Dealing with these ordinary people, Duanmu Huai naturally didn't need to expend much effort at all. He effortlessly chopped them into pieces. Only then did Duanmu Huai turn his gaze toward Moso Shizuka and open his mouth to ask.
"So, what exactly happened?"
"Ah… you could say it was bad luck."
Facing Duanmu Huai's question, Moso Shizuka sighed, then began to explain.
After she separated from Duanmu Huai in the royal capital of Seth, Moso Shizuka and Kentou Kanami went sightseeing nearby. After all, Seth was a magical kingdom, and many things there were naturally quite attractive to a mage like Moso Shizuka. So not only did they tour the royal capital of Seth, they also visited nearby towns. However, just as they finished touring the surrounding area and were preparing to return to the capital, the carriage they were riding in was attacked by a group of bandits. These people were also despicable enough to take a child hostage, leaving Moso Shizuka unable to act.
Kentou Kanami then volunteered to use her ninja stealth technique to sneak over and rescue the child, breaking the deadlock.
The result…
The child was rescued, but Kanami herself was captured by the other side.
Fortunately, those bandits were also afraid of the army. After that, they hurriedly retreated with the plundered valuables and hostages. Naturally, Moso Shizuka was unwilling to let Kentou Kanami be taken away, so she followed after them. The two sides clashed again, and then… it turned into this.
"Speaking of which, aren't you a mage? You couldn't even beat a few bandits?"
"If it were a frontal confrontation, of course I wouldn't be afraid, but in the forest…"
Alright, that made sense.
After all, mages in this world were pure artillery platforms. They could maximize their effectiveness in frontal combat, but in a place like a forest, where vision was obstructed and targets were difficult to lock onto, it was a different story. No wonder Moso Shizuka had been chased all over the place by this group of bandits.
That said, for a group of bandits to actually capture Kanami… this ninja's training was really lacking.
Oh right, she had said before that she seemed to be a runaway ninja who escaped from O.J.
…No wonder.
"So where did those bandits take Kanami?"
"This way."
Led by Shizuka, Duanmu Huai took Olgis and headed deeper into the forest. Along the way, Duanmu Huai also explained to Moso Shizuka how he had studied in Seth and become a monster tamer. Upon learning that Duanmu Huai had become a monster tamer in order to capture the Demon King, Shizuka's whole demeanor fell apart.
"Although I know you're indeed very capable, capturing the Demon King… fine, I have to admit, this is probably something only you would think of."
"How about it? Is it theoretically feasible?"
"In theory… it should be feasible? Or maybe you could try capturing a Majin first as an experiment? After all, Majins are made using the Demon King's blood. If a Majin can be successfully captured, then the Demon King should also be no problem, right?"
As she said this, a mischievous smile appeared at the corner of Shizuka's mouth. Speaking of which, back in Rance, they had suffered quite a few losses at the hands of Majins. Wanting to get even with them now wasn't exactly unreasonable.
"That's a good idea. It's worth trying."
Duanmu Huai still remembered the Majin who had been chasing Kanami when he first met her. Unfortunately, he later didn't know where she ran off to, since she didn't appear in the royal capital of Rance afterward. But if they happened to encounter her somewhere this time, then… well, he'd just conveniently use her as a test subject.
"Stop!"
However, just at that moment, several fully armed men suddenly emerged from the bushes, weapons in hand, blocking Duanmu Huai and the others' path.
"Who are you people? What do you want?"
Yet before Duanmu Huai could answer, another soldier beside him noticed Moso Shizuka's attire and his expression changed drastically.
"It's a mage, kill them!"
As soon as the words fell, those soldiers raised their weapons and charged toward the three of them.
"Courting death!"
Seeing this, Duanmu Huai's expression sank. He snorted coldly, suddenly stepped forward, then gripped his greatsword and slashed forward!
With his movement, a pressure mixed with the glow of terror suddenly erupted. The warriors felt their vision blur, and the next instant their movements stopped. A horrifying chill rose from the ground, as if extending from the soles of their feet all the way to the tops of their heads, plunging their entire bodies into bone-chilling cold as they trembled uncontrollably. All they could do was despairingly watch as the greatsword swung down toward them!
