While the bandits were stunned and hesitating what to do, with an excited expression the little boy ran towards them.
Even in a cruel world where the strong get stronger and the weak get weaker, unexpected events like this, made these Rank 0 murderers hesitate, it was not because he was a little boy, but because of all the unexpected element of his arrival.
Why was he here, what was his background, would killing him bring a disaster?
If it was the city and they knew who the boy was, there would be no hesitation, but for a boy to be here at his age, he must be relying on something.
As all the thoughts mingled in their minds and slowed down their reaction, the little boy was already within a couple meters of them. Finally one of them reacted and shouted out.
"Stop or I will slice you, little brat!"
'Hehe, too late.'
'Basic Spear - Consecutive Stabs.'
He knew that all three guard probably had the same agility as him, even if strength wise they were weaker, if he doesn't hit them hard, 3vs1 would be a troublesome fight.
So while stabbing out, he saw that the one to get stabbed first was still stunned by the unexpected turn of events, so he was done for. But the other 2 already reacted and were dodging the second and third spear attacks.
Lucien with his strong Soul had faster reactions, but his body couldn't follow the speed of his mind at this point, so the spear was going to miss 2 of them at this rate.
'Let the experiment start.'
'All Existence, record the following reactions from the enemies.'
-Recording costs 1 existence points per second, will be stashed in Crimson World for reviewing-
'Do it.'
All these thought were transmitted in a fraction of a second, credits to the Soul which was already 50 times stronger than a common adult.
As the second to be stabbed bandit was dodging, his mind suddenly became blank, it was as if he was struck by a hammer on his head, it was only for a moment, but that moment was enough for the spear to pierce through his throat.
He could only emit gurgling sounds as his body fell and remained there.
The third and final bandit managed to dodge, but didn't attack hastily, he was looking at the bodies of his 2 comrades and was thinking what was the reason one of them didn't finish the dodging move.
"Who are you? Why did you ambush us?"
"Heh, I'm just a passerby, who doesn't like seeing dark stuff like this happening."
The girl was just as stunned, she was ready to suicide, but was rescued by a boy almost half her age.
All of a sudden her heart skipped a beat, even if that boy was young and average in his current looks, his crimson eyes and the aura he gave off when she was looking at him, made her want to stay by his side.
All this while Lucien was reviewing the current success.
'It seem brute forcing my darkness particles into the brain of an opponent is crude, but works for an instant. I guess it's a really crude and basic soul attack.'
'And my Vampire charm works, it's pretty good I can pick the target, I don't want this disgusting bandit to look at me with starry eyes.'
"I guess you don't want your life then. I'll take it as a gift to my comrades and send you to serve them on the other side."
The bandit didn't hesitate anymore and just rushed towards Lucien with his dagger in hand.
Now that it was 1vs1, with the amazing reactions provided by the stronger Soul and the same speed, not to mention the bigger body strength Lucien could easily take the upper hand and win, but he did his best to make the fight look bitter.
Getting a scratch on himself, while stabbing the other party in a non-vital spot.
As the fight looked bitter and he was accumulating wounds, the SilverMoon girl, felt pains in her heart. Why was he fighting for her with such passion, what did he see in her? All kinds of thoughts mixed and produced complicated feeling and palpating heart.
With a chance to glance at her, Lucien understood that his goal is completed, it would be possible to use this girl to get some information and benefits for himself.
True, she was beautiful, but Lucien was 8, he didn't feel any needs while looking at her, and even if he was older, it would be just a fling at most, he wouldn't forget his most important goal for a girl.
'Time to finish it.'
The moment for a trade-off came again, but this time Lucien didn't stab towards a non-vital spot, but aimed for the heart.
The bandit was feeling very frustrated with this fight, he was looking for an opportunity to turn it around, as an experienced bandit, he knew the opponent was toying with him, he also knew the purpose of the act, the starry eyes of the girl gave it away.
Speaking wouldn't help, as looking into those crimson eyes, he knew the monster in the shape of a kid was out for blood, and wouldn't spare him. So he wanted to rely on his luck and maybe get a fatal stab in one of the exchanges.
The moment he saw the stab towards his heart, he screamed and disregarding all danger stabbed with his dagger to drag him down with him.
Lucien just sneered seeing this and send Darkness to invade the mind of his opponent, bringing him into stupor for a moment, piercing his heart in that brief pause.
He could have continued and slowly killed him. The bandit couldn't escape, since he could interfere with the Darkness particles, and the bandit realized turning his back after what happened with his comrade would be a bad idea. He had much better chance resisting the attack with a strong will than with a beaten desire to run. Unfortunately, a Rank 1 Soul Attack was not something he could resist, no matter what he did.
The girl, who now knew she was saved, started crying.
Lucien walked towards her, and embraced her.
"Big sis, don't cry. I'll protect you."
All of a sudden all the emotions this spoiled girl, who just faced her first cruel exposure to the world, had bottled up, spilled out. Mixing with and enhancing the emotions she felt for the boy, she felt the experience was worth it, as she met him.
'Seems Vampire charm is a powerful tool, even as a Rank 0 it already influences quite a bit.'
'It's not at the level where a glance is enough, for that matter I think it work only is such distressed situations. At Rank 1 through, I can already imagine it would be much more convenient to use.'
'I guess I'll ask her some questions, before her guards arrive to know what cards should I play, after they show up and are suspicious.'