Bui, a subordinate of Pivoda, was responsible for patrolling the main hideout of the [Night Cat] bandit group.
BOOM!
After leaving the house, I kicked a nearby pile of trash, scattering it everywhere.
"That bloodsucking wench! Only reducing my debt by *three copper coins _?!"
When I win a bet, she pays slowly, dragging it out forever. But when I lose, she' s quick to demand payment, and if I' m late, she slaps on interest!
That damn Pivoda!
The more I think about it, the angrier I get. But if I don' t play along, I' ll have nothing to eat.
So frustrating! How long do I have to endure this crap?!
Right then, one of that wench' s trusted lackeys came running up in a panic.
"Hm? What' s going on? Running from someone?"
"Some group we don' t know is raiding our warehouses! They' ve hit several already. I gotta go report to the boss!"
I quickly covered my mouth to stifle a laugh.
Hahaha! Serves that bloodsucker right! Karma' s finally catching up!
Pivoda' s gonna lose it. This is perfect timing—while she' s busy chasing her stolen goods, she won' t notice anything else.
So, I stopped patrolling and went for a stroll.
Might as well check out the brothel. Maybe they' ve got some new "merchandise" worth a look.
After walking for a bit, just as I was about to leave the alley, a beggar came out of nowhere and slammed into me.
"Hey! You in a rush to die or what?!"
I grabbed his collar and raised my fist, ready to punch him.
I was finally in a good mood, and this idiot had to ruin it. He' s begging for a beating!
"S-Sorry! Please forgive me!"
"Didn' t you hear me?! Where' re you rushing off to?!"
"Aaah! Don' t hurt me! I' ll tell you, I' ll tell you!"
"Then spit it out already!"
"Two big guilds are chasing down every girl they can find!"
"What for?"
"I don' t know! I' m just trying to hide my daughter!"
When I looked up, I saw the chaos unfolding.
Some were hiding girls, while others were catching them to turn them in for rewards.
It caused fights everywhere. I let the beggar go, grabbed a suitable stick, and approached one of the guys chasing a girl.
I charged in, dropkicking him to the ground.
"Who the hell are you?!"
He cursed furiously, but I stomped on his chest, pinning him down.
I raised the stick, ready to swing.
"D-Don' t!"
"What kind of girls are you grabbing?"
"Here, take her! I' ll go hunt somewhere else! I' m done here!"
"I' m only asking once. Tell me everything you know. What girls are you after?"
"All I know is black hair and the name Elda!"
I raised the stick again, threatening him.
"That' s really all I know! Please, don' t!"
I lifted my foot, letting him go. As he turned to run, I kicked him in the rear, sending him sprawling.
Being bigger than him, he didn' t dare fight back, even if he was pissed.
Then I hurried back. Could it be the same girl? Damn, I didn' t even ask her name.
But if it is her, those guilds might pay more than that bloodsucker.
The only problem is how to get her out and sell her to the guilds.
Pivoda' s definitely got people guarding that girl.
I need to snatch her before Pivoda hears about this.
And as if the goddess was on my side, I saw a group of adventurers chasing a black-haired girl for questioning.
They looked strong and numerous. This might just work!
I approached them, saying I knew of a black-haired girl at my boss' s place who might match who they' re looking for.
After describing her other features, their leader agreed immediately.
My offer was for them to take out everyone and leave me a piece or two of that wench' s treasure so I could use it to escape and start a new life in another city.
But their leader brushed it off, saying I could take as much as I wanted—he didn' t care, as long as the girl was the one they were after.
Now that' s the kind of boss I want, not that bloodsucker!
So, I told them everything: the number of people, their fighting skills, races, weapons, and the layout of the underground floor. I even led the way.
When we reached the place, I kicked the door open.
"Whoa, you scared me! Why' d you kick the door, Bui?!"
"Fix it now! It' s already freezing in here!"
"You won' t be cold for long, old man. Hahaha!"
I stepped back to a corner, letting them handle it.
"Who' d you bring?!"
"Customers for the boss? Or did she hire these guys to guard us?"
