The Main Character is the Villain

EP 14 - House of 20 Bodies(4)

“S-save me…..”

I never imagined a day would come when I’d hear a plea for mercy from a burly, bearded giant. I sat in the middle of the camp, holding a mace drenched in blood. Several bandits were sprawled across the ground, while most had thrown down their weapons and huddled together in one spot.

The bandit leader, with his head half-smashed, kept repeating the words “save me” like a cuckoo clock striking noon. I took a deep breath. You may wonder how I got here, for that I’d have to go back to roughly three days ago, when I sent Sieri to the church in the territory.

There were two main reasons for sending Sieri away. First, to gain some freedom in my actions. And second, because I didn't want her to know what I was about to do.

After dispatching Sieri to the local church, I decided to completely wipe out the bandit gang since I had already captured four of them. Letting bandits run wild next to the territory was bad for both my reputation and public sentiment. If anything, I couldn’t understand why Lucius had let them be until now.

In the original game, clearing out the bandit gang in the Peta Territory was a kind of quest. And since their location wasn't randomized, repeat players or those who enjoyed solo speedruns would head straight into the forest as soon as they entered the territory to start chopping off the bandits' heads.

I was quite the experienced player of the game, and I knew where the bandits were.

I considered bringing Robin along for safety, but the average level of the bandits were only around 10, while the Boss was around Level 20—likely to emphasize Lucius’s incompetence and pushover nature. Given that I was currently level 36, I could throw a kebab party with these guys.

What the hell did Lucius even do—not dealing with the bandits and tax evaders?

So, taking advantage of Sieri’s absence from the mansion and Robin being busy training the troops, I quietly slipped out unnoticed. As I slowly walked into the forest with my Staff of Truth in hand, I soon spotted a few bandits standing guard.

One of them, holding a bow and casually glancing around while yawning, looked like someone who’d been in the gang for quite some time. Newbies were usually more vigilant when on guard duty. Hiding myself in the bushes...

I slowly approached the guy. Once I got close enough to open his status window, I saw that he was a Hunter of the bandit gang and was Level 15.

His stats were decent, and since he didn’t seem to be actively participating in the bandit gang’s activities, I figured I could probably persuade him to switch sides.

Kkang!

I snuck up behind him and swung my mace. What good would a bandit be anyway? The Hunter’s head crumpled like a recycled aluminum can, and he collapsed on the spot—dead. Seeing that there were no others around, I started to slowly make my way deeper into the forest.

There were no more guards along the way. The only one I encountered was the hunter I turned into an aluminum can. By the time I reached the entrance of the camp, I hadn’t seen another guard.

The camp was surprisingly large—so much so that I wondered how it had remained hidden for so long. They had set up a massive fence like they're some forest elves, with layers of vines woven into the fence to camouflage it, as if it's a wall made of grass.

Two bandits were standing guard at the entrance of the camp. They seemed to be newbies, as they were standing stiffly with their heads held high, carefully watching their surroundings. I pressed myself against the wall and moved toward them.

Kkang!

They didn’t notice me approaching until I was right beside them, so I wasted no time and smashed the face of the guard next to me with my mace. He was wearing a helmet, which triggered my passive [Charger], and his head shattered into pieces. Bone fragments and chunks of flesh flew everywhere, causing the other guard to collapse in terror.

Kkang!

Before he could scream, his head exploded like a fireworks display, and I burst into the camp.

Inside, a drinking party was in full swing. In the center, the hulking bandit boss was downing a large bowl of alcohol, while the surrounding bandits cheered him on.

I grabbed the spear that the guard was holding and aimed it at the boss. He was a head taller than everyone else, so it was really easy to target his head. The bandits still hadn’t noticed me. Before anyone could turn around, I hurled the spear with all my strength.

The spear flew at a speed faster than an arrow, piercing through the drinking bowl. The bandits' cheers halted, and the boss froze. Slowly, the alcohol began to spill out through the hole in the bowl.

“B-boss?”

One of the underlings asked about the boss's condition. Only then did a few of them slowly turn around and notice my presence. But before they could react, I started smashing the heads of those who had been sleeping in the other barracks.

If they all swarmed in from every direction, I might get hurt, so it made sense to deal with these ones first.

When the bandits finally turned around, what they saw was a priest mercilessly smashing the heads of their sleeping comrades.

“W-Who is that guy?!”

Only then did they discover me and assume a combat stance. I grabbed the first one who charged at me and slammed him into the ground. Seeing their comrade fly through the air, the others halted in place.

As the bandit smashed into the ground convulsed and foamed at the mouth, I swung my mace to ensure his end.

Kwang-!

