Chapter 50 - The Witch Attacks The City
The rest unfolded almost exactly as one would expect.
Roughly fifteen to twenty bandits stormed into the village, surrounding everyone before anyone could properly react.
The men were tied together on one side.
The women were gathered on another.
The bandits laughed among themselves, making vulgar jokes that only earned frightened expressions from the villagers.
Fortunately, I wasn’t among those who had been captured.
"Looks like today’s my lucky day."
I quietly hid behind a pile of hay while observing the situation.
Charging in alone was stupid.
There were too many of them, and most carried clubs or crude iron swords.
Fortunately, I wasn’t the only one who had escaped.
Hidden behind another house were the four troublemakers.
Lin Fan.
Ye Chen.
Long Aotian.
Jiang Chen.
"..."
The moment our eyes met, nobody said a word.
Despite all the insults we threw at one another every day, this wasn’t the time to settle old scores.
Besides, these four idiots were surprisingly useful.
I gestured for them to come closer.
"What do we do?" Ye Chen whispered.
"We beat them."
"There are twenty of them!"
"So?"
I picked up a fist-sized stone.
"This should crack their skulls open."
"..."
None of them knew how to respond.
A few moments later, our highly sophisticated military strategy officially began.
THUD!
The first bandit collapsed after a rock struck the back of his head.
Before anyone realized what had happened, we had already disappeared.
"Who did that?!"
The bandits rushed toward the bushes.
Nobody was there.
A few moments later.
THUD!
Another bandit screamed before collapsing face-first into the dirt.
"Damn it!"
"They’re hiding!"
The bandit leader roared furiously.
"Spread out!"
"Find those bastards!"
Exactly what I had hoped for.
The moment they separated, their numerical advantage disappeared.
One by one, we ambushed isolated bandits using rocks, sticks, farming tools, and whatever happened to be lying around.
Our strategy was incredibly simple.
Hit. Run. Hide. Repeat.
Against villagers, the bandits were terrifying.
Against five shameless teenagers refusing to fight fairly, they were surprisingly helpless.
One after another they fell. And by the time the dust settled, only the bandit leader remained standing.
He looked around in disbelief.
His entire group had somehow disappeared.
Unfortunately for him, the villagers had already been freed.
Seeing their chance, every man and woman rushed toward him with murderous expressions.
The old village chief walked at the front carrying a thick wooden cane.
"You’ve caused enough trouble!"
THWACK!
The cane landed squarely on the bandit leader’s head.
"Ouch!"
The bandit staggered.
Then to everyone’s confusion, he grinned.
"Hahaha! Harder! Hit me harder!"
"..."
Even the villagers paused.
"What kind of sick bastard is this?" I muttered.
The chief frowned before striking him again.
THWACK!
The bandit shivered happily.
"YES! That’s the spot!"
"..."
The entire village collectively took one step backward.
I quickly raised both hands.
"Everyone, calm down. Please stop beating him."
Several villagers looked at me in confusion.
"Why?"
"Because, I don’t think we’re punishing him anymore."
The chief looked down at the smiling bandit.
His face darkened.
He immediately threw away the cane.
"Someone tie this pervert up."
The villagers silently obeyed.
The village chief personally traveled to the nearest government office to report the incident.
Not long afterward, several constables arrived and the bandits were shackled and dragged away.
As for me, along with the other four troublemakers, we were invited to speak with the head constable.
After hearing the villagers’ account, he looked at us with obvious appreciation.
"You five have courage and the government is always looking for capable young men."
He smiled.
"If you’re interested, I can recommend each of you."
I immediately nodded.
"I accept."
There was no reason not to.
Unfortunately, the other four declined.
Or rather, they couldn’t accept.
The head constable blinked.
"And why not?"
Long Aotian awkwardly raised a hand.
"I-I have diarrhea."
The constable nodded sympathetically before turning to the next person.
Ye Chen coughed.
"I currently suffer from hemorrhoids."
"..."
The constable silently looked toward Lin Fan.
Lin Fan lowered his head.
"My one family jewel... it was destroyed, I need time to recover emotionally."
He spoke with a hollow voice.
"..."
The constable’s expression became increasingly strange.
Finally, he looked toward Jiang Chen.
"And your reason?"
Jiang Chen sighed dramatically.
"My childhood sweetheart cries every night, I must comfort her."
"...Every night?"
