Chapter 793: Snatching the Sword, Deception, and the Awakening Will

Jier had actually not appeared the whole time, but the looting Bandits had still managed to reach the side of the carriage.

By this time, as the dozen or so religious followers brought by Bata'er Jiaoshi had been slaughtered, the commoners near the carriage had long since fled. Seven or eight Bandits were covered in blood, breathing heavily with excitement; some were searching the pockets of the hacked-down commoners, but could barely find a few copper coins and Iron Coins.

"%%￥, these poor wretches! There's only this much stuff in their pockets!"

A Bandit barely managed to search a few corpses, but could only find half a handful of coins. Disliking that the Iron Coins he found were both heavy and worthless, this Bandit flicked his fingers, picking the Iron Coins out of the half-handful of coins in his hand, leaving only the more valuable copper coins.

Another Bandit nearby saw his companion's actions and let out a loud sneer: "Idiot, these poor wretches are on the road as Refugees, how much money could they have in their pockets? Hurry and look for other boxes, wooden barrels, or whatever; just find the glowing grain the boss mentioned! I've never seen that stuff before, it must be valuable!"

The Bandit holding the coins glared at his companion who had spoken, but still believed the man's words. He slapped his head, hurriedly stuffed the smaller amount of copper coins into his clothes, and then fixed his gaze on the carriage blocked by supplies not far in front of him.

An old man was still sitting on this carriage, but the Bandit didn't look at the old man at all, his attention entirely focused on the various supply boxes around the old man.

He called out, letting two other Bandit companions who were friendly with him come forward together.

The three Bandits walked quickly for a few steps, bypassing other Bandits who were leaning over to inspect the supplies scattered everywhere, and approached the carriage. Their first glance caught the young male standing behind the carriage, but when one Bandit kicked this person from behind, the person neither fought back nor ran away, and didn't even utter a word of begging for mercy; he just staggered in place, and then had no further movements.

Another approaching Bandit raised the Cleaver in his hand, intending to hack this person to death with one blow, but at this moment the old man on the carriage spoke: "Don't do it! This person is a fool, a madman. For the sake of all the gods, please don't hurt him!"

The Bandit preparing to strike glanced at the old man, took two quick steps forward to circle to the side of this motionless young man, and grabbed him to look him over.

At the first glance, this Bandit was startled by the Long Sword the young man was clutching in his arms, and the Cleaver held high in his hand was about to fall instinctively. But after looking at the person's face, he felt something was wrong; logically speaking, whether the opponent was posturing or lying in ambush to counterattack, they should have turned their eyes to look at him.

As it turned out, not only was this young man's face blank, but his pair of eyes were also staring straight ahead without any focus.

And there was nothing in front of him.

"Heh, he really is a fool. Scared the hell out of me."

The Bandit saw at a glance that this person had something wrong with him, so he withdrew the Cleaver in his hand, ignored him, and turned to climb onto the back of the carriage.

The other two Bandits came over and saw this, realizing it was a fool, so one reached out to help the climbing Bandit, while the other stayed in place, keeping watch on this fool and the surroundings. The vigilant Bandit even bent down to look under the carriage, and finding no one hiding there, he breathed a sigh of relief.

The front of the Refugee Team was a mess, and the commoners who could rush over to fight were also slowing their pace in twos and threes, preparing to gather enough manpower before approaching the end of the team to fight the Bandits.

Therefore, the Bandits in this area all felt they still had some time to loot.

"Old man, be honest. Tell me quickly what is valuable, or I'll give you a hard time!"

The Bandit who climbed onto the carriage first slapped the old Merchant, and after making the old Merchant's lips bleed, he pointed to the various supplies filling the cargo hold and asked.

The old Merchant smiled strangely, said nothing, and reached out to point at the wooden box the Bandit was stepping on.

Realizing that the thing under his feet might be valuable, this Bandit bent down directly, preparing to open the wooden box, but he still pointed his finger at the old Merchant, meaning that if the things inside weren't valuable, he should be careful, as he would make him pay.

"How is it? I see others are preparing to retreat, hurry up!"

The Bandit who helped his companion climb onto the carriage urged his companion urgently, which caused the Bandit on the carriage to reply with dissatisfaction: "What's the rush? Just these pieces of trash, I can take five of them by myself. There's still time, there's still time. Those idiots are at most grabbing some useless cheap stuff; aren't the good things all on the carriage?"

After speaking, this Bandit felt that the Cleaver in his hand was inconvenient for prying open the securely fixed large wooden box, so he placed his weapon aside where he could reach it at any time, and took out the Short Knife from his waist, attempting to pry open the wooden box fixed securely by Iron Nails.

