Chapter 76: Magic-Sealing Collar and Chest Shrinkage? (3K)

[Ding! System Task Released! (1/3)]

[Requirement: Eliminate or subdue the bandits]

[Reward: 10 Magic Suppression Collars, plus one Blueprint]

[Failure Penalty: Chest shrinkage]

[The system is your caring little cotton-padded jacket! But please, don’t fall in love with me!]

What does it mean for one wave to settle before another rises?

She still hadn’t figured out the situation outside when the system jumped out to cause trouble again!

Willis instinctively glanced at her own chest.

Though it was hard to get used to being a woman at first, she was already Willis now.

Chest shrinkage…

She shifted her gaze to Ofilia.

“Hmph!”

The other party let out a tsundere snort, hugging her flat, unremarkable chest with her hands.

“What are you looking at?!”

The beautiful girl glared at her.

At that moment, Willis also reached a conclusion.

This is absolutely unacceptable.

The perfect Her Highness the Princess must never become as unsightly as this damn tsundere.

***

When Willis and several women stepped out of the carriage, they saw they were in a small canyon.

On both sides, the hills were packed with bandits.

They held crude swords and spears; some even clutched wooden sticks.

A bandit group that looked so weak shouldn’t have been feared…

But their numbers were overwhelming.

And on top of the hills, large boulders were clearly ready to be pushed down.

If those stones rolled down, at least half of the five hundred soldiers beside Willis would be crushed or injured!

“They really are bandits!”

Willis sighed.

At that moment, someone on the hill shouted loudly, “People below, listen! We only seek wealth and women—we don’t wish to kill you!”

“If you’re smart, hand over your women and valuables, and you’ll be spared!”

“Otherwise, these giant stones will be your ticket to hell!”

Despite such intimidation, the City Defense Army didn’t waver.

Women?

What women?

In this convoy, the only women were Her Highness the Princess, her maids, and the Elf prisoners.

If they handed them over, even if they survived, the Empire would execute them later!

Meanwhile, the bandits on the hill were observing the convoy.

“Boss, they’re Imperial Army, and there are Elf prisoners among them!”

“Hmph! So what if they’re Imperial Army? I rob Imperial Army for a living!”

The boss snorted, completely unafraid.

In fact, mentioning the Imperial Army made him even more resentful.

“If not for those Imperial bastards, would we have fallen this far?”

“They’d better be sensible—otherwise, I’ll start a massacre!”

His expression darkened, and the surrounding bandits shared the same hateful look.

But even as bandits, they understood a principle here.

If they wiped everyone out, it could end in mutual destruction.

And killing for money would bring the Empire’s army down on them.

But if they only robbed, most passing merchants would endure it as a ‘toll.’

Women who might cause fights were usually left alone by smart bandits.

That’s how they survived this long.

If they fought the Imperial Army below, the Empire would send troops to hunt them down in no time.

Of course…

Even if they only robbed peacefully, the other side was still the Empire’s army!

After this heist, they’d have to relocate to avoid retaliation.

“Boss, why not just go for it!?”

“I’ve hated those Imperial troops for a while. If we have to flee after this, why not break their spirit?”

A little bandit nearby suggested.

But the bandit boss understood the consequences.

“Fool! There are at least five hundred well-armed Imperial soldiers below! We have brute force, but few of us know magic or swordsmanship!”

“Even with the boulder trap, if it comes to a real fight, we’ll pay a terrible price!”

“We’re a thousand brothers who’ve suffered together—each loss is a blow! Don’t fight unless you have to!”

As they discussed what to do, the Imperial Army below reacted.

“Boss up there, let’s talk, let’s talk!”

A small City Defense Army officer put on a smile.

“Do you know who we are?”

The boss frowned.

“Aren’t you the Imperial Army? Are you about to say Imperial dignity must not be violated, so you’ll resist to the end…”

“No, no, no!”

The small officer waved his hands.

“Boss, you misunderstand!”

“Since you know who we are, yet still ambushed us, it shows you’re confident of victory!”

“To avoid needless deaths, we’ll accept all your conditions!”

Seeing how cowardly they were, the boss and surrounding bandits exchanged confused glances.

What’s going on?

Is this really the Okam Empire’s army?

Why are they so timid and weak?!

“Boss, could this be a trick?”

“Don’t know. Let’s watch and see.”

The boss was also thrown off by this.

