The bandit leader laughed derisively.

“What is the meaning of this? I thought I told you I needed those women alive.”

Even the hooded figure, who had kept a neutral expression throughout that time, showed a look of contempt to his peer. In response, the thug simply shrugged.

“You think I’m an idiot? I’ve lost way too many men today. How do you think I’ll get them to stay without letting them vent? I also needed someone to keep me entertained. As for the money, I have you here. Don’t think you can escape so easily without giving us everything you have.” The bandit leader mocked his client. Despite trying to look like he considered following through with the initial deal, he sought even more. Like a real scumbag, he pushed his weight around to force others to comply with his demands.

Despite his earlier attempts to provoke him, Matthias found himself to be the one angered.

“You piece of shit!”

He couldn’t stop himself from bellowing. But he didn’t move. Despite his rage, he was still able to keep calm enough to know that the bandit leader’s guard was still up. In fact, Matthias realized he had made a mistake just after he yelled. Once the bandit leader realized that Matthias was angered, he managed to calm down.

That man was not just some common criminal. His stance with his axe wasn’t that of someone just holding a weapon.

“Even if you wanted to take that man’s money, you didn’t have to kill them.”

They were going to fight either way. Matthias’ hands were still trembling with anger, so he tried to stall for a bit of time by getting the bandit leader to run his mouth.

Sure enough, he did.

“Kill them? Sorry, adventurer. It was an accident.” He had a disgusting grin on his face. “It’s not like we ran a blade through them. They just broke while we were using them.”

No sooner than when he said that, a black flash darted toward him. The sound of wood striking echoed within the closed walls of the cave.

Matthias stood agape. He had prepared himself to strike in retaliation, but someone else had done so faster than him.

“You… bastard beastkin.”

The bandit leader groaned as he struggled to fight off the weight of Tolg’s blow. The axe’s handle and the staff creaked horribly. They were barely able to withstand the weight and strength of the two large men.

“Death. It’s a sacred process that all lives must go through.”

Tolg activated a magic spell stored in the staff. The air between them suddenly exploded, sending them flying in opposite directions. Tolg easily recovered, while the bandit boss barely managed to catch himself before he hit the wall.

“Those women deserved good deaths; if not from old age, but glorious battle. Definitely not from this inhumane act.”

“Heh… humanity? What do you know about that? You’re just a stupid beast.”

“You’re right. But even we beasts could give these women better deaths than you did.”

Then, Tolg turned to Matthias. He told him:

“Sir Matthias. I will be fighting this… scum. Please take care of that man with the hood.”

His voice was calm—serene, even. However, one look in his eyes told Matthias everything he needed to know.

Tolg was enraged; far, far beyond even Matthias was.

“… Got it.” In the face of righteous anger like that, Matthias could only comply. “But try not to kill him. Maybe he can lead us to the other bandits.”

“Fret not. I won’t kill him.”

Matthias found it weird how Tolg stressed one particular word. But, he ignored it. Seeing someone feel worse than him calmed his nerves dramatically. He wanted to express his thanks by not doubting Tolg.

Besides, the one with the really important information was the person who pushed those bandits from behind.

“I guess the deal’s off.”

“I never expected the bandits to uphold their end of the deal. But, they are useful in some cases.” The hooded man simply shrugged. “How about it? If you let me go, I can give you four times the money that was meant for them.”

“Huh… do I look like I’m strapped for cash?”

“If you don’t mind me saying, yes you do.”

Matthias laughed self-deprecatingly. However, he shook his head and pointed at the hooded man, Lod, with his sword.

“Tempting. But nah, sorry. I’m angry, too.”

----------------------------------------

There were a few kinds of people Matthias had trouble dealing with in a fight. One of them was the category that Soleil belonged to, which had very high stats across the board. They were not only strong but also very fast and skilled. Simply being able to use magic on top of his attacks did not automatically mean he could even out the battle. They could simply overpower him in direct confrontation.

Next were people like Manna, who had certain situational specializations. They were the type to abuse their advantages to ensure victory, whether it was hiding in the treetops or skipping around a wide-open field. Of course, they were easy to fight provided that they couldn’t make use of their gimmicks.

