Chapter 166 - 158

"That is the stupidest thing I've ever heard," Rhea sneered. "Even if you were good enough to defeat us, which I sincerely doubt, you would have the entirety of Floria after you just because Nick is the Captain's son! And Lord Eugene would wipe the floor with you." Normally, Nick wouldn't advocate revealing that much, especially to bandits. But since he had already decided they wouldn't be walking out of here, he didn't mind it so much. Instantly, the three bandits became warier, yet a greedy glint sparkled in their eyes. "We really struck big for once. After that series of disasters, I thought we were cursed, but it seems our luck is finally changing." The second man smiled widely, revealing his remarkably healthy teeth. Nick would have expected them to be in much worse shape, but he supposed a high CON took care of that, as it did most inconveniences. Even bandits could avoid tooth decay here, though they remained dirty and smelly. In fact, a waft of air drifted closer to them, and he redirected away without blinking, uninterested in discovering just how bad they stank. Surprisingly, the big man noticed, and for the first time, Nick saw a flicker of doubt cross his expression before it was washed away by arrogance. So he's not just dumb muscle. He must either possess a sensory skill fine enough to notice such a minor shift or have a wind affinity. He almost hoped it would be the latter. Fighting against someone else who could wield wind magic would surely broaden his horizons, but a quick check revealed that no manipulation was going on around him. If he was a wind mage, he was quite a poor one. Still, I should expect him to react quickly. "This is even stupider because Floria is an adventuring town! You'll just be found by one of them anyway!" Rhea continued, and Nick would have told her that it was useless to reason with them if he hadn't felt the hand she was wildly gesturing with reach into her pouch and grip something. At the same time, a dozen vines started slithering their way, and finally, the bandits' gambit became clear. The initial intimidation was meant to keep their attention focused on the three men and not on the plants preparing to disable them before a fight could even break out. Nick couldn't exactly trace the spell back to the caster, but something told him it didn't originate from the big man. The first of the three seemed younger and less experienced, but that didn't mean much, as Nick himself was proof that youth wasn't necessarily a limitation on power. The bandit's outfit screamed farmer, so he began to piece a few things together. The big one will likely attack directly just before the vines strike. This way, even if we notice, our attention will be divided, raising the chance of being hit dramatically. It's quite practiced. This must not be their first time. Unfortunately for them, Nick had no intention of letting them go that far. A twist of his will made several [Wind Blasts] materialize above them, and just as the big man realized the gig was up and moved to react, he unleashed them. A staccato of explosions followed as the wind howled after being released, sending chunks of the stone bridge into the river. Simultaneously, the vines sprang into motion, but Nick didn't bother doing anything besides raising a [Force Barrier] around them. To the girls' credit, they reacted without hesitation. Fire bloomed around them, incinerating the vines as they bounced off the shield, and Rhea threw with all her might. A purple vial soared through the air before vanishing into the cloud of smoke that obscured the bridge. A flash of the same color followed, and screams began to echo. "Graaaaah!" An angry shout echoed, and a pulse of power swept the dust away, revealing their enemies. The first bandit, whom Nick suspected of having sent the vines, was on his hands and knees, violently retching and covered in purple. The second had been hit only lightly but suffered the most from the [Wind Blasts], with one leg bent the wrong way as he tried to crawl away from the puddle of smoking liquid. The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. The last man, however, was not yet out of the fight; instead, he jumped over the others. His skin rippled, becoming stone-like, and his eyes promised murder. He barreled their way, closing in much faster than Nick would have expected from such a man of his size, yet that didn't deter him. [Spark] ignited around his hand, and just as the man drew back his fist, he released it. A bolt of lightning struck the man simultaneously with a blue fireball, sending him flying back, roaring in pain as his muscles locked up and his stone skin melted. Nick quickly glanced at Elia in surprise, but found only grim determination there. This is very different from the last time we were attacked, he thought, before putting the observation aside. First finish the battle, then reminisce. Despite the twin hits, the man wasn't finished yet. He scrambled up remarkably quickly and demonstrated even more endurance by resuming his attack as if nothing had happened. This time, though, when he got close enough to the shield, a chunk of stone erupted from the ground. Nick braced even as he spun several more [Wind Blasts] into existence. [Vacuum Sphere] would surely end the fight, but it would also create a terribly gory sight. He was confident they could win without adding to the distress the girls would feel. Surprisingly, the stone didn't shoot directly at the shield, like he'd seen the moles do, but instead moved between them and the bandit. For a moment, it seemed as though the man was about to crash into it, but then the rock melted, enveloping him from head to toe, and he was upon them. The fist that struck the shield was encased in armor, and