Rescue at the Bandit Stronghold
A faint sense of unease mingled in the air. Something fishy rode the wind, tickling my nose. It was the smell of blood—something I'd gotten a strong whiff of recently.
"Better get ready ahead of time."
"Yeah."
We might have to fight right away. Activating the Martial Spirit Divine Art took a little prep time, so it was smart to rev it up now. I focused on the feel of Hong Yeonhwa strapped to my back. Using that as a trigger, my gathered will ignited into heat, slowly awakening sensations throughout my body.
"Hoo…."
The world sharpened into clearer focus. I kept my tension high, ready to fight at any moment, as I raced along the winding mountain path.
It didn't take long to pinpoint the source of the bloody scent.
Right in the middle of the path lay headless corpses, sprawled out. They hadn't been dead long—blood was still trickling from the severed necks.
It was a brutal scene, but… I didn't feel a shred of pity.
And why would I? Every single one of these bodies was a damn bandit.
"What the hell is this…."
Why were they dead? With a hunch, I took a closer look at the corpses. Dingy, grubby clothes. Weapons that looked well-maintained by contrast. Burly, muscular builds built for rough work. And finally, those vicious faces that screamed "I've offed a few people." No matter how I sliced it, they looked like bandits.
What the heck? I stood there dumbfounded by the unexpected sight when Hong Yeonhwa's small hand tapped the top of my head.
"Pull yourself together and look at that."
I turned my gaze in the direction her finger pointed. A trail of blood led into the mountains.
"Looks like they left it on purpose."
"Yeah."
All the bandits had their heads cleanly severed. No other wounds worth mentioning. That meant the gap in skill was massive. Yet they'd left such an obvious escape trail? No doubt about it—they'd been let go intentionally. Probably to lead someone to the bandit lair's location.
"Guess someone else came to wipe out the bandits, like us? Makes sense—the rumors have spread far and wide by now."
"What did this lady say? We should've set out immediately. If you hadn't wasted time groping this lady's breasts, we could've arrived first, you know."
"Why's that my fault? It's your fault for having such slutty tits I couldn't hold out until dinner."
"Slutty…?!"
At a loss for words, Hong Yeonhwa started yanking my hair like crazy. But did she realize? Even now, those tits of hers were squished firmly against my back….
I patted her butt to calm her down.
"Don't be like that. It's not over yet. Let's follow that trail."
"Mmm… You're right…."
Hong Yeonhwa settled back obediently against me, and we veered off the path, climbing the mountain. Did the fleeing guy not know how to cover his tracks? Or was he running so desperately he didn't even think about it? Tracking the blood drops at regular intervals wasn't hard.
The real problem came next.
We hadn't climbed far when we spotted a half-collapsed mountain stronghold. Hiding carefully behind a tree, I peered inside. A woman wielding a thick saber was surrounded by about twenty bandits.
She must be the one who sliced those heads off down below.
"What the hell gave you the balls to charge in here alone?!"
"I trusted in my skills, you filthy scum!"
"Maybe worry about your future now that you're caught by us filthy scum? Plenty of guys here dying to pound some fresh meat that walked right in!"
"You think I'll go down easy?!"
"Hahaha! Easy or not, you're done. Never dreamed I'd get a taste of Paeng family pussy. Don't worry too much, though—we'll get a ransom for you later, so we won't kill you!"
Paeng family? In Hebei Province, wielding a hefty saber with the Paeng surname? Had to be the Paengga!
I caught a faint ripple of saber energy along her blade, confirming it. She didn't look that old, but reaching that level meant she had to be from one of the Five Great Families. The problem? The hulking brute facing her had fist energy wrapped around his knuckles too—same peak realm expert. And some of the bandits circling her held weapons in one hand and hostages in the other.
Just as I'd feared—not lowlife third-rates, but a proper Nokrim outfit.
The hostages had deathly pale faces, all women. Even in this late winter chill that hadn't fully lifted, they were stripped nearly naked. I could guess the purpose well enough.
Human trafficking, smuggling, contract kills, prostitution, loan sharking, robbery. And more besides. I knew these Sapa scum committed every crime under the sun without drawing the court's eye.
