'This guy.' Bar-nu gritted his teeth. If he wasn't able to kill this man, he will kill himself out of frustration.
"You want some more? Here, and get some!" Bar-nu charged from behind his wooden wall.
His brother, Rankala also raised his hands forward. The branches of the tree that he was controlling stretched like a whip and smashed to the young man's direction.
Bar-nu picked up his axe and threw it forcefully forward. He infused it with his magic vein overloading its magical core. The axe exploded when it got close to the man and made a huge shockwave that threw the man to the corner of the cage.
Rankala followed up quickly and slammed a huge whiplike branch down. Thick cloud of dust covered the area surrounding the young man. Bar-nu gestured again with his hands and more wooden spikes appeared from the ground, dispersing the cloud of smoke.
What they saw almost made their jaws drop. The young man was still standing there. The upper part of his clothes was gone and his body was bruised all over, but there was no blood. The man was stepping on the tree branch that was supposed to smash him earlier and the wooden spikes were all broken around him. He was holding the blade of his axe in his hands as if he caught it as it exploded on him.
"He's a monster." Bar-nu whispered darkly.
"I'm not done yet!" Rankala shouted. He lashed again with another tree branch and retracted the branch that the man was stepping on.
The man quickly flipped himself forward and avoided the attack. Then with a swift swing of his hands, he threw the axe blade towards Rankala.
Bar-nu saw as the axe blade hit his brother's shoulder and slammed him to the trunk of the tree. The core of the cage containment prism was crushed to fragments. Rankala coughed out large amount of blood.
Bar-nu let out a loud roar and rushed to his brother. He doesn't care anymore. Multiple wooden spikes tore the ground around the young man.
'I will kill you! I will kill you!' he muttered repeatedly.
The man dodged again as he leaped around the area. Bar-nu can't just hit him with his wooden spikes. He was really frustrated now.
He looked at his brother. He let out a sigh of relief when he noticed that his brother was still breathing.
"I'm getting tired of this." He heard the young man said.
"Then why don't you just stand still and let me kill you?!" Bar-nu growled.
"I can't do that. I am afraid of death and i don't want to die." The man said.
Bar-nu watched as the man leaned on one of his wooden spike as if to rest. The man kicked at the base of the wooden spike and pulled it from the ground.
"I don't really wanna do this, but maybe i just have to." The man said as he walked towards him, holding the wooden spike like a spear.
"Then do what you have to!" Bar-nu roared and swung his hands forward again. He knew he can't hit the young man with such moves but that's the strongest offensive magic that he knew.
The man flipped forward, easily evading his attacks and landed a couple meters from him.
"I'm sorry." The young man said in a low voice.
Before Bar-nu can process what was happening, the wooden spike that the man was holding pierced his shoulder. The force knocked him to the ground.
Bar-nu coughed out blood.
'This is it. We are not a match for this man after all.' Only did he notice that his whole body was already numb. He depleted his magic vein. He closed his eyes and waited for the final blow to come.
He and his brother's have roamed around this vast land and encountered all kinds of warriors and enchanters. They plundered and killed so many that he even stopped counting. They have fought dangerous battles but he and his brother always managed to win all the time. Maybe this is where they will experience their first defeat. Their first and last defeat.
"How long are we gonna be trapped here?"
Bar-nu suddenly heard the young man spoke beside him. He opened his eyes and saw that his brother was already lying besides him on the ground. He was unconscious but still breathing. The axe blade was already removed from his brother's shoulder.
The young man was standing beside him tearing his brother's upper cloth and making long strips out of it.
"Kill us already." Bar-nu muttered. He was so exhausted he don't want to think of anything, anymore.
" Nope. Didn't i just tell you that i am afraid of death?" The young man replied.
"Then let me kill you." Bar-nu said again. He feels so tired that he can't even move a single part of his body anymore.
"Thats why i placed wooden spears around you. I'm going to tie you up where you are, so you won't be able to attack me anymore. Seriously, i am so tired." The man said again.
"If you let us live, we will recover. We will find you again. When that time comes, i will have my revenge and kill you for real."Bar-nu said again and closed his eyes once more.
"Sure, you can try again next time. But seriously, how long are we gonna be trapped inside this mist cage? The young man said and started tying his hands to the wooden spike burried in the ground.
"You already crushed the containment prism's core so it can't be deactivated by hand anymore. You just have to wait until its essence disapper on its own in around five minutes." Bar-nu has no more energy to resist. He just sighed as the young man was tying him up.
"Okey, let's stay here and wait then. Do you have food and water?" The man said.
Bar-nu was so taken aback by what he just heard that he coughed out blood again. "Did you already forgot already that we are enemies and we just fought and tried to kill each other?
"I never saw you as someone i have to kill though." the man replied calmly.
"Well, i still am itching to kill you if i can. You just almost killed us brothers and destroyed our base." Bar-nu growled.
