Chapter 7: Bandit Eradication

  Damon approached the village entrance and placed his straw bag containing his belongings beneath the large cypress tree. He then turned around, walking back into the village. His destination was the Miller household.

  “Hey, kid, aren’t you going to wipe out the bandits? Why are you going back into the village?” Silas spoke, his voice bouncing around within Damon’s mind.

  “Although it is improper to disturb them this late at night, I need to purchase some jars of oil from the Millers, even if I must rouse them from their slumber. It is necessary for my plans.”

  Damon softly knocked on the wooden door. Failing to elicit a response, he repeated his actions a few more times before he could hear shuffling from behind the door.

  “Who is it?” A man’s deep voice called out from within.

  “It’s Damon, Mr Miller. I know it’s very late, but I came to buy some jars of oil for my journey tomorrow. Would it be possible to purchase three large jars, please?”

  “That many jars? This late at night?” Mr Miller tilted his head. He scanned Damon up and down with narrowed eyes.

  “Yes, I was told to purchase it for our journey by Sir Feylis,” Damon lied without missing a beat.

  “Hmmm… I guess you’re going on a long journey…” Mr Miller raised an eyebrow and stared at Damon for a moment longer. “Okay, let me go fetch them for you quickly. As for payment, don’t bother with it! Take it as a final gift from me.” Damon had always been mature and sensible since he was young. He believed he would not use it for anything nefarious.

  Damon had now finished his preparations and was on his way to complete his nefarious task. After placing the jars inside his storage pouch, he ran out of the village and down the small valley road. Accustomed to running up and down through the mountains, he was able to reach the Shadefall Mountain within two hours.

  He caught his breath and then stealthily made his way up the mountain. He could soon see the outlines of several crude huts crowded together in the distance. As it was deep into the night, the base was devoid of any movement or sound. He circled the camp to eliminate any sentries, but he came up empty.

  My Mindsense is not picking up anything, so I can be certain there really aren’t any sentries. How careless. Is it because they haven’t received any retaliation since settling here? Regardless of the reason, the lack of guards made everything much simpler for Damon.

  He channeled his mental power into two jars of oil, causing them to slowly float into the air. He directed them above the huts and emptied the contents onto and around them. Afterward, he placed them on the ground gently to avoid rousing the bandits.

  Silas watched every one of Damon’s actions closely. “Child, this is a good idea. But make sure you are prepared for anything. Taking a life is not as simple as it sounds. They will struggle with everything that they have to survive. Do not let down your guard.”

  “Yes, Master Silas. I will keep your words in mind.”

  He then lit a small fire in front of him with some of the remaining oil. After unslinging his bow from his chest, he dipped an arrow into the flaming oil and nocked it. Although he could use his telekinesis ability to make the arrow fly, he liked to shoot it himself whenever possible. He aimed high up, but his exact aim did not matter as he could still control the speed and path of the arrow with mental power.

  Fwooosh.

  The arrow flew into the air in a high arc before falling and landing directly on the largest hut, causing a burst of flames on impact. The flames quickly spread to the adjacent huts, and it was not long before the sounds of screaming rang out. Damon nocked another arrow in his bow and aimed at the settlement.

  Damon thought he was prepared to kill these bandits, just like he had on the night his parents died. He had not felt anything then, maybe even a little pleasure as he mutilated the bandit that had actually killed his parents. But it was different this time.

  Witnessing the sight of numerous ignited figures screaming as they ran out of their huts made him gasp in horror. His eyes and mouth were wide open, his heart pounded hard against his chest, cold sweat poured down his back, and his arms and legs trembled and lost all strength.

  Damon’s sight and hearing were quite good, but he was being betrayed by his sharpened senses. He could see the bandits’ flesh melting and burning as they thrashed about in an attempt to smother the flames. His ears were surrounded by the sound of bloodcurdling screams, a shrill symphony of pain and despair. His own breathing grew ragged in response to the scene before his eyes.

  No… It wasn’t supposed to be like this… I am here to take revenge… They are evil men who pillage and murder innocent people. This is the right thing to do…

  Damon’s sight settled on some smaller figures mixed in with the bandits. There weren’t many of them, so he had not immediately noticed them. He realized these were women and children. The families of the bandits. Of course, bandits would have families too. He was so focused on his revenge that he did not notice his own ignorance. He fell back onto his bottom before throwing up to the side.

