In the southern part of the Leite Kingdom, within the border of another kingdom, on a remote road lay various corpses strewn about.
Among the bodies dressed in orange military uniforms, there were also those clad in gaudy, varied attire.
"Hahaha! We've struck it rich this time!" At the end of the bodies, a burly man stepped on a soldier's corpse, brandishing a blood-stained Longsword, and looked down at three girls who had fallen to the ground.
Another slim man, also holding a Longsword, had a lewd expression on his face and echoed with a lascivious laugh, "Yeah! Such beauties! Hehehehe!"
The officer being trampled underfoot struggled to raise his head, issuing a difficult threat, "Are you mad? Daring to hijack Viscount's convoy?"
The stout man sneered and stomped harder, "Doesn't matter, most of our own are nearly dead anyway, only a few of us left. When we take the money and run, who will know that we did it?"
"The Viscount... will never let you go!" The officer clenched his teeth, trying to turn over and dislodge the foot on him.
"Die, you blabbermouth!" The skinnier bandit plunged his sword into the officer's back, eliciting the officer's final scream.
Once the officer was completely silent, the skinny man withdrew his Longsword, excitedly asking, "Big brother, how do we split... hehehehe!"
"You get one, I'll take two, these little beauties are so alluring, their skin is so fair! Hehehe!" The burly man wiped the drool from the corner of his mouth, unable to contain the flow of more saliva, unabashedly displaying his savagery.
The skinny man didn't mind and nodded, readily agreeing, "Fine! After you're done with them, hand them to me for my turn!"
"No problem! Hahaha!" The strong bandit laughed triumphantly. He had every reason to be proud; the convoy they robbed with all their might contained not only a large chest full of Gold Coin but also three girls as beautiful as flowers. How could he not be excited?
The eldest girl held the two younger ones and cried out in grief, "You! Don't come any closer! We are daughters of the Viscount. If you let us go, our father will surely give you a lot of money."
The burly man glanced at the chest on the carriage and became even more triumphant, "Money? We are no longer in need of money. What we want now is you!"
"Don't come any closer! You, you... Please let my two sisters go... Let them leave this place, and I will stay." The girl in despair prepared to sacrifice herself for her sisters' chance of survival.
The skinny man couldn't even bother to lie, put his Longsword back into the sheath, and eagerly moved forward, "None of you is leaving!"
"I say, do you really plan to... do that kind of thing here?" A voice abruptly came from the other side, "Don't you find it revolting?"
Suddenly hearing this voice, the two bandits were so shocked their hair stood on end, and they immediately turned to look in the direction from which the voice originated, "Who is it?"
A young man holding a travel pack stood not far away, lips curled as he looked at the corpses strewn across the ground, "More than thirty people, all dead. Seems like you're not going to live much longer, that's why you risked your lives to attack a nobility's convoy."
"Shut up! Who the hell are you!" The stout man asked coldly.
The young man pointed to himself and answered naturally, "Me? I'm just someone passing by."
"Well, can't blame us then. Even those just passing by... must die!" The skinny man drew his Longsword from his waist once again, step by step advancing towards the young man. He was quite confident in his swordsmanship; otherwise, he wouldn't have survived the fierce battle just now.
He swung his sword at the young man, who easily dodged it and quickly created some distance. While avoiding, he didn't forget to comment, "Not even close to my teacher..."
The skinny bandit eyed the young man and shouted to the burly one behind him, "This one's tricky! Let's both take him on!"
The young man was taken aback, then his smile deepened, "Ganging up on me because I'm alone?"
"What? We're bandits, is that wrong?" The stout man also gathered around, brandishing his Longsword, ready to pincer the young man.
The young man pulled a delicate Left-Wheel Handgun from his chest, "Nothing wrong, just double-checking."
"Bang!" Before the two men could react, a gunshot followed, and the skinny bandit grunted as he fell to the ground.
"Now the two of us can have a one-on-one." The young man carefully reholstered his gun and said with a smile.
"Die!" The burly bandit charged with his Longsword raised high.
"Ha!" The young man also drew his Longsword, clashing with the burly bandit. He skillfully redirected the force, avoiding a direct contest of strength, and parried the myriad sword strikes, causing the bandit to miss repeatedly.