The mace struck through the bandit’s body and into the dirt with a thunderous sound, kicking up a cloud of dust. The bandit's upper body was completely obliterated, leaving his identity unrecognizable.

“Uh… Ugh... Boss…! Boss!”

The ones holding swords slowly backed away, calling for their boss. The boss, however, remained frozen while still holding his drink. Blood began to trickle out of the hole pierced by the spear. A subordinate who had been trying to grab the boss screamed at the sight.

“Ahhhh! Boss! Boss!”

The bowl slipped from the boss’ hand, revealing a horrifying sight. Half of his face was chunked off by the spear! The bandits began to scream in panic. With the boss dead, there was no one left to stop me.

“Silence!”

I shouted at the bandit underlings. The boss, with his head sliced, managed to croak out.

“Help me… he-help me…”

His brain was too far gone. I offered a silent prayer for his broken intelligence, and then swung my mace at the bandit trying to slip past me.

Pok-!

The bandit who ignored me took a blow to the gut and slammed into the fence. Half-breaking the fence with his body, he became a porcupine impaled by the wood fragments. He gasped for breath, trying to show he was still alive, but there was no one to help him.

“Everyone, gather in the middle.”

The bandits hesitated, as if they didn't understand. So I shouted again.

“I said gather in the middle! Damn it.”

Swearing always seems to make things clearer. The bandits quickly moved and huddled together. The boss remained off to the side, still begging for his life. I sat down with my back to him and faced the remaining bandits.

“I am the Lord of the Peta Territory, Peta Lucius.”

At my words, the bandits became restless. As the commotion grew louder, I slammed my mace into the ground to silence them.

“I'm sure you're wondering how I found this secret hideout.”

The bandits all went quiet. I looked around at them with a satisfied grin. Yes, from their perspective, it must have seemed impossible for anyone to discover their hideout. After all, no knights or soldiers had ever patrolled these woods.

“Recently, four bandits surrendered during a skirmish in the city.”

“Ah…”

One of the bandits spoke up, seemingly realizing the connection. He began trembling with rage, hatred boiling up for the traitors.

“Those... those bastards…!”

Bang!

In the middle of my explanation, a bandit kept muttering, so I smacked his head. The bandit, who had been spitting out curses, died foaming at the mouth. Seeing this, the rest of the bandits immediately shut their mouths again.

“Yes. Thanks to them, I was able to find this place.”

Of course, those four bandits had never actually told me anything. But I had a goal in mind with this story.

“Banditry is a crime punishable by death. If it's only a minor crime, you can sometimes be let go with cutting off a hand. But, as you can see, there are quite a few of you here.”

Including the ones I'd killed, there were about twenty.

“I can't kill all of you, and if you'll just do one thing for me, I'm willing to let you go on the condition that you never come near the Peta territory again.”

“And that is?”

Bang!

“Speak politely.”

“W-what is the condition?”

I sent another rude bandit to join his boss, and a terrified, red-eyed bandit raised his hand and asked. I said.

“The truth is, even though the bandits surrendered, they're still bandits. I allowed them into the village in the name of reformation, but honestly, I don’t believe they can be reformed. I want you to deal with them. Will you do as I say? I'll give you a reward if you do a good job.”

“Yes. Yes, I’ll do it!”

The man with the red eyes said his name was Klebang. He was burning with rage towards the traitors.

**** ****

A few days later, I met Klebang at the entrance to the forest. All the necessary preparations were complete. Other members were waiting for Klebang and me at the camp. I had told them they could leave if they wanted, but the ‘reward’ seemed too tempting. Klebang looked around nervously, then nodded at me.

“It’s all set. We’re meeting today.”

“I see. Give me a sword.”

“Here, here it is.”

I grabbed the sword Klebang handed me instead of my mace. Just in time, I spotted the four bandits walking towards us in the distance. Klebang slowly approached them to avoid arousing suspicion.

“Did you sell everything?”

He was still acting as the ruthless ‘Rabbit’s Foot’ of the bandit gang. The second then nodded.

“Yes... We couldn't get full price since we sold it off quickly... But here...”

Then, Klebang swung his sword. The second collapsed with his hand still outstretched. And before the remaining three could scream, I jumped out and sliced the fifth's throat. Klebang charged at the fourth, and at the same moment, my sword pierced the third’s heart.

With the four bandits down, I wiped the blood from my face. Klebang cautiously asked.

“So... I...”

Puk-!

I plunged Klebang a gift into his stomach.

“Ah, yes. The guards and knights are probably on their way to the camp by now.”

“Kuh... kuhh…”

Klebang coughed up blood, his red eyes turning redder. I picked up the second’s money from the ground and began walking back to the estate. I was looking forward to what would happen the next morning.

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