Chapter 6: The Swift Intervention

Pch!

“Argh—!”

Accompanying a pained scream, the bandit opposite me released their grip. The blade clattered to the ground beneath the tree, and blood gushed from the wound.

In that critical moment, I had arrived. I instantly appeared beside one of the guards, blocking the bandit’s wrist with one arm.

My other hand, gripping a spear, thrust into the arm of the bandit opposite me, successfully thwarting their attack.

“Ugh!”

Seizing the moment of surprise from the bandit beside me, I swiftly delivered a punch to their carotid artery. They were instantly knocked unconscious, tumbling down beneath the tree.

Then, I quickly swung the spear, dragging the impaled arm of the other bandit, and flung them down to join their accomplice.

“…”

The two guards remained frozen, staring at me blankly, completely bewildered by what had just transpired. They likely hadn’t even registered my parry or my punch.

***

[239]

Upon entering this command into the ‘Prism,’ my speed received a significant boost. To what extent, I couldn’t precisely say.

At the very least, sprinting at full speed from the village to this location had allowed me to rescue them. The two bandits hadn’t even had a chance to react.

“You… just who…”

“Whoa!”

Before the two guards could finish their questions, I discarded the spear. Scooping up one guard in each arm, I accelerated, leaping through the branches towards the distant glow of fire.

While not entirely certain, I had spotted a firelight in a specific direction when I arrived. It likely marked Harold and his companions’ location.

I couldn’t risk speaking now, lest they recognize my voice, which would complicate matters.

“Hey! Who are you! Put me down!”

“Don’t… don’t jump so fast!”

Ignoring their protests, I continued leaping forward.

Thankfully, they were merely noisy and didn’t attempt to attack me. Otherwise, I would have had to treat them like balls, throwing them forward as I advanced.

‘Perhaps I should slow down a little,’ I mused. ‘Even if they are guards, such high-speed movement must be nauseating. Even professional assassins rarely achieve my current pace—after all, this is due to an item, not training.’

‘No matter,’ I decided. ‘I must get there immediately. Those dangerous bandits are likely more than they can handle. If they feel sick, they can just throw up to their heart’s content once we land.’

Before long, we arrived at the source of the firelight.

Harold and his companions were gathered around the bonfire, their backs to the flames, vigilantly watching the surrounding forest. However, my rapid movement meant I hadn’t seen anyone else nearby.

‘Probably Shadow Arts again,’ I thought.

“Attention!”

I bellowed, lowering my voice, and landed early. My body tilted forward, my feet kicking up dirt as I smoothly skidded to a stop beside the bonfire, directly in front of Harold.

Several people stared, mouths agape, completely forgetting to monitor the bandits’ movements.

After all, it was sudden. Who would expect a man in a night suit and mask to suddenly appear, cradling their companions? Fortunately, they hadn’t mistaken me for a bandit and attacked.

“You are…”

“…”

Disregarding Harold’s query, I scanned everyone present.

Thankfully, everyone was unharmed and unwounded. It seemed my medicine wouldn’t be needed. The remaining task was to deal with the bandits.

I set the two guards on the ground. Due to the prolonged high-speed travel, they were both disoriented, shaking their heads as they knelt.

“Are you two alright!”

Harold immediately rushed over to check on his companions’ condition.

“N-no, we’re fine.”

“We were ambushed. Those bandits used Shadow Arts. Thankfully, this person arrived and saved us.”

“I see. Thank you so much.”

I still didn’t acknowledge Harold’s gratitude. Instead, I pointed towards the perimeter. Harold understood, stepping beside me and positioning himself in front of the two guards to protect them.

“First, confirm: are you here to help us?”

I shook my head. Claiming to be deliberately helping might arouse suspicion.

“Are they bandits?”

“…” (I shook my head.)

“Then… you’ll lend us a hand, won’t you?”

I nodded, took two steps forward, and turned my back to them. I pulled out the ‘Prism’ from my pocket and began inputting commands.

Each time I entered three digits and pressed the confirmation button, I could draw power from the ‘Prism’—for weapons, enhancements, spellcasting, and some of the ‘Prism’s’ inherent functions.

However, this wasn’t without limit. Each power had its own cost, displayed on ten small prismatic crystals on the right side. The total consumption limit was ten.

Speed enhancement cost four. Adding the previous two units of consumption, six crystals were now lit. This meant the total consumption of any subsequent functions I used could not exceed four.

[321] Scan, 3

[124] Dagger, 1

I first spent three units of consumption to initiate a continuous scan, centered on myself, covering a 20-meter radius to pinpoint enemy locations.

