White Wave Bandits (3)
In the dim night, a man with a fierce look was standing guard in front of the stronghold, yawning.
“Damn it. How long do I have to keep watch for this damned duty?”
“Until the next shift comes.”
“So, how much longer now?”
“Seems like half an hour is left.”
It felt about time for a shift change, but only half the time had passed?
“Ah, crap… Our boss is the problem. Who the hell would come into these mountains at this hour?”
“Well, he’s not the one standing guard, is he?”
“I really want to stab him with a knife…”
Conversing with his companion seemed to alleviate some of the man’s boredom.
“Talking really is the best way to pass time. Hey, got any interesting stories?”
“……”
“…Why aren’t you answering?”
Feeling puzzled by his suddenly silent companion, the man turned his head.
“……”
Thud!
“What the fuck?!”
The sight of his colleague, dead with an arrow in his forehead, made the man curse out loud.
“En, enemy──!! Rrrgh!”
Before the man could fully alert others, he fell to the ground foaming at the mouth, quickly silenced.
“Phew. That was close.”
The girl who had shot the arrow sighed in relief.
“What kind of bandits keep watch at dawn?”
Bandits should act like bandits.
Lü Bu told her adjutant nearby.
“Is it about time?”
“Yes.”
Jeongryeong. Lü Bu. Zhang Liao. Xu Huang.
The four had separately planned to simultaneously attack the White Wave Bandits’ strongholds at a specific time.
“Then…”
Crash!
Upon the adjutant’s confirmation, Lü Bu smashed through the wooden gate blocking the path and commanded.
“Burn everything.”
With a wicked smile, Lü Bu ordered her soldiers.
Smoke rose from various parts of the mountains as the massacre began.
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“Enemies!”
“Block them! We must block them… Aaargh!”
Having set fire to the White Wave Bandits’ stronghold, I led my soldiers and gave the order.
“Spare no one! Burn and kill them all!”
My soldiers, fueled by the command, intensified their attack on the enemies.
“Out of the way! Move!”
“Don’t block the path!”
Caught completely off guard, the White Wave Bandits barely managed any resistance as they fled in panic.
The sight of them trampling over their own comrades to escape through the only exit left open was despicable.
“We’re almost there…!”
“Now we can escape…?”
The White Wave Bandits who had somehow reached the exit were greeted by shield soldiers who had blocked the exit without leaving any gaps.
The bandits’ faces turned pale at the sight.
“Ha-ha! Did you really think you could escape?”
“Where do you think you’re going, you bandit scum!”
Unable to breach the formation, the soldiers taunted the White Wave Bandits.
Watching my soldiers flank the bandits, I turned my head.
The night raid was a huge success.
Those who don’t come out will burn to death, and those who flee in panic will fall by the sword.
Accompanied by Seo Ye, I headed towards the only building not set aflame.
The prison holding the captives.
The treasury where the looted treasures were stored.
Thankfully, the White Wave Bandits had conveniently consolidated these functions into one building.
With all the White Wave Bandits fleeing, nothing stood in my way.
Upon arriving at the prison holding the captives, I witnessed an unexpected scene.
“Aaargh──!”
“Hey, keep quiet, or this kid dies!”
A man was holding a child hostage.
I frowned at the sight.
“Really ending it in such a despicable manner?”
“Quiet──!!”
The agitated man pressed the knife closer to the child, shouting.
“Aaah─! Mommy!!”
The child’s neck was dangerously close to the knife.
I calmly addressed the bandit holding the hostage.
“Calm down, let’s start by having a chat.”
“What kind of chat at a time like this─! Let me out!”
As expected, the bandit was extremely agitated.
“First, look me in the eyes.”
“What nonsense…”
“Just do it.”
“……”
At my command, the bandit paused his frenzy and looked into my eyes.
Just a few seconds.
“How about it? See anything?”
“I don’t see anything, what are you…”
At that moment, the arm holding the child was severed.
Seo Ye, who had silently cut off the bandit’s arm, returned the child to me with one arm.
“Well done.”
“Thank you.”
The brief moment I distracted the bandit was enough for Seo Ye to act.
Seo Ye released the child.
“Mommy──!”
The child ran crying towards a woman, presumably his mother, and hugged her.
The woman, holding her child, kept bowing to me.
“Th, thank you! Thank you so much!”