“Oh? Really? Then hand over your valuables and women, bag the goods, tie up the women!”

Facing the bandits’ demands, the City Defense Army complied immediately.

Soon, the bandit boss saw his men escorting a group forward.

Leading them, of course, were Willis, Sielyou, and several women.

Their unparalleled beauty was like a second sun blooming in the wilderness, dazzling all eyes.

Bandits along the path couldn’t meet Willis’s gaze, bowing their heads.

Willis and the others were so beautiful and imposing that even with ropes binding them, no one dared approach.

Behind them, more than twenty Female Elves were escorted, making the men’s breaths quicken.

At the rear, a few City Defense Army soldiers dragged heavy bags, surrounded by bandits.

The bags probably held the valuables.

“B-b-boss… s-such beautiful women! I’ve never seen anyone more beautiful in my life! Like goddesses!”

“And there’s several of them at once!”

The sidekick’s noise didn’t shake the boss.

But the moment he saw Willis, a memory surfaced in his mind.

When he realized who she was, he began to tremble.

Facing Willis’s scrutinizing smile, he suddenly waved his hand.

“Quick! Kill her! Kill them!”

The surrounding bandits were bewildered.

What’s going on?

The boss would rather kill such heavenly beauties than have them!?

What a waste!

Did the boss lose his mind from their beauty?

Is that why his orders sound crazy?

Or are we all hallucinating?

“Oh?”

Hearing the boss’s words, Willis suddenly smiled.

In that instant, her smile bloomed like a million flowers across the land.

Bandits around her felt their blood race.

But Willis’s next words sent a chill through their souls.

“A bandit unmoved by beauty, yet so afraid he wants to kill me.”

“Let me guess… have you met this Imperial Princess before?”

Imperial Princess?

At that moment, the bandits wondered if they’d heard wrong.

Imperial Princess?

Demon Princess?

What kind of identity was that?

Who dared call themselves such?

Other than the three remaining Imperial Princesses of the Okam Empire, who else could claim it?

And the road ahead led to their destination—Ushi City!

They’d also heard rumors of a princess traveling from Monsell.

Did they really just intercept the real deal…?

Then the identity of this red-haired goddess was obvious.

The bandit boss shouted what everyone was thinking.

“Willis Egbert! It’s you! It’s you!”

“Kill her! Kill her!”

He screamed in terror.

Before the other bandits could react, streaks of sakura-pink light flashed through the air!

Willis, Sielyou, and the others broke free of their ropes!

Magic weapon—Ying Shayu!

When the bandits regained their senses, Willis already had a dagger pressed to the boss’s throat.

“At this distance, I could have killed you instantly. Do you know why I didn’t?”

Willis asked.

The bandit boss went from fear to terror to trembling under threat.

Yet finally, a look of fearless resolve rose in him.

He snorted.

“Then Her Highness should kill me now! My brothers will avenge me!”

“Big brother!”

“Boss! Despicable Willis, let our boss go!”

The bandits were furious.

Willis hadn’t expected such loyalty among bandits.

“Despicable or not, with your boss in my grasp, his life is mine to take.”

“If any of you move, he dies instantly!”

The surrounding bandits roared with curses and rage.

But no one dared step forward.

Because Willis, Sielyou, and Annie Donald had captured the boss and other key bandits!

On the other side, Winnie Kanasha raised her Magic Bow, aiming at the bandits.

“You bandits dared attack the Demon Princess—that’s a capital crime! Drop your weapons and surrender!”

“Perhaps this Imperial Princess can spare your lives!”

Willis paused, her eyes cold.

“Despicable! Shameless! If you have guts, fight us head-on! What kind of hero uses tricks?!”

A bandit shouted and tried to rush in, but Winnie shot two Magic Arrows at his feet, driving him back.

Winnie didn’t injure him.

But Willis glanced sideways at her.

Why did it feel like Winnie was half-aiming at her?

Willis snorted.

Winnie jumped, dropping her arrow in fright.

She hastily grabbed another and aimed at the bandits again, not daring any funny business.

Willis looked at the angry bandit.

“A hero? I’m a woman, not a hero. What can you do?”

“You—!”

The bandit choked with rage.

Willis seemed to remember something.

“But I feel like I’ve seen you somewhere… a miner from Ushi City?”

At that moment, the bandit boss slumped, hatred burning in his eyes.

“Willis! You’re unfit to be Lord of Ushi City! You’re not even fit to be human!”