“Cough, cough… What happened?”
The Bandit Chief groggily opened his eyes.
He felt a splitting headache and weakness all over his body, as if something had been drained from him.
He found himself lying under broken floorboards, his hands and feet tightly bound with rope, unable to move.
Above him were wooden planks that had been smashed through, letting light stream in from the room above.
However, it was already getting late, and the dim yellow light made everything seem eerie.
Looking to the side, the Strongman was also tied up there.
The Bandit Chief struggled to recall what happened before he passed out.
Finally, he remembered: they had planned to drug Liyakade and the others, but they had seen through their scheme.
Then…
“Hey! Idiot, wake up!”
Having remembered everything, the Bandit Chief’s pupils contracted.
He urgently tried to wake the Strongman beside him.
He recalled it all—that silver-white-haired woman had subdued them with just a flick of her finger.
He hadn’t even had a chance to fight back.
They seemed to have left now.
If he didn’t escape while he could, he would definitely be killed…
“Wake up! You useless piece of trash!”
After several shouts to no avail, the Bandit Chief could only curse.
Then he tried to activate the magic power within him.
The next second, he discovered something horrifying:
He couldn’t feel the presence of his magic power at all.
“W-What is going on?!”
“Hey, why are you shouting so loud? You’re annoying.”
A sweet girl’s voice came from above the pit, with a hint of impatience in her tone.
Hearing the voice, the Bandit Chief quickly looked up.
At the edge of the pit, a small white head peeked out—it was Liyakade, the one who had subdued them effortlessly earlier.
At that moment, Liyakade and the others had already found the well under Mi La’s guidance.
There was indeed water in the well.
One thing that relieved Liyakade was that after killing Mi La’s parents, the bandits didn’t seem to have thrown the bodies into the well.
Perhaps they thought that on the mountain, such a well was a rare resource.
If they were going to expand or station here, the well would provide them with water, making it convenient.
So they probably decided not to dump corpses in it.
Now, they had collected enough water from the Storage Ring to supply the caravan for another day or two.
“What did you do?! Why can’t I feel my magic power?!”
More than the shock of Liyakade’s strength, the loss of his magic power terrified the Bandit Chief.
He shouted recklessly at Liyakade above, his face full of fear.
“Didn’t I tell you to be quiet?”
“Oh, right.”
Liyakade seemed to remember something.
She lightly tapped her chin with her jade-like finger, then looked at the Bandit Chief with a sweet smile.
“I remember now.”
“It seems I destroyed your magic circuits earlier.”
“It’s only natural you can’t feel your magic power, hehe.”
“You!”
Seeing Liyakade laughingly say something that affected his entire life, the Bandit Chief instantly broke down.
This was as important as his lifeline!
Without magic power, he would just be an ordinary person.
Even in a bandit den, such an ordinary person would be bullied, only fit to serve tea and water.
His eyes were wide with rage, glaring at Liyakade with venom.
He cursed her out loud.
“You stinking slut! I’ll kill you!”
“Pfft.”
“Annoying.”
“Ah!”
A sound of wind cutting through the air.
A barely visible green wind blade sliced past the Bandit Chief’s ear.
The Bandit Chief let out a scream.
He felt a heat on his right ear, followed by a tearing pain.
A sticky liquid slowly dripped down his face, and the smell of blood spread.
A small piece of flesh fell from the Bandit Chief’s face—
Half of his right ear.
Liyakade hadn’t cut off the entire ear at once.
That would be too easy for him.
Even for just an ear, Liyakade would cut it into four or five pieces to be satisfied.
Standing behind Liyakade, Mi La watched this gruesome sight.
Her head felt hot, and something inside her seemed to be released.
Her body trembled slightly, whether from pleasure or something else.
She remembered that among the bandits who had come to her house, these two were present.
The screams of her parents, their pleas for mercy, and the sounds of blades cutting into flesh—
All of it was ingrained in her mind.
Hearing the Bandit Chief’s scream, Mi La felt an indescribable exhilaration.
‘Not enough, not enough!’
‘This level of pain couldn’t compare to what her parents had suffered!’
“Sister Liyakade…”
Mi La’s voice trembled as she gently tugged at Liyakade’s sleeve.