  As Damon was expelling the contents of his stomach, he heard a few guttural roars and shouting in the distance. He looked up to find that several bandits had managed to extinguish the flames on their bodies and were now charging at him with swords and shields.

  Damon’s mind was a jumbled mess as he witnessed all the things going on. His stomach was still churning, but the immediate danger still managed to force him to scramble for the bow he had dropped on the ground earlier.

  Shuffling backward with uneven steps, Damon fumbled as he grabbed an arrow and released it at the incoming bandits. The leader easily blocked the arrow with his buckler shield, not even slowing in the slightest.

  Silas watched on with a calmness unlike anything Damon had seen before. He floated above, observing the scene from the skies. Witnessing Damon struggle with his emotions, he yelled out, “Circulate your mental power, boy. Do not forget you are a Psion. A mighty cultivator. These are just bugs for you to squash beneath your feet.”

  At this moment, Damon remembered to circulate his mental power, which calmed his agitated mind. Exhaling a shaky breath, he managed to regain his focus. He ran his now steady hands over his quiver of arrows, causing 10 of them to float into the air before flying directly at the group of bandits.

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  Although the bandits raised their shields, a few arrows still found their marks. Several bandits fell, and the number of bandits remaining was reduced to three. The leader was one of the survivors.

  “Boss! That kid can use strange abilities! Shouldn’t we run away?” The other two bandits slowed their footsteps in hesitation at the sight of Damon’s telekinesis.

  “Idiots! Regardless of what special technique he’s using, the arrows are flying from the front. Just make sure to protect your vitals!” The leader screamed out, his face red and the veins in his neck bulging. All his effort in gathering his men and establishing this group had literally gone down in flames. His anger would not be appeased until he caught and tortured the culprit.

  As the bandits were already close enough for Damon to make out their expressions, he had heard what the leader shouted. He ran his hands over his arrows once more, but this time the arrows all flew out in random directions.

  “Hahaha! Looks like the kid’s lost his cool! Those arrows flew out in completely random…” One of the bandits started laughing at the sight of the arrows flying outward, but stopped mid-sentence as one of those very arrows pierced his skull from behind.

  The other bandit didn’t even have the time to open his mouth as he was similarly taken down by the arrows from behind, leaving only the leader. He had spotted the arrows changing trajectory mid-flight and rolled forward to dodge them. Unfortunately, he had noticed too late to warn his final two subordinates. He glanced at their bodies before turning back to face Damon. He was now only a dozen or so feet away from him, short enough to reach in one leap.

  “Kid, what are you? What is that strange ability of yours? I guess it doesn’t matter even if you don’t tell me. You’re already within my reach. After I get hold of you, I’m going to make you feel all the pain my fellows felt, and make you spill all your secrets!” The bandit leader had a scowl as he spat toward Damon. Step by step, he cautiously approached Damon, prepared for any hidden tricks.

  By this point, Damon had stopped trembling, and the churning in his stomach had somewhat settled. Looking the bandit leader squarely in the eyes, Damon screamed out at the top of his lungs.

  “This is just the retribution for your actions! When you attacked my village and killed my parents, you should have been prepared for the consequences! HAH!” As Damon bellowed, multiple transparent spikes shot out of his forehead and hurtled straight at the bandit leader’s head. The excessive usage of his mental power caused him to pale and feel a sudden spell of dizziness.

  “AAAARRRRGHHHHHHH!” The leader collapsed, clutching his head. His eyes had rolled back, showing only the bloodshot whites of his eyes. He began to convulse as foam spilled out of his mouth. Just before he had been pierced by the mind spikes, he had thrown something out. It was a pair of daggers. Both soared through the air toward Damon.

  Distracted by the wave of lightheadedness, Damon could not see the incoming projectiles with his swimming vision.

  “Boy! Watch out!” Silas screamed. He looked down at Damon who was trembling as he grasped onto his knees, not moving a single inch. He gritted his teeth and made several quick handseals. As he did so, his body dissipated into motes of light, starting from his toes to his head, before disappearing completely. Just before he vanished, he gazed down at Damon with a warm smile and a slight shake of his head.

  “Goodbye, Damon, and good luck.”

  “No! Master Silas!” Though his mind was still reeling, Damon had heard Silas’s warning. Through the blurry window of his eyes, he had seen the floating grandpa unravel into nothingness.