His movements were extremely adept and elegant. After finding the opportunity to dodge another chopping attack, the young man pivoted, stepping aside and returning a strike with his Longsword, slicing the burly bandit's pants open.
"Ah!" Pain instantly transferred from the burly bandit's leg to his brain. He screamed as he saw blood pouring out from the rip in his trousers.
The young man thought back to when he dueled with the strongest guy at school, an expression of regret on his face, "You're too weak..."
At that time, he was the one getting beaten, and with every swordsmanship and combat class, he learned something new. Those days were his happiest times, much more interesting than now.
He stepped lightly to one side, avoiding the burly man's desperate attack like floating catkins, then expertly thrust his longsword out, causing the attacker to stagger into the tip of his blade.
"Ah!" Another scream rang out as the burly man staggered back, his hands clutching his chest, looking at the young man before him with horror.
"Sorry... you're... beyond saving." The young man apologized while flicking the blood off his longsword. By the time he'd cleaned his blade and slid the longsword back into the scabbard at his waist, the burly man was already lying on the ground, gasping for air.
He walked over, looked down at the now delirious bandit, and shook his head, "You must be really unlucky to have encountered me."
Then he looked up and saw three girls huddled together not far away, tense, and walked over to them with a smile.
He stood not too far from them, not approaching, and curiously asked, "Why didn't you girls take the opportunity to run away just now? What if I had been a bad guy?"
"Sir, if you could take us from here back to our father, we would pay you a large sum of money," the eldest of the girls said with courage.
The young man nodded, "That sounds really nice."
"So..." Hope flickered across the girl's face.
"I'm just a passerby, helping out was just a small effort, after all, they are bandits, aren't they?" the young man pointed to the bandits' corpses on the ground and said to the girl.
"Are you willing to take us back?" The girl's voice quivered slightly with a touch of surprise.
"Why not? The ladies are so adorable..." The young man walked over to the girls, offering his hand like a true gentleman.
The girl, a bit shy, placed her hand on the young man's, feeling the intense warmth from his palm, which made her heart race and cheeks flush.
Just as she tried to stand, a sharp pain shot through her ankle, causing her to cry out, "Ah!"
"Your ankle might be sprained... you need to apply medicine... sorry, I don't mean to be improper, it's just that we need to check your injury." The young man helped the girl into the carriage, setting her by a chest of gold coins, and bent down to examine her injured ankle.
He carefully pulled out a strip of cloth from his pack and found a small wooden board, meticulously helping the girl secure her ankle, finishing it off with a pretty butterfly knot, "There, that's much better."
"Th-thank you..." The girl was so shy she couldn't even look up as she thanked him.
"Don't move around too much, or it may affect your ability to walk. Once we get back, you should see a professional doctor," the young boy suggested tenderly.
The girl's thoughts were lost in the boy's long fingers, with their touch of calluses. She noticed a beautiful ring on his ring finger with a dandelion on it.
Impulsively forgetting her restraint, the girl introduced herself, "My name is Angela, Angela William, the eldest daughter of Viscount William."
"I'm Lux, unemployed," the young man introduced himself with a smile.
"Your swordsmanship is really good, your movements... are beautiful. Why not seek employment as a guard?" The girl had already started fantasizing about the handsome young man standing guard behind her.
The young man, slightly embarrassed, explained, "I'm traveling, exploring the world. My teacher told me there's so much worth seeing out there, so... I set out."
Hearing that he had the means to travel suggested good family circumstances, and her father might not object... For some reason, the girl thought of her father, but she kept on praising without pausing, "That sounds wonderful..."
Certainly a charmer, the boy said, "Yes, since coming out here, I have indeed seen many beautiful landscapes... like now... your beauty outshines everything around us."
"Really?" The girl felt as if a deer was pounding in her chest, looking down with blushing cheeks as she murmured. Her two sisters eyed their eldest with disdainful glances. They too were charmed by the sunny, handsome boy who was both brave and enticing!
"Why would I lie? Has no one ever mentioned your beauty to you?" The young man looked genuinely puzzled.
"I..." The girl felt as if all the blood in her body had rushed to her face, giving her a sensation of burning heat and making her mind go blank.
See, extra chapter delivered, did Dragon Spirit not keep his promise? Hehehehe.