“When did you get that shiny little beauty?” Leo was awed at the sight of John’s metal flail.
“A soldier,” John told a half-truth.
“Did you finally return Nail’s mace?” Leo laughed. “He was stuck using a hatchet for weeks after you took his mace.”
“He didn’t say anything to me.” John didn’t know this at all.
“I wouldn’t say anything to a scary bastard like you if you stole something of mine either!” Leo laughed even harder.
Some other bandits laughed along with him as they remembered just how easily it was for John to kill a man. It took no large effort on his part to cave a man’s skull in or break their bones with a light squeeze. Even Lydia gave a silent giggle as she saw her husband being teased. John couldn’t help but laugh along with them.
Spending a month with the bandits wasn’t a short time, but it wasn’t a long time either. Learning how things work in the Black Snakes is something he’s still trying to do. Everything he’s known about bandits before joining the Black Snake was somewhat wrong. Everyone in his village only spoke of bandits as vile monsters and irredeemable monsters that were to be feared and to be executed by the righteous. A small few were indeed like that, but certainly not a majority of them. Most of them were just like regular people with less hang-ups on traditions and common sense.
“I wouldn’t have minded giving back your mace if you just asked, Nail,” John said for everyone to hear.
Being respected by the bandits was fine, but he didn’t want to be feared by them. While he had the option of ditching them, John wasn’t entirely partial to the idea anymore. The bandits weren’t good people, but they were there when John needed them most. John wouldn’t have made it out of the forest or to the next village or town with Lydia. They would’ve died to the soldiers of Somar or of starvation.
Sometime later, Black Snakes arrived at a homely village on their way to Desmont. They used this opportunity to stock up on supplies and get some much-needed relaxation in. Of course, in manners befitting that of bandits, threats of violence, destruction of property, robbery, and the like. John and Lydia took no part in harassing innocent villagers and simply rested together at an abandoned home of one of the villagers. Thanks to John’s looting bag, they had enough supplies to tide them over until they arrived at Desmont.
Lydia hugged up tightly beside John as they lay in a stranger’s bed. There was no smell of smoke from fires or blood in the air, but the fear and nervousness of the villagers were palpable. Most of the villagers were rounded up together. John could hear some sounds of those who managed to hide away in time before they arrived. Of course, he had no plans of finding or revealing them.
“We’re going to be okay... I promise. I won’t let those cruel monsters lay a hand on you if it’s the last thing I do!” A young boy’s voice flowed into John’s ears.
“Stay quiet...” A young girl’s voice coughed with the sound of sickness in her voice.
“They gathered up everyone in the village... Do you think they’re going to kill them, sis?”
“If they were here to kill us, they would have done it already...”
“Then what are they here for?!”
“To steal from us. Don’t you see that they have horses? Only nobles and the military are allowed to ride horses. So, what does that tell you?”
“Those fiends actually laid hands on the military...? But how could our country’s soldiers lose to pathetic bandits?”
“They aren’t your regular bandits.”
“We have to tell someone, tell anyone. We have to warn the military!”
“And we will after we survive. Now shush and keep quiet until they leave.”
“Yes, big sis...”
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John received no rewards for pillaging the village. Whether that was because he took no active part in actually doing anything or because it wasn’t something worth rewarding by the System God, he did not know. The Black Snakes left the village with more supplies than they needed and most likely ruined the livelihood of those villagers for the time being. Unless their local lord stepped in to help them not starve to death, their futures will be bleak. Bandits never raided his village, but John has heard of how some villagers were forced into becoming bandits just for the sake of living. They were not spared by the military even if their circumstances weren’t of their own doing. If you did bandit activities, regardless of the reason, the military will execute you when caught.
“Should I have stopped them?” John quietly asked Lydia as they were leaving the village.
Lydia simply interlocked her hand with John’s. She would be with him for the rest of her days. If there was something he did to upset her, she would let him know in her own particular way. But this, this was just something they would have to get used to as a part of their new life. They could no longer go back to being good people after being branded criminals and wanted by the government.
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“Thank you...” John softly relayed to her.
“Hellooo beautiful, Desmont! The Black Snakes have arrived!” Leo shouted in excitement.
“Follow me, boys,” Pete ordered.
The Black Snakes got plenty of dirty looks as they followed behind Pete. Lydia noticed some looks of pity when people met eyes with her. Unfortunately for them, she wasn’t in a position that needed their pity. She was a happily married woman sticking next to her husband no matter what. While their old life may have been more peaceful, Lydia wasn’t unhappy about their current one.
“Keep looking at us like that, and I'll break your faces!” Leo shook his fist at the townies, who quickly averted their eyes.
