The Smiling Death

Amon and his group silently followed the captured bandit through the forest.

The deeper they went, the darker the surroundings became.

Moonlight barely managed to pierce the dense canopy overhead, leaving most of the forest shrouded in darkness. The only sounds were the crunching of leaves beneath their feet and the occasional cry of a nocturnal beast somewhere in the distance.

More than half an hour passed.

The familiar paths they had explored over the past six days were long behind them.

They had entered a part of Black Raven Hills none of them had ever seen before.

Steep valleys stretched between towering hills, while massive boulders rose from the forest floor like ancient guardians.

Marcus glanced around with a frown.

"Their hideout is much farther from Eriye Village and the main trade route than I expected."

Amon nodded inwardly.

No wonder they had failed to find the bandits despite searching for nearly a week.

The hideout had been established deep inside the valleys, hidden by dense vegetation and natural rock formations. Unless someone already knew the way, stumbling across it by chance was nearly impossible.

The group continued forward.

Crunch...

Crunch...

Eventually, the captured bandit slowed his pace.

He nervously pointed toward a cluster of enormous rocks ahead.

"W-We... we’re close."

The group carefully looked past the boulders.

A faint orange glow flickered against the stone.

There was firelight. Someone was definitely there.

Seraphina immediately raised her hand.

"Stop here."

Her voice was barely above a whisper.

Everyone halted without making another sound.

Before the captured bandit could think of shouting for help, Amon moved.

In one swift motion, he slipped behind the man and wrapped an arm tightly around his neck.

His other hand covered the bandit’s mouth.

"Mmph...!"

The bandit’s eyes widened in panic.

He struggled desperately, but Amon’s grip didn’t budge.

Amon glanced toward Seraphina.

She gave a small nod.

Receiving her approval, Amon tightened his hold before twisting sharply.

Crack!

The sound of a breaking neck echoed softly.

The bandit’s body immediately went limp.

The fear in his eyes disappeared as the light within them faded.

Without making a sound, Amon slowly lowered the corpse onto the ground, preventing it from making any noise.

No one objected.

The man had already admitted to being a bandit responsible for robbing and murdering innocent travelers.

Leaving him alive any longer would only create unnecessary risks.

Seraphina crouched behind one of the rocks.

"We don’t know how many enemies are inside. We need information before making a move." She said while looking at them.

The others nodded.

Charging in blindly would be foolish.

They first needed to determine the number of bandits, their strength, and the layout of the camp.

Amon stepped forward.

"I’ll scout ahead."

Everyone naturally agreed.

Among them, Amon was the best choice.

Thanks to his Shadow ability, he could suppress the sound of his footsteps and blend into the darkness far better than anyone else.

If anyone could approach the camp unnoticed...

It was him.

Seraphina looked him in the eyes.

"Don’t engage them alone."

"I won’t."

Amon gave a reassuring smile before disappearing into the darkness.

Like a ghost moving through the night, he silently made his way between the trees.

Shadow mana spread beneath his feet, absorbing every sound his movements would have made.

Not even dry leaves rustled as he advanced.

Within moments, he reached the massive rock formation.

Carefully lowering his body, he peeked around the edge.

A hidden campsite came into view.

Several tents had been pitched inside a naturally enclosed clearing protected by towering boulders on three sides.

At the center of the camp, a large bonfire crackled brightly.

Its light illuminated the faces of the men gathered around it.

Amon quietly counted them.

One...

Three...

Five...

Eight.

There were eight bandits remaining in the camp.

Most were relaxing around the fire, drinking and chatting after what appeared to be another ordinary day.

A few stood near the perimeter, lazily keeping watch with weapons resting against their shoulders.

’Only two guards...’

Amon memorized their positions before shifting his attention toward the largest group sitting around the bonfire.

One bandit looked toward the forest path and frowned.

"They’re late."

Another shrugged.

"Yeah, Boss."

He tossed another piece of wood into the fire.

"Maybe we should’ve gone with them after all."

A deep laugh echoed through the clearing.

"There was no need."

The speaker was a towering man with broad shoulders, a thick beard, and numerous scars covering his exposed arms.