  Right before the daggers reached him, a rune appeared on Damon’s forehead and began emitting a dazzling white light. It broke apart, stroke by stroke, before fading away. It released a visible pulse of energy that spread out in a cone in front of Damon. The two flying daggers were immediately knocked off course, spinning through the air and lodging into the ground.

  Circulating the little bit of mental power remaining in his node, Damon scoured through his consciousness.

  “Master Silas! Master Silas!” No matter how much he called out, there was no response. He could not feel his Master’s presence any longer. All he heard was the echoing of his voice bouncing around in the void that was his mind.

  Damon called out until his voice turned hoarse. His hope dwindled as the truth settled upon him. The mental rune was gone. Silas was no more. The silence within his mind caused a shiver to run down his spine.

  Frowning, he walked over to the leader unsteadily and grabbed the sword clenched tight in his rigid hand. His pale face was a storm of complicated emotions. The burning fire within his heart was now a cold lump of coal. He had lost his parents to these bandits once, and now he had even lost his Master.

  I wasn’t ready. I should have listened to Master. It was my mistake.

  His thoughts flashed back to the women and children he had seen, his stomach beginning to churn once more. He shook his head, clearing his mind of these thoughts, even as his stomach threatened him with a loud gurgling noise.

  As he looked down upon the writhing bandit, his expression finally settled on one emotion. Emptiness. He had thought he would feel relief or triumph when he eradicated the bandits, but he just felt empty. He finally put an end to the leader’s life with one swift slash of the sword. Blood splattered across his face, but he did not even react. He just turned around and started slowly walking back to the village as the flames continued to burn behind him.

  His last thought was of his Master’s face. How it had lit up at the prospect of discovering and learning about a new cultivation path. The excitement in his trembling voice when he had yelled at Damon to accept the invitation from Feylis. His constant companion was gone. His Master was gone. His friend was gone. His family… Was gone.

  The next morning, a cloaked Damon met up with the departing group under the cypress tree at the village entrance. The group consisted of Damon, Feylis, Raina and Jon. Jon had somehow managed to persuade his father to allow him to join them. The majority of the villagers had gathered around to bid them farewell.

  “Jon! You need to listen to everything Sir Feylis says and do not stray from the group. You must eat and sleep well, and make sure to take good care of the lass Raina. Damon can take care of himself, but stay close to him as well. Make sure to send letters occasionally after you arrive at the tower, so I don’t worry.” The village chief only had this one son and spent a lot of time fussing over him.

  “Damon, I’ll miss you… I wish you had played with us more before you left…” Some of the younger children teared up and crowded the unusually taciturn Damon.

  “Okay, father, I understand! I am already 15 years old, and I am practically an adult now! Don’t worry too much, I can take care of myself!” Jon was embarrassed due to his father and sneaked glances at Raina to see if she heard him. Raina was standing to the side, talking quietly with her grandfather, paying no attention to him.

  “Okay, if we continue to fuss over the two children, this will never end. Let us say our final farewells and watch them depart!” One of the other seniors called out.

  “Bye, Jon!” “Farewell!” “Take care!” “Don’t forget us!” “Damon, I won’t marry and wait for your return!” “Remember to send some letters!” “Bring us back some souvenirs!”

  There was a large clamor as everyone yelled out their farewells. Damon remained reticent and distant, even as he heard everyone’s words, including some strange ones mixed in. He turned away from the villagers without so much as a sound and started walking away. Damon was caught by surprise when he realized his cheeks were wet.

  The complicated thoughts from the previous night's foray had merged with both the despondency of leaving the place he called home for his entire life and his uncertainty about the future. The result was the very tears rolling down his cheeks.

  He realized he could not leave without at least saying goodbye, so he quickly wiped his tears away while circulating his mental power. As his mind and thoughts regained their calm, he turned around and started yelling his own goodbyes to the villagers.

  The grandfather and granddaughter duo waited patiently on the side until the final farewells were uttered before ushering the two boys to join them. They walked down the thin road filled with overgrown foliage to begin their journey. Jon looked back constantly as they drifted further away, but Damon now had his eyes set forward. He was resolute to grow stronger and learn more about the cultivation world. He was determined to show his parents the exciting life of a cultivator through his eyes.