Chapter 78: How to sneak a bomb into a bandit camp.

Chapter 78: How to sneak a bomb into a bandit camp.

Wails of pain, sorrow, and defiance. Those are the screams that the [Fire Sorcerer] Macklemor was currently hearing from behind his carriage, comfortably enjoying the ride as ragged farmers and villagers spouted out pleas in their rickety prison wagons.

From the sides, an unorganized band of human and beastmen highwaymen reciprocated the distraught cries of these captured men and woman with malice, remarking, Quiet down, or ya want us to rip your tongues out? and Cry some more, bitches. We need ya loud to enjoy winter together, ha ha ha!

Urgh, they are always so lustful Macklemor thought as he clutched his amulet of Danterno, silently apologizing to the God of Fire for extinguishing the flame that he dedicated to him.

Water was the eternal rival of fire, and Macklemor, like most fire mages, hated the sight of pouring rain. For him, it was another demonstration of the tyranny of the Goddess of Water, Plesia, and the God of Weather and Harvest, Kurnal, working together to smother the feeble influence of his god. For he hated nothing more than a flame dying before it can display its iridescent might.

The other gods have grown jealous of the superior potential of fire, was what most fire mages believed, as it was widely known to many aspiring mage novices that becoming a fire mage, was akin to sacrificing their future career. For no mage received so little requests as a fire mage.

The God of Fire and Destruction, that is the epithet of the mighty Origin God Danterno, and no one expresses these values more than human and beastmen fire mages. Almost like a doctrine, all Danterno worshippers are made to believe that preserving a beautiful inferno until it naturally dies out is the only way to show reverence towards the fire god, regardless of how much that flame will destroy.

Due to this mentality, the job prospects of a mage who only focused on fire magic was meager at best. Compared to earth, water, wind, and holy mages which have found a place in society with utility-based spells to allow their practitioners to live a peaceful life, fire mages could only seek out Quests that enabled its destructive impulses.

One could view this philosophy as stubborn and one-dimensional, restricting an otherwise high potential magic element, but it was only common sense among fire mages. For this reason, in mage society, fire mages ranked the lowest, mirroring their God who was the weakest among the Origin Gods.

For what use is destruction and carnage during times of peace?

[Reduce Heat] is a custom spell that helps a fire die out naturallybut how can it be natural when a mage was the one to cast the spell? It hurts so much to see my own fire die out, Macklemor muttered silently.

After the rain from yesterday, the bandit camp that Macklemor was currently working for detected the camp of a group of villagers and farmers who were transporting their goods towards a town or city. Knowing that winter was coming, the bandits couldnt think of anything else but to raid them for their food and water.

Macklemor himself was delighted to hear this news, as it was a chance for him to display his abilities as a mage in front of all these magicless plebeians, hoping that he could impress one of them into becoming his apprentice.

While the faith of Danterno wasnt exactly dying out, its influence and number of clergymen was waning. While worshipping the Fire God wasnt frowned upon, becoming a mage was an entirely different case.L1tLagoon witnessed the first publication of this chapter on Ñøv€l--B1n.

Not only could I not convert anyone, like always, but this raid also brought some casualties. Yes, fire consumes life, but my faith does not preach unnecessary bloodshed, Macklemor lamented how some villagers lost their life due to the bandits' over eagerness.

"Oi, Macklemor, watcha making that face for? Come on, we gonna live big through winter with this amount of loot!" sitting beside him on the carriage, a man with a mullet carefreely patted his back.

Jaspercouldnt you have stopped some of your men from killing them? Macklemor responded to the man with the mullet named Jasper. "Those people were unarmed. They didn't even have a guard! There was no need to end their lives."

Eh? Why are ya complaining about that? Yeah, my boys did some retarded stuff by killing them, but those bastards resisted. We dont need any strong-willed people trying to rile everybody up. The last thing we need is the slaves revolting, man, Jasper explained. Besides, I saw ya enjoy the extra bodies we brought to your fire. Ya smile when it lit up, ha ha ha! You fire mages are all fucked up in the head.

Macklemor couldnt say another word. Jaspers words struck deep with undeniable accusations, causing the mage to reflect on his actions. After they captured the villagers and put them into wooden wagon prisons, ready to be transported back to their camp by their trusty Equerochs, Peolyncian beasts of burden that were a mix between a horse and an ox, Macklemor created a fire to destroy the evidence of the scene.

The wagons, useless items, the blood on the grass, and the corpses, everything will be turned to ash with Danternos purifying flames. Nothing made him happier than to see the fire rise up high, consuming the fuel that laid under it.

But that didnt mean that he felt elated about the dead villagers. He wanted to avoid it, but what could he say when he himself was working for criminals that felt no guilt about ending another persons life?

Enough sulking around, mate. Lets share some of that sake we got from that rice village once we get back to camp. We fucking deserved it after what happened three months ago, Jasper stated, trying to console his brother-in-arms.

I guess, we have been pretty lucky ever since we got attacked by those Aureolis Knights.

Aureolis Knights or better known as the Knights of Aurena, an elite order of holy knights in the service of the Holy State Aureolis. The bandit group that Macklemor belonged to was ambushed and raided by these elite warriors three months ago, during the month of HarvestBloom.

Ever since they fled in tatters from Aureolis, they have been moving around the Kingdom of Artorias until they finally set camp in the territory of the Lecartiglio Duchy, on the border of the Helvas County which included Carine Village.