"Boom!!!"
In the next moment, the warriors standing dazed in place were directly torn apart by the airflow unleashed by the greatsword, their bodies ripped into shattered limbs scattered across the ground.
"I really didn't expect them to still dare rush at you after seeing you."
Moso Shizuka poked her head out from behind Duanmu Huai and spoke with some emotion. Hearing her words, Olgis on the other side tilted her head.
"I suggest Master reveal his face. That way, there will be no need to worry about anyone getting in the way."
"That's enough from you two. Also, those guys charged because they saw you."
Duanmu Huai shot Olgis a glare, then looked at Moso Shizuka. He was very clear that when those soldiers first saw him, they had indeed been frightened into stopping. But it was only after seeing Moso Shizuka that they picked up their weapons again and launched the attack.
"Do these people have a grudge against you?"
"I don't know them at all. Besides, it looked like they intended to attack mages, not me specifically."
As she spoke, Moso Shizuka pointed at the hat on her head—indeed, one look at her outfit made it obvious she was a mage.
"Forget it, let's rescue Kanami first."
Duanmu Huai couldn't be bothered to care about the reason behind these people's actions. After dealing with the idiots blocking the way, he turned and continued forward. When Duanmu Huai and his group passed through the forest, they indeed arrived in front of a… village.
"Could this be the bandits' lair?"
To be honest, looking at the village before him, Duanmu Huai was quite surprised. In his impression, mountain bandits usually lived in caves or fortified strongholds, but this looked like nothing more than an ordinary small village… and with so many houses, how long would it take to search them all?
But Duanmu Huai wasn't without a solution.
"TuTu."
With Duanmu Huai's call, the ring in his hand flashed with light, and TuTu hopped out.
"I'm here, Master!"
"Which house do you think the person we're looking for is in?"
"Hmm..."
TuTu turned her head and looked toward the village ahead, twitched her ears, then raised a finger and pointed at one of the buildings.
"TuTu thinks it's over there!"
"Very good, let's go!"
Duanmu Huai didn't hesitate at all as he strode forward toward the house TuTu pointed at. From the outside, it looked like a warehouse. The main door was tightly locked, and it didn't seem like anyone was inside. However, Duanmu Huai didn't care in the slightest. He kicked out with one foot, instantly blasting the warehouse door straight off its hinges!
"Boom!!"
Accompanied by a loud crash, the warehouse door shattered and exploded apart. Duanmu Huai then walked into the warehouse, where he saw Kentou Kanami tied up tightly and suspended in the center of the warehouse. Beside her, several men were grinning as they prepared to lay hands on her. Hearing the explosion, everyone turned their heads—and what entered their sight was a power greatsword gleaming with cold light.
"Die!"
With an angry roar, Duanmu Huai swung the greatsword in his hand, cleaving the man in front of him cleanly in half. Faced with this sudden attack, the others were startled and hurriedly grabbed their weapons to try to fight back. At that moment, Olgis and Moso Shizuka also took action.
"Flame Arrow!"
Moso Shizuka raised her hand, and a streak of flame shot out, striking another man and instantly burning his chest into charcoal. On the other side, Olgis raised her right hand and gently flicked her finger. The next moment, two men who tried to jump out the window to escape were dismembered the instant they went through it.
"Waaahhh!!!"
Amid the screams, the last bandit fell. Only then did Duanmu Huai put away his weapon and walk up to Kentou Kanami, swinging his sword to cut the ropes binding her.
"Are you okay?"
"I'm fine… really… thank goodness… it's great you came. But sir, how did you end up together with Shizuka?"
"Because I had good luck?"
Duanmu Huai glanced at TuTu behind him, who was cheering them on, and chuckled. He had to say, this luck really was quite good. If he had arrived even a little later, who knew what would have happened.
"Ah, Master, we're surrounded."
