms, some got hit in their legs.

There was only one archer, Siderius. But he shot his bow like a mini platoon. He held ten arrows in his draw hand and fired them without stopping. When the bandit understood what was going on, a few of them already bit the dust.

"Hide behind the trees!" A bandit shouted. They moved behind the trees as cover, hidden away from Siderius' arrows.

He pulled out another ten arrows. He raised his eyebrow slightly when they started to take cover.

"You really think simple trees can stop me?"

Siderius didn't move. Instead, he simply adjusted the arrow to be placed slanted on the bow and continued shooting. The arrow flew in a curve and found its way to the bandits behind the trees.

A bandit was trying to peek but an arrow appeared out of nowhere. It flew around the tree and hit his overall position precisely.

"How?"

The bandit jumped to avoid the arrows, only to be pierced by two more arrows that came right behind it.

Siderius continued to empty his draw hand. He shot without taking a break and moved his entire body when changing the target.

Every movement. Every pull. And every release of the arrow was calculated to the extreme.

Another bandit bit the dust and fell down. He fell behind a tree so Siderius couldn't see him. But his hand fell down on the ground and blood soaked the grass.

Another bandit got his neck pierced by an arrow and leaned against a tree, letting out his last breath.

"Witch! The enemy has a witch! Fight to the death, boys! Or all of us are going to die!"

The trajectory of the arrows were just too much to comprehend. They couldn't believe that without magic, humans alone could do such a feat.

The bandits rushed out from behind the trees and scattered. Some rushed at Siderius while a few rushed at the caravan. There were around twenty-five of them. A few were killed by Siderius.

"A band of around thirty bandits, huh... If you think you can hurt me by simply getting close, you're dead wrong."

Siderius dropped his bow on the ground and grabbed the Blazing Soul. He didn't flip the switch over, simply unsheathing the sword the usual way.

Siderius planted his back feet for a power swing at the front bandit. The bandit answered with a slash, seemingly wanting to block or deflect the blow. But the bandit miscalculated. Siderius' dark gray blade smacked into the bandit's sword and shattered it.

"How?!"

The gray blade didn't stop and continued to scream in the air. It landed on the collarbone of the bandit. A crispy sound of broken bone echoed.

The bandit's mouth opened wide, saliva spilled out of his lips as he slumped over the ground and died.

The bandits surrounding Siderius took a huge grasp but they didn't stop. They had survived many robberies and from their experience, they knew that a witch would not spare their lives.

Two bandits attacked Siderius from behind. His silver bracer appeared as he drew a cross with his left hand. The green sphere appeared, absorbing all the blows without even showing a crack. These strikes were much weaker than the power of a bear and couldn't even damage the barrier.

Siderius did a spin with his sword. The tip of the blade smacked on the head of each surrounding bandits like the hand of a clock passing each number.

Their heads popped open like beer bottles. Blood splattered in a chaotic way.

At the caravan, the passengers grabbed their weapons, mostly tools of daily life, and climbed down the coaches. These were miners and former thugs that once fought for their lives. They were even fiercer than the bandits.

The bandits chose a wrong target that day as the passengers quickly overwhelmed them with little hesitation.

The riders hurled the bandits around, attacking them with long spears that were once belonging to Germort's men.

Ashe kept her distance while riding Red. Her hands let go of the reins to shoot with her bow. Shooting a bow on horseback proved much more difficult than on your feet. However, she was still able to catch a few strays amongst the bandits.

Soon, most of the bandits were killed. The rest threw their weapons down and surrendered.

"Please don't kill us! We surrender!"

"Please have mercy!"

"I throw my weapon away! See!"

Seven bandits survived the onslaught. They went down on their knees with hands behind their heads.

Siderius returned after collecting his arrows. Kraus had made sure to tie the remaining bandits and let them kneel in a line.

"Lord Snow!" Kraus bowed his head. "How should we deal with these bandits?"

Siderius approached the bandits and observed them. These bandits had good quality clothes and very good weapons. They didn't have any range weapons but their single-edged swords were crafted masterfully.

Siderius grabbed a bandit's sword and examined it.

"Hmmm. The quality is less than desired but compared to this worlds' usual weak steel, it is an acceptable piece of weapon. It's not exactly a saber either, too thin and doesn't have any curve. It is more similar to a long knife."

Siderius stepped in front of a bandit. "Where do you get this?"

"Huh?" The bandit looked up with puzzles in his eyes. He looked around to see the desperate gazes of the remaining bandits. All of them were telling him to cooperate to save their own lives, without any words.

The bandit gulped then tried to form coherent words.

"This.. This... This is made by our weaponsmith."

Siderius smiled gently. "Where is your camp?"

"How do you know we have a camp?!" The bandit blurted out.

"I just do. Now tell me the location of your bandit camp."

The bandit sweated. He couldn't decide whether he should tell Siderius. Siderius' eyes went colder and that was all the sign the bandit needed to spill some beans. To save his life, he must speak.

"Our camp is in the south... Near the Rose Springs."

"Oh?"

Siderius turned to Kraus. "Have men watch over them. Keep them tied up at all times."

"Yes, my lord!" Kraus bowed his head. He and his men led the bandits away and put them onto the back of the riders' horses.

"What are you thinking, Lord Snow?" Nadia said.

"I'm thinking we should pay the bandit camp a visit."

"Why? Don't we need to go to Santa Roberto?"

"We do. But look at those leather clothes and weapons. They need necessary facilities and materials to make them. Their camp is advanced enough to offer those perks. It must have usable structures and a few good talents as well."

"Wait... Do you mean?"

"That bandit camp would be a great outpost for the Rose Springs. I want to take over it."

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