Leo’s back straightened with pride. Ever since he joined the Black Snakes, he’s been getting the respect he always deserved. The respect his bullshit father refused to give him. Each day that goes by with the Black Snakes only further proves that killing his old man was the right choice.
John gave no mind to the people. This was going to be their temporary base for the time being. He should make sure to explore it with Lydia. They had quite a lot of loot to sell and money in general. Purchasing a place for themselves shouldn’t be an issue, along with food, clothes, and anything else they needed.
“Who the hell are you bastards?” The Black Snakes were questioned as they arrived at the most luxurious inn in town.
Two rough-looking types glared at their group. Strong bodies, scary faces, and the attitude to scare away any commoner. If they weren’t bandits, they would be great soldiers just on looks alone. Pete smiled as he walked up to the two. He placed his hands on their shoulders and clicked his tongue.
“Are you bastards part of the Hungry Wolves?” Pete’s voice was calm and controlled, unlike the two at the entrance of the inn.
“You know about our gang and still dare to come to our town!?” He roughly tossed Pete’s arm off his shoulder and attempted to pull out his weapon.
Pete’s dagger impaled itself into his stomach before he could do so. “Oops. My hand slipped.” The other bandits began laughing. “Ooh, there goes Pete’s slippery hand again.” someone said. “You know that’s why we called him Slippin’ Pete. He’s always so damn clumsy.”
“You fuckers got a death wish!?” The Hungry Wolves bandit’s words were loud, but his body language spoke another story.
His legs shook as he pushed away from Pete, slowly stepping backward into the inn. “Come outside, everyone! We’re under att-” Leo’s dagger sunk into the back of the bandit’s head.
“Let’s raise some hell, boys.” Pete laughed as he calmly walked into the inn.
The rest of the bandits couldn’t help shouting and cheering as they rushed behind to kill the bastards. John was certainly surprised at this turn of events. It seems like this town isn’t big enough for two bandits groups to stay under. He wondered how Pete learned about these guys, but more importantly, he focused on getting Lydia somewhere safe first before heading inside with them.
“Join the crowd and be careful. I’ll be back soon.” John softly told her.
Lydia nodded as her bandit husband donned his mask and walked into the bar filled with screaming and metal clashing. She made herself scarce and patiently waited on the side of the road. As the minutes passed, more and more people began to stand outside along with her. The battle going on inside couldn’t possibly be unnoticed with all the sounds coming from it, not to mention the innocent patrons inside who fled like a stampede out the front door, screaming about fighting bandits.
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John made his way toward the largest bandit in the inn. Might as well put his powerful body to good use by making things easier on his comrades. John’s spiked metal flail caved in the bodies of any bandit that came his way during his trip toward the largest bandit upstairs. The two-handed weapon was wielded with one hand, and its rebound was controlled through pure body strength alone. Anytime it bounced back after smacking into anyone, its momentum was stopped entirely as John regained control over it.
The biggest bandit noticed John heading up with the bodies of his comrades behind him, either crippled or dead. His face scrunched up into something that resembled a demon out of hell as he rushed like a bull toward John. Instead of continuing to head up the stairs, John grabbed some of the bodies on the stairs near him, alive or not, and tossed them at the guy. The first guy was knocked out of the way, the second slowed the giant down, and the third halted his charge nearly entirely. At this point, the big guy was so angry and full of rage, it looked like he was going to have heart palpitations.
However, John didn’t stop throwing bodies until he ran out of people to throw. The big guy tried blocking, but it was futile with the amount of force John threw the bodies. Eventually, he was buried underneath the bodies of bandits, and John made his way up the stairs to him before he could rise back up. The bandit glared at him, his lips pursed forward with spittle ready to fly out to curse at John.
“...” John swung the spiked metal swipple at the man’s head, ending him.
“The Manbreaker is dead!” Someone cried in horror.
John silently looked around to find the area where most of his comrades were dead or were struggling. From what he could see, Pete was the only one locked in an intense fight. John guessed he killed himself a path to the Hungry Wolves’s leader and was now fighting one-on-one with the man. But the fight was too close in John’s opinion. They looked like they were equally skilled, so, John decided to intervene. What kind of bandit would he be if he followed something like honor in the first place?
The strapping farmer turned bandit fought his way to a better position to intervene in a fight between the two. Men dropped like flies if they stood in his way. The Black Snakes cheered and thanked him for his help when he passed by. Once John made it behind the two locked in an intense battle, he grabbed a broken table leg and readied himself to throw it.
“Don’t! Even! Think! About! It!” Pete’s voice shouted with some emotion that John couldn’t recognize.
John shrugged. Guess some bandits who fought fair. Either Pete’s the strange one, or all bandits had a strange sense of fairness when going against each other. It didn’t matter to John in the end. He just thought it was a little stupid though.