Chapter 137 Surrender
The seemingly tattered and weakened defensive formation around the carriage and carts in a layered manner suddenly became a death trap for the bandits as the holes from which bandits poured inside the formation seamlessly closed, trapping the hundreds of bandits inside.
Then, the white family's soldiers completely went berserk, killing bandits left and right without any qualms despite the numerical disadvantages.
The soldiers disguised as mercenaries were the absolute elite among the white family's entire forces. Battle-hardened and war-tested, they could work as one entity despite fighting their own battles. The elite soldiers were also trained and well-equipped with the experience and various martial arts techniques of the white family.
Of course, merely that wasn't enough to counter the overwhelming numerical disadvantage.
The bandit leader jolted out of his panicked state after seeing the situation getting worse and analyzed the crisis with a cool head, although while gritting his teeth, truly making an ugly expression.
The bandit leader saw the enemy's superiority in battle and couldn't help but shudder in trepidation as he inwardly rained profanities on the scouts who had given the green flag to go ahead on the ambush.
As the man furiously swung his sword around, trying to clear a path for retreat, he desperately yelled out, "Listen up! Kill the bastards and retreat! Don't forget, we have superior numbers! Don't panic! Kill them all!" n-/o-.V/(e-.l//b)-I--n
The bandits who were like chickens without their heads somewhat sobered up, realizing that there was no way but to kill their way to retreat. Even though they had little confidence to defeat the enemy seeing the banners of the white family flattering proudly, it was true that they had superior numbers. Thus, there was still hope.
Seeing the futile resistance, 'Klein' who was Ethan in disguise simply laughed mockingly as he stood calmly beside the carriage, about thirty knights guarding him as his bodyguards.
The bandit leader jolted his horse reins and the horse cried out, it jumped high and brought down its hooves, almost crushing two soldiers to death.
The bandit leader and his subordinates swung their old rusty longswords like their life depended on it, trying to break the encirclement of the white family's soldiers.
As they swung and jabbed chaotically, blood sprayed all over, dying the ground red. Some soldiers managed to dodge, some blocked bravely but some either got injured or died on the spot as the pressure on them increased due to the numerical disadvantage.
The bandit leader's eyes brightened, and for a moment, hope shone in his gaze as escape didn't seem impossible. "Damnit! Even if I escape... that man will not let me off so easily! Damnit! It's all that fucker's fault! Once I escape.... Hmph!" The man thought arrogantly, breaking the blockade of soldiers and shooting off with the subordinates that survived as well as about a hundred bandits.
For a moment, it truly looked like the white family's forces were incapable of handling double the numbers of their own in a short time, making it possible for some of the bandits to escape.
But this hope was soon squashed as lumps of murderous auras raised from parts of the battlefield in every direction.
In the east, Fred walked nonchalantly amidst the battlefield while holding his sword, smiling menacingly as he looked at the bandits like looking at some disposable trash. Behind him, a dozen of the white family's most elite knights followed.
In the West, Willkie, and Jason in the South also led their elite squad respectively, launching a soul-wrenching assault on the pitiful bandits.
If normal soldiers were like bloodthirsty demons, then the special knights in black armor were demon kings who could only be described as extraordinary.
These warriors were nothing like the mundane, numbering nearly a hundred throughout the battlefield, they were like devils from hell.
With a flick of their wrist, heads rolled down, limbs amputated, and heart-shuddering screams of pain and misery echoed in the ears of everyone, raising the morale of the white family's forces and flooding the bandits in a cold sweat.
As the bandit's leader saw this carnage from the corner of his eyes, his heart sank to the deepest depths of emptiness. Waves of terror washed over him, making his limbs numb. The man's bravado from before along with his unruly arrogance disappeared into thin air.
Seeing the shadow of death looming, he decisively chose to give up on his comrades and somehow run away on his own.
But, how could it be so easy?
Seeing the bandit leader trying to run for his life, Lucecryc, who was covered in blood, sneered mockingly.
The black armored knights who were accompanying him for his safety couldn't help but stare at his back in awe and fear.