Last but not least are people like Nail who, despite their lower abilities, could more than make up for it with experience. They were special breeds whose experience could be discerned simply from observation. Unfortunately, the bandit leader qualified for that category.

As for other kinds of people, Matthias was confident in being able to take them on.

With regards to his fighting style, well…

“You play pretty dirty for an upright guy.”

Matthias coughed. “Everything’s fair if your life's on the line, you know?”

Demon Culling wasn’t just a strong sword against the corrupted. Depending on the usage, it was pretty damn good against other enemies as well. He got the idea after he “accidentally” used it on Soleil. And it was relatively a simple thing to do.

He just needed to flash the enemy each time they exchanged blows.

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Most humans relied heavily on their eyes to fight. A moment of blindness was fatal in a fast-paced battle. And Matthias could do so repeatedly, with much better efficiency than others. After all, people tended to focus on their opponent’s weapon in a fight.

He could then reposition himself in awkward angles of attack while they recover.

“Okay, I give up.” The hooded man let go of his cane and raised his hands. The fight took a bit longer than he wanted, mostly because the man had a very defensive style. But though he had skill and power, he lacked the speed to keep up with Matthias’ augmented limbs. “You really are strong, just as the rumors suggest.”

“Rumors?”

Not satisfied with his gesture of surrender, Matthias pressed his sword against the man’s neck. Despite the cold blade on his skin, the man didn’t budge at all.

“You and your party, a bunch of E-rankers, defeated an undead drake. Wouldn’t it be stranger for there to be no rumors at all? Plus, your party isn’t made of unassuming people either. You, a high-ranking noble’s son who became an adventurer; Manna, the pretty hunter who can completely disappear in a forest; and Soleil, the self-proclaimed “demon lord” whose strength rivals that of giants.”

There was a meaningful look underneath the shadow of his hood. It was a warning to him. Immediately, Matthias realized his implications. His blood boiled and his vision darkened. In anger, he used his free hand to push the man to the wall and pressed his sword deeper into his throat.

“Didn’t you find it strange that the town guard suddenly went after your friend?”

“Of course I did,” Matthias viciously replied. “That idiot may be reckless, but she wouldn’t kill someone just because she got angry.”

“She would beat them up and gloat about it,” he thought, leaving those words unsaid.

“So what? Do you know anything about it?!”

He realized that he had made a mistake thinking that things would go smoothly. Having such a strong party made him complacent. But perhaps the moment he decided to take on a challenge that did not fit his level, it was already too late.

There was no way the first town the hero started in would only have good people. He was aware of that much. But perhaps he still underestimated everything.

“Relax. We’re actually on your side. We even prepared a gift for you.”

“Bullshit—”

At that moment, a loud crash shook the cave. The noise distracted him for a moment. He saw the bandit leader’s body hit the dirt wall, raising a cloud of dust around him. Across the chamber stood Tolg, looking no worse for wear. His body was covered in wounds of many sizes, the largest of which was a large, ten-centimeter gash on his chest. His blood turned his black fur into dark red and dripped onto the ground. But despite his state, he wore a victorious grin on his snout.

They had won.

The sight caused Matthias to relax slightly. It was a mistake to do so.

“Good job, kid.”

The moment he heard that voice, he felt the pressure on his hands, which were pressing against the hooded man, loosen. Alarmed, he turned his head to find that the man had disappeared, leaving only his cloak behind.

Something sparkling caught his eyes. It was a golden pin with an unknown sigil.

“Are you okay, sir Adventurer?”

“Yeah…”

Impatience was clear in Matthias’ expression. Many things ran in his head, and he became confused and regretful thinking of the circumstances that befell them.

For one, he was admonishing himself for allowing the masked man, Lod, to escape. He was an important source of information. Matthias intended to squeeze information about the bandit attack from him, but instead, the man took the initiative in the conversation and fed him information on something else entirely.

That left him with his second problem.

