Total Annihilation 

The bandits who had scrambled into the lake, regardless of their strength, all ended up swallowing a few mouthfuls of water. At first, they thought nothing of it, even feeling a smug satisfaction at having escaped the sea of fire, mocking the villagers for their foolishness. To use a fire attack in a valley with such a large lake… what idiots.

But their triumph was short-lived. One by one, the bandits in the water began to feel dizzy, their minds growing foggy and weak. Some of them, after a few feeble splashes, slowly sank beneath the surface.

“Poison! The water is poisoned!”

The bandit leader, being a bit stronger, immediately used his Ki to clear his head, the throbbing pain in his skull temporarily receding. He struck out for the shore with all his might. His men tried to follow, but they lacked his strength. One after another, they lost consciousness midway and sank to the bottom of the lake to drown.

Though the shore was not far, it felt like a thousand-meter peak to the struggling bandits. When they finally reached the bank, they gasped for air, thinking it would clear the fog in their minds. However, the burning wild hemp grass was still releasing a massive amount of hallucinogenic gas into the air. With each desperate breath, they inhaled more of the fumes, and they quickly succumbed to unconsciousness.

Even the bandit leader, with a final, despairing thought of “This is the end,” collapsed to the ground.

The fire, fed by the oil-soaked grass, gradually burned itself out, the once-raging inferno dwindling to a few scattered embers.

Just then, another group of people rushed in from the northern entrance of the valley. Unlike the savage, well-armed bandits, this group was dressed in ragged clothes, their expressions a mixture of fear and caution. The weapons in their hands were a motley assortment of farming tools.

Ard led the villagers into the valley after the fire had subsided. “Peter! Peter!” he shouted, his voice echoing in the quiet, smoky air.

The other villagers joined in the call, but their scattered shouts were met with silence.

Just as Ard’s heart began to sink, Yexi, beside him, tapped his shoulder and pointed to a corner of the valley.

“He’s over there.”

Without a doubt, Ard rushed toward the spot. As he got closer, he could hear a faint voice.

“I’m… here.”

By the light of his torch, Ard saw Peter lying in a corner, covered in blood. A small area at the edge of the valley had been deliberately cleared, a small pocket of safety Ard had planned for him. But even so, Ard knew that Peter’s survival had been a matter of life and death.

“You did well.”

Ard lifted Peter onto his back, his voice filled with praise.

Peter gave a weak smile. “I did not fail you, Lord Ard. And I managed to keep this worthless life. It was worth it!”

Ard smiled. “Your life is not worthless. You are the hero who saved this entire village!”

Tears streamed down the old village chief’s face. “That’s right! You are our hero!”

The villagers behind him raised their torches, their eyes filled with gratitude and admiration as they looked at Peter. They began to chant, their voices rising in a rhythmic chorus. “Hero! Hero! Hero!”

Ard said, his voice full of encouragement, “A true man knows when to bend and when to stand tall. Remember this. Do not look down on yourself again. You have proven with your actions that you are worthy of respect and admiration, not through any so-called power or wealth.”

Peter felt the pain from his wounds fade, a warm current spreading through his heart. He nodded heavily.

“Mm.”

After placing Peter on a makeshift stretcher, Ard directed the villagers to gather the still-unconscious bandits. The villagers’ eyes were filled with hatred and rage as they looked at their fallen tormentors. They clutched their farm tools tightly, wanting nothing more than to strike a few blows. But now was not the time to vent their anger. Ard had more plans in store.

…

The bandit leader didn’t know how long he had been unconscious. He slowly regained a sliver of awareness, but he could only manage to twitch his fingers. Even lifting his eyelids was a struggle.

Then, he heard voices.

“Quick, see if there are any still alive! Kill them all!”

The murderous words jolted the bandit leader’s foggy mind into a state of semi-clarity. But a clear mind did not mean he could control his body. He struggled to move, but it was as if he had no limbs at all.

“A bunch of fools. No wonder the lord wants to get rid of them.”

“Hahaha, that’s right. Just a bunch of pigs who throw their weight around. They really think they’re something.”

“Stop wasting time. Let’s kill them quickly and get our reward from the lord. I hear the lord is being a bit more generous this time. After this is all over, we’ll get a share of the money from their stronghold.”

“The lord is being generous? You know… hehe, right?”

“Well, he gets the meat, we get the soup. Let’s get to it!”

The bandit leader felt someone approaching. Panic and fear began to well up inside him. He felt a hand on his shoulder, and then a low voice whispered, “Don’t move. I’ll get you out of here.”