"Every night."
The head constable slowly rubbed his temples before turning toward me.
"Young man, your companions have... rather unique circumstances, though they are always welcomed."
He cleared his throat.
"Would you like to travel to the city with us?"
"I would."
I answered without hesitation.
The city meant opportunity.
Opportunity meant status.
Status meant nobility.
And nobility meant I could legally build a harem.
My future had never looked this brighter.
After bidding farewell to the villagers, I climbed aboard the carriage and departed alongside the constables.
As the village gradually disappeared behind us, I looked toward the distant city on the horizon.
Little did I know, the city had countless surprises waiting for me.
For starters, how did an attack by a demonic witch sound?
***
The moment I entered the city, I realized something was terribly wrong.
The streets were in complete chaos.
Buildings burned fiercely, filling the sky with black smoke.
People ran in every direction, screaming as soldiers desperately tried to evacuate civilians.
The strangest part was that there wasn’t a single guard at the city gate.
They had all been deployed elsewhere.
I had barely stepped inside before a military officer shoved a spear into my hands.
"You! You’re healthy enough to fight!"
Before I could even protest, someone forced a suit of battered armor onto my body.
Just like that, I had been urgently enlisted into the city’s militia.
"I haven’t even unpacked my luggage yet."
No one listened.
Soon, I found myself running toward the battlefield alongside dozens of terrified recruits.
Then, I saw her.
The woman standing at the center of the ruined street.
Demonic energy surged around her like a black storm.
Long black hair, softer than silk, fluttered in the scorching wind.
Golden eyes shone brighter than the midday sun.
Yet despite the overwhelming demonic aura surrounding her, she possessed an indescribable nobility.
As though she had been born to stand above everyone else.
"..."
Something about those eyes bothered me.
"Damn it, why are her eyes like that?"
They were beautiful, brilliant. Yet completely hollow.
There wasn’t a trace of emotion inside them.
It felt as though nothing in this world could truly reach her.
Then, for reasons I couldn’t explain, a ridiculous thought surfaced in my mind.
"Fuck! Only the power of love can solve this!"
I blinked.
Where had that come from?
Was it because this world followed some strange cliché?
Maybe.
But, clichés had an annoying habit of working.
Even so, my legs trembled.
The fear of death pressed against my heart like a mountain.
’Fuck! I’m actually scared.’
I watched the witch casually seize a charging soldier by the throat.
With a simple twist.
CRACK!
His neck snapped.
She discarded the corpse without even looking at it.
"..."
There was no running anymore.
If I was going to die today, then I would rather die without regrets.
I took a deep breath.
Then shouted with everything I had.
"Witch!"
Her movements stopped.
Those hollow golden eyes slowly turned toward me.
I removed my helmet.
At least, if I was about to say something stupid, I wanted to do it properly.
The cool breeze swept through my dark hair.
Several soldiers stared at me in disbelief.
’What is this idiot doing?’
I ignored them.
Even if my face was considered handsome, standing before this woman made me realize she was absurdly beautiful.
Still, beauty wasn’t everything.
I pointed my spear straight at her.
"Witch! You may possess overwhelming strength, but there is one thing... one thing in which you will lose miserably to this seat!"
The entire battlefield fell silent.
Even the soldiers looked at me as though I had finally gone insane.
But inside, I was desperately praying.
’Please work. Please let this hurt her pride.’
For a single heartbeat, nothing happened.
Then she disappeared.
My pupils contracted.
The next instant, she was already standing directly before me.
I hadn’t even seen her move.
Her cold golden eyes looked into mine.
"What gave you the confidence for courting death?" she asked calmly.
’There it is! The legendary line!’
Despite my racing heartbeat, I forced myself to grin.
"My confidence?"
I met her gaze without backing away.
"You."
She raised an eyebrow.
"I’ve already won."
A faint ripple appeared in those empty golden eyes.
I smiled even wider.
"You who have never experienced the joy of cloud and rain, how could you possibly defeat this seat in that regard?!"
"..."
She stared at me in disbelief, as if my mind was broken.
"Such degrading things..." the witch let out a cold snort.
’Huh? Why is it not working?!’ I thought in panic.
And just as her hand was about to reach for my neck, I yelled.
"Love! Witch, have you experienced love?"
This time she really paused.
***
[A/N: A small milestone of 50 Chapters. Let this author experience love of gifts...🥹]