They probably figured they'd "deal with" these hostages one way or another before abandoning the lair, which was why they kept them around. But seeing it with my own eyes? It pissed me off in ways I couldn't explain.
The moment killing intent flared up unbidden, Hong Yeonhwa lightly tugged my cheek.
"Calm yourself. Even at the entrance, why do you think a peak realm expert like her is this helpless?"
"Ah."
Numbers. And the hostages. Hong Yeonhwa stroked near the top of my head with a sigh, whispering.
"I planned to help only in a pinch, but the situation's dire. Care to hear this lady's idea?"
We whispered back and forth for a bit. Then a roar echoed through the mountains—they must've decided to fight again.
Boom!
Saber energy clashed with fist energy, repelling each other in a explosive blast. The lesser bandits weren't up to jumping into an expert fight, so they poked with weapons now and then or threatened nearby hostages to distract her. Each time, she flinched, and the presumed lair boss didn't miss those openings.
"Try blocking this!"
"Kyaaak!"
His fist artfully dodged her saber arc and grazed her shoulder. Not a blade, but wrapped in energy, the impact had to hurt. Her arm slowed a bit. And now I saw her leg movements were a tad clumsy too. An injury from before I arrived?
At this rate, she'd be hunted down slowly for sure. Not that I'd let that happen.
A little time had passed, but the Martial Spirit Divine Art's power was active right in front of me. Feeling my lighter body and fuller inner energy than usual, I spoke up.
"Here I go. Hold tight."
"Worry not. This lady won't let you go."
Taking her oddly double-entendre words as the signal, I kicked off the ground and burst from behind the tree. Wind whipped my face as I drew my sword. The bandits, deep in their fight, sensed something off and turned—but too late.
Slash.
"Aaaargh!!"
I severed the shoulder of the nearest bandit. Then yanked the hostage he held backward.
"Who the hell are you?!"
"Who cares?! Just kill him! Everyone except the ones holding the girls—charge!"
"What about the Paeng bitch?!"
"Harder to catch, but the boss is stronger, idiot! And what can we do over there anyway?!"
Flustered but quick to prioritize, the bandits rushed me. Second-rate to first-rate level, roughly. First, I slit the throat of the guy still clutching his severed arm and writhing.
"Gurk… glurk…."
I kicked the one-handed bastard clutching his neck into the path of an oncoming bandit from the left.
"Get outta the way!"
Half-dead or not, the bandit slashed his comrade without hesitation. That must be the difference between regular bandits and Nokrim. But in this case, it was a blatant mistake.
I wasn't aiming to block his path—I wanted to obscure his vision.
Like splitting firewood, he cleaved his former ally. I darted in fast, tracing over his trajectory along the splitting gap, and brought my sword down.
"Aaaargh!"
The smug bastard took a diagonal slash and tumbled back. Confirming it, I stepped back and twisted my waist.
"Hup!"
The sweeping Horizontal Small Heaven Army bisected the guy lunging at my back at the waist. Thanks to the Martial Spirit Divine Art, power overflowed—made this possible.
The bandits froze, staring at their comrade's upper half flying through the air on momentum.
"Damn it! Don't come one by one! Rush together! Target the girl on his back! He's carrying her so preciously—she's gotta be his weak spot!"
Someone kept barking orders from earlier. A vice-lair boss type? Hong Yeonhwa must've thought the same; she craned her neck, scanning around.
Maybe because they started circling us? Soon her gaze locked on one spot.
"You hear that? This lady's your weak spot, apparently."
"Well, in a way, yeah? How weak am I for you that I'd follow you anywhere?"
"Muu… Don't say that in a fight. It breaks my focus."
Hong Yeonhwa planted her chest on top of my head, steadying her posture. Then flicked a prepped pebble with her finger.
Whip—!
Splack.
The stone tore through the air at high speed, smashing someone's face in.
Whoa! Flying pebble meteor shot! As I marveled inwardly, the bandits panicked simultaneously. But both reactions were way too early.
Whip! Whiiip!
More stones flew in succession, bursting heads of far-off bandits holding hostages.
In an instant, the trusty vice-boss was gone, and the lair boss glared daggers at us, hostages freed… but hey, what could he do? If he's pissed, turn his back on a fellow peak expert and charge—see what happens. If he actually did, I'd run.