The Bandit responsible for guarding beside the carriage did not go to check the various supply bundles discarded by the commoners on the ground around him; he had also rummaged through a few things discarded by others before, and there really weren't many valuable things inside, most of them being daily tools and supplies, not worth much money.

If he had that time, it would be better to carry off a fainted female commoner.

However, everyone who could run had run away. Among the dozen or so people who had rushed over to fight with the Priest just now, there were indeed young females, but those people fought quite crazily, not looking like they could be knocked out and taken away, so the Bandits fighting them had killed them all.

While thinking about these things in his mind, the guarding Bandit glanced over and suddenly noticed that the Long Sword held in the chest of the guy considered a fool looked quite good.

The outside of the Sword Sheath was wrapped in tanned leather, and although there were no extra jewelry decorations on the Sword Guard and the hilt, it had artistic metal decorations. Clearly, this Long Sword was more exquisite and refined than the weapons the Bandits usually came into contact with.

"Heh, almost misjudged."

This Bandit stared at the foolish young man's eyes while reaching out to grab the Long Sword the other was holding.

After grabbing the Sword Sheath and pulling, hmm, it didn't budge.

"Got quite a bit of strength, huh?"

This Bandit didn't see any feigned flaws on the foolish young man's face, so after relaxing, he put in more effort and pulled again.

Hmm, it still didn't budge.

"Old man! What's up with this fool?"

This Bandit asked casually, not expecting the old Merchant sitting honestly on the carriage to really give him an explanation: "This young man was actually also a Bandit, but after being defeated in a fight with Knight Jier, he went mad. Because he has some skills and a mysterious background, the Knight brought him along and let me help look after him."

"Oh."

The three Bandits beside the carriage didn't think much of it; what "some skills," what "mysterious background," they didn't care at all.

That Bandit put away his weapon, grabbed the Long Sword held in the young man's arms with both hands, and exerted force to snatch it.

But although the young man had not undergone Knight Training, the body and strength he had honed in the academy when he was young were not something an ordinary Bandit could compare to.

"Damn it, ptooey, I originally wanted to spare your life, but since you fool refuse to let go, then I won't be polite. ￥￥#, good things can only be used by capable people! Let go!"

The Bandit snatching the item got fired up. He originally didn't have that much interest in a refined Long Sword, but if he wanted it and the other party wouldn't give it, then he couldn't be blamed for using his blade.

This Bandit drew his own Cleaver, first gestured toward the foolish young man, but seeing the other party had no reaction, this Bandit spat and swung his blade mercilessly at the young man's arm.

Swish—thud.

The Bandit used force for this blow, hacking heavily onto the young man's left Upper Arm Armor, even cutting through the skin and flesh, directly hitting the bone.

Blood immediately gushed out along the wound that had been hacked open.

The unfocused face twitched a few times, but apart from a few low whimpers from his mouth, the young man's arm didn't even move, still firmly clutching his Long Sword.

"Damn it, ptooey, not letting go, huh."

After finishing his words, the Bandit struck another blow, this one hacking from the young man's left shoulder all the way to his chest and the forearm of his left arm.

The skin and flesh rolled back, and blood flowed like a fountain.

Suddenly, although the young man had no reaction, his left hand hung limply from his chest.

Seeing this scene, the old Merchant turned his head away, while the other two busy Bandits laughed out loud.

"Rotten Finger, you're really proud of bullying a fool, yo yo yo, you're really so capable."

"Exactly, he, in front of Bamian and the leader, and in front of the brothers, his face is different. He doesn't even smile when talking to the brothers, but when talking to the bosses and the leader in the gang, he smiles like a dog's tail, just short of wagging it hard."

Facing his companions' teasing, the Bandit snatching the Long Sword snorted and did not refute. This time, when he reached out to grab the Long Sword held by the young man, it was much easier. He wasn't stupid either; he grabbed the hilt of the Long Sword directly with his left hand and pulled it toward him.

The young man was only holding the Sword Sheath, so with this pull, his Long Sword was pulled out of the Sword Sheath by the Bandit.

Clang, the shiny but slightly rusted blade was pulled out. Upon seeing the orange-red rust on the sword body, the Bandit snatching the sword frowned.

"Damn it, it's a rusted sword; I'll have to repair it before I can use it."

The Bandit held the Long Sword in his hand, gesturing with it before his eyes, his face full of annoyance, feeling he had done something meaningless.

