Tejas shot his arrow. And as the arrow flew through the air, the battle started!
The bandit at the front, who was the second commander, dodged that arrow while another bandit started rushing towards Tejas.
Whoosh
Tejas quickly drew his next arrow but was interrupted by the commander's arrow going right next to him, even grazing Tejas' cheeks. Tejas immediately moved away as more arrows were shot at him.
"Catch him alive if you can!"
The second commander shouted as Tejas took cover behind a tree. The cogs in Tejas mind started turning. Although Tejas was generally not the brightest but, in a battle, he wasn't that far from an expert.
He reaffirmed himself while gripping his bow harder.
"A hunter always hides from his prey. No matter what, don't let your advantage of being hidden be wasted."
These were the words of his uncle ram. Tejas repeated these words in his mind as the bandit approached him.
Tejas peered slightly at the bandit nearing him. The bandit had his bow drawn and was looking around for him. Tejas estimated his distance from the bandit was more than 15 meters.
"Plenty to be my hunting ground."
Tejas muttered to himself as he too drew his bow. Not one but 2 arrows on it. He swiftly moved and shot at the bandit.
The bandit also shot his arrow, hitting Tejas arrow and ultimately intercepting both. But, Tejas quickly shot his second arrow.
The bandit couldn't even react properly to the arrow, but it was again intercepted by the leader's arrow.
Tejas clicked his tongue while he and the bandit started shooting at each other. The speeds of the two were equal enough that many arrows cancelled each other, many were dodged, and some missed.
Soon enough, Tejas found himself with his last arrow. He looked at a nearby tree that had some arrows that he put. Tejas shot the final arrow and decided to dash for it.
Tejas expected all bandits to attack him and he could keep their positions on track to move around more with respect to their positions.
Whoosh
"Another close hit!"
Since only 1 bandit was attacking him, Tejas most tricks were useless since he was unsure of when the other bandits would attack him.
Thus, Tejas felt it to be a 'do or die' situation. So, he dashed.
"Hehe"
The second commander snickered to himself. He had been waiting for Tejas to run out of arrows. No matter how long it would have taken, the bandit leader would've waited.
And his wait had rewarded him. The commander fired his arrows swiftly like the wind. In a matter of seconds, He had fired 4 arrows. The first 3 missed Tejas, But the fourth arrow hit Tejas shoulder.
Tejas jumped and managed to reach the tree with arrows. He controlled his pain and tried to take out the arrow from his shoulder while gritting his teeth.
But he couldn't, that arrow had penetrated back on his shoulder, so he can't pull out that arrow because of that he push himself against the tree to push the arrow out, after he push the arrow from his shoulder, Tejas quickly bandaged the wound using his mother's medicine.
Then, he picked up the arrows and started moving.
The forest was very vast but also very dense. Especially Tejas' current position could provide him with a good cover. The trees were close enough that Tejas could move unseen.
"This damn forest"
The commander cursed the dense forest. Yet, not letting his anger get to him, the second commander ordered his men to look for Tejas.
"Where are you hiding kid? Come out now. I swear on my name that if you come out and make this easy for me, I won't allow even a single strand of your hair to be damaged."
"But If I catch you then I can guarantee that you will never be able to pick that damn bow up ever again!"
The second commander threats didn't seem to affect Tejas at all. Instead, before the commander could even finish, Tejas shot 2 arrows at him.
The commander dodged the two arrows but was put in an awkward position where his body tumbled backward. Taking advantage of this, Tejas shot another arrow.
"Damn it!"
The second commander cursed as the arrow pierced the right side of his burly chest. He took it out as blood started spurting out of his wound.
The commander put soil in his somewhat shallow injury before looking at Tejas who was already engaged in combat with his underlings.
The whistles of arrows and twangs of bowstrings resounded in the commander's ears as Tejas and the bandit fired arrows at each other. He couldn't believe it but this single boy was holding against all of his men.
Yet, the second commander laughed out, seemingly confident about his win.
"Hahaha, now you have done it boy. I admit you are very strong. I haven't been injured in a long while. But a shallow wound is all you can give me while you are already drenched in sweat."
Tejas replied with an equal sneer.
"Stop pretending. If you could catch me, it'd have already happened. So, stop wasting your breath and tell me one thing. Why are you bastards this ruthless? Even after the innocent villagers handed out everything they had, you harmed them even more!"
