Bandit Branch Leader?

The moment they entered the wide space, all of the bandits loosed their arrows and bolts. All of the Knights and Kyle, who stood with their shields raised, immediately activated a Shield Weapon Art that cast a wide barrier that extended from their shields.

The arrows and bolts uselessly bounced off the bulwark; none of the attacks were performed by an Intermediate Archer. Mateo scanned the opposition and was able to spot the Covert Bandit Captain, who did not even bother to hide this time. Next to him was another bandit whose appearance was a step above the rest.

Neither of the two joined in the bombardment; instead, they were stood in the back, observing the intruders. Mateo frowned while he studied the two. While the Covert Bandit Captain who ran earlier was clearly frightened despite the all out attack, the Bandit Branch Leader expressed himself with looks of disgust. He was not afraid though.

Even while under heavy fire, the company of knights kept marching into the room under the protection of the barrier. Even as they reached the first line of bandits, the Leader gave no command to retreat. Was there no escape route?

Mateo couldn’t help but wanted to test the Bandit Leader and raised his bow with an arrow nocked. As he was drawing back the string his eyes widened, right before he fired he changed his target. The arrow was loosed, but instead of flying towards the Bandit Leader, it targeted the Covert Bandit Captain.

The man’s eyes widened, pure fear visible for all to see. He had already witnessed what an arrow from this particular archer was capable of. Fortunately for him, this was just a normal arrow and not the Null Impact that had ended his companion’s life.

Still, this was an attack from a Knight Captain level archer, not something that could be ignored. The Bandit Captain raised his dagger and sliced through the arrow and positioned himself behind some cover. The Bandit Leader though was still standing out in the open, completely at the mercy of Mateo’s arrows.

Instead of going for the obvious choice, Mateo continued to fire at the Bandit Captain. The poor bandit could only turtle up behind the overturned table, wondering what he had done to provoke this archer.

Mateo’s party glanced his way with raised eyebrows. Why was he playing around with this bandit, otherwise how else could a wooden table not shatter upon impact from his arrows.

“I’m low on mana. I’m saving enough for a Null Impact.”

Anthony nodded in understanding, Null Impact was not a Weapon Art that could be used anytime you wanted to. Not only was it the Intermediate Weapon Art with some of the deadliest might, but its mana cost was nothing to sneeze at. It was already a surprise to hear that the newly minted Knight Captain could use it twice in a single day.

Throughout the entire fight, Mateo may have been continuously attacking the Covert Bandit Captain, but his eyes never left the figure of the Bandit Leader. Finally, the moment he had been waiting for arrived. The target of his focus pressed on something he had been holding in his grasp the entire time.

The next moment gas started to fill the entire chamber. No one was spared, neither the Knights, students, or even the Bandits. There were only two people prepared for this moment. The first was obviously the one behind this sudden chemical assault, the Bandit Leader. The second one though.

“He’s making a run for it, I’m chasing after him.”

“Hero, wait! It’s too dangerous!”

It was Mateo who sprang forth, leaving the safety provided by the Shield Knights. Under the cover of the gas he was able to weave through the bandits and overturned furniture. He ignored the Bandit Captain he had been firing upon this entire time and veered towards an opening in the wall that had not been there previously.

As he ran along the path that had been hidden away he heard the opening behind him close up. Once it was fully closed Mateo’s pace suddenly went from a full on sprint to a leisurely walk, all the urgency on his face vanished like it was never there.

“I, Demon Lieutenant Tilch, greet the Great King's Agent.”

The one who stood before him and welcomed him with such warmth was the very Bandit Leader that had fled just moments ago. Even after hearing the introduction Mateo couldn’t help but still be shocked. Yes, the Bandit Branch Leader was in fact a demon, and a Demon Lieutenant no less.

However, the true nature of Tilch had already been revealed to Mateo when he first aimed his bow at him. When he was about to loose his arrow, the Demon Sigil on his hand pulsed.

“Tilch, what are the plans that the demons have for the city of Defy and the surrounding villages. What role do the Serpent’s Blade have in this whole fiasco?”

“Sir, originally we were only ordered to bring chaos upon the area. The only goal was to create an impact upon the morale of the human forces stationed at the front lines. However, the plans changed once the human bandits got involved. We learned about something they had gotten their hands on.”

“The Demonic Tool?”

“I see sir Agent also knows about the Demonic Tool. Yes, the Demonic Tool was a pleasant surprise. Our orders were changed from causing widespread chaos to further nurture the Demonic Tool until it reached its complete state.”

“Complete state?”

“Demonic Tools fall into a state of slumber either upon their formation or having not absorbed Demonic Energy over a long period of time.”

“How are the demons charging the Demonic Tool then? I thought it only needed to absorb Demonic Energy? In that case why not just bring it to demon lands and have it absorb the energy in the air?”

“If the Demonic Tool were already fully awakened then such a method would indeed be possible. However, as I already stated, it is currently in a state of slumber.”

“Just filling it with demonic energy won’t wake it up?”

“While demonic energy does help it with its growth, the method of awakening has to do with its demonic nature.”

“Which is?”

“Its thirst for blood and craving for war and death, be it humans or demons.”

“So, instead of taking it from the bandits, you instead infiltrated them and riled them up?”

“Ha, if we didn’t do anything these useless cowards would have instead just ran away with their tales tucked between their legs at the first sign of danger.”

“Such methods were keeping them alive.”

“All the more reason to change things up then. I mean, who cares if a bunch more humans die in the process. I say good riddance in that case.”

The two suddenly turned around as they heard banging on the wall behind them, the wall that was responsible for hiding this path from the outside.

“Useless bandits, we don’t have much time before the knights break down that wall.”

“Well, time to wrap things up then.”

Before the demon could understand the meaning behind this sentence, Mateo raised his bow and released a point blank Null Impact. For a split instant, the Demon Lieutenant’s face lit with pure fear.

Fortunately for him, the place Mateo had aimed was the demon's left shoulder, missing the heart. The arrow uselessly passed through the shoulder and even passed through the wall behind him. The arrow would continue to pass through objects until the mana that fueled the Weapon Art ran out and extinguished the projectile.

The demon caught onto the ploy, but couldn’t help but feel his rage build up from the fright he had been given along with the humiliation. He smirked and lashed out with his foot, kicking Mateo square in the chest, sending him flying back.

Mateo’s back struck the wall behind him, and he landed on his hands and knees, wheezing as he doubled over. He looked up and saw the smirking demon. The demon then turned his gaze over towards the trembling fake wall and ran the other way the moment it blew open.

Mateo unsheathed a knife from his belt and put on the finishing touches of the performance by hurling it at the back of the fleeing demon. He felt no small amount of vindication as he heard a yelp as the knife embedded itself in Tilch’s back.

Several people charged through the broken wall, the first to make it to his side were Alicia and Anthony. The two checked him over before Alicia took a protective stance over him while Knight Captain Anthony raced down the hallway. Mateo wasn’t worried about Tilch getting caught though.

That brief performance hinted at the underlying strength the demon was concealing. Mateo wasn’t too confident on being able to take him down in a one on one, a feeling he had not been subjected to in his fight with ‘Bloody Tornado’. In fact, Anthony could be considered lucky that Tilch couldn’t afford to break the masquerade and reveal his true strength, otherwise, Mateo’s next meeting with the man would have been at the Knight Captain’s funeral.