Making his way back through the forest, Richard found the group at the same place they were when he left. Except the one named Cirus was missing, he seemed the most alert of them all. Moustik was making circles on the ground with his dagger. The dark skin giant was sitting on a crate emptying a bottle of wine while the captain was simply laid back on a fallen tree trunk. He was the closer Richard could have taken out. " Perfect. ". The rain had calmed down but Richard felt he could still approach him without being noticed. The young man would be easy to kill and the leader didn't seem that much of a threat either. Richard flipped his hood on his head and started advancing closer to the heavy drinker. As he was gonna quickly stab the man, an arrow came down from his blind spot, he barely had time to side step to dodge it as it scraped his right cheek and opened it in the process. Quickly trying to assess from where the arrow came, Richard observed the darkness behind him but he didn't have enough time that the huge man was charging at him while wielding a heavy mace.

  " INTRUDER! " Yelled the man as he slammed his mace down trying to crack open Richard's skull.

  Richard side stepped to the left, pulled his curved dagger out and tried to retaliate by slicing the man between the eyes. Sadly he miscalculated, the man was way taller than he thought and barely missed him as a result. Taking a few steps back, Richard tried assessing his surroundings. The big man was still charging at him without thinking, he seemed strong but was awfully slow. Moustik was frozen in place with shaky legs, the leader was simply watching from afar leaned on a tree trunk. Cirus was probably still moving around ready to make arrows fall on Richard. " I have to get rid of the big one and then find Cirus. " thought Richard. As the man swung his mace again Richard ducked under it and charged straight ahead, his body was open to strike. Richard took his chance and as he was passing the man opened his belly clean open. The man froze in place. Thinking it was over Richard turned to look at the leader that was still smiling.

  "Oi ya think you are strong you fooker? Wotch behind ya before facing mey! "

  Suddenly Richard got lifted from the ground and thrown a few meters further. A tree stopped his course as he crashed against it with a heavy thud. As he looked ahead, he saw the man he thought he had killed walking towards him, somehow he seemed bigger than before. The boss was laughing like he had heard the best joke ever.

  " Ahaha! Stranger I present to you Kazak, a crossblood, his pops was an ogre and his mom a giant! Would you believe that? Sum folks would fok anything ah!? The angrier he gets, the bigger he gets and did you know that these cunts could even regenerate a whole limb!? Ahaha!! Kazak, rip his fookin head off will ya? "

  Kazak started advancing towards Richard, his belly was indeed closing right before the eyes of Richard. " Well that's annoying. " he thought. He got up on his feet ready to fight.

  " Wanna dance big guy? Come on! "

  Kazak was not only bigger and stronger he was also faster but still not fast enough that Richard couldn't react. As Richard dodged one of his jabs, he turned around the man and tried stabbing his neck. But just before he could do so, his instinct alerted him of another danger, he jumped back just in time to evade yet another arrow coming from the darkness. Cirus was covering Kazak jumping from one tree to another, always covering a different angle. Moustik was shaking, he never had to actually fight but he didn't want to see Kazak die to the stranger.

  " Boss? Shouldn't we help Kazak, he almost killed him back there ... " said moustik trying to not have his voice shaking.

  " You wonna help? Go ahead lad, prove that you have balls on ya! I'm waiting here, don't wanna taint my new sword "

  Moustik painfully swallowed his saliva, he tried coming from the back of the man. As he finally managed to gather his courage he charged the man, his dagger in front of him.

  " MOUSTIK! STOP! " Yelled Cirus from the trees.

  Distracted by his brother's sudden call, Moustik didn't see the stranger turn toward him. Taking this opportunity, Richard evaded yet another blow from Kazak and while doing so kicked Moustik in the jaw sending him on his back. He then rushed to him as if he was on the verge of stabbing him to death. Cirus emerged out of the trees to protect his little brother. " I knew he would have to come himself to save his brother!". Richard easily evaded Cirus's blade in an elegant rotation and disappeared from Cirus field of view. The next second he was rotating too, falling on his knees, boths hands on his throat that Richard had just sliced open. Moustik was still on the ground, his brother facing him, he couldn't say anything, in a last attempt to speak, Cirus could only make gurgling noises as he finally fell face down in the mud. Richard quickly picked 4 arrows from the quiver that Cirus left on the ground where he died. Turning towards the raging demi orc giant, he smiled as he knew victory was within his reach.

