Chapter 122: Chapter122-A fight with Robbers

But... While most people might have reacted differently, I felt uneasy about the situation. Why? Even though he was begging desperately and crying with tears streaming down his face, something seemed off to me. It felt as if his cries and the entire scene were staged, like he was putting on an act. The boar also just stood there for two whole minutes without moving. If it had shifted or done anything, I might have thought differently. To clear up my doubts, I quickly used my appraisal skill to check the boar's rank. **Savant Boar** Height: About 3 feet tall at the shoulder. Rank: Mid lesser-rank What? It's just a lesser-rank monster... How weak is that guy that he can't even defeat a lesser-rank monster? I checked the details of the injured person... Name: Rowen Dall Age: 28 ... Rank: Iron-Rank Hunter Probability: 80% chance of reaching Gold-Rank by age 30 Wait, his rank? Isn't he higher than the monster? So, that's why I felt something was off... I quickly looked around to scany surroundings. I was in a remote area, with a heavy silence and no other hunters in sight... I realized the situation was bit too dangerous than I first thought. The people around were probably robbers or hunter killers. Since their ranks were low, robbers seemed more likely... I was sure there were more people hiding nearby, maybe even close to where I was standing. This meant I was surrounded... Their ranks were likely low since high-rank hunter killers usually operate solo, whether for missions or for pleasure. Even so, my situation wasn't great since I didn't know exactly how many there were, but I didn't think I was in immediate danger of dying. After so many battles in the illusion world, my combat skills had sharpened considerably. I felt a surge of confidence that if things escalated, I could rely on my dash skill to kill them off... But... "Fuck." Though, I would prefer not to use it... I quickly turned around and began walking away from the area. Despite my efforts to leave, I knew they wouldn't let me go easily. I had only walked a few meters when I heard a rustling above me. Hmm? Who? Suddenly, a figure dropped from a nearby tree branch and landed directly in front of me. The man who appeared was strikingly handsome, with white hair that framed his solid, muscular build. He grinned at me, a cocky confidence in his eyes. "Hey, where do you think you're going without my permission?" he asked, his tone casual, almost mocking. As soon as he finished speaking, five more men appeared out of nowhere, surrounding me. They were all armed with swords, smiling confidently. The man with white hair, who seemed to be the leader, smirked and said, "Now, as you can see, there's no escape. You're surrounded. Yeah, you guessed itwe're robbers, or maybe you'd call us hunter looters. So, now that I've introduced myself, I'm sure you know what we're after." His words hung in the air... I knew exactly what he meantmy belongings, my gear, everything I had, was what they were after. I shifted my focus and used my appraisal skill to check each of their ranks. After the interface appeared and I reviewed their ranks, I sighed in relief. How lucky could I be today? Why? Because all of them were either peak Iron rank or early Iron rank. There was a difference of at least one or two sub-ranks between us. Yet these cocky idiots were so sure they could defeat me easily. I don't understand how they can be so reckless and not think things through. Ugh... My grandfather used to say, "If you're not experienced in something, don't let your opponent see that you're confident about it." And it's obvious to me now that these guys are inexperienced and probably think that robbing hunters is easier than hunting monsters. Anyway, I decided to stay quiet and wait for the right moment to strike. Yeah, I planned a surprise attack. While I could fight them head-on and likely win, a surprise attack seemed like it might make things easiermaybe even let me take them all down at once. But still... With their ranks, they should have tried to rob in a safer area. Why are they here? Maybe they didn't find anyone to rob there and decided to come here because not many hunters hunt in safer areas. One of the robbers beside the white-haired guyBron, as he seemed to be calledchimed in with a laugh, "Bron, what are you talking about? We're robbers, not tax collectors. We're supposed to steal people's stuff, not ask nicely for it!" Another one of the group nodded, scratching his head as if puzzled by Bron's approach. "Yeah, that's true, Bron. I think he's got a point." The group burst into laughter, but there was no warmth in it. It was the kind of laughter that would send chills down anyone's spinebut not mine. I tightened my grip on the handles of my daggers, getting ready for my next move. Bron's eyes narrowed as he noticed my stance, the laughter dying down. "What's the matter?" he taunted, stepping closer. "You're not thinking of fighting, are you? That wouldn't end well for you." I asked, "What makes you think that wouldn't work for me?" He replied, "Hey guys, check this shit out. He actually thinks he can beat us all. Even if you were a gold ranker, I don't think you could do-" When Bron's mocking words filled the clearing, I saw my chance. I had been waiting for this moment, and now it was time to act. Quickly and smoothly, I drew my daggers. The first target was the closest robber, a bulky guy with a scar on his cheek. I chose him because he was particularly vulnerable. He was laughing crazily, his eyes nearly closed, and his sword was sheathed. He had put it inside for some reason. I moved swiftly toward him, and his surprise was almost comical. He asked, "How did you get here so fast?" I replied, "That's none of your business." My daggers flashed in the afternoon sun, and with a quick stab, I drove my right-hand dagger into his stomach. He shouted, "No" He tried to draw his weapon, but it was too late. "Ueghhh!" He collapsed to the ground, gasping, unable to cry out due to the sudden pain. One down, next one... Before the others could react, I spun around and targeted another robber who was close by, trying to defend himself with a sword... He shouted, "No, I'm not dying so easily." I replied, "You are." I aimed for his stomach with my right-hand dagger but nearly missed as he almost successfully blocked the attack. His spoken words were on the verge of coming true. But... Then I remembered, 'Oh, I have another dagger.' Using my left-hand dagger, I aimed for his throat. As my blades approached, his eyes widened in surprise, clearly not expecting the move. The cut was swift and silent, slicing through his throat. His eyes filled with shock, but he had no chance to make