The old man' s answer was getting slaughtered—one got a knife to the heart, another nearly had his head cut off.
Those who can' t read the situation die like idiots. Hahaha!
After they kicked aside a pile of cloth, they found the hidden door, just as I' d said.
I held my stick and led the way down to make them trust it wasn' t a trap.
"Bui, what was that noise? Why were the door guards screaming?"
One of Pivoda' s workers rushed up to me while I hid the stick behind my back.
"Nothing, just the old man griping about the cold."
"Oh, okay. Then go tell them to shut up. The boss is stressed."
"Sure thing."
As he turned, I swung the stick, smashing his head with full force.
WHACK!
I pressed against the wall, letting the group sweep through.
Kill them all. Kill them ALL!
This treasure' s gonna be mine alone! Hahaha!
*****
Roja, leader of the dissection team, Unit 5, [Radiant Fang] Guild
"Blast the door with wind magic! Archers follow, then clean up the rest!"
To prevent ambushes or them calling for reinforcements, we acted fast.
The wooden door exploded under the wind magic, shattering into pieces that flew into everyone inside.
Some were impaled by the debris and couldn' t fight back. After a volley of arrows, the room' s numbers dwindled.
Then the tanks with shields led the charge.
I raised my dagger, waiting. After the door' s explosion, the curious ones came rushing out.
As they rounded the corner, I threw my dagger, synced with the archers.
Caught off guard, they couldn' t defend—some died instantly, others were wounded.
Those who reacted started shouting about an enemy attack, preparing to counter us.
Everything matched Bui' s intel, making the job easier.
After clearing the room, I prepared for the next push.
I had the tanks drag the bodies out and toss them at the corridor' s bend.
Their allies mistook them for enemies, wasting magic and arrows on their own dead.
They fell for it a second time, but by the fourth toss, they learned to check first.
On the fifth, I sent a fire mage hugging a corpse.
Seeing another "ally," they let their guard down, looking up at the corner instead of the body.
The hidden fire mage unleashed a fiery explosion, while tanks rushed in, shielding themselves and the mage.
Blazing flames lit up the area, heating the enclosed space.
Screams echoed painfully in the confined area.
A wind mage stepped up, fanning the flames with wind magic, forcing them to retreat.
As they fell back, arrows pierced through the flames, killing more.
To avoid running out of air, I stopped the fire magic.
I ordered the wind mage to whip up a storm, and we threw enemy weapons into it.
The storm moved slower due to the weapons' weight.
This stalled their reinforcements—nobody would dare rush through a storm of blades.
It gave us time to clear the room without worrying about our backs.
After wiping out everyone hiding nearby, I nodded to the wind mage as the team took cover in a room.
Their forces clustered in front of the storm, waiting for the spell to fade, just as I planned.
I had our wind mage detonate the storm, sending weapons flying everywhere.
Screams mixed with the clanging of metal echoed through the area.
"Kill them all!"
Our team charged. Tanks and spearmen ignored the wounded on the ground, stepping over them.
I and the others finished off the stragglers.
Tanks and spearmen pushed forward to engage the next group, with archers providing support.
Enemies couldn' t break through the spears, got shot by arrows, or were blocked by tank shields.
Once enough slipped through, the spearmen fell back, readying themselves.
The tanks spun aside, opening a path for the wind and fire mages to unleash their spells.
The flames roasted a ton of them. The tanks then resumed their shield wall, pressing the enemy back.
When their mages grouped up, protected by shield-bearers, I gave the order.
"Throw now!"
Two tanks used their charge skill, rushing to rattle them.
But just before impact, they canceled the skill and dodged, letting three spearmen unleash their throwing skill.
"Piercing Thrust!"
Three spears shot through their shields, tanks, and pinned a mage to the wall.
The tanks reformed their shield wall, advancing with swordsmen to clean up the demoralized remnants.
"Stop! Please! If you want something, we' ll return it! Just please, stop attacking us!"
According to Bui' s intel, this woman was the leader of the [Night Cat] bandit group.