As the other group of villagers numbering as many as 80 ran and fought their way through the line of bandits. Taking advantage of the sudden commotion that took place before, the bandits were caught off gaurd.

The men despite clumsily swung their sword shows that they have no experience still managed to land a fatal blow out of desperation to survive, as the others who know how to fight were few.

Regardless, they succeeded to push through. The one's behind the women and children continued to run while there are some men who are still unable fight ran with them without any ounce of shame.

They ran through the battle, as the other men fighting followed through the plan as the elderly, women and children finally passed through. The others who fought now followed as most of the bandits are slowly increasing in numbers.

But unfortunately, there were some that are left behind wounded stumbled on their footsteps, pushed and shoved away out of desperation men, women and children were slaughtered. Some screamed in desperate cries, calling out for the one who already escaped.

Some screaming in agony as they lay on the ground. The escapees heard their cries, their hearts heavy with sorrow and horror. Ralf, the young child, clung to his mother's hand, his eyes wide with fear as he took in the scenes unfolding around him.

Ralf and the others were horrified hearing their screams of agony, but they still ran and ran without looking back as the horrors behind them took place. Altogether they ran, their fear palpable in the air.

The group of villagers pressed on, their exhaustion evident in their ragged breathing and stumbling steps. But despite their physical toll, their will to survive drove them forward.

As they ran, the sounds of battle grew fainter in the distance. The villagers pushed on, their feet pounding out a rhythm on the dusty earth. They knew that they still had a long way to go before they reached safety, but they were determined to make it out alive.

As they continued to run, some men who were still able to run with little exhaustion turned to each other with Concern. "Dammit, I thought things were going smoothly!" one of them exclaimed, his tanned skin glistening with sweat.

The farmer, a man in his thirties, nodded in agreement. "We forgot to take into account the stamina of women and children!"

The group's anxiety grew as they realized they couldn't outrun their pursuers forever. "We can't run away forever! They'll catch up at this rate, we can't match the others' pace or we're fucked!" one of them warned.

But it was then that one of their own comrades uttered a shocking suggestion: "How about we leave them behind?"

The group fell silent, their faces etched with horror. "Andrew! Have you gone mad?" a middle-aged man exclaimed.

The suggestion had been met with such outrage that it left everyone stunned. "We'll all die at this rate!" someone shouted.

"How could you be so selfish?" Cindy yelled, her anger palpable. "When there are people's lives at stake!"

The Andrew's response was equally appalling. "Is it selfish to want to live?"

Cindy's anger boiled over, but she couldn't respond to the absurdity of the question.

The middle-aged man spoke up, his voice filled with determination. "If you want to live, then go! Others who can still fight will buy time for the others. If we're still going to die here, then I might as well die dragging these bastards down with me!"

The group's atmosphere shifted as a few men volunteered, ready to fight. "Daren, I agree but you're not even one of the volunteers!" someone pointed out.

But Daren was undeterred. "We have no choice! But now it's either we all die or fight and give others the chance to live!"

The remaining men who were willing to fight screamed in unison, their numbers swelling to tens or twenties. At least 20 more men remained behind, gripping their swords and tightening their resolve. Giving chance for the rest to escape, mostly elder, women and chilren approximately 50 to 40 in numbers

"Alright, let's do this!" one of them shouted.

As Daren's wife called out to him "Daren!", carrying their son Jacob. "It's fine! Please take care of Jacob for me!"

Daren's response was met with tears from his wife, who couldn't help but cry as she watched him go off to battle. The other women tried to comfort her, but the cowards among them had already fled, leaving the women and children behind.

The 20 men who remained stood their ground, their eyes fixed on the battle ahead.

Meanwhile, in the village. The rest of the men backed up with their experience in combat from their previous career as both former knights and aventurers alike did well holding the bandits off on their own

As the battle raged on in the village Andrith and the other men left behind fought to hold off the bandits.

"Ya holding off their Andrith?!" Baldwin yelled, his exhaustion evident.

"Yeah, just focus on that Behemoth in front of you!!" Andrith replied, as his sword and body now covered in blood.

Baldwin nodded, his eyes fixed on the towering figure of Brooke, the bandit leader. As the rest of the men under Andrith fought off the bandits despite their numbers did well on their own

But the same could not be said for Baldwin. Even if he's both skilled with magic and sword he has not yet fully mastered both, yet he stood alone at the towering figure of the bandit leader, also known as Brooke. muscles bulging beneath his tattered armor now revealed after he hid it with a magic item. In his hand, he wielded a massive warhammer

Baldwin knew he was at a disadvantage. He was skilled in the use of magic, but physically he was no match for Brooke. Still, he squared his shoulders and raised his hands, readying himself for the fight ahead.

Brooke then charged forward, swinging his warhammer in a wide arc. Baldwin raised a barrier of magic just in time, the hammer crashing against it with a deafening clang. The force of the blow sent Baldwin stumbling backward, but he managed to maintain his footing.