"Hey, that's not right. You were the one who was rampaging around. You even killed your own men. You destroyed your own base." The man said defensively.
"Don't remind me about it!" Bar-nu snapped back.
"Then don't throw the blame on me. i even tried to talk you out of it." The man said again.
Bar-nu didn't bother to talk back. His whole body hurts from his magic vein being depleted.
A couple of minutes have passed and the man spoke again. "The mist is dissapearing now. I'll be taking my leave."
"You're really not going to kill us? You're not sent by the Royal city to hunt us? Bar-nu asked again.
"Of course not, I haven't been even to the Royal city. I told you i just want the kid."The young man replied.
"Tell me your name!" Bar-nu said again as he heard the footstep of the man fading.
"Nope. If i told you my name, then you will find me easily and attack me again." The man answered.
Bar-nu sighed again. 'Whatever pleases you.' He thought.
-----
Saluk was so tired and hungry when the mist that surrounds them finally disappeared.
He looked around and saw the bandit's base in pieces. The fire earlier was starting to die down. Few lifeless bodies were in the dirt, some were impaled by the wooden spears by the bandit leaders.
It was a gruesome sight and Saluk wasn't used to it at all.
He walked back towards the cart were the captive he rescued earlier was lying. He was already dead.
He laid the man to the ground and covered his wounded chest with a cloth that he found nearby.
Saluk stood up and turned towards the partly collapsed tent when he heard a footsteps rushing towards him.
He turned just in time to dodge a sword swung towards him.
Another bandit was in front of him. Saluk looked at the man and estimated that they were about on the same age.
The bandit swung his sword again. Saluk quickly rotated his body to the side and kicked the man's face.
The man was thrown to the side, unconscious.
"Why are these guys so violent?" Saluk wondered and continued walking forward. He was being watchful now.
He was by the entrance of the big tent when a vine rushed out aimed at his face.
Saluk ducked and rolled forward.
An old bandit was inside the tent. He was holding the kid on the neck. The kid was still covered by the thick rug he was wearing. The kid was motionless.
"Take another step forward and i will kill this kid."
Saluk sighed. Atleast he was spared to ask the question if the kid was still alive. Maybe the kid was just knocked unconscious or put to sleep by some kind of magic.
"I already killed your leader. Do you think that a mere kid will stop me from killing you?" Saluk said with a low voice, looking darkly at the man.
"But...But...you want the kid right?" The bandit took a step back.
"I don't know. Are you willing to bet your life on it?" Saluk answered. He looked to the side and kicked a wooden spear sticking on the ground.
"I....I will really kill her!" The bandit said again, tightening his grip on the kid's neck.
'Wait, that kid is a girl? No wonder she has such a small frame.' Saluk thought to himself.
Saluk stood for awhile, as if thinking deep.
"Step away now and scram! I will really kill her." The bandit said again, thinking that Saluk was hesitating.
"I was just thinking how much gold will i get for reward if the girl will really die. Considering all the trouble it cost me tonight. Maybe torturing you painfully will not even make up for it. Being a lone bandit is quiet tiring you know." Saluk said looking darkly at the man again.
"You are a bandit too?" The bandit took another step back. He thought that the young man was from the Royal city and was sent here to rescue the girl. So he assumed that this young man would not dare to do anything risky if he threatened him with this girl.
Saluk was feeling troubled now. What if this bandit really kill this kid? He said to himself earlier that he would free both captives. One of them was already dead. If this kid die too, then all the effort he spent will be for nothing.
"Alright, It seems that you're willing to bet with your life. Lets see if you can kill the kid before i can kill you." Saluk said and gripped the wooden spear in his hand.
"Wait!" The bandit suddenly raised both of his hands. "Please let me leave this place unharmed. i will give the girl to you."
"Go away then." Saluk said but didn't relax his grip on his wooden spear.
The bandit quickly released the girl and ran outside the tent.
Saluk watched as the man vanished from his sight into the trees. He sighed and turned his attention back to the girl in front of him.
She was really dirty and her hair was a thick mass of dried mud that Saluk can't even see her face.
"The real challenge starts now." He muttered to himself.
"Me. Here. Came. With your friend. Me not enemy. You. free now." Saluk said slowly word for word. gesturing his hands around like silly.
The kid was sitting in the floor with her head raised towards him. Saluk can't still see her face but he's sure that she is looking at him.
'Of course she doesn't understand a word i say.' Saluk sighed.
"Come. Let's go away from this place. You. Free now." Saluk tried again. This time his hand gestures were all around the place.
'This is more exhausting than fighting those two guys.' Saluk sighed again, feeling hopeless. He sat besides the girl and stared at the tent entrance.
"I know you're scared, I was scared too. Those bandits were really scary." Saluk said, more like to himself. He knows that the girl can't understand him.
"I don't know about you but i'm really hungry. So you can just stay sitting here and i will mind my own business" Saluk said again and started looking around for food.
"What a challenge." Saluk muttered to himself again.