At that moment, TuTu also hopped to Duanmu Huai's side and spoke nervously. Hearing her report, Duanmu Huai raised an eyebrow.
"Perfect. I'm best at dealing with them all at once!"
As he spoke, Duanmu Huai lifted his greatsword and walked out of the warehouse. Sure enough, just as TuTu had said, the outside of the warehouse was surrounded by dozens of fully armed men. Seeing Duanmu Huai step out, they were all stunned for a moment, but soon raised their weapons.
"Kill them!"
"Kill these intruders!"
"Kill the mage and her lackeys!"
You lot?
Duanmu Huai coldly swept his gaze across the crowd, then tightened his grip on the greatsword.
"Since you want to die, I'll grant your wish! Die!"
As he said this, Duanmu Huai let out a furious roar. In the next moment, the shouts of the surrounding men were abruptly cut off, as if their throats had been squeezed shut. The pressure of death and destruction was completely unleashed by Duanmu Huai at that instant. Those soldiers facing him directly turned pale, their eyes rolled back, and in the next moment they collapsed to the ground, lifeless.
In the blink of an eye, the men surrounding Duanmu Huai fell one after another with dull thuds. A few who weren't immediately killed by the glow of terror still trembled as they collapsed to the ground, their bodies shaking like sieves.
"Stupid idiots."
Staring at one man slumped on the ground and trembling uncontrollably, Duanmu Huai gripped his greatsword and walked toward him step by step.
"You brought this upon yourselves. You can't blame me."
"Help, help me, help me———!!!"
Watching Duanmu Huai approach, the man was so terrified that snot and tears streamed down his face as he screamed miserably. However, just as Duanmu Huai reached him and raised his greatsword, a voice suddenly rang out from not far away.
"Stop!"
Hearing the voice, Duanmu Huai didn't care at all and swung his sword down, splitting the man's head open. Only then did he turn around and look in the direction the voice came from.
There, he saw a blonde girl sitting in a wheelchair, staring at him with a livid expression. Beside her stood an elderly man in a white coat who looked like a doctor.
Seeing Duanmu Huai cut the man down so directly, the blonde girl's expression grew even more serious.
"Who are you? Why did you come to attack us?"
"So you're the leader of these mountain bandits? You really can't judge a book by its cover…"
Duanmu Huai withdrew his greatsword and looked at the blonde girl. Hearing his words, she froze for a moment.
"Mountain bandits? We're not mountain bandits!"
"Not mountain bandits?"
Hearing her rebuttal, Duanmu Huai snorted.
"You rob merchant caravans, kidnap people, and intend to commit violence. If that's not mountain banditry… then what is it?"
"What are you talking about?"
Faced with Duanmu Huai's mockery, the blonde girl looked confused.
"What, trying to play dumb? Doesn't matter. For me, since you've provoked me, there's only one outcome—death."
As he spoke, Duanmu Huai fixed his gaze on the blonde girl and lifted his greatsword as he walked toward her. Seeing him approach, her face turned deathly pale. She clutched the armrests of her wheelchair tightly, completely unmoving. However, at that moment, the elderly doctor beside her suddenly flashed forward and blocked Duanmu Huai.
"Sir, I suspect there may be some misunderstanding between us… could you hear our explanation?"
"Explanation? To me, explanations are basically just excuses… If you're trying to argue away your crimes, then there's no need to waste time…"
Duanmu Huai stared at the old man, about to strike, when suddenly a few childish voices came from nearby.
"Big sister? What happened here? We heard a really loud noise just now…"
Hearing this, Duanmu Huai's eyes shifted. From a nearby alley, several children were peeking over curiously. Upon seeing them, the blonde girl's expression changed drastically.
"It's dangerous here, don't come over, hurry back!!"
"Ah…!"
Seeing Duanmu Huai, the children were startled and immediately turned and ran away. One little girl even fell while running, then was pulled away by her companions.
"...…"
Duanmu Huai silently put away his greatsword.
"Alright. I'll give you a chance for now. I hope you can give me a satisfactory answer."
With that, he spoke.
(The chapter ends)