This Long Sword was a good sword, but it had likely not been maintained for some time, and had not even been drawn from the Sword Sheath for inspection after being used or rained upon, so the sword was covered in rust, and the edge did not even look sharp anymore.

"My..."

The young man tilted his head slightly; although his gaze did not move, his neck turned toward the Bandit who was inspecting the Long Sword, and at the same time, a faint sound came from his mouth.

The Bandit inspecting the Long Sword noticed this sound; he looked up at the young man who had turned his neck: "What did you say?"

"My... my, wea... pon."

The young man said a sentence in a stuttering manner.

This drew the Bandit's mockery: "Oh, the fool has started talking. I thought you couldn't speak. You want your weapon, right? Come, catch."

As soon as he finished speaking, the Bandit grinned hideously and thrust the Long Sword in his hand toward the young man.

However, he was skilled at using the Flying Axe and Cleaver; although he had used a Long Sword occasionally, he was not proficient with it, so the sword, which was meant to pierce the young man's chest, ultimately only stabbed along the other's shoulder blade.

The young man let out a muffled grunt, but interestingly, after the Long Sword stabbed into him, he seemed satisfied and stopped speaking again.

"Haha, how interesting."

The Bandit laughed.

The Bandit on the carriage frowned.

Because after he had gone to the trouble of spending precious time prying open the large Wooden Box at the end of the carriage, the things inside were not what he had imagined.

"Old thing! Are you playing me for a fool?"

Pointing at the complete set of simple Forging Tool Set inside the Wooden Box, the Bandit roared fiercely.

But the old Merchant remained seated steadily and calmly; he even explained with a smile on his face: "Not at all, this set of forging tools is truly valuable, it was even something Jier Knight obtained on the previous trip to Duoen Town by specifically requesting it in exchange for valuable spoils. If the commoners find a suitable place to settle down safely, a complete set of forging tools to craft living and production tools will be indispensable."

"Think about it, where am I wrong?"

The enraged Bandit was stunned, then roared: "But damn it, is this something the three of us can carry away?"

The old Merchant said calmly: "The problem is not whether you can carry it away. I think as bandits who rely on weapons to plunder, you must need to sharpen and repair the gear in your hands, right? That requires forging tools. So, if you can bring this set of forging tools back, I think for your Bandit Leader, it would be far better than you few bringing back some useless, so-called 'valuable' trinkets? Think carefully, this could make your leader much more satisfied. Others rob for money, you can earn a reward."

This line of reasoning left the Bandit bewildered; it seemed to make sense, but he couldn't figure out where the problem lay for a moment.

"Uh, fine, forget it, what you said makes some sense. Brothers, whether the three of us can win the boss's favor depends on whether we can carry this thing away."

The Bandit who had just 'returned' the Long Sword to the foolish young man mocked: "Oh, who was it that just said I was a dog's tail, wagging back and forth to please those above?"

"Shut up, let's move quickly, that bunch of Armed Civilian are almost here."

When the Bandit said this, the old Merchant subconsciously turned his head to look toward the middle of the group, hoping to judge the number and distance of the Armed Civilian rushing over.

But the old Merchant's turning motion was accidentally seen by the anxious Bandit; in an instant, the Bandit on the carriage realized he had been played by this old man: "Damn it, you were playing us this whole time?!!"

Once these words were out, the other two bandits realized they had been played, and their faces immediately turned fierce. The Bandit on the carriage was even more direct; he took the Short Knife he had just used to pry open the Wooden Box and slashed directly at the old Merchant.

The old Merchant barely raised his hand to block, but the next instant, half of his right palm was sliced off by the Short Knife, and several fingers along with part of his palm fell to the side.

"Mmm..."

The old Merchant should have cried out in pain, but he seemed to realize something and forcibly stifled most of the cry in his mouth. Although he was old, he was not without the Yongqi to resist, and he immediately lunged at the Bandit.

But the next moment, the Bandit kicked the old Merchant over: "Old thing, you still want to resist with these old bones of yours? Haha, did you use your brain before acting?"

"Stop the nonsense, hack this old guy to death, let's retreat quickly, just grab a small box and go."

"Luckily I also searched for a handful of copper coins, otherwise this battle today would have been for nothing."

The Bandit on the carriage, spurred on by his two companions, grabbed the Cleaver placed nearby, intending to finish off the old man who had deceived them with one strike.

"Don't hurt Grandpa!"

Just as the Bandit was about to swing the blade, several supply bundles nearby were suddenly flipped open from underneath, and then a little boy grabbed a cloth bundle—containing who knows what—and smashed it at him.

