At his command, the forest behind erupted with noise.

  “Hahaha! We’ve waited long enough—time to make our move!”“I’m sick of this lousy forest! After we make a killing, I’m going to live it up in the city for months!”“Hehe~! I heard there are plenty of women in this caravan......”“Huh? Daring to eye the merchandise?”“S-sorry, Third-in-command! Aah——!”“That’ll teach you a lesson! Second Brother, stop dawdling—let’s go!”“Coming!”

  The bandit Second-in-command replied with a laugh, lifting his foot to join the other bandits.

  “Wait a minute!”

  The middle-aged woman grabbed him abruptly.

  “What about my son! You promised to return him now!”

  The Second-in-command glanced at her impatiently.

  “Oh~, almost forgot about you——”

  Thud!

  He kicked the middle-aged woman hard, then brushed dust off his boot.

  “You’re useless now!”

  “My son...... give me back my son......”

  The middle-aged woman clutched her chest, begging weakly.

  “Huh? Your son? Let me think. Oh——! Right! Your son~, we sold him on the first day~! By now, he’s probably been sacrificed to some evil cult~?”

  “——！！？”

  His words plunged the middle-aged woman into an icy abyss of despair.

  “Hahaha! Boys, let’s go—seize the spoils!”

  The bandits left her lying alone in the forest.

  ......

  At the caravan camp,

  “Hahaha! It’s all ours——!”

  Bursting out of the forest, the bandits stared greedily at the “undefended” camp, their faces twisted with excitement.

  “Brothers, grab the gold——!”

  Before the two leaders could give the order, the impatient bandits charged in.

  “They’re here——!”

  Lurking in the shadows, the adventurers tensed—some gripping their weapons, others murmuring incantations.

  “On my count! One——! Two——! Three——! Attack——!!!”

  Boom! Boom! Boom......

  In an instant, explosions rocked the camp, and bright magical light flared everywhere.

  “Kill——!!!”

  Dozens of armed men rushed out of hiding, engaging the bandits in combat. Meanwhile, the “fallen” figures suddenly sprang back to life, grabbing nearby weapons and delivering fatal blows to the unsuspecting bandits.

  Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  The bandits never saw it coming—caught completely off guard, they descended into chaos, falling one after another to the adventurers and caravan members.

  “Dammit! That lying woman tricked us——!!!”

  The Second-in-command gritted his teeth in rage.

  “Quit yelling, Second Brother—let’s run!”

  Seeing the tide turn, the Third-in-command tried to pull his brother away.

  But——

  “You can’t escape!”

  With the traps carefully laid by the caravan and adventurers, there was no way out.

  Staring at the adventurers blocking their path,

  “Dammit, don’t underestimate me!”

  The Second-in-command drew his sword angrily and swung at Alec and the others.

  Thud——!

  A burly figure suddenly appeared before him. With a single swing of his massive two-handed sword, the Second-in-command was sent flying like a rubber ball. He rolled several times on the ground and lay motionless.

  Afterward, Bart turned his cold gaze to the remaining Third-in-command.

  “Eep——!?”

  The Third-in-command trembled violently, dropping his weapon and dropping to his knees with his hands raised.

  “I surrender! I surrender——!”

  ......

  “Fire Arrow!”

  Boom!

  “Aah——!”

  After taking down a bandit with a fire arrow, Hulim Heyerar scanned the camp. Though the battle had just begun, the bandits’ resistance was already crumbling.

  Yet something felt off to her.

  She glanced at the dejected Third-in-command, who was being tied up by Stein.

  She had seen the bandits charge in—clearly, there were two leaders. This man was one of them, but his cry as he fled lingered in her mind.

  Second Brother......

  If that was the bandits’ typical way of addressing each other—

  Then where was the bandit Boss?

  Hulim looked up, her gaze sweeping across the entire forest.

  Suddenly, she spotted a flash of light from a high point in the distance......

  “Mr. Alec!”

  ......

  “Dammit! You idiots!”

  On a mountain adjacent to the valley, the bandit Boss stared through a telescope at the camp below.

  Watching his men stumble into the trap and get slaughtered like fallen leaves, he flew into a rage.

  The few bandits beside him exchanged hesitant glances. Finally, one mustered the courage to ask: “Boss, what do we do now?”

  “What do we do? What else can we do!?”

  The Boss roared angrily.

  “Hm——?”

  He paused, then adjusted the telescope back to its previous position.

  In the magnified lens, a young girl’s figure appeared—staring directly in his direction.

  “Did she see us?”

  That couldn’t be—they were so far away!

  The Boss thought the idea absurd, but the girl’s next move wiped the smirk off his face.

  She raised her wand and pointed straight at him.

  “Shit——!?”

  The Boss was so startled he dropped the telescope.

  She really saw us!? What the hell is this girl!?!

  “B-boss?”

  The Boss’s sudden outburst left the other bandits confused.

  “Shut up——! Run! We’ve been discovered!!!”

  “What!?”

  Panic spread through the bandits as they scrambled to follow the Boss.

  ......

  In the forest,

  Figures darted through the trees at top speed.

  “Hulim, are you sure they fled this way?”

  “Yes, absolutely.”

  Hulim nodded firmly.

  “Good! Everyone heard her! Speed up—we can’t let them get away today!”

  “Right——!!!”

  Responses echoed through the forest as the group pressed on.

  Come to think of it......

  Alec, running alongside her, couldn’t help but glance at Hulim.

  It’s amazing she can keep up—we’re not holding back at all! I knew she was strong yesterday, but I didn’t expect this level......

  His gaze drifted down to the white glow surrounding her legs.

  Enhancement magic? To use it this well at Rank D—on par with us veterans. No wonder she’s heading to that academy.

  This kid is going to be something extraordinary someday......