As Brooke took another step forward approaching him, the ground suddenly shattered and blew up beneath him, as if he had stepped on a landmine. Baldwin who placed it there when we was stumbled backwards, took advantage of the distraction to throw a potion at Brooke, splashing it all over his body.

The liquid not only caused a debuff but also served as a medium for Baldwin's low-tier lightning magic to electrify Brooke. The bandit leader screamed in pain as the electricity coursed through his body.

"Hmp! Learned that through my experience," Baldwin said, his eyes gleaming with satisfaction.

He then cast ice magic, creating multiple ice shards that rained down on Brooke. As the shards struck, Baldwin charged forward, sword drawn. He swung his sword at Brooke's head, aiming to cleave through his defenses.

To his surprise, Brooke caught his sword with his bare hand, his grip unyielding. "How?" Baldwin asked, his bewilderment evident.

"You fight with skill, Baldwin," Brooke growled, his eyes glinting with a savage intensity. "But you underestimate me."

Baldwin's eyes narrowed as he sensed Brooke's power. "Berserk?!" he exclaimed as Brooke was about to strike him with his fist.

Baldwin launched Brooke upwards using his earth magic to propel him toward the sky. The bandit leader flew through the air, giving Baldwin enough time to cast a 3rd-class fireball magic at him.

However, Brooke was prepared as he hurled his warhammer as it collided with the fireball dissipating it completely, with his hammer now flying towards Baldwin, who dodged it just in time. As the two men landed simultaneously on their feet, with Brooke's impact was greater due to his weight.

His fall now dissipating dust of debris around him covering his view completely. But as Baldwin saw a shadow amongst the smoke debris, suddenly Boulder came to view headed towards Baldwin

Alas, He managed to dodge it

"You certainly know how to throw things huh?" Baldwin asked, his voice laced with sarcasm.

"And you only know how to run!" Brooke retorted, his eyes blazing with fury.

As Brooke charged towards him, Baldwin unleashed a barrage of spells, but they seemed to have little effect on the bandit leader. The attacks merely bounced off his massive frame, leaving Brooke unaffected and continuing to charge forward like a juggernaut.

"It seems my spells won't work on you," Baldwin said, his voice tinged with frustration. "I suppose we'll have to fight head-on then."

With a flick of his wrist, Baldwin cast a series of buffs on himself, imbuing himself with enhanced abilities. "Wind stride," he chanted, his feet seeming to move with increased speed and agility. "Sword dance," he intoned, his sword arm gaining a fluid, dancing motion. "Greater strength," he whispered, his entire body radiating with enhanced power.

The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.

As the buffs took hold, Baldwin grasped his sword tightly, his eyes locked on Brooke's determined face. "Here we go!" he exclaimed, his voice filled with a mix of determination and trepidation.

The air was electric with tension as the two opponents faced each other, their eyes locked in a fierce stare-down. The outcome of the battle was far from certain, as the two warriors prepared to clash in a test of strength and skill.

As the battle took place at the village. Meanwhile, on the plains, the village men, led by Darren, stood facing the bandits, who had halted their advance in front of the villagers. The bandits, armed to the teeth with bows, swords, cleavers, and daggers, were readying themselves for battle.

The two sides faced each other, tense and poised, with only the rustling of the wind and the distant hoot of an owl breaking the silence. For a long moment, neither side moved, each waiting for the other to make the first move.

Then, with a sudden shout from Darren, "If you want gold and our food, take them! But let these people live!" he implored the bandits.

The bandits' leader sneered, "Oh, we certainly can't do that." Vergas, one of the village men standing beside Darren, spoke up in a low tone, "Daren... they're bandits. They'll never be satisfied with just that. They'll turn everyone into slaves, and as for us... we'll die."

The atmosphere grew tense as the villagers waited for Darren's response. The bandits seemed to be toying with them, offering a false choice: "Lay down your weapons and we'll let you live." But Darren knew it was a lie. The villagers looked at him with a glimmer of hope, expecting an answer that would turn this around.

As pressure mounted from both sides, Darren whispered to Vergas, "Vergas..."

"Yes?" Vergas replied.

"Their archers are on the front," Darren said quietly. "We'll strike them down and lure them towards the traps."

Vergas nodded in understanding. "Understood."

Just then, the bandit spoke up, "Oi, what are you y'all scheming about?" His eyes squint with suspicion

"Unless you want to end this peacefully, let me at least convince those who are against this. Give me a minute!" Darren replied trying to convince the bandits infront of him

The bandits' leader glared at Darren. "Hoo? Make it quick and don't you dare do anything funny!"

