For what felt like an eternity to the bandit leader, Louis scrutinized the leader's defensive stance, searching for vulnerabilities. In a fleeting instant, Louis unleashed another rapid, horizontal sword swing that sent the spear tip flying aside, before dropping into a crouch and bursting forward with astonishing speed. The bandit leader immediately tried to point his spear back toward Louis’ chest. However, he was too late. As Louis charged forward, the sword-master flipped his sword into a reverse grip and slid it along the spear's length. Not only did Louis block the spear from pointing toward his chest, the sword's path now imperiled the bandit leader's fingers.

  In a fright, the bandit leader's right hand, or the front hand, instinctively released its hold on the spear. At the same time, he swiftly recoiled, yanking the spear back with his left hand. Seizing the opportunity, Louis continued surging forward, deflecting the spear aside with a swift motion before aiming a decisive blow at the bandit leader.

  "Divine Spell: Stone Lance," the bandit leader's aide, observing from the sidelines, chanted at Louis with utmost urgency, who promptly halted his attack, swiftly retreating to evade the Stone Lance that abruptly shot out from the ground between him and the bandit leader.

  "Too bad for you. Now I know all your moves." With a resolute tone, the bandit leader declared, "This ends now."

  "If you ever encounter an enemy capable of extending their Divine Power to the surroundings, run immediately or beg for mercy." The bandit leader recalled what his martial arts master said to him, "That would be the only way for you to survive."

  His aide, the bandit vice captain, the one who cast the Sink spell and the Stone Lance spell earlier, quietly asked the leader in a whisper, "T, are you okay? I think we should surrender."

  "R, if we surrender now, the boss will kill us," T whispered back quietly.

  "So, basically, we’re choosing whether to die now or later on. Damn it. Is there any other way?" R asked, furrowing his brows in trepidation.

  A few of their underlings could eavesdrop on their hushed conversation. However, they remained silent. In this situation, they had no better idea about what to do next or how they could survive.

  Despite acting tough, T was scared throughout the fight. Earlier, when Louis leapt from the tree and jumped out from the pit, T was already astonished at the swordsman’s impressive agility and strength. Then, after the landslide trap was sprung, as a huge amount of mud, rock, and trees overwhelmed Louis in a torrent, causing the ground to shake from the destructive energy that filled the pit, T thought anyone would have died from that. When Louis comedically emerged from the dirt, without even a scratch, instead of snickering like some of his younger comrades, perplexity and fear filled T's mind as he thought, "That’s no joke!" When Louis finally extended his Aura to envelop himself and the children, T's greatest fear was confirmed, "Perhaps this is the day I die."

  However, throughout the battle, T noticed the dark, ominous aura surrounding Louis and the children seemed to be deliberately avoiding the bandits. Furthermore, the strength Louis displayed in his initial comedic performance did not match his subsequent feats, and the apparent second armament hidden under his robe remained undrawn.

  "Is he just toying with us, or does he have other plans?" Throughout the fight, T had been thinking hard about the reason, as if his life depended on it.

  "No, my life literally depends on it." T thought as he mentally corrected himself.

  Just two seconds ago, Louis was about to deal the killing blow on T. If not for R’s assistance, he would have been killed right there.

  This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

  "You get it? This ends now," T declared to Louis again, still acting tough, or perhaps it was an attempt to convince himself. With a deep, steadying breath, T adopted a fighting stance, but the spear's tip trembled as he focused it on Louis's chest. T was still under a state of panic from his near-death experience. "Calm down, calm down!" T repeatedly told himself. However, his hands were dripped with sweat, making his spear seemed too slippery to hold. His legs turned to jelly, trembling violently beneath him.

  "Run immediately or beg for mercy," T's master’s words resonated within him again.

  With the surrounding Stone Walls cast by Louis, T was left with only two choices. He could die fighting like a true warrior, or swallow his pride and beg for his life in a bid to see his wife and children again.

  "True warrior? I’m a bandit now." T's thoughts mocked him. "I’d just die like a pig as a faceless, nameless bandit," and with that, he made up his mind.

  Louis approached T with the intention to kill. Meanwhile, the other bandits backed away so far that they were now leaning against the surrounding Stone Walls. Only T and R remained in the center, frozen in terror as they faced Louis, their faces etched with fear.

  "Let's see how you end this," Louis said, with a voice so cold that almost froze T in his place, sending a chill down his spine.

  As death approached, in a swift, desperate motion, T discarded his spear, dropped to his knees, and then prostrated himself before Louis. With an exaggerated flourish, T proclaimed, "Oh, mighty hero! We yield! Please, have mercy on us, we beg of you! We're merely humble peasants, struggling to eke out a living in this unforgiving world."

  The remaining bandits, taking cue from T, hastily discarded their arms and joined him in kneeling, their collective submission a stark contrast to their earlier bravado.

  "So, this is how you planned to end this? Is this a joke?" Louis said, his initial disappointment quickly giving way to unrelenting fury as he gazed upon the bandits. "I have no intention of sparing bandits who target children," he growled, "Pick up your weapons!" and the ground seemed to have shaken from his furious command.

  Everyone knew that if they picked up their weapons, they would be slaughtered. All bandits looked toward their leader in despair, seeking the last ray of hope.

  "We didn't want to do this either." T pleaded desperately, "Our boss is holding our families hostage. We had no choice. We're not cutthroat bandits; we've always spared those who didn't resist. Please, have mercy on us, just as we've shown mercy to others."

  Louis halted, his piercing gaze lingering on T as he asked, "Isn't your boss going to kill you if you surrender?" Louis asked, having clearly overheard their earlier conversation.

  T's voice faltered, his response barely above a whisper, "We'll... deal with that when the time comes, I guess." He fell silent, unsure of how to respond further.

  "You are being used as pawns to gauge the Capital Knights' response. Do you know that?" Louis inquired. "The King will not remain silent after you do something like this on his turf. So, you’re all going to die as scapegoats after this."

  "We have no idea." T replied, unsure of what to say next.

  "You see? This was supposed to be a demonstration of my skills." Louis stole a glance at Nathan, meeting the boy's eyes for a fleeting moment before he continued, "If you don’t want to fight, I no longer have any need for you."

  With a swift, economical gesture, Louis sheathed his sword and employed his Sink spell, effortlessly dispelling the Stone Walls that had encircled the bandits. Before walking back to the children, Louis declared, "I’ll let you live. Call off the attack on the Adventurers and release the captured children. After that, be gone!" The bandits slumped to the ground as if a weight had been lifted. However, despair quickly overcame the moment of respite, as they were reminded of their imminent death as sacrificial lambs in a political game.

  R's desperate cry cut through the air, "Please, wait!" As he spoke, his eyes locked onto Louis's, burning with a fierce, pleading intensity, "If you're aware of all this, is there... is there anything we can do to survive? Anything at all?"

  Louis turned around, his face set in a stern expression. Unable to gauge Louis’s thoughts, R's words spilled out in a frantic, pleading tone, "Even if there's no hope for us, please... tell us how to save our families! I'm begging you!" As he spoke, he dropped to his knees, his forehead touching the ground in a gesture of supplication.

  For a fleeting instant, Louis's piercing gaze swept across the prostrate bandits. He then took a deep breath, let out a long sigh, and as his shoulders relaxed, his anger seemed to dissipate. Then, with an authoritative tone, Louis commanded the bandits, "Fine! T, call off the attack. Then gather everyone at the broken wagon, and we'll talk after that."

  "Roger!" T barked out a loyal affirmation as he shared a knowing glance with R, before running back from the way they came.