Alex zoomed through the forest after looking around the battlefield a bit to find where footprints came and gone. They were currently on one of the main trading routes to the Capital while Floren was branched off from it. Alex found he had traveled quite far from where he hoped to be around but it mattered little now.
He found several tracks made by human shoes and some blood trails that followed them. It seems a few people were injured but it was unknown who and how severe it was. While he followed these tracks, he let the scenes from earlier fester in his mind.
His anger only continued to grow, and his aura began to expand as well. As someone who had focused only on physical stats, he had a very potent aura that would make most who probed his strength, think he was around a 4th or maybe even 5th Ring!
After being stuck in this damn forest for several weeks, he was able to use pretty much all of his strength. Although he may not be aware, he was already ready for another evolution! He just needed one last push but it was unknown what could help cause that other than another tantrum like before.
His aura scared the monsters and animals in the area, making them cower in fear and run away. This caused fights to break out amongst monsters and any bandits that might be in the area. Alex let his anger out on a tree as he passed by it, giving what looked like a casual punch only to make the tree truck explode and go flying in the direction he was going.
He ignored it and continued tracking until he felt several auras from people who didn't bother hiding it. After experiencing Alan's aura for so long, he had become sensitive to it and learned to recognize the flow of the air that changed when someone strong was in the area.
'Two 2nd Ring, several dozen punks.' Alex thought before picking up speed and making the wind whistle behind him.
- - -
A bit earlier...
"Hahaha!! Such a good haul this time!" A bandit laughed before taking a swig of the alcohol they just plundered.
Others laughed with him as they danced and sang around the campfire. Littered around their camp were jewels and gold of all kinds, fancy clothes, good weapons, and even several women tied up black and blue.
Some of the bodies looked deathly pale and didn't move, while others wheezed, barely holding on.
Boss Geren looked around at his subordinates with a smile. It was definitely a good haul, but a part of him in the back of his mind nagged him saying they might regret what they did. This feeling hit him when they first attacked the carriage and after realizing the people they hit were most likely important people from the capital, he quickly executed them.
He would have loved to play with those stuck up broads but his gut told him that he would regret it. Thinking that there was a chance they could some how communicate with others outside of the caravan, he didn't hesitate to kill them himself.
After that, he allowed his men to bring back a few maids or unimportant women they liked. They had their way gangbanging and r*ping them but he didn't join in. That was mostly because the nervousness he felt never went away... it only seemed to grow stronger.
He wasn't worried about Kate rising up against him considering she got injured after being surrounded by several 2nd Rings. If it wasn't for that strange skill of hers, she would have died. Even Geren shivered a bit when he looked over to the girl who struggled to wrap her stomach with some medical supplies from the carriages.
After taking a sword strike to the stomach, she was out for a while so the whole gang would have to pause operations. He sighed in relief that everything went well. Although they lost several dozen bandits, that was normal. Those who died were too weak or stupid and were only cannon fodder for the real bandits.
He took a sip of his ale as he looked toward the prisoners and the corner of his mouth twitched when he saw one of the girls looking at him. Although her face was unrecognizable after the beating she got, and her naked body was also blue from the cold of the night, she still glared fiercely at him, threatening to burn a hole in his body.
He glared back at her and even released his aura but she didn't back down even when her face turned white and blood came out of her nose. This only pissed him off more after struggling with this nagging feeling all night.
He immediately strode over to her and grabbed her roughly by the hair. She grunted and gritted her teeth in pain but she didn't stop glaring at him. He shook her a few times to see if she would change her mind but it didn't work. Clenching his own jaw he threw her hard back into the ground with his 2nd Ring strength.
"Gah!" She screamed out in pain as her arm and ribs broken. Tears were already in her eyes but she never let her hatred burn out. She just struggled to turn her head and glare back at Geren.
Geren had enough of this bitch so he grabbed her hair angrily and brought their faces closer to each other. His scar-ridden face was ugly and it got even worse when he smirked.
"You think you're tough huh? I wonder if you'll still be that way if we turn you into a sex slave?" He chuckled at himself and Kate listened with interest thanks to her 2nd Ring hearing.
*Pue!*
The woman spat a glob of blood into his face and he closed his eye out of instinct when it hit his eyelid. He was quite shocked that she had to gal to dirty his face and his rage only became worse.
Just before he was about to let his anger out on this pathetic bitch, her words made him tremble.
"The Mantrigeld Household will hunt you down like the swine you are! I will gladly watch from the sidelines as you run and hide like the coward you are."
She laughed maniacally as blood kept coming out of her mouth. Her blood-stained teeth were terrifying as she went insane. Geren went silent and zoned out as he processed her words.