There were thirteen of them, all hidden in the shadows. One had used Shadow Arts to move behind a nearby tree trunk and then stopped moving.

Now that their positions were known, the rest would be decided by speed, or rather, it was time for me to harvest.

“Leader, what should we do next…”

Whoosh—!

Before the guard could finish his question, I clutched the dagger (costing one unit) and burst forward. Like a gust of wind, I arrived before a bandit, slashing a few times at their elbow and behind their knee, then delivering a heavy punch to their abdomen.

“Pwoooh!”

The bandit let out a muffled grunt and collapsed to their knees, their limbs rendered useless. They likely hadn’t even understood why their hands and feet had been cut, as I had only lingered before them for an instant before moving on to the next bandit.

“Ugh!”

“Argh!”

Screams rose one after another. In no time, I had dealt with twelve of them. One had already fled when I launched my first attack.

I temporarily ignored them, dragging the twelve individuals out one by one and tossing them before Harold. Harold and his companions stared at me, utterly bewildered, their expressions completely blank.

“How incredible! It’s only been… such a short time…”

“I… I didn’t see him do anything at all…”

“Uh, hmm…”

The surrounding guards were all exclaiming in awe, forgetting their vigilance. Harold immediately stepped forward to check on the bandits’ condition, then widened his eyes and glared at me.

“You, what… what exactly did you just do…”

I shook my head, not intending to explain, and turned towards the direction of the fleeing bandit. Due to my accelerated speed, I caught up to him in no time.

Then, I deliberately slowed down and followed behind him, observing if he was escaping to other companions.

“Hm?”

However, not long after, I could no longer scan him. He suddenly vanished beneath a tree, but I didn’t stop, walking towards that tree.

And then…

“!!”

Suddenly, countless dark figures emerged, charging from the shadows on all sides and surrounding me. In the area I had scanned, there was only one gap behind me.

I immediately slowed down and retreated into that gap, watching as the swarm of shadows slashed at the spot where I had just stood, then vanished.

‘Are these clones?’ I pondered. ‘Some high-level assassins do possess such abilities. That must have been ‘Shadow Split,’ then? Creating several short-lived clones from shadows to attack an opponent. It’s indeed very effective in this environment, capable of silently eliminating a target without leaving a trace.’

‘It seems I shouldn’t underestimate these guys. This one might even be the bandit leader.’

However…

“Pfft!”

I swiftly turned and punched backward, striking the bandit squarely in the abdomen. The bandit spat out a mouthful, then clutched their stomach and fell to the ground.

“You… how… how did you know…” Under the moonlight filtering through the leaves, I could vaguely discern their horrified face, seemingly unable to believe what was unfolding before them. “My Shadow Arts… my clones… everything was so meticulous… how were you able to discover it…”

“The reason, huh…” I scratched my hair, unsure how to explain it to them. “It’s probably… because you were right here.”

“Argh!”

With that, I quickly slashed at their hands and feet a few times, rendering their limbs immobile, then delivered a single palm strike to their carotid artery, knocking them unconscious.

After all, my scan had been continuously active. The purpose of slowing down was to deliberately lure them into attacking me. With so many clones, leaving just one gap for me to escape—even without the scan, I would have known it was a trap.

So, I decided to play along, feigning ignorance of what was behind me. The moment they emerged from the shadows using their Shadow Arts, I would swiftly deliver a punch.

My companions had all been dealt with, yet they still tried to kill me using this method. I didn’t know if they underestimated me too much, or if they were simply too confident.

I hoisted this fellow onto my shoulder, went back to where I had first dealt with the two bandits, and brought them along too. Then, I circled through a good portion of the mountain forest, finding no one else.

Returning to Harold’s group, I tossed these three individuals before them.

“This, this is…! You just…”

Seeing me return, Harold still looked astonished. But I didn’t wait for him to finish his questions; I didn’t even make eye contact before quickly departing.

Since the bandits were dealt with and everyone was safe, my objective was achieved. There was no need to do anything extra and risk exposing my identity.

As for what to do with these fellows, that was up to the merchant caravan. These ruffians had likely killed many people and stolen much property. Being a band of bandits, they would accost any caravan they saw for plunder, truly deserving of death.

However, punishing them was not my task. At this moment, my sole mission in life was to live a happy life with my daughter. Therefore, it was time to go home.

“This, this person is…!”

“Isn’t that the captain!”

As I left, I seemed to hear two guards exclaim in surprise at one of the bandits. ‘Captain?’ Were they acquaintances?

Seeing their acquaintance become a bandit and attack them must have been unpleasant, but it had nothing to do with me. My only job was to protect every member of their caravan.

It was late at night. After some extra exertion, it was time to head home for a good night’s sleep.