My Demons

Chapter 44

Suddenly, I was reminded of the science fiction (SF) novel The Invisible Man.

In the novel, the main character creates a drug that renders his body transparent, which is quite a challenging situation from what I recall.

His retina also becomes transparent, preventing him from seeing whats in front of him. To achieve complete transparency, he has to remove all of his clothing

On the other hand, the magical potion I got from Tobald was far more forgiving. There was no requirement to undress, and my vision remained unaffected.

Being unable to see my own body was unsettling, but I was mentally prepared, so it wasnt enough to throw me into a panic.

I took slow and cautious steps, being careful not to make any noise with my armor.

As I calculated the remaining time of the spell and was about to leave, one of the sentinels quickly turned his head towards me.

Huh?

Whats going on?

It looked like the ground over there just sank a bit.

What nonsense are you talking about?

Even though I was an invisible man, I couldnt help but leave footprints in the dirt.

I held my breath like a stone statue, and the sentinel who was sitting on a round stone looked at my foot for a moment.

Ugh, time is running short.

Growing impatient, the sentry soon yawned and looked away. I suppressed a sigh of relief and carefully resumed moving.

Each time the thick soles of my boots hit the ground, there was a faint sound, but luckily, the May night wasnt very quiet.

In the distance, the sound of waves crashing could be heard, and nearby, a stream rushing towards the sea flowed noisily.

Intermittent bird chirps and rustling of animals joined in, blending my footsteps into this array of noise.

My stealth was far from perfect, but the relaxed sentries didnt seem to notice, allowing me to safely enter the camp.

The exit of the secret passage was drilled under a small hill rising from the riverbank.

The river flowing there must be the Salt River, right? After passing a small forest on the opposite side of the river, the plains where the reinforcements had lit a beacon would stretch out.

Okay, it looks like Ive successfully escaped the encirclement as planned There are more bandits than I anticipated.

From the guards seated around the central bonfire, to the sentries watching the secret passage, to the ones sleeping nearby, the total count of bandits seemed to exceed thirty.

About ten horses were tethered to a nearby alder tree, half of them appearing to belong to Tobalds group.

The other half seemed to be owned by the seven members settled near the bonfire; I assumed this due to their decent armor.

In the Middle World, horses were quite valuable livestock.

There were warhorses treated as strategic assets, some worth hundreds of gold coins, and even an older horse required a few gold coins to buy.

Considering this, a mounted thief was a relatively rare sight. Among the bandit group that surrounded South Harbor, less than half could be considered true bandits.

In other words, about half of the bandit group were actually on foot, despite their name.

Recalling the captain of the guards explanation, I cautiously approached the bonfire.

Slipping between the sleeping thieves was an incredibly tense endeavor.

I despise this kind of thing. Games like tag or hide and seek arent my preference.

Just as I grumbled to myself, a sudden night breeze swept across the riverbank.

The bonfire flickered, and the bushes rustled. However, without second thoughts, I continued moving as the horses lying down began to lift their heads one by one, neighing loudly.

Damn, whats happening all of a sudden?

Why are they making such a fuss?

Damn, thats what I want to know.

It seemed the horses had sensed my presence. Perhaps they caught my scent carried by the wind.

One of the thieves guarding the bonfire scanned around with a worried expression.

They wouldnt act like this for no reason. Somethings up.

Somethings up? No way.

The other thief responded that way but still got up, shaking himself awake. He looked around for a moment and then muttered quietly.

Mustve been bitten by a bug. Damn horses

Where ya headin?

Gotta calm those horses down. If the riders wake up, well catch a beating for no reason. Cmon with me.

Ugh, really?

Oh, is this the opportunity?

The two thieves griped and moved towards the horses, leaving the bonfire unattended.

Is this a stroke of luck?

Appreciative of the unexpected break, I retrieved the cloth-wrapped chunk of poison from my pouch.

Swiftly, I tossed the bundle into the bonfire and climbed up a nearby hill.

The sound of the fire crackling was heard a few times, yet oddly enough, there was no one around this spot.

Lying amidst the bushes on the hill, I held my breath and groped for a potion.

Shring.

The blades sharp edge emitted a faint noise, but the camp remained deeply asleep.

Shortly after, a thin stream of smoke began to rise from the bonfire, gradually blanketing the ground. It was poison A, slowly burning in the fire, releasing a mild poisonous gas.

According to Ellen, inhaling it wont kill you, but itll temporarily paralyze your limbs.

Quietly surveying the camp, I swallowed the pill in my hand.