“I want to take revenge myself.”
“They’re just ordinary people now.”
“Even I can handle them.”
“Let me do it myself… is that okay?”
“Mi La, don’t.”
Alice, standing beside Liyakade, felt a bit uneasy hearing Mi La’s request.
She didn’t object to Mi La’s desire for revenge, but…
Mi La was only a teenager.
At such a young age, having blood on her hands would undoubtedly have a big impact on her psyche and future.
It would be better to let Liyakade execute these scum on her behalf.
So Alice tried to dissuade Mi La.
“You’re still young.”
“You have so many things to do in the future.”
“Let Sister Liyakade help you.”
“No…”
Mi La shook her head, looking at Alice with a pleading expression.
“Sister Alice, they killed my father and mother.”
“I have to kill these scum with my own hands.”
“My future…”
“I’ve already entrusted it to you, haven’t I?”
“Mi La…”
Alice could understand Mi La’s feelings.
Since Mi La was determined to do it herself, Alice wouldn’t say anything more.
“Mi La wants to do it herself?”
“Of course you can.”
“But first, let me find out where their stronghold is, okay?”
“Mm.”
Liyakade spoke gently to Mi La beside her.
Mi La nodded obediently.
At that moment, Liyakade had already thought of an excellent way to interrogate and execute them.
Liyakade and the others hadn’t been speaking very loudly, and the Bandit Chief’s ear had just been sliced off, so he couldn’t hear them clearly.
“You stinking sluts…”
“If you’ve got the guts, just wait here!”
“When our boss comes, you’ll be toyed with until you die!”
The Bandit Chief was still tough.
Even after having part of his ear cut off, he kept hurling threats.
But Liyakade was completely unmoved.
She waved her hand, and a gust of wind rose from the cellar, lifting the still-unconscious Strongman up.
After lifting the Strongman up, Liyakade grabbed him by the collar and dragged him along the ground outside.
“Bastards! What are you taking him out for?!”
“If you’ve got guts, don’t run!”
“Our boss will avenge us!”
No matter how much he shouted, the Bandit Chief’s curses were ignored.
Soon, only his own echo remained in the cellar.
“Alice, Field, take the water back first.”
Liyakade took off the ring from her finger and handed it to Field.
“A day has already passed.”
“Graham and Natalia must be worried about us.”
“You should go back and let them know we’re safe.”
“What about you?”
“Liyakade, are you going to take Mi La to deal with the bandits?”
Alice seemed a bit worried.
“Yeah.”
“I think it’s fine.”
“Isn’t it too dangerous?”
“Don’t worry, Alice.”
“Don’t you know Liyakade’s strength?”
Field took the ring from Liyakade.
She wasn’t worried at all, having full trust in Liyakade.
“But, Liyakade, how long will it take to defeat those bandits?”
“Didn’t you say they weren’t on this mountain?”
“And those two haven’t told us where their stronghold is yet.”
“Are you going to wait for them to come, or interrogate them for the location?”
“Should we let the caravan continue, or what?”
Field’s questions were more practical.
She knew Liyakade could easily deal with these bandits.
The important thing was just finding the stronghold and how to regroup.
“Of course, I’ll interrogate them.”
“As for the caravan…”
“Let them continue forward.”
“As long as you’re advancing on the main road, I’ll find you eventually.”
Liyakade wasn’t lying.
She was a high-level wind-element magic user, and she also had the demon bloodline.
In a short time, her flying speed in the air was definitely faster than a horse, even carrying Mi La.
As long as the caravan’s route didn’t change, Liyakade would catch up quickly.
Besides, it was already night, and they wouldn’t be moving until the next day.
“Alright.”
Field nodded.
“Then we’ll head down the mountain first.”
“At this speed, by the time we get back to the caravan, it’ll be almost dark.”
“Yeah.”
“Remember to check if Vidar and the others have made a move on Natalia.”
“Okay.”
“Liyakade, Mi La, be careful.”
Alice finally stopped saying more, only reminding them to be safe.
Then she followed Field down the mountain.
“Mi La, let’s go.”
After watching Alice and Field descend the mountain, Liyakade called to Mi La beside her, dragged the unconscious Strongman, and headed into the forest.