If he was to believe a stranger’s words, then they were being targeted. The town guard would be one party, but who knew how many more? In addition, the town guard never made a move alone. They were a collection of cowards. Someone must have told them to act, and whomever it was must hold a position of significant power within the town. He recalled Manna’s words back at the guild. They, especially Soleil, were being actively protected by the staff from the town guards. All-in-all, he knew of at least three parties already in on them.

The third was the meaning of the pin that Lod left behind.

It had a winged angel in prayer above a six-pointed cross, with two of its extra arms extending to the northeast and the northwest. While those alone would give it a divine appearance, the image of a skewered human underneath the cross ruined it.

What the hell kind of group would use something like that as their identifying mark?

“Apologies, I’ve never seen that sigil before.”

Matthias had pinned some hope on Tolg and his many years of wandering. Yet, even that had failed. He doubted that Lod had left that pin behind without purpose. Was it a message?

“We’re actually on your side.”

He felt the blood drain from his face. Any group using that kind of sigil would be questionable allies, to say the least.

“Whatever,” he sighed. “No use thinking about it for now." They didn't have enough information on hand to make any sort of judgment. Besides, there were more pressing issues to deal with. "So? What are we going to do with him?”

He was referring to the bandit leader, who at that moment was struggling on the ground. His arms and legs were tied with multiple layers of rope. Tolg even broke his knees and elbows for good measure.

They had contemplated carrying him out of the cave but promptly dismissed the idea. He was way too large and heavy to carry around safely.

“It would be better to leave him here, yes. He won’t be able to escape. I can leave Mist Ferns on the mouths of all his men on the way to make sure they stay asleep until the next day. It should afford us some time for your adventurer peers to arrive.”

“Right… but what about…”

Matthias hesitated. His eyes wandered towards the prison cells. Inside were the bodies of four of the five women who were kidnapped. Their corpses were a disgusting mess to look at. But, at least they were still intact. It was worse with the fifth body.

The reason why the last body couldn’t be seen in the cell was… because her body had been chopped up into pieces. Apparently, after the bandit leader had been done sating himself with her, he cut her up to serve as an example to the others.

Just thinking about it made him clench his hands in anger. But at the same time, he was thankful that Manna wasn’t there. If she was, then the bandit leader would have already stopped breathing.

They also decided to leave their bodies there, at least temporarily. That was what Tolg suggested anyway, and he was quite adamant about it. He reasoned that moving the bodies immediately might "disturb their vengeful spirits".

"I'm sure these women will be grateful as well," he said.

Matthias wasn't sure what that meant. Maybe it was related to some superstition from Tolg's religion? Though Matthias knew of the few major and many minor faiths observed in that world, he wasn't arrogant to say that he knew them all. Perhaps Tolg's beliefs were a niche? He was determined to learn about it someday.

They left the cave feeling grim a while later. Despite being able to catch a big fish in the criminal wastelands, they had failed their primary objective.

Outside, Manna jumped down from a nearby tree and met them with a smile. But after seeing their expressions, her lips tightened and she knit her brows.

"Are they dead?" she asked. She was truly quick on the uptake.

Matthias told her what had happened, without sparing any details. As he had expected, Manna flared up in anger. He managed to stop her before she ran inside to murder the bandit leader.

"We still need to get information from him."

"And after that?"

Her glare was bloodthirsty. Even Matthias, who had known her for over a decade, cowered slightly under her gaze.

"... It'll be up to the guild. Honestly, I want to strangle him myself. But whatever he spits out may save more people in the future."

He especially didn’t want to let that chance go because of a bad feeling in his gut. And since they weren't able to capture the hooded figure behind them, they had no choice but to spare the guy.

"Tch!"

She averted her eyes and clenched her fists. She ground her teeth in vexation. The rage in her eyes intensified for a moment before cooling into a look of pity and shame.

Despite the rumors about her cold attitude, Manna was a good person. Though she would often complain about the whys and the hows, she would nonetheless make an effort to help those around her.

Matthias sighed. He wondered if they could have done anything different to save them.

He wanted to be a hero, yet he couldn't even save a few women.

"Don't worry," Tolg said meaningfully. "That inhuman scum will face the consequences soon enough."