Even while sitting on a rough wooden log, his imposing build made him stand out from everyone else.

The others addressed him with obvious respect.

He was clearly their leader.

"I told them only to go after a small merchant caravan."

The bearded man leaned back confidently.

"They were supposed to rob merchants with weak escorts."

He snorted.

"I didn’t order those idiots to pick fights with anyone strong."

One of the younger bandits laughed.

"Boss... you’ve been getting more and more carefree lately."

The leader grinned.

"When you’ve survived this long, you learn not to worry over every little thing."

The bandits around the campfire laughed together, completely unaware that death was quietly watching them from the darkness beyond the rocks.

After carefully observing the camp for several more minutes, Amon quietly retreated.

Using the cover of darkness, he slipped away from the rocks and returned to where his companions were waiting.

The group remained hidden among the dense trees, speaking only in hushed whispers.

Amon crouched beside them.

"I counted eight bandits in total. Dammit! Our assumption for the group being only of eight to ten bandit was wrong."

From villagers and even from academy, they got information that there was small group of bandits. There number estimated around eight to ten.

But still they were not big problem.

Everyone focused on him.

"Most of them look about as strong as the ones we killed on the trade route. They shouldn’t be much of a problem."

He paused before continuing.

"However, two of them are noticeably stronger. I’d estimate one of them is at the Master Rank."

His expression turned serious.

"As for their leader... I have a feeling he’s even stronger."

He looked toward Seraphina.

"He might be at the Master Ascendant Rank."

The atmosphere immediately became heavier.

Seraphina remained calm. She thought for a moment before nodding.

"That’s still within our expectations. It’s natural for Boss to be that strong."

She looked around at everyone.

"There are five of us, and every one of us has reached the Master Rank."

Her voice remained steady.

"We’ve already fought Master Ascendant-ranked demons before and killed them."

"So even if their leader truly is a Master Ascendant, I don’t believe he’ll pose an overwhelming threat if we fight him together."

Aisha folded her arms.

"Even so... There are still eight of them. If they attack together, things could become troublesome."

Seraphina nodded in agreement.

"Which is why we’ll reduce their numbers before they even realize we are here."

She turned toward Eliana.

"Eliana."

The elf immediately met her gaze.

"You’ll begin the attack from afar."

Eliana nodded.

"What do you want me to do?"

"Use your bow to eliminate at least two of the weaker bandits from a distance."

Seraphina’s expression grew serious.

"Aim for the forehead or the throat. If possible, try to kill them instantly in one hit."

Eliana calmly replied,

"I can do that."

Seraphina then shifted her attention to Amon.

"Amon."

He looked at her.

"Can your shadow conceal physical arrows as well?"

Amon smiled slightly.

"Yes. I can wrap them in shadow. The arrows won’t produce any sound while they’re flying."

A faint smile appeared on Seraphina’s face.

"Perfect. That gives us the element of surprise."

She quickly laid out the rest of the plan.

"The moment Eliana’s arrows kill the first two bandits..."

"Amon and I will immediately charge their leader."

"We can’t allow him time to organize the others."

She then looked toward Marcus and Aisha.

"The two of you and Eliana will deal with the remaining bandits."

Marcus confidently rested his flaming spear on his shoulder.

"Leave them to us."

Lightning crackled softly around Aisha’s gauntlets as she smiled.

"They won’t know what hit them."

Seraphina looked around one final time.

"Remember. Strike fast. Don’t give them a chance to regroup. Go with intention of killing. Don’t let anyone live. We are here to kill not capture."

Everyone nodded. There was no fear in their eyes.

Then Seraphina continued, "Killing three weak bandits will be easy, but defeating a Master Rank bandit will take time. However, I know the three of you can handle it. Once you’ve killed them, come and help Amon and me."

There was only determination.

The plan had been decided.

Now all that remained was to execute it.

Marcus and Aisha took their position near the base.

While Amon coated his Shadow around four arrows. Also covered it with his death’s darkness.

Once done, Eliana climbed on the tree which gives her best angle to attack.

Amon went toward Seraphina.

Ready to rush.