It was midnight. The streets were empty, and the town was in complete silence. Lights couldn't even be seen. It was like a ghost town. The only signs of life were the guards occasionally passing through the streets.

In the distance, a galloping noise could be heard. The guards quickly noticed this and went to check the source of the sounds. However, since most of them were civilians, they were quickly taken out by the bandits.

A mage noticing this, instead of fighting decided to ring the alarm and warn the townspeople of the incoming attack.

*WEE WOO WEE WOO*

The alarm rang throughout the entire town. Instantly everyone woke up. Because of the sudden and loud noise, babies crying could be heard from the houses.

Everyone wondered what emergency could be happening. Though, because of the fighting occurring, it was obvious they were being invaded. By monsters or bandits, it didn't matter. All they could do now is run.

***

(Carl Pov)

"Che, they rang the alarm."

"Okay men, forget about subtlety and attack your heart's content."

There were only two entrances to the town as it was surrounded by a 10m wall to protect it from monster attacks.

'We've surrounded both entrances. I'll let my boys clean up the inside of the town. I'll go attack the outskirts and clean up any stragglers trying to escape over the walls.'

***

(Random Villager Pov)

"Mellisa hurry, grab Jacob, and let's go! Forget about everything else."

'I've lived my entire life here and this is the first that we've been attacked. Why'd have to be in my generation.'

I grabbed my wife and son and quickly ran out of my house. In such an emergency nothing else mattered. I was debating on how to escape but I hadn't planned for this.

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I decided the best thing I could do is run in the opposite direction of the sound. I quickly ran across the roads hoping not to encounter anyone.

In the background, I could hear spells being exchanged and could feel the mana density in the environment increasing.

It was all going fine until I met a bandit. He had just finished killing an elderly couple and now he had his sights on us.

'By the looks of it, he doesn't seem to be a mage.'

Though I wasn't a mage either, I learned some fighting techniques and I could use what little mana I had proficiently.

I quickly lunged forward, pulling out a kitchen knife I snagged before leaving the house, and attempted to stab him. He seemed surprised at my speed and I landed a solid hit on his torso.

Enraged by this, the bandit retaliated and though he was faster than I was, he swung clumsily and left himself wide open.

Taking advantage of this, I dashed forward and stabbed his heart. This was the first life I had taken but I had no time to dwell on my grievances, I had to escape to protect my family.

I soon reached the outskirts and attempted to climb over the wall. However, before I could I came across another bandit.

This bandit was incomparably stronger than the previous one.

FEAR

That was all I felt. An oppressive aura leaked out of him. It was taking my full effort just to stand.

"Attempting to escape aren't ya. Unfortunately, that charade ends here."

He spoke so nonchalantly as if he was talking about the weather.

I going to negotiate for my surrender but soon everything went dark. I didn't even notice he swung his axe.

***

(Carl Pov)

"Hm, a young woman and her son. The woman is pretty but won't fetch much. The kid on the other hand I'll take."

The woman was carrying the kid and running away, completely disregarding her husband's dead body in front of me.

I quickly catch up to them, kill the woman, and chucked the child into the prison cell.

I keep circling around the edge of the town, finding and cutting down the stragglers. There was barely any resistance.

Everything was the same until I saw a family of three trying to sneak away in the chaos. The father quickly noticed me and immediately confronted me while signaling for the other two to run away.

'Finally a challenge. The man in front of me was a mage. And he is fairly proficient in heat magic. I could feel the heat radiating off his blade.'

We clashed several times but he stood no chance. I was a high C rank while he was a mid D rank mage. Or a high D rank if I was being generous. He stood no chance against me and I cut him down mercilessly.

I could've ended the fight earlier but my focus was on the other two. The mother was a top-level beauty that would fetch a very high price. Even I was going to taste her a couple of times before I sold her.

But my real focus was on the son.

'Even if my senses aren't good, that child has way too much mana for his age. He looks around 8 or 9 years and he shouldn't have this much mana.'

Some deity must be looking down upon me. I had just found a double jackpot. A ridiculously talented kid and an extremely hot woman.

I quickly captured them and personally escorted them to any vehicle. I told one of my loyal men and a couple of his lackeys to watch them 24/7. They were given the instructions to ensure no harm comes to them and to cater to their every need. These two were my golden geese.