Into the Bandit’s Den 

On a flat clearing high in the mountains, the captured bandit leader was sleeping soundly. A sudden splash of icy water jolted him awake.

“Which bastard dares to disturb my sleep?!” he roared.

“Heh. A moment ago, your life was hanging by a thread, yet you can still sleep so soundly. You truly are a bunch of useless potato sacks.”

A mocking voice drifted over. The bandit leader was about to fly into a rage, but the voice sounded vaguely familiar. As the fog of sleep cleared, the memories of the previous night came rushing back like a tidal wave.

A look of pure terror spread across his face. He frantically checked his body, making sure he still had all his limbs. Only then did he look for the source of the voice. He saw the young man and finally, reluctantly, placed the sound.

“Steward… Steward Oswald?” he asked tentatively.

‘Steward Oswald’ stood with his hands behind his back, looking down at the bandit leader. “So you haven’t slept yourself to death. Get up.”

The bandit leader scrambled to his feet, his eyes wary. “Who are you?!”

‘Steward Oswald’ said flatly, “You don’t have the right to know who I am. Take me to your Boss man (a common term for a bandit chieftain). I have important business to discuss with him.”

“And who do you think you are?!” the bandit leader began to retort, but then his eyes fell on the peerless, silver-haired, golden-eyed beauty standing beside ‘Steward Oswald’. Lust immediately clouded his judgment. “If you give me the woman beside you… Whoa!”

Before he could finish his sentence, Yexi shot him a single, fleeting glance. In that instant, he felt as if he had been plunged into a sea of blood and a mountain of blades. A bone-deep chill seized him, and his legs gave out, sending him sprawling to the ground.

‘Steward Oswald’ sneered. “Your life is on the line, and you still have the mind to think about women?” He knelt, grabbing the bandit leader by the collar, his eyes as cold as ice. “You haven’t forgotten what happened last night, have you?”

The bandit leader’s mind was already in turmoil. The memory of the burning and suffocation from the night before sent a violent shiver through him. He shook his head frantically.

“You don’t want it to repeat again, do you?”

The terrified bandit leader stammered, “No, no, I don’t!”

“Then take me to your Boss man. I can tell you who is plotting against you.”

“Yes, yes, of course.” The bandit leader was a classic bully, preying on the weak and fearing the strong. He had only reached his position through a bit of brute force. Faced with Ard’s preemptive strike and dominant presence, he was now completely under his control.

With the bandit leader as their guide, Ard and Yexi made their way toward the bandits’ headquarters. They stopped at the foot of a place called Sunstone Peak.

Ard raised an eyebrow. “Why have we stopped?”

The bandit leader, who had been thoroughly cowed by Ard’s combination of threats and promises along the way, was now completely obedient. “This is the entrance to the stronghold,” he said hastily. “From here, one of our own must lead the way and give the secret signals to proceed.”

Ard looked up at the complex, treacherous terrain of Sunstone Peak and the heavily fortified positions hidden among the rocks. His confidence in his plan grew.

“It seems your Boss man is a man of some vision,” Ard commented.

“Of course! Our Boss man built this place up from nothing…”

Before the bandit leader could finish his boast, Ard cut him off.

“A pity this is as far as he’ll ever get. A self-made prison.”

The bandit leader shot Ard an angry look, but he had already been tamed. He knew Ard was a classic smiling tiger and could only swallow his anger.

“Don’t be angry. I’m here to let your Boss man return to the deep mountains. Take me in.”

The bandit leader nodded meekly and began to give a series of signals along the path. The so-called signals were imitations of various animal calls at different frequencies. Ard counted at least ten before he finally saw the stronghold, cleverly hidden in the mountainside. Along the way, he had only been able to detect the faintest of movements after each signal was given.

This bandit chieftain is a talented man, Ard thought with a flicker of admiration, and a growing sense of satisfaction. The smarter and more suspicious this bandit chieftain was, within reason, the better for his plan.

At the gate of the stronghold, the bandit leader was still communicating with the guards.

“Patch, how did a leader like you end up as a scout dog?! Haha!”

“Well, well, the little lady behind you is quite a looker! A gift for the Boss man?!”

Yexi was unfazed by the crude remarks, but Ard felt a flicker of annoyance. He quickly suppressed it. If his plan succeeded, they would all be dead men soon. There was no need to be jealous of the dead.

“Shut your damn mouths!” Patch shouted. “Open the gate! I’m bringing these two honored guests to see the Boss man! Someone is plotting against our stronghold! All of my men are dead!”

Hearing this, the expressions of the guards on the wall changed. They immediately opened the gate and sent someone to report to their boss.

For a group of bandits, the defenses within the stronghold were impressively strict.