Ugh, so dry. Due to the tension, my mouth felt parched and it was tough to swallow the medicine.

A behemoth warrior like him, relentlessly thrusting with the power that surpassed the weight of two men and a beast, was an exceptionally effective tactic.

The rogues were mere ordinary humans, defenseless against my bulldozer-like charge.

Insane! Hold your ground, dont back down!

Find an opening to strike!

Despite their commanding shouts, none could effectively hold their ground.

The rogues who were retreating stumbled over their companions at the rear and fell.

I swiftly wielded my weapon, severing the necks of the human shields, and began to mercilessly dispatch the fallen rogues.

With my adept knife skills, I swiftly eliminated around a dozen men, finally prompting the true bandits to step forward.

These damn idiots, move aside!

Dont get in the way, get lost!

The ones who advanced, bellowing in anger, were all heavily equipped.

They sported chainmail or armor crafted from tree or bone fragments, donned iron helmets with nose guards, or were draped in chain hoods.

Four out of the seven wielded large shields and curved blades, iron clubs, while the remaining three were armed with large iron maces or war axes.

Wait, isnt it common for bandits to use curved blades or spears? Why opt for such rudimentary weapons?

Hoo, hoo-

Regardless of such thoughts, due to the effect of the Thirst skill, an intense surge of heat ignited in my chest.

It might have been a mindless anger towards the foe, a warriors spirit confronting a daunting battle, or a dark craving for bloodshed.

Whatever it was, I let out a mighty roar at the bandits who were silently closing in around me.

Aaaaaaaaaaarrrrhggggghh!

Two of the bandits, startled by the primal howl, halted in their tracks, and I lunged forward.

Slashing wide across the leg that was exposed beneath the shield, blood sprayed accompanied by the ring of metal. Before finishing off that man, I swung my shield sideways to deflect the incoming iron club.

Thunk.

Kueuk.

Charge!

The melee raged on.

Taking their lives in a single strike wasnt a simple task due to their well-fitted armor.

When I deflected the shields that guarded their vulnerable areas, a hefty axe blade came in from the side. When I evaded an ambush and executed a swing, the inadequate force resulted in mere surface wounds.

Injured ones, fall back!

Behind! Aim for his back, you idiots!

Despite bearing various injuries, the seven bandits charged ferociously, shouting gruffly. They seemed to believe that landing one successful blow could lead to my capture.

However, their ferocious advance soon crumbled.

This was due to the arrows and spells that flew in from the rear.

Whoosh, thunk!

Abruptly, an arrow struck the shoulder of a bandit brandishing a shield and iron mace.

Glancing toward the arrows origin, I saw the rest of the group, led by Grania, emerging from the exit and engaging the thieves.

Great, the ambush wasnt a failure after all.

Damn it.

Meanwhile, the guy who had been hit by the arrow was stumbling backward, the arrow still embedded in his shoulder. I didnt let this opportunity pass.

Urgh!

I delivered a lightning-fast, powerful kick that struck his shield forcefully, sending the backpedaling bandit sprawling.

The number of adversaries encircling me rapidly dropped to six, with half of them seeking cover due to the barrage of arrows.

That marked the turning point.

The bandit wielding the iron mace had his skull crushed by a weapon that impaled through his eye socket. The next one had his knee shattered by my shield, followed by his throat being slashed.

One was impaled by a fireball that soared through the darkness, engulfing his entire body in flames, while another fell with an arrow lodged in his throat as he yelled.

The one swinging a double-edged axe gushed blood like a fountain as his groin was split by a weapon that shattered his pelvic bone, and the last collapsed with a fractured forehead after being struck by the weapons hilt.

Fuuu, damn it

The bandit who had been struck by an arrow and fallen was promptly abandoned by his comrade, fleeing for his life.

But he didnt get far before tripping over his own feet and crashing down heavily.

Why, why is this

It wasnt only that specific bandit; other thieves who were writhing on the ground, unable to escape, were experiencing the paralysis induced by the poison they had ingested moments before.

The bandit, his limbs immobilized, crawled on the ground. His gaze fell upon a peculiar radiance approaching from behind him.

The ashen glow emanating from my soaked body was mingled with a reddish hue, emitting an eerie yellow light.

Terrified by the dreadfully luminous glow, the bandit began to mumble something.

O light that reveals the truth, save me.

Hardly the words fitting for a thief engaged in villainous acts.

Illuminate this valley steeped in death, uh!

The clumsy plea was cut short by my blood-soaked combat boots.

Ughhh

I stretched and let out a soft groan.

An unfamiliar sense of contentment throbbed in my core.