it hit with the power of a freight train. Nick felt his spell crack under the incredible strength that smashed into a single point, and he reacted instinctively, empowering and unleashing all his prepared [Wind Blasts] at once. The bandit was blown away once more, roaring in pain as chunks were ripped from him, revealing that his limbs were made entirely of stone. Nick didn't stop there, though; that had been far too close, and he was feeling the adrenaline pumping. Before the brute's boots hit ground, Nick's forefinger jabbed forward and a [Jet Stream] pierced him clean through, drilling bridge, then river, in a straight line. Water geysered behind him. The bandit let out a strangled gurgle, but even with a hole where his heart should have been, he still managed to pick himself up. Stone sluiced from the broken parapet into his wounds, patching holes, reshaping limbs. But now Nick was no longer playing around. With dark eyes, he growled as a dozen spells spun into being, absorbing vast amounts of the surrounding air. His barrage of [Jet Streams] exploded into the man, putting him back down and carving chunks out, but Nick wasn't done. Wind howled as he lifted a hand, keeping his eyes directly on the downed, broken figure. Enough. Air compressed with a tortured whine—Nick's palm birthed a sphere that consumed every whisper of wind around it. He flung it with bared teeth. He doubled the [Force Shield] just in time. The [Vacuum Sphere] touched stone, and a hurricane erupted. The barrier trembled under gale claws; the girls shouted, half in awe, half in alarm. Nick kept his gaze locked on the maelstrom's heart. When silence at last returned, a crater yawned where the bridge had been. Nothing moved inside. He only relaxed when he heard the System's chime. <table border="1" class="chapter-table" style="border-collapse: collapse"> <tbody> <tr> <td style="width: 99.0753%"> <p><strong>CONGRATULATIONS!</strong></p> <p><strong>You have contributed to the defeat of [Robert Stonefist - Lv. 42]</strong></p> <p><strong>You have contributed to the defeat of [Al the farmhand - Lv. 26]</strong></p> <p><strong>You have contributed to the defeat of [Jory - Lv 29]</strong></p> <p><strong>+89.000 Exp</strong></p> </td> </tr> </tbody> </table> Breathing heavily, Nick squeezed his eyes. Fuck, that was close. He shook his head, utilizing the Stalking Gait to regain some sense of control. He knew he had freaked out. Despite having been through entire battles in the dungeon where his life was far more at risk than today, he had nearly lost control. Opening his eyes, he saw the results of his fury. A gaping crater was now in place of the stone bridge, with water slowly trickling in. Of the three men, only small bloody chunks remained, aside from the leader, who had taken the brunt of his magic directly and who had been reduced to nothingness. "Are—are you ok?" A soft voice asked, and Nick turned, expecting to see two shocked, scared faces. Instead, he found only worry. Elia stared at him like a little animal that needed comfort, while Rhea bit her lip, clenching and unclenching her hands. "Sorry," she eventually said. "I was too slow, and you had to handle them all." Nick blinked, not having expected that. Elia whirled around. "What?! No, I'm the one who froze. I saw those two go down and did nothing else while the other attacked us!" Lifting his hands, Nick tried to make sense of what they were saying. "Wait, you're not mad at me?" he asked. Rhea shot him a look. "Why would we be mad? You're the only one who did something. I tossed a nausea potion and gawked!" A half-hysterical laugh escaped him. "I'm the one who's supposed to protect you," he murmured, still off balance. That only seemed to make the two girls even more annoyed. "We're supposed to be a team!" Elia complained. "But we were so slow that you had to deal with everything alone. I only had the time to shoot one fireball." "To be fair," he said, still blinking, "that guy was much stronger than what should be found around these parts. You could have handled the other two easily on your own, but it's not easy for me to limit the radius of my [Vacuum Sphere]." "Aaargh!" Rhea shook a fist at the sky. "We have so much catching up to do." Tension seeped from Nick's shoulders. He'd anticipated horror in their eyes; instead, he found determination. The relief felt like sinking into a hot bath. He walked to the crater's lip. The gap was too wide for a new bridge and too small for a lake. He could rebuild the banks with Minor Elemental Manipulation—but that would take several hours. It would be better to shift the channel and mimic natural erosion, solving the problem without attempting masonry. Yeah, I can flatten the grass and make it look like there is a widening. I think I even remember the bridge's style. This shouldn't take too long… "Hey, you know we are ok, right?" Rhea murmured as she came to a stop next to him. "Death is never pretty, but it was inevitable after they said they would kidnap and sell us." Nick grimaced. He had wanted to shield them from that ugly reality, just as he had in the Green Ocean. It was childish, really. Their mission wasn't a lark; a rebellion loomed, and lives hung in the balance. Pretending otherwise helped no one. "I know," he said eventually. It hadn't been the girls who were too childish. It was me. I need to take this more seriously. Yes, I'm strong now, but that doesn't mean I'll always be able to brute-force obstacles. I need to keep my head in the game. Fortunately, in this instance, they avoided any real damage. He knelt, pressed a palm to the shattered stone, and began coaxing earth to mend. Next time, I'll try to coordinate the fight from behind. This is a good opportunity for the girls to fight in a controlled environment.