Following Patch, Ard and Yexi arrived at a large hall. On a high platform at the far end sat a massive, powerfully built man. Ard noticed that, unlike an ordinary person, a single horn grew from his forehead. There should have been a pair, but the right one seemed to have been cut off.

An Ogre? Ard guessed. The Ogre race was a powerful one from the great northern plains of this world, known for their incredible strength, with some of their warriors even able to wrestle with dragons.

The human and Ogre races were originally hostile. Ogres are born with formidable combat strength but are unskilled in agriculture. When the extreme cold came and hunting could no longer sustain them, they would invade the south, both to cull their own numbers and to feed those who survived.

But this primitive method of “sustaining war with war” became unsustainable as their population dwindled. At the same time, a generation of talented heroes rose among the humans, who began to push the Ogres back.

Later, an Ogre sage appeared. He secretly lived among humans, learning the arts of animal husbandry and mining, and brought these methods back to his people. He taught them to trade tamed beasts and minerals with humans and other races, allowing them to purchase food and end their constant wars. This was how the Ogre race was gradually accepted by the other races, and now their figures can be seen all over the world.

An Ogre’s horn is a symbol of their power. To lose one means a great loss of combat strength, a detail that did not escape Ard’s notice.

Under the hostile glares of the assembled bandits, Ard and Yexi walked into the hall with calm expressions, showing no signs of fear. Ard even looked around with a hint of interest.

After entering the hall, Ard did not speak. The Ogre chieftain, seated on a large, tiger-skin-draped chair, did not question him either. Instead, he addressed Patch, his voice a low rumble. “You lost so many of our brothers, and you still have the gut to come back alive?!”

Patch was clearly terrified of the chieftain. He fell to his knees, crying, “Boss man, it’s not my fault our brothers died! Who would have thought we’d be tricked while trying to bully a bunch of peasants! I didn’t come back because I’m afraid of death! It’s because of your past kindness to me that I came back to deliver an important message!”

The Boss man’s voice was like thunder. “What important message?”

“Someone is plotting against our Sunstone Stronghold! My brothers were killed by their scheme! Those villagers were just bait!”

“What?!”

Patch’s words were like water thrown into a pot of boiling oil. The entire hall erupted.

“Nonsense! Who in this domain would have the guts to do that?!”

“Patch, are you just making excuses for getting beaten by a bunch of peasants?!”

“…”

The hall was in an uproar, but all the accusations were directed at Patch.

He kneeled, shouting, “No, no! It’s true, someone set me up! I was knocked out, but I could still hear! I heard the people who killed our brothers say things like ‘use them’, ‘the lord’, ‘get rid of the stronghold’, and ‘get the reward’!”

Hearing these words, the Boss man’s pupils contracted. He used his Ki and roared, “All of you, shut up!” The force of his shout sent a wave of energy through the hall, knocking the unprepared bandits off their feet. Patch was so terrified he wet himself.

The Boss man’s gaze fell on Ard and Yexi, who were still standing tall and unshaken. If Ard had swayed slightly, Yexi was as steady as a mountain. The massive roar and the wave of energy hadn’t affected her in the slightest. A deep sense of dread filled the Boss man. This woman’s strength was definitely not inferior to his own.

The Boss man didn’t know that his every reaction was being observed by Ard. Ard glanced at Yexi, a plan forming in his mind.

Ignoring his pathetic subordinates, the Boss man stood up and slowly walked down from his platform. He came to stand before Patch and lifted him up as if he were a small chick.

“Is what you said true?” he asked, his voice a low growl.

Staring at the Boss man’s massive form so close to him, and hearing his thunderous question, Patch was at a loss for words. “It’s true, boss! I wouldn’t dare lie to you, not in a million years! The two honored guests behind me, yes, these two, they saved me! They told me to bring them here! They know who’s plotting against us! Please, save me!”

“Hmph!” The Boss man tossed Patch aside and looked down at Ard and Yexi, his presence a heavy, oppressive weight. “Are you the ones spreading these rumors?!” he snarled.

Ard looked up at the mountain of a man before him and chuckled softly. “Whether they are rumors or not is for you to judge, Boss man. But before you’ve determined we are liars, you should treat us as guests. It’s a bit rude to make your guests look up at you, don’t you think?”

Seeing that his intimidation had no effect on them, the Boss man’s brow furrowed. He waved a hand. “Bring me two chairs! And a pot of boiling oil!”

“Yes, sir.”

A moment later, two chairs were placed beside Ard and Yexi. At the same time, a large cauldron, filled with boiling oil, was set before them over a roaring fire. The Boss man had a large piece of raw meat placed next to it, then sat back down on his throne. He said coldly, “If what you two have to say is to my liking, I will be more than happy to entertain you. If not… heh, I wonder what will be cooking in this pot.”