a sound before collapsing to the ground, his life ending instantly. "In the next life, think before you speak," I said, glancing at the dead robber. Then I turned to the other robbers with their boss. "Howhow did you do all this? No, how are you so strong? He said you were just an Iron ranker!" Bron shouted. His words immediately grabbed my attention. Huh? So there are others involved... Interesting... It seemed like this was a setup against me. Someone must have given them my details. But... Wait! They came just to rob me? That doesn't make sense. "Me? An Iron ranker? Who told you that?" I was eager to find out who had given them my information. For a moment, it looked like he was about to spill the beans but then stopped himself and shouted. "Guys, kill him." One of them, a lanky fellow with a nervous twitch, swung wildly with his sword. I easily dodged his attacks; his swordplay wasn't as sharp as I expected. Or maybe it was decent... I couldn't tell for sure, but it didn't seem as skilled as fighters like Drek or Mickey. Their fighting style was on a completely different level. After dodging most of his strikes, I decided to stop messing around and lunged forward, stabbing him in the chest and ending it all. "Sorry, Lackey, but I need to finish this first before I can talk to your boss." He staggered back and fell to the ground, clutching his chest and, shouted for one last time... "My-Argggghh!" I had little time to react as the two robbers closed in from both sides, aiming to catch me off guard and take me down. But... They failed. I swiftly shifted my weight and spun, narrowly avoiding their initial strikes. The attacker on my left brought his sword down, targeting my shoulder. I twisted aside, blocking his blade with mine. As his sword slid off, I seized the opening and drove my dagger into his side. He grunted, staggering back, but I was already on the move. Before the first attacker could regain his footing, I sidestepped and pivoted, focusing on the second attacker. His sword slashed through the spot where I had been, but I was already behind him. I drove my left-hand dagger into his ribs. He gasped, dropping his sword as he collapsed, clutching his wound. The first attacker, now recovering from my initial strike, turned back toward me with desperation in his eyes. I lunged forward, pretending to aim high. As he raised his sword to block, I smoothly struck low with my dagger, slashing through his hamstring. "No, let meeeeeeee-" He fell, screaming in pain, and I quickly finished him off with a stab to his throat... "Shut up, you're too loud." I felt irritated by all the pleas for mercy. After taking out the lackeys, I scanned the surroundings... But, I couldn't properly do it as because the system notifications kept appearing nonstop infront of my vision disturbing me from scanning anything... With no choice, I opened them to see... (Congratulations, Host! 5 Healing Potions (Iron) have been added to your inventory!) (Congratulations, Host! 50 Essences from Humans have been added to your Character Profile!) (Congratulations, Host! 5 Human Cores (Iron) have been added to your inventory!) So, with the essences from the wives, rabbits, and now these guys, I had accumulated a total of 300 essences. Hmm... Not bad... After a moment of checking my system, I turned my attention to the last remaining survivor. With only Bron left, the clearing was quiet... Yet, the air was still thick with the scent of blood... The once-confident leader now stared at the dead bodies of his men in shock... His bravado was gone, replaced by fear. He backed away, his smug grin turning into a desperate expression. He said, "How? How can you do all of this so quickly? You're a monster, a pure monster." With that, he turned and tried to flee but stumbled and fell to the ground. I called out in his ascent, "Yo, where do you think you're going without my permission?" As I walked toward him, both of my bloody daggers still in my hand... He immediately dropped to his knees, his hands raised in a pleading gesture. "Wait! Wait, please!" he cried, his voice cracking with panic. "II'll give you everything! Just let me go! I didn't mean any of thisplease!" I paused, observing his fear take hold. The cockiness he had earlier was now replaced with genuine terror as he pleaded for his life. The scene was almost pathetic, a sharp contrast from the arrogance he showed just moments before. His frantic begging showed how quickly confidence can fall apart when faced with real danger... "Hmmm, that's an interesting offer, but what exactly do you have that might make me reconsider finishing you off?" I asked. Normally, it might be a tempting deal, but only if the person standing before me was a Platinum ranker instead of Iron... For a moment, I saw a flicker of hope in his eyes as he nervously said, "I... I have something that could change your mind." I was intrigued when he mentioned something valuable. "Show me!" I demanded. He hesitated before saying, "But first... you have to make a blood oath that you'll let me go unharmed. Only then will I show you." A blood oath... I wasn't keen on that, but if the "thing" he had was valuable, it could be worth it. "Fine, but I'll only make a blood oath after you show me the item," I said. "Okay!" he agreed, relief evident in his voice. He then pulled out a badge with a large capital "C" on it and said, "This is one of the badges belonging to the rebels." I responded bluntly, "Prove it." I wasn't going to trust him easily, especially with all the fake rebel badges floating around in the market. "Alright," he said, clearly nervous. He squeezed the badge, and to my surprise, red liquid began to drip from it. The more he squeezed, the more the red liquid flowed out... The red liquid was indeed blood, and it came from a fallen rebel. Rebel badges are created by a special monster who infuses them with a unique substance. When a rebel dies, some of their blood gets absorbed into the badge. It's believed that when this happens, the badge sends a signal to its creator, notifying them of the rebel's death. Bron went on, "See that blood? It proves this is real, and it belonged to one of the rebel Captains." Oh, and the rebels have a ranking system among them. The ranks are as follows: 1) Lieutenant 2) Captain 3) Major 4) Commander 5) General 6) Warlord 7) Lord Marshal Lieutenant is the lowest rank, while Lord Marshal is the highest. I don't know much about the other ranks, but everyone knows that there are two Lord Marshalsone leads TERROR, and the other leads ECLIPSE. Yeah... Two leaders... There are also 12 Warlords in total, with six from each organization. Returning to the issue at hand, I said, "You're right about the badge, and yes, I do want it, but..."