Even though they had seen bloodshed countless times with gruesome scenery far worse than this, they had never seen a child of such bold countenance.
The knights couldn't be blamed for thinking so as anyone who saw Luce coldly slicing up men far bigger than him crazily while having a devious smile on his face couldn't help but shiver in trepidation and take a step back.
To the spectators, Luce looked nothing like a child from a Ducal household but a savage barbarian hellbent on killing. It was certainly very abnormal almost to the point of cruelty.
When Lucer set his crazed sights on the bandit leader, the boss felt the chills going down his spine as his expression twisted.
Luce scoffed. Then abruptly, his body arched from the waist as then a sword sliced through the space where his upper body was a moment ago.
"This little shit!" The bandit warrior scowled in frustration, not expecting the little boy to dodge the sneak attack in such a manner.
It had taken everything for him to get closer and try a sneak attack to end the little menace, just to fail at such a juncture.
The warrior was momentarily dazed but calmed himself In a fraction of a second. Unfortunately for him, a sharp burst of pain assaulted his lower body followed by a cold foreboding sense of loss.
Involuntarily he looked down, only to find that the little boy was nowhere to be found. Instead, a ghastly scene met his eyes. A thin, sharp diagonal line extending from the left of his lower waist to his upper thighs—from which blood flowed out like an endless stream.
The next moment, his vision blurred as his body was split apart in two. The final thing he saw was the cold-blooded face of that youth he had tried to kill seconds ago.
Many had witnessed this shuddering scene, making each wonder how come the child of a noble descent is so demonic at such a young age.
The bandit's leader was one of those who had witnessed the grotesque scene. His back was covered in sweat seeing it. "Monsters! The White Family is full of crazy monsters! I gotta run!"
Then his brows raised as if he remembered something. His eyes shined with a sinister light and he yelled out while looking around fanatically, "Archers! Where the fuck did you all go? Kill that brat for me! Mystics! Fucking useless! Use your spells and kill them!!!"
The bandit leader pleaded desperately but no one responded. The so-called hidden archers who were supposed to be acting as assassins were as silent as the moon, their fate unknown.
As for the awakened ones, to their horror, the inferior bandits were unable to provide cover for them, and on top of that, the awakened ones on the side of the white family fully unleashed their potential that they were holding back before according to Ethan's scheme. To make matters worse, the water-blessed expert from before showed himself. In an azure robe, he didn't even need to fully show his abilities. Merely providing support to the others was more than enough.
The bandit leader soon noticed all this and his entire world sank. At this point, there was nothing he could do. The archers hiding in the wilderness did not respond, the awakened ones could hardly keep themselves alive and the bandit warriors were being slaughtered like defenseless lambs.
Even though the bandit leader wasn't weak and had equivalent strength to some of the most powerful knights in service of the white family such as Fred, Willkie, and Jason—he now had no confidence out of the predicament.
While keeping himself safe amidst the flurry of attacks coming at him constantly, sensing the pressure on him increasing, the bandit leader gritted his teeth in denial.
Suddenly, a chilly premonition engulfed his entire being. His soul gave off warning signals as if a wolf was ready to pounce on him at any moment.
Then, goosebumps rose on his skin as he decisively moved all the energy from his body into his arms and legs. Almost blindly, he kicked his horse and used his arms to propel himself in the air.
As he was in the air, out of nowhere, a glistening water arrow shot across the battlefield, creating a mild drizzle as it flew and shot right through the man's shoulder, leaving behind a gaping hole and a tattered armor that was utterly broken. The arrow had cut through it as easily as cutting tofu.
"AGHHHHH! FUCK!!"
A screech full of pain and suffering rang as the bandit leader fell off his horse In a miserable condition. A hole in his shoulder and his entire arm were covered in blood.
At this point, there was nothing more to think about. The bandit leader gritted his teeth in excruciating pain, holding back his tears as he parted with unwillingness and reluctantly yelled out loudly in a hoarse voice, "I SURRENDER! I SURRENDER DAMMIT! Don't kill me! I have information!"
A/N - Luce is kinda badass not gonna lie.