“Steward Oswald, how are things on your end?”

The owner of the low voice, ‘Steward Oswald’, replied, “No one’s alive. You can go back now. We’ll take care of the bodies.”

“Alright! Let’s go, brothers!”

“Yeah!”

The bandit leader couldn’t see what was happening, but he could hear a group of people leaving.

‘Steward Oswald’ said, “You few, clean up the bodies.”

The bandit leader felt himself being dragged. The exhaustion of being on high alert, combined with the lingering effects of the hallucinogenic gas, was too much. He lost consciousness again.

‘Steward Oswald’, seeing the bandit leader had passed out again, casually tossed him to the ground. The others who had been speaking gathered around. They were, of course, the villagers. It had all been an act.

All the bandits, except for the leader, had been buried alive. Even with their rage, few of the villagers had the stomach to kill a man, to see blood. A few of the hot-blooded young men had killed a couple of the bandits, but had then collapsed to the ground, unable to strike again. They were, after all, just simple farmers.

Ard understood this. But he couldn’t let these ruthless killers go, nor could he hand them over to the local authorities; that would be like releasing a tiger back into the mountains. So, he had followed Sister Seleu’s example and had all the bandits, dead or alive, buried as if they were dead. The unconscious bandits were no different from corpses anyway. And to be sure, for any who might have a blessing like Reiss’s, Ard had placed a cloth soaked in hemp oil over their noses. They would suffocate one way or another.

After dealing with them, Ard had fed the bandit leader a small amount of an antidote for the wild hemp grass—it was just the juice of the leaves—enough for him to regain a sliver of consciousness, but not enough to be able to move. And then came the play the bandit leader had heard.

The village chief said with concern, “Savior, isn’t this too dangerous? To go deep into the bandits’ lair.”

“It must be done,” Ard said calmly. “Otherwise, when they find out they’ve suffered such heavy losses in a small village like this, they will be relentless in their revenge. And as I’ve said before, evil must be eradicated completely. My ambitions are great.”

Throughout the day, Ard had been questioning the old village chief about the bandits and the region. Though the chief didn’t get out much, his age had given him a considerable amount of knowledge. From the chief’s intelligence, Ard had deduced that the number of bandits was far greater than he had imagined, likely over a hundred. Simply wiping out this one wave was not enough; in fact, it had made the situation even more dangerous. If before, the villagers had a chance to survive by lying low, now, that chance was gone.

Of course, Ard would not tell this to the jubilant villagers, who thought their troubles were over. They had already done all they could. The rest was beyond their power.

Ard grabbed the unconscious bandit leader and threw him onto a drake. He then mounted the beast himself. Yexi had already removed all of his weighted gear beforehand. For the first time in a month, Ard finally got to enjoy the feeling of riding a top-tier drake.

He gently stroked the drake’s head, his voice filled with emotion. “Brother, I’m finally riding you.”

The intelligent drake gave him a look of utter contempt, wounding Ard’s heart once again.

Yexi also mounted her own drake.

“Village Chief, and everyone, farewell for now.” Ard looked at the villagers who had come to see them off and waved.

“Farewell, savior! May you live a thousand years!”

“Take care, savior!”

“…”

The villagers offered their most sincere blessings with their simple, heartfelt words.

Ard spurred his drake on and rode off without looking back, Yexi following behind.

As they rode, Ard looked at Yexi beside him and smiled. “I thought you’d keep your distance from me for a while because of the bet.”

“A foolish thought,” Yexi said, lightly brushing a strand of hair from her face. “That was just a little wager to pass the time. The Divine Contract is the premise for all my actions. If you were to accidentally get yourself killed over that little bet, wouldn’t I be at a great loss?”

Ard chuckled. “It’s a great relief that you’re so reasonable, Yexi. Well, that’s one of your most charming points. Let’s say… one-tenth of your charm.”

“Heh, let me guess. The other nine-tenths are all in my body?”

“Ahem.” Ard coughed. “Don’t say that. I’m not that shallow.”

“Is that so?” Yexi said, her voice dripping with sarcasm. “Then please explain why you were sleeping on the floor last night. Was the bed uncomfortable, or have you just gotten used to sleeping in a bag?”

“…” Ard gave an awkward smile. “I was just thinking of the hardships of others while in the comfort of a warm bed. If I get too used to sleeping in a bed, I’ll become picky when I have to use a sleeping bag. It’s not good for my training, okay.”

Yexi rolled her eyes at him. Ard just shrugged in response.

The two of them rode off into the distance.