While talking, Tejas drew another arrow and aimed it directly at the second commander's head.
"You aren't bandits. You are emotionless monsters and I will beat you all. No matter how hard, I will bring justice!"
"What nonsense!"
The second commander interrupted Tejas as he dodged the incoming arrow. His eyes filled with rage,
"Who do you think you are to judge? Those villagers, innocent? If you haven't seen the world two steps outside your house, stop meddling in others' business."
"Talking will get me nothing it seems"
Tejas sighed as the fight continued. He constantly moved around the trees. Messing with the bandits. Slowly but surely, killing them.
To him, it didn't matter if he was being cold-blooded. The cruel acts of the bandits were evil. And Tejas couldn't just turn a blind eye to it!
So, Tejas drew a needle and spear arrowhead. He noticed the second commander, battered and bruised due to their fight.
Unknowingly, Tejas alone managed to deal with 4 of the 5 bandits sent after him. Only the second commander was left, panting heavily.
"Not like my situation is better anyways."
Tejas commented once before he jumped out and shot at the bandit with a bow. He and the commander were injured at around the same level.
So, their fight didn't seem as good as before. Yet, the commander reacted very fast. After barely dodging Tejas' arrows, he started rapid-firing at Tejas, who was regaining his position after his jump.
While most arrows failed to harm him, Tejas got a slight injury from the man's 4th arrow. Though, Tejas endured it like all the other injuries on his body.
"It's just a battle of endurance at this point."
Yes, it was. Whose injuries would take them down faster? It was a question of endurance. Though, Tejas was confident in his muscular body.
Twang
Tejas' bowstring twanged as he shot 3 arrows in four seconds. A second more than his usual speed which could be attributed to his wounds.
"Aack!"
The second commander let out a pained shout. An arrow was sticking to his chest, the wound bled significantly as the injury was definitely not shallow this time.
Haah Haah
Tejas panted heavily as he plopped to the ground. The pain that was blocked by adrenaline till now finally rushed in.
"Haah, you bow bastard, Tell me about your leader."
Tejas forced his body to get up, the pain was still there but he had to do what needed to be done.
"Tell everything to me or I will kill you."
Tejas had one arrow in his hand, he pointed it to the second commander's body, threatening him to speak.
"...Ahahaha!"
"What?"
Tejas was surprised at the bandit outburst of laughter.
"I will bleed to death anyway. Yet, you want to threaten me?"
"I can make your death painful."
Tejas threatened but the commander had an expression that said that he simply didn't care. Tejas felt like it wasn't useful to bluff at all. In the end, he threw the arrow away and spoke.
"As much as I hate you for your actions, as a warrior, I respect you. Bow bastard, you have given me my first intense battle. I learned a lot from this fight. If I had the choice, I would've chosen not to kill you. But you forced me."
After hearing Tejas' words, the dying Guy spoke in a low voice.
"I have a name kid. Bow bastard can't be the last thing I am called before I die. I am Dura. The second commander of the Rakta bandits...!"
The second commander raised his left hand. Trying to grasp the blue sky.
"But why does that title matter now? I died to a brat like you that feels apologetic for his opponents. Don't kid me brat. When you get in a fight, be ready to kill or be killed. There is nothing more to it. Rather, I am your first tough opponent? That just means you haven't fought anybody..."
The second commander- No, Dura momentarily stopped. As if he was contemplating a few things, he finally spoke.
"My leader, Rakta is a monster. You could never dream of killing him."
Cough Cough
Dura suddenly coughed up blood. His expression was pale as a ghost. He gritted his teeth and spoke one last time,
"I don't have much time it seems. Kid, if you respect me as a warrior, after I die burn my body. Don't let me rot away. I want to at least get Mukti(freedom from the differentiated, temporal, and mortal world of ordinary experience) by burning."
Dura died after talking. Tejas stared at the motionless corpse and stayed silent. After a moment of contemplation, He decided to do what Dura requested him to do.
"I can at least let his death be a happy end."
Tejas collected firewood from the forest, laid Dura's corpse on the pile of wood, and burnt it in a place far from any tree or dry leaves.
Crackle
The wood popped and crackled while burning. Tejas gave a respectful namaste.
May your soul rest in peace, may the god of death yama give you a good life in your next life if your karma was good. Om namo namaha
Tejas turn away With a somewhat bittersweet expression, he headed to find Vidur.