“It’s alright, just comfort your child.”
“Yes…! Thank you so much…!”
Turning away, I looked at the bandit still groaning.
“Rrrgh…!”
“Feeling a bit clearer now?”
The bandit, who had managed to stop the bleeding by tying his arm with his clothes, responded with venom in his voice.
“How dare you…!”
“Should a hostage-taker be saying that?”
Always the same, not considering their own actions.
“Are you the leader here?”
“How did you…!”
The bandit’s eyes widened at my question.
Easy to read.
“Could’ve at least changed your clothes.”
Would a low-ranking bandit wander around wearing such expensive-looking animal fur?
I spoke to the leader.
“Follow me quietly, and I’ll show you mercy.”
“Really?”
As if.
Unaware of my intentions, the leader approached slowly as I nodded.
Knowing that if I had wanted, not just his arm but his neck could have been cut, he followed obediently.
“Then I’ll tell you anything, just spare me.”
“Alright.”
As the leader followed me outside, I spoke to Seo Ye while walking.
“We’re far enough now, aren’t we?”
“Yes.”
“What are you guys talking about…?”
I interrupted the leader and gestured towards him.
“Cut off another arm.”
“Yes.”
Seo Ye, drawing her sword, slowly approached the leader.
His face turned deathly pale at the sight.
“You…! Weren’t you after our information?”
“Even now, ‘
our’? For a bandit, you sure have a strong sense of belonging, don’t you?”
My sarcastic remark made the leader speak up again.
“…You weren’t after the White Wave Bandits’ information?”
“Discarding your comrades so easily? You really are hopeless.”
“…What do you want me to do?!”
Teasing him turned out to be surprisingly entertaining.
Watching the leader getting angry, I finally spoke.
“We don’t need it.”
“…What?”
“We already have all the information we need.”
The information he thought to divulge was unnecessary.
We already knew everything related to the White Wave Bandits.
“How do you think I managed not to set fire to the building with the captives?”
“…….”
The leader fell silent at my question.
Xu Huang had already provided all the information we needed to capture the White Wave Bandits.
“Then why are you…?”
“It wouldn’t be good for the children’s mental health to see you killed there.”
We couldn’t expose young children to such a gruesome scene, so I planned to kill him outside.
Honestly, cutting off his arm was already over the line, but that was part of a rescue operation, so it was unavoidable.
“There’s only one thing I want from you.”
“…….”
“When we fight tomorrow, showing the heads of men like you will help break the White Wave Bandits’ morale.”
“Look, listen…”
The leader, with a look of fear, began to retreat.
“So, try to die with the most miserable expression possible.”
As I finished speaking, Seo Ye swung her sword.
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“Leader! It’s a disaster! Our strongholds are currently…”
“…I see it.”
Guo Tai watched the burning strongholds with a dazed expression.
“How did they… attack all our bases simultaneously?”
To prolong the conflict, he had scattered expendable men across the mountains.
However, he hadn’t anticipated being attacked simultaneously and suffering defeat in detail.
Eventually, Guo Tai came to a conclusion and gritted his teeth.
“There must be traitors among us leaking information…!”
At Guo Tai’s words, Han Som wore an indescribable expression.
“But the only people who knew all the locations were you and me, leader… Leader?”
“Yes! It was you…! You’ve ruined everything…!”
Enraged, Guo Tai, now armed, approached Han Som.
Guo Tai had never considered the possibility of a skilled general freely moving across the mountains to gather intelligence.
“You traitor─!! Planning to sell us out and save your own skin?!”
“Leader! Calm down! I didn’t do it! I…!!”
Despite Han Som’s frantic denials and gestures of innocence, his words failed to reach the furious Guo Tai.
“How dare you commit such a deed and think you could live──!!”
“Aaaagh!!”
Struck by Guo Tai’s sword, Han Som screamed his last breath and fell to the ground.
After killing Han Som, Guo Tai, still unsatisfied, glared at the burning mountains.
“Attacking 30,000 with just 3,000…?”
Admitting their audacity was one thing. Who would think to annihilate 30,000 troops with just 3,000?
Though they had lost about half their number to this surprise attack, they still outnumbered the enemy five to one.
“Tomorrow. Tomorrow, I will lead the army myself and strike them down…”
With those words, Guo Tai let out a chilling laugh.
