"Swoosh!"

"Puchi, puchi, puchi!"

Before anyone could react, the white-haired young man moved with incredible speed—his spear slicing through the air with deadly intention.

In an instant, the archers who had been holding the hostages at bay dropped to the ground, lifeless.

The stunned commoners, along with the surviving guards and drivers, stared in disbelief for a moment... then their eyes lit up with hope.

Now's their chance!

Fueled by hope and confidence, they stood forward, weapons raised, attacking the remaining bandits with whatever strength they had left.

"Bastard!"

"Kill him!"

The trio of mage bandits howled in rage and fear, launching their magical attacks.

Blades of howling wind and sharp earth spikes tore through the air, aimed straight at Raizel body.

A terrifying combination of elemental fury.

But Raizel only smiled seeing this.

As the spells approached, the moment they crossed a fifteen meters radius from him, their strongest magic dissipated.

The wind blades lost its form. The earth spikes crumbled into dust.

Not a single attack reached him.

And Raizel hadn't even moved a muscle.

Everyone watching, both bandits and adventurers alike, all of them froze.

A heavy silence hung in the air.

Now they understood.

Now they realized why the bandit leader, a experienced Two-Leaf Mage, had turned and fled without a fight.

"Monster!"

"Devil!"

Whispers of fear spread through the battlefield, trembling lips of bandits' speaking what their hearts screamed.

"Shiiiin!"

In the next moment, Raizel hurled his spear like a javelin. It tore through the air, piercing the trio of mages clean through the stomach, pinning them against a tree in a single devastating strike.

The three coughed up blood, their bodies twitching as they hung suspended, helpless.

Then something unnatural vibrated from the snow-white spear.

A draining sensation spread through their bodies, and weakness flooded in, blurring their vision. That began to feel a soul-stirring agony, as if something was ripping at the very essence of their being with raw, merciless force.

Moments later, their bodies shriveled up, turning mummified, like husks of dried flesh and brittle bones.

Some witnesses turned away in horror. But a few of the children fainted, unable to bear the gruesome sight.

With a flick of his wrist, Raizel calmly recalled the spear into his hand.

Then he stood silently, watching as the battle between the surviving guards and the remaining bandits played out.

But it didn't last long.

Within just 5 minutes, the rest of the bandits surrendered completely, dropping their weapons and falling to their knees.

Only then did Lam come out of her hiding spot, looking around in awe and disbelief.

Raizel had done exactly what he promised. He had wiped out the bandits effortlessly.

"What should we do with them, Sir Warrior?" one of the guards asked after finishing tying up the remaining bandits.

"Do as you like. I don't want to get involved any more than necessary," Raizel replied with a shrug.

His attention was already elsewhere.

[ EXP: 7,800 / 40,000 ]

He hadn't even distributed the 15 attribute points he had earned previously, yet still managed to defeat the enemies with ease.

They were just that weak. Hardly a challenge to him.

Still, he appreciated the reward. At least they gave him some good experience points. In this sense, Philip was right. The original human inhabitants give more EXP. Although, in some cases System gives quests to save them.

It was contradictory and somewhat unfair to these people.

But Raizel didn't care too much as long he gets strong.

He only interfered because the bandits were on the way.

And there was another small gain as well.

[ Reputation Points: 150 (Friendly) ]

It still showed "Friendly."

Raizel wasn't sure when or how the relationship status would change, but for now, it was good enough.

On the other hand, the guards proceeded to contact the authorities of Ruben City to have the bandits thrown behind bars.

Meanwhile, the two adventurers cautiously approached Raizel.

"What's the matter? Do you want to say something?" Raizel asked with a calm smile, sensing their hesitation.

"You were amazing out there, man. What's your name?" one of them said appreciatively, looking at Raizel with clear admiration.

He wasn't much older than them, yet his overwhelming prowess had left them speechless.

"It's Raizel Ashblade. And what about you two?" Raizel replied in a neutral tone.

"Raizel… That's a strong name," the other black-haired young man added. "Which guild are you from? Were you returning from a solo mission? Is that a magical weapon? What grade is it?" he fired off questions rapidly, eyes filled with excitement and curiosity.

Raizel frowned slightly, feeling his personal space being invaded.

So, without answering a single question or bothering to learn their names, he simply walked away. He had initially planned to inquire about guilds, but decided against it.

Smack!

"Ouch! What was that for?"

"Why are you so stupid, Mimo? Look, you annoyed our savior! I couldn't even introduce myself to him," the other adventurer grumbled, lightly smacking the back of his friend's head.

"Ah, sorry, sorry. You know I just got too excited. Raizel's power is way too mysterious and overwhelming, don't you think?"

"That's true, but don't you know anything about personal privacy?"

"Ah..."

Mimo looked away guiltily, then floated up into the sky using Wind Magic as if escaping.

His friend watched his back, fuming in frustration.

--

About 30 minutes later, the caravans resumed their journey toward Ruben City, with nearly 20 captured bandits secured inside one of the wagons, ready to be handed over to the authorities for serious punishment.

A few more hours passed without any further obstacles.

Raizel stood at the back of a caravan, his legs dangling loosely off the edge. His gaze was fixed on the horizon to the right, watching the sunrise firsthand.

The open sky, the warm sun, and the seemingly endless road brought a rare sense of peace.

And he savored every second of it.

Beside him, Lam suddenly broke the silence.

"Sir Raizel, we've arrived."

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