Following behind his cohort, Jonan walked with weary steps. Along the way, he had been forced to fight most of the beasts and sometimes even humans that blocked their path.
With each battle, he improved.
Where he once struggled to finish an opponent, and now he could dispatch them with greater speed.
However, he found fighting humans far more challenging, as they were quite more cunning than beasts, and had vast array of fighting styles.
His cohort, meanwhile, simply watched him fight, offering no assistance of any kind. The only exception was Elias, who occasionally intervened, not to help, but to critique on Jonan's use of Battle Arts and refine his fighting style.
"Well, you have developed quite the strong physique for an ungraded warrior," Elias remarked, his voice carrying a mix of approval. "You're also grasping the essence of combat quite well, than I could have expected. You've fought beasts, and you've even also faced vile men. But there's still one final lesson left." His lips curled into a menacing smile.
Jonan shivered at the sight. Despite the grueling battles, he was pleased with his progress. He had come to realize that only through real combat could he truly grow stronger.
"Sir Elias," he asked hesitantly, "what's this last lesson?"
Elias sighed with a bitter expression, shaking his head as if a tad disappointed.
"Along this journey, you've had plenty of chances to fight both beasts and men, and I have noticed something, you kill the beasts without hesitation, but when it comes to humans, you hesitate, you leave them alive, believing they will change, and that, boy, is your mistake." His eyes darkened with menacing light. "You must understand sometimes, humans are worse than beasts."
Jonan froze. The weight of Elias's words pressed down on him. What did he mean? Was it truly wrong to show mercy? Those men had tried to rob him, yes but he believed desperation had driven them. He had even asked them to change, and they had sworn they would turn over a new leaf.
Elias sighed again, rubbing his temple. First, he had to deal with that unruly teenager Marla, and now this naïve boy. Why was life so difficult for him?
Edric, who had remained silent until now, watched the exchange intently. His gaze was unreadable. Marla, on the other hand, scoffed, a mocking smirk playing on her lips.
Then, Edric spoke, his voice like stone. "Elias, Marla, we will be hiding from now on." He turned to Jonan. "Boy, you will walk ahead alone. We'll be following you in the meantime."
Jonan hesitated, confused by the sudden instruction. But he nodded, seeing no reason to refuse.
Marla's smirk faltered for a moment. She frowned, clearly irritated by the decision, but she obeyed without protest, soon, the others disappeared into the shadows, leaving Jonan to walk the road alone.
Jonan took a deep breath and pressed forward, his senses sharpened. He had no idea what Edric was planning, but one thing was certain, he had to stay alert. If an enemy appeared, he needed to be ready for any danger.
Walking steadily, Jonan kept his mind sharp, and his senses alert for any anomaly that could occur.
He felt pleased about the fact that they were drawing close to their destination, though he wasn't certain how much farther they had to go, only Elias would know, since he was the one with the map.
The path ahead stretched on, winding through the thick forest, but suddenly he stopped, as he felt slight bloodlust directed at him, a lingering unease that refused to settle.
At first, he tried to ignore it. The road was empty, silent except for the occasional call of a distant bird.
He felt that maybe it was his imagination, yet the discomfort only grew, his instincts, which have now been honed by his battles, screamed at him that something was wrong.
He slowed his pace, walking step by step, scanning his surroundings with careful precision.
The trees stood tall and still, the wind barely whispering through the branches, but there was this unnatural silence that made his skin crawl.
That's when it happened.
A sharp whistle cut through the air, and before he could even react, an arrow shot past him, missing his face by mere inches.
His eyes widened in shock, his body moving to the left by instinct, before his mind could fully process the attack.
He again ducked low, his heart hammering in his chest, as another arrow whizzed toward him from the trees, but this time he rolled to the side, narrowly avoiding its deadly tip.
Bandits, these were the ones hunting him now, he could now see their outline, some stood on trees, while some were on ground attacking him from behind the bushes.
Jonan's grip on his sickles tightened, as figures emerged from behind the bushes to attack him, stepping on his path with wicked grins and weapons drawn to fight.
There were too many bandits to count, at least a dozen, possibly more, all clad in ragged armor and tattered cloaks, yet their eyes gleamed with greed and ferocity.
Jonan exhaled sharply, his mind racing, he had been ambushed before, but not like this, and something about this group felt unsettlingly familiar.
It was then, he recognized them.
Among the bandits were faces he had seen before, men he had once fought and spared, believing they would change their ways. Men who had sworn they would turn over a new leaf, given the chance.
Jonan gritted his teeth as rage twisted inside him, he had let them live in hope that they would turn over a new leaf, and now they had returned, not as reformed men, but as predators, ready to take advantage of his mercy.
"You should've killed us when you had the chance, boy," one of them sneered licking his lips, stepping forward with a cruel smile. "But don't worry, we have prepared a party for you, and look at this, your cohort is not with you, that's even better."
Jonan's jaw tightened. He knew that his cohort would not help him, he had to solve this situation by himself after all of this happened due to his own mistake.
Gritting his teeth, without any hesitation, he lunged forward, slashing his sickles through the nearest enemy's chest.
The man gasped, stumbling back as blood poured from the deep wound.
The others hesitated slightly, only for a moment before attacking all at once, their weapons shimmering in the dim light of the forest.
Jonan moved swiftly, ducking and weaving between strikes. His sickles were an extension of himself, slashing through the air with deadly precision.
He cut down one bandit, then another, his movements fluid and relentless.
He could hear their shouts, their curses, but he didn't stop, every battle had forged him, made him stronger, and now he fought with the desperation of a man who understood that hesitation in this situation only meant death.
But there were too many to count even while attacking his enemies, he also ended up with some injuries.
For every bandit he struck down, two more seemed to have taken their place, they swarmed him like a pack of wolves, and their attacks were relentless.
A sword nicked his arm, another grazed his side, and pain flared, but he gritted his teeth and pushed forward, determined to fight these bandits until his last breath.
Then, suddenly something struck at the back of his head, it was a burly bandit, one of those he had defeated before, looking at the bandit's sinister expression he felt like he was done for.
His vision blurred as the world spun around him, his knees buckled, and before he could recover, rough hands seized him, yanking his sickle from his grip.
He thrashed, struggling against their hold, but he was drained, his strength started to wane from the prolonged fight against multiple enemies.
He had lost, and that too quite miserably.
Cold laughter echoed through the air as the bandits tightened their grip on him, and held him down, one of the men he had spared before stepped in front of him, shaking his head with a mocking expression.
"Mercy, huh?" the man taunted. "Looks like it came back to bite you in the ass, haha, such a waste, what did you think, after beating us up we will let you go, now see the majesty of our Crimson Blooded Mountain Bandits."
Jonan glared at him, his breathing ragged, but he said nothing. He had made a mistake, and now, he had to pay the price, he didn't even know what would happen to him, maybe his cohort would save him.
Why haven't any of them come yet to help him, Jonan thought as his bruised and battered body was ruthlessly dragged by the bandits to their stronghold.
At the same time, hidden atop the trees were Marla, Elias, and Edric, not bearing to see such cruelty on Jonan, Marla took her bow, and ready to shoot the bandits, but Edric stopped her.
Shaking his head, he said, "Let the boy learn his lesson, let him see what this world really is, behind those castles of the great families, has made this boy very naïve, let him understand what cruelty of humans are like."
Marla was annoyed but didn't say anything, as Jonan was dragged ruthlessly by the bandits.