The village of Lostfair was merely a gathering for bandits and scum of the earth. As such, the caravan of Elisa Riversong made only a brief stop as a sign of goodwill before moving ahead. There wasn’t anyone who would be willing to waste money on unnecessary accessories in the town. But there sure were many who would waste a few men.

One such gang tailed the said caravan with a power of thirty men, desperate to get a few spare gold from a rich merchant. Without needing to fear the retribution of a full military might of a nation, they would tail them until they were desolated.

Edward, the leader of the gang, deeply sighed. It wouldn’t do. There were more than twenty escorted caravans of nobles, each with a fighting force of their own, travelling not even a kilometer between them. If their location was compromised, then they would easily fall victim to the combined force of the nobles and the army.

The only chance was when they reached the forest fork road in the evening. Then a smile plastered on his face. They would definitely stop for the night to rest if their lizards were injured. That would be their chance.

“Change directions! The shortest path to the Victim Forest!” Edward shouted as his force of thirty men all turned slightly left, the speed of their lizards increasing a tad bit. Even if there were three heroes on board, the power of sleep wasn’t to be underestimated.

Assassination would be the best way to accomplish their goals, and far more advantageous than simply clashing head on with heroes with a mage at their back. Edward’s smile evolved into a grin as he realized he and his men would be set for life after this one raid. She was said to be quite rich, after all.

***

The sun squatted down as Elisa cursed her misfortune under her breath. One of the front lizards got its legs stuck in something and broken. The only lizard would most likely slow their pace down, and she had to get there today for an auction.

“Why don’t we abandon the last cart?” A young adventurer asked as he peeked his head through the door.

Her eyes opened wide as she realized the simplest way of conserving time.

“That’s a good idea...” She nodded her head. “What was your name again?”

“Ryan.” The boy said simply. From his blunt introduction, she could see that he was a commoner. Not that it was a hindrance, that just meant less whining and more working.

“Thanks Ryan.” She said as she jumped out of her cart.

“Vade, George, move the packages from the last cart to the front. Marcus, use one of your elementals to move the caravan out of the road!” She commanded as she walked over to the last cart where the guards were.

“Sorry if it inconveniences you, but I’m afraid you’d have to travel in the front seats for the rest of the ride.” Elisa said as she looked over them. They seemed to be capable and not as arrogant as some she had seen before. That brought her relief. At the very least, there was no one to whine.

The transparent giant humanoid that Elisa was all too familiar with pulled the cart out of the road and into the forest where many plundered carts lied. The auction was important for her and she wouldn’t mind buying another cart at Ragewell.

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And so it continued. Only two hours of travel were left as dusk set and Elisa ordered her underlings to hasten the pace.

‘Before midnight.’ She prayed with her eyes closed. Ragewell was a place with too many nobles to count and she would have to sell some of her better wares there, lest the journey become a waste.

That is, until their caravans ran straight through a bandits’ waiting spot.

***

“The examination is a team fight?” Ryan asked surprised as he looked at Valerie. Talking with her came in handy after all.

“That is right. Teams of four will fight the examiners and have to defeat them. It is by far the easiest exam in its two hundred years of history.” Valerie assured. But the conversation was cut short with a war cry from the front. The carts stopped on cue and the sound of numerous blades being drawn sounded out.

Ryan rushed to join the battle, drawing his sword mid-run and dove straight in. His speed couldn’t hope to match the old hero and his companion from the back cart as they had arrived on the scene when he had only scaled half the distance.

Vade’s claymore cleaved off the hand of a bandit holding a spear as George beheaded a sword user with his war axe, blood spraying like a hose from the wounds and staining their worn clothes.

Ryan had killed some monsters, but fighting other humans was difficult. A bandit had rushed up to him, realizing he was an easy prey. Ryan raised his blade to defend himself, but the more skilled fighter had already pulled back his lance and was in the process of thrusting again.

A blade pierced the thrust of the said bandit as he fell lifeless, Ryan watching in shock. He would have definitely died if not for his benefactor. However, he knew the battlefield wasn’t the place for thanksgiving.

“Ryan, there’s no need to show mercy to these vermin.” A female voice sounded out from before him as Ryan’s eyes widened in surprise. Standing before him was Valerie, brandishing her rapier.

He breathed out the air stuck in his lungs and closed his eyes, repeating the mantra his father had taught him while hunting. “They’re just monsters. They’re just monsters. They’re just monsters.”

With renewed resolve, Ryan rushed to the frontlines to help his comrades. The adventurer duo had turned their backs to each other and spun around not unlike an elven glaive through enemy ranks.

Another bandit holding a mace jumped at Ryan, but he wouldn’t simply stand still and watch as they attacked him. He wouldn’t relent. He disappeared from the vision of the bandit as the aggressor felt the cold hands of death embracing him, falling down.

Ryan pulled out his blade from the man’s throat. The thick neck of the fatty refused to be severed clean off. He let the blood flow off his sword as his gaze landed on his next target. An archer nocking arrow after another at the main fighters, greatly hindering their movement.

Her guards of course never left her side and protected her from a water ball launched at them with a shield, although at the price of breaking their formation for a few seconds. That was all the time Ryan needed to slip in and let his blade do the work for him.

The surprised shieldmen let go of their heavy defenses and unsheathed their weapons to fight off the perpetrator, but he was no longer there. Ryan had run past them and into the forest. An arrow had grazed his shoulder, most likely poisoned. His left arm flailed at his side as he held firmly onto it.

He could feel his body becoming more fatigued by the moment. With the last bits of his power, Ryan slowly staggered to the caravans and collapsed below one, only a hand sticking out.

On the other side of the battlefield, Edward’s mouth generated endless amounts of profanity as he sent his men one after another to their deaths. That was the only way, lest the retired heroes come and destroy the base.

The trap had only managed to injure one lizard, as he had seen soon after the caravans arrived at their waiting post. Merchants were a greedy bunch, not even sparing a single coin for something as trivial as a night out in the woods. However, Lady Luck seemed to have a distaste for his gang as they had travelled just fine after leaving a cart behind, not hindered in the least by his plans.

“Brain, we’re leaving. Forget about the engaged and evacuate everyone else. We failed, and paid a hefty price.” The second in command nodded to his master’s order as five, the guards of the archers and the mage came back at the retreat order.

Most of the lizards were left behind, as to not slow themselves down. And thus, The Grey Badger gang of bandits wouldn’t be in action for a long while.