On the other side, Kate had turned deathly pale and couldn't continue bandaging herself since her hands shook so much.
None of their subordinates heard since they were too busy getting drunk but the two higher-ups felt death looms over them. Geren's eyes trembled as he realized the gravity of his situation.
'Shit! This is why I've been feeling so shitty! We fucked up!' He thought.
The crazy girl who was once a maid spat blood in his face again as her breathing slowed and became irregular. Something important definitely ruptured in her and it was only a matter of time before she died, however, she only heard a yell before her vision abruptly turned to the side and everything went dark.
"GRAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!!!" Geren yelled out loud as he grabbed the woman's head and twisted it over 180 degrees.
A loud snap echoed in the area, even alerting a few of the less drunk bandits as they looked over to their boss killing their play toys. Some of them sighed while others gritted their teeth in anger, but they couldn't argue with him or they would definitely meet the same end.
"FUCK!" Boss Geren yelled again as he punched a tree with all his strength with a skill mixed in. His fist glowed a dull yellow before the tree was shattered like glass and the splinters went everywhere, even killing one unfortunate bandit who was peeing a few meters away.
He clenched his fists until they were white and even drew some blood. Kate on the side didn't bother with his tantrum as she mumbled,
"We are so dead..."
"KILL THEM ALL!! WE LEAVE NO WITNESSES!!"
He stomped away as a few of the less drunk bandits quickly followed orders and began slitting the throats of the recent captures.
"PACK UP AND GET THE CARTS BUILT!! WE LEAVE BY DAYLIGHT!!"
He gave one last order that confused many and someone couldn't help but ask. Before that man could even finish, his head rolled on the ground, and blood squirted everywhere onto his friends. Everyone was too frightened to move or ask any more questions after their boss turned one of them into a human fountain.
Geren looked at each and every one of his pathetic subordinates before answering.
"We are now 5-star criminals so get your asses moving!" He yelled out again, this time a bit calmer.
He couldn't let his wavering emotions show and affect his judgment. While many paled even more, many nodded and sobered up as they got to work. While they all were curious as to why, they had "undying faith" in their leader and followed orders.
The smarter ones assumed it had to do with who was in the caravan they hit while others grumbled and complained to themselves about moving again. Kate struggled to get to her feet before slowly making her way to Boss Geren.
Geren had already entered his tent and began packing away all the luxurious goods he kept for himself. They were the best stuff they got from their hauls which contained several chests full of jewels and gold, along with tons of grand-looking weapons and armor.
They had only taken what they could carry from the site and planned to go back in the morning when the fire hopefully died down to get the rest. As long as no other carts came along this road in that time, which was unlikely, they would have a giant haul.
Normally this would be a joyous day since they could get rid of a lot of this stuff on the black market to earn a small fortune and become more than just small-time bandits. However, they hit the wrong people and both 2nd Rings knew it.
"Can we trust that woman's words?" Kate asked her boss. Geren looked up to her after closing another chest full of gold and sighed.
"No, we can't. However if you look at it carefully, they were much wealthier than a normal caravan and had much stronger guards than a normal caravan could afford.
"I let my greed affect my judgment and now we have stepped on the lion's tail. It's better to flee and relocate in hopes that we can find another group to help protect us." Geren gritted his teeth and slammed another chest shut.
Kate had a difficult look on her face. This was very bad news but only she knew that it was a bit better for her, however, she was still in deep shit and still had a high chance of dying especially in her condition.
She felt like throwing up but held it in.
"How long do you think we have?" She asked hesitantly.
"Nobles have a broken system of knowing when a family member dies. They also get the general location of their death so they would be on their way now. Going at full speed with a good mount, they could get here in a month at the latest, maybe even sooner."
Kate paled before going as fast as she could to her own tent to pack.
It was known to most in the southern region of the Sorketh kingdom that it took about 3 months to reach where Floren was, also called the "last frontier." Since humans have given up exploring the Ether forest, most wouldn't come this far but with a high-quality mount, nobles at least could reach this area in less than half the time it usually takes.
3 months would be a good time frame for a normal caravan and soldiers might reach them in less than a month. The soldiers would be on their tails before they knew it so Geren needed to get out of here.
Although he didn't care about the lives of his subordinates, it would be a huge hit with the loss of manpower. As the group of bandits quickly started building shotty carts and packing up their belongings, someone out of the group shouted something that made others pee their pants.
"3RD RING MONSTE-GAAAHHHH!!" He screamed before his head suddenly exploded.
Geren came back to reality and shuttered when he felt the enormous strength that suffocated him. He began to sweat and couldn't muster up the strength to close his last chest of goodies.
'That isn't a 3rd Ring... that's a 4th Ring!' He paled.