Jasper, what did the Boss say? We cant stay here for too long, Macklemor said with worry. After what happened with the White Winged Dragoon in Aureolis, our group has been in tatters. Only mercs have come for us until now, but we know why the Kingdom of Artorias is also known as the Kingdom of the Griffon, and once their knights find us, were doomed.

You worry too much mate, Jasper said with a deep frown, reluctantly acknowledging the situation that they are in. The Boss said that we will stay 'ere until the last month of winter, recruit any wannabe fuckheads and then piss ourselves off down south. Atadoro, or something was the name of that kingdom, but if we can get out of this place before our fucking kingdom sends their Hippogryph and Griffon knights at us, then we fucking snuck the egg out of mama birds nest.

"And what about mercs? I burned down that village under the Boss' command and looking at how big it was, it was probably one of the larger and more profitable villages. Nobles don't give up once you embarrass them," Macklemor said, as he continued clenching his amulet, biting his lips from concern.

Please, I understand that you are very much distressed, Miss Tasianna, but this is all part of Hestias plan, no? Mister Kushlekzar answered, trying to reason with our very loyal maid.

Ha ha ha, truly a reckless move from that young scale. Hey, Grazlahta, remember that time we gathered a few eggs without realizing that one of them was rigged by its mother? Nasty surprise, right? Krim-slak joyfully retold an old story.

You nearly lost your arm, Krim. We were careless young scales back then, Grazlahta replied with a sigh. However, I have to agree. Those criminals unwittingly just brought a bomb into their hold. If the young scales strength is true, then this should be an easy battle.

The plan that the saurians were talking about was how we just allowed the bandits to suddenly capture Hestia and turn her into a prisoner. The idea behind it was to send her into the bandits camp where she will locate all the prisoners and help free them from within.

While that went on, Tasianna and I would cause a distraction and lead some bandits away from the camp to allow the saurians to lead the main raid into the camp. With Hestia already inside the camp, she could not only protect the prisoners but also aid the saurians in their assault.

Also, yes, these were the bandits that Chief Colwyn contracted us to subjugate. I know it because I heard one of them mention they stole sake and rice from a nearby village in addition to burning it down.

There is no questioning it. They are our Quest targets.

I havent had any sake in such a long timeI was so excited when I saw those rice plants and you dare steal it from me? I monologued with myself, slightly annoyed about the fact my hope for a good drink was taken away from me.

While my real reason for taking this Quest was to see how I fared against humans and beastmen in battle, I couldnt deny that not getting a drink was a reason, too. And no, I am not an alcoholic, thank you very much. I enjoy drinking as nothing is more relaxing than some drinks and food after a hard day at work.

And I would be lying if I said I wasnt a bit stressed out right now. Although some reasons like, Tasiannas fierce hatred for humans, Hestias recent emotional breakdown, and what that Leviathan revealed to me about my heritage were quite concerning, what actually bothered me the most was our lack of funds.

Yes, money. The one thing that kept the world turning around. Ever since I first laid eyes on Davi, the official currency of the continent Altrust, I quickly came to the realization that our party needed money now that we were inside a human kingdom.

While Tasianna had no real idea what money truly was and Hestia was more preoccupied with her Idol performance, I couldnt help but feel like I was the only one who was a bit scared about our partys future expenses.

While Hestias storage was filled with monster bodies and plants that we could sell, doing this Quest to receive some before we head to a town was necessary, especially when I assume issuing an ID will cost money just like on Earth.

Miss Saori, do you have Hestias scent? Mister Kushlekzar suddenly asked me.

Of course, she is the only dragonewt around here, after all, I answered, tapping my nose confidently.

Perfect, then let us proceed with the plan, the saurian stated. Grazlahta, tell Akasht that he may follow us now but that he should keep a certain distance as to not alert any of our targets.

With that settled, we started pursuing the bandit caravan. While this was happening, I also kept an eye on Hestia through a hairband that I made for her, wrapping it with my [Shadow Armament] and then hiding my [Shadow Snake] in it to allow me to see around her.

Interestingly enough, while I praised her ability to act before, I was now witnessing Hestia throwing all that effort out of the window and simply singing and annoying the bandit guards, showing little concern for any of their threats.

Ive said it before, but that girl can be a real brat sometimes, heh. How unlucky that I cannot hear it, she has an extremely beautiful voice.

After a while, the bandits finally reached what essentially looked like a campsite surrounded by crudely made wooden spikes, serving as a stockade fence for this large assortment of highwaymen. From a quick glance, I believe there should be around 20 to 30 of them in there. We were grossly outnumbered.

Mister Kushlekzar, here are some mana threads, a few of Hestias bombs and venom. I would like you to help us set up traps for the ambush, I requested to the old saurian.

Ha ha ha, I would gladly. Do not fret, all raptorsilians know the art of trapmaking, and Ive been serving as one ever since my birth. I will not waste yours nor the young scales trust, he answered back with a praying bow.

We two will scout out the perfect angle for our raid onto the camp. Gotta catch these idiots out by surprise, Krim-slak stated with confidence.

From a quick [Identity], I understood that the average bandit was honestly too weak to contend with any of us. Basically, all of them were around level ten and had the abilities of a weak rank E monster, while possessing an underwhelming skillset. They were fodder as Hestia would call them.

Tasianna, hold it in for just a bit longer, I told my extremely agitated friend.

They are dead! Tasianna announced, holding herself back from jumping straight into the camp.

Alright, we're waiting for your signal, Hestia.