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  " You know, I fought many creatures that could regenerate.. " said Richard as he was once again evading his opponent's strike" ..and they all have something in common! "

  As he said that, Richard stabbed Kazak in the back of the knee with an arrow. In his rage, the orc giant tried swinging his right arm at a wide angle. Richard ducked under it and stabbed the other knee, making Kazac fall to his knees.

  " You cannot regenerate if the thing hurting you is still stuck inside of you! "

  Richard said as he stuck an arrow in each of the eyes of the demi orc giant. Blinded by the arrows, the demi giant tried pulling them off only to get his fingers sliced by a swift movement of the curved dagger of Richard. " Time to finish you off! " thought Richard. He charged the man and drop kicked his head, pushing the arrows further into his head. Kazak fell backward and laid on the ground. This time he was dead as the arrows pierced his brain.

  " Regenerate that you big bastard! ".

  Richard was now looking right at the leader that had stopped smiling. He didn't seem pleased at all. Richard was now facing him and was making his curved dagger twirl in his hand.

  " Seems like it's just you and me now. "

  The man was still not in a combat stance.

  "Okay lad, I'll give ya that you are pretty clevar, pretty strong. But this big fooker wasn't the only demi human I had under my wing eh, u better run before I make them fook you op! "

  " Oh you mean your little kitties? Sorry to disappoint but those two didn't have nine lives it seems. "

  " Wot?! Wot the fok did ya do to Nifty and Shifty you fooker?! '' Yelled the leader, obviously shaken.

  " I did to them what I'm gonna do to you, 'lad' " said Richard slowly walking towards the leader.

  The boss unsheathed his sword, he barely had enough time to parry the throwing knife that Richard threw his way. Trying to strike at an angle Richard grabbed his wrist, twisting it and making him drop his sword. In a fluid motion Richard kicked the sword up and caught it in his hand pointing it at his former owner.

  " Fine blade you have there 'lad'." Said Richard as he was smirking.

  " Ok ok ok! Listen, ya want ma sword eh!? Take it no problem, I'll get a new one! You want wine!? I got some good one lad! ''

  As he was pleading for his life the leader was backing away from Richard until he had his back against a tree.

  "Come on lad spare me! We all have to make a livin right? What did we even do to ya eh!? "

  Richard pointed the sword in the direction of Isabella's house.

  " Preying on a young woman alone in the forest, that's making a living to you? You are litteral scum."

  The tip of the sword was now directly on the throat of the leader, he was swallowing his spit with difficulty.

  "Oi oi oi!! Listen listen lad! You wanna fook her? We could do it both right? I didn't even like those cunts, come on you and me lad?! We would be unstoppable? What do ya think? "

  Richard lowered the sword and took a deep breath, a look of relief appeared on the leader's face.

  " May god have mercy on your soul ... " started Richard

  "No no no wait la- "

  " ... because I wont ! "

  As he finished his sentence, Richard decapitated the man with a blow that had enough force to cut the tree against which the leader was standing against. A final lightning strike struck as the tree fell to the ground at the same time as the headless bandit chief. Richard cleaned the sword of the stain and took the sheathe from the body.

  " What a fine blade. " he said collecting this new sword.

  He walked towards where he left the young boy and his dead brother. All he found was the body of Kazac, no trace of the brothers. The last one alive was the least dangerous. He then proceeded to throw the bodies in a ditch, hoping that scavengers would start eating at the bodies. He then went to bury the demi human felines. All of that left him exhausted, but before he went away he came closer to the herborist's house. There she was, asleep, but she seemed to be having a nightmare, she was very agitated. He opened the window and entered her house. He knew it was bad but he didn't want to leave her like this. As he approached her, he heard her whisper his name.

  " Richard, no, please don't kill me.."

  He truly felt sorry that she was that afraid of him. "Well I can try something, let's hope I'm not too out of practice.". He placed his right hand above her and focused, the familiar sensation of warmth rised from his feet, the sensation then moved up to his waist, his solar plexus and up his arms he then whispered.

  "Ecaep ni peels ."

  A small light emerged from the palm of his hand and surrounded the young woman. She calmed down and stopped whimpering. He leaned forward, kissed her forehead and walked away. Exiting the same way he entered he looked at her one last time with a melancholic smile.

  " Sleep well Bella. "