"Oi, surround them just in case..." The bandit said, in a low tone

Darren nodded to his comrades "Alright, on my signal." He said

Darren paused for a moment, his mind racing with thoughts. "This will be a huge gamble," he told himself. Then, taking a deep breath, he yelled at the top of his lungs, "BALDWIIIN, THEY'RE HERE!!"

The bandits' leader, momentarily caught off guard, fell for the distraction. "WHAT!? DID BOS-" before he could say anything, Darren swiftly stabbed him in the neck.

The other bandits were caught off guard, and the villagers took advantage of the momentary lapse. With deadly precision, they struck down the bandits who were momentarily stunned.

But before the bandits could retaliate, they were flashed with a low tier light magic, blinding them

The villagers took this opportunity to grab the bows and arrows of the corpses of the bandits

The villagers, now knowing what to do, broke into a run.

As the bandits recovered from the surprise attack, they realized they were being "mogged". With very little time and preparations, Darren and his men now set their plan in motion.

Before all of this, few of the villagers prepared the traps ahead of time placing the traps at the designated location, most of which are used for hunting animals like beartraps while some are explosives and barrels of gunpowder that some of the men carried, it wasn't much since they didn't bring all of them focusing only at the necessities but now that it came in handy they regretted it and thought that they should've brought more.

Nevertheless they got to do what with what they have, during the standoff some of the men who were not present were busy burrying those traps in a separate location divided the one's for the beartraps and one's for the explosives.

Now that everything is ready, the plan has now been set in motion

As they were running the villagers now split into two groups. The ones on the left and right

Soon all of them stopped at their tracks, turned aimed and pointed their arrows towards the bandits which are now closing in.

The villagers now simultaneously loosen their bow's as the arrows flies towards the few bandits in front who were now shot down as the rest hurriedly used their bags and other items as shields.

The same scenario played out on the other group on the other side.

As the bandits now reluctant to approach and are now hurrieldy picking anything they could find as cover from the arrows

The villagers took this opportunity to run yet again. The bandits ran in frustration, unable to comprehend what was happening.

As the chaos unfolded, Darren's voice could be heard from the other side for the other group to hear shouting instructions to his comrades. "Keep moving! We need to get out of here!" The villagers, now fleeing for their lives, knew that every second counted.

As minutes passed of the chase on the villagers. The villagers finally stopped, seemingly exhausted, halted and took their stand and readied their bow now aimed their arrows, the bandits now seeing and knowing what to do mockingly barks

"We won't fall on the same trick twice!!"

He then covered his face and upper body with those bags and other items shielding him from the arrows along with the rest, but he was then stopped on his tracks as he looked momentarily at his foot with horror, realizing he stepped on a bear trap that is cleaving through his skin, he then let out a loud scream of agonizing pain as he was shot down by the villagers as other bandits were also caught up in the trap were shot down one after the another

"We got em!" One of the villager yell in victor

"Not yet.." Vergas said

The other group also did the same, shooting down the bandits caught up on the traps.

The bandits saw this now reluctant to approach because of the traps

But the villagers knew they were only few enough to count, nevertheless it is enough to fool the bandits in delaying their chase thinking there'd be more of them

The villagers took this opportunity of their hesitation to break a run for it again.

Knowing well there are limited amount of traps

as the bandits saw this continued their chase, as the chase continued the separate group of villagers finally met up and merged together as Darren nodded at the man beside him Vergas who led the other group, as if to initate the next phase of the plan. They all sprinted forward and stopped on their tracks as the bandits infront slowly closes in.

There were many at the middle since there were no traps present there as the one's on the left and right side were still caught up in traps they dare not to pass that side anymore and started changing their paths towards the middle

The bandits grinned as they thought this was the last part of the plant.

With some knowing what was up stayed behind and had their suspicion. Those are few and clever enough not to push through and waited for the majority to fall to their traps thinking the lesser the competition for loot the bigger they can take

The villagers standing readied their weapons lit up the tip of their arrows with fire

As the man beside him named Vergas looked at Daren and said "Daren.." waiting for his command to fire

"Not yet" Daren Replied as the bandits closes in, their loud footsteps as they run closer and closer

"Daren!" Vergas yelled

"Now!" Darren commanded

The villagers then simultaneously fired their arrows, as the hail of firey arrows descend upon the bandits.

One of the bandits stopped, not only because of the arrows but because of something he stepped on, he looked below him and realized in shock knowing what it was, but before he could act and warn the others. One of the flaming arrows hit the barrels

It suddenly explode.

The explosion was huge that it took down the many bandits, their burning bodies lay on the ground as others whail in pain. The injured thrown away from the impact

The villagers realized that this is the last of their remaining arrows now took out their swords

"Chaaarge!" Darren yelled on top of his lungs

As everyone now charged at the staggered bandits and the finishing off the one's laying on the ground who are desperately making a run for it, but their injured bodies are unable to make them do so

The villagers knew this was their last chance. Desperately seize every opportunity they have since the fate of the village hung in the balance.