“Shao! Dark Cloud! Miki! Befuddle! Carmine! Shield Bash!”

I could have given these orders through Slave Communication, but since Carmine and Salicia were not used to working together, I called out everything for their benefit as well as Ruby’s.

Ruby grabbed her sword and jumped onto the path, running past Carmine. However, just as she reached the black cloud that was now blocking the vision of Ruby, it disappeared. She stopped as she saw that all the bandits, the robed man included, were on the ground. Three girls were standing in the middle of them. Shao and Salicia were standing out confidently, while Raissa was standing back a bit, holding her weapon tightly as she looked to me for approval. Ruby leaned down and checked one of the bodies.

“Unconscious?”

“I didn’t feel like undressing them in a rush.” Shao shrugged.

“Miki…” I nodded to her.

“Working on it.” She squinted, sending a certain spiritual attack at the men.

“Cut all their throats.” I ordered as I walked out among the group. “Ah… leave the robed man alive and tie him up.”

“Deek!” Ruby’s expression turned sour, “They’re not a threat. We can just send them through one of your Portals to a prison. It isn’t just cruel, it’s pointless. If you kill them, you’ll just be sending them for Resurrection. You’ll have accomplished nothing.”

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“Is that so?” As I walked by each man, I touched their shoulder, and then nodded.

For every man I touched, Salicia or Shao would walk by them and stab down into their throats. They rarely needed a second strike to finish the job. Ruby didn’t look at them, but she watched me with judgmental eyes. I hadn’t wanted to bring her in the first place. If the Guild Master hadn’t forced her on me, well, then we wouldn’t be in this situation. In fact, I had been very particular about who I brought for specific reasons.

Neither Shao, Carmine, nor Salicia balked at this kind of death. Other than Ruby, only Raissa looked uneasy about it, but not to the level where she was going to protest. That was actually one other reason I had sent Lydia, Celeste, and Terra away. I didn’t want them to see what I had to do. Shao had seen all of me, and wouldn’t hesitate to do any manner of ugliness in my name. As for Miki, she already understood what I was trying to do. Miki, who was closest to death, was the least threatened by it. It wasn’t that I thought they would reject me, rather, it was that I didn’t want to force them to act against their nature if possible.

Seven of the men were stripped naked, while all the equipment was confiscated and placed in a storage ring. As for the man who was unconscious, I dragged him off the road and put some distance between us and the spot where we had killed the first two. Then I propped him against a tree and had the girls tie him to it. When I looked away, Ruby was still watching me.

“That’s eleven dead.” She said in a somewhat bitter voice. “You successfully destroyed a band worth of bandits. Congratulations, you’re Rank E.”