The Bandit's blade only shredded this bundle, cutting through several pieces of old commoner clothing that had been mended.

"So there was a little thing hiding! Ha, no wonder this old thing didn't run, die together then!"

The Bandit swung his blade, and the old Merchant hugged the boy, using his own back to block the strike.

But the old man's thin body was half-killed by this single blow.

If the next strike, or if this Bandit aimed for their necks, neither of them would survive.

However, the old man kept his eyes tightly shut and waited for a moment, only to find that the Bandit's next strike never fell; his back burned with pain, his vision went black, and his ears seemed to hear the exclamations of the bandits.

But even as the old Merchant fainted, he never loosened his arms, shielding the brave little child beneath his aged arms.

What he did not know was that behind him, on the seemingly ferocious Bandit, a Long Sword was currently piercing in from the Bandit's back, accurately piercing through the heart in the chest cavity, yet without using enough force to pierce through the entire chest.

Having suffered such a fatal blow, the Bandit didn't even grunt, swayed his body, and fell off the carriage behind him.

"Damn it, I knew it! You were faking it!"

One Bandit exclaimed.

And the other Bandit, who had just 'seized' and 'returned' the sword, stepped back several paces, looking with horror at the fool he had just been bullying.

"Impossible! That can't be faked by a person? Impossible! Forget it, let's go together, kill him!"

The sight of their companion being killed in one blow left the remaining two fellows both terrified and furious; they had to kill him, but if they went alone, they feared they were no match, so they had to attack from both sides together.

But their enemy, the young man who had been faking foolishness, did not take these two bandits seriously; his still-functional right hand tore at the clothes he was wearing, ripping off strips of cloth, and then with light steps, he walked backward a few paces, nimbly dodging the Heavy Cleave and slashes coming from the two bandits on either side.

The young man's blood-soaked left arm could barely move, so after raising it slightly, he used the cloth strips to bind the wound. As for the other wounds on his chest and shoulder, the young man gritted his teeth and stuffed fragments of his own clothes into them, barely stopping the bleeding for now.

"Who are you?"

One Bandit slashed several times in a row, but all were dodged by the young man's light footwork. This nimble movement made the Bandit, who was slashing with all his might, realize that the continuous slashes he previously thought no one could dodge actually had such an easy solution.

For a moment, he harbored thoughts of retreating.

While the other Bandit roared in anger, knowing that such a skilled enemy would likely not let him escape; after all, he had 'teased' the other party not long ago, and the wounds on the other party's body, if left unattended, would be enough to bleed a person to death.

So, following the roar from his throat, he used all his strength to attack this young enemy frantically.

But no matter how hard he tried or how he slashed, the opponent only stared at him and took small steps backward, causing all his attacks to miss.

"Impossible! Impossible!! Impossible!!! Die, huff, huff, just die for me—"

With his stamina severely depleted, the Bandit could only throw his Cleaver along with his roar, hoping this move would pierce the opponent's neck or chest and take the opponent's life.

But the young man merely sidestepped to dodge the thrown Cleaver, then stepped on the ground, using the force to flick up a Dagger from the hand of a fallen civilian, catching it with his uninjured right hand.

The young man lunged forward one step, extended his right hand, and thrust the Dagger, which he held in a standard grip, right into the Bandit's body after the Bandit had exhausted his strength.

The young man avoided the Bandit's heart, which was protected by iron armor plates, and instead stabbed the Dagger into the liver area; because it was only protected by a thin layer of Leather Armor, the not-so-sharp Dagger barely managed to pierce through.

With one thrust and one retraction of the Dagger, fresh blood immediately gushed out from the wound.

The Viscera are connected to major Blood Vessels; once this area is injured, among a group of Bandits without Divine Magic Healing, death is basically certain.

"Who am I? Sigh."

Weier, the young man who was no longer dazed, looked sorrowfully at the blood-stained Dagger in his hand, ignoring the other fleeing Bandit and the Bandit curled up on the ground before him, as he fell into long-lasting memories.

The comfortable life of his youth, the proud days at the academy, those few days stained with blood, the stifling days of fleeing for his life, the ruthless decision to kill innocent people, and the days of living in constant fear as a Bandit.

As well as being easily defeated by a Knight, the dazed time spent surrounded by women, and most importantly, the days spent being cared for by an old Merchant with rich life wisdom.

Thinking of this, Weier snapped back to reality, disregarding the injuries on his own body, dropped the Dagger in his hand, and rushed toward the carriage.