While most of the bandits Zareth had encountered so far were of average height, two guys in their early forties who were both taller than 6'7" stood out as being significantly bigger and more muscular than the others.
They appeared to be identical twins, and their forearms were the same size as their heads.
Like the rest of the bandits, they both wore rusty steel chest plates.
One of the twins approached one of the center carriages and pounded his foot on the side of it, lifting the carriage just a little.
"Get the hell out of the carriage one by one!"
He yelled at the top of his voice with an angry and demanding tone.
"I better not see one of you act silly, or your all gonna regret it!"
More bandits appeared in Zareth's sight, some going behind the last carriage in line, and some to the front.
In total, there now seemed to be over 12 bandits.
Before long, they had all of the carriages surrounded, and ready to ambush.
With frightened expressions on their faces, the merchants slowly made their way out of the carriages, including Yan's father.
Now, with his snake dead in Bolnuir, Akuno didn't seem to have any more tricks up his sleeve after all.
Silio came out of the last carriage as well, his eyes balling and snot dripping down his nose.
One could tell just from a look that he wanted to yell and scream but was trying his best to restrain himself.
Seeing this, Zareth felt a little ashamed to have him as a companion.
The merchants were quickly and abruptly lined up, all that was left was the carriage at the top of the line.
While the other 11 robbers approached the last carriage, one of the burly robbers stood back, making sure that neither Silio nor any of the merchants fled.
"Stop actin' like a cockroach! No moving won't make us believe you're not in there!"
One of the bandits yelled, before a short moment of silence ensued.
The robbers exchanged awkward glances before one of them hesitantly approached the carriage's entry.
Just as his hand reached the door handle, a red saber suddenly thrust through the door and swiftly pierced its way up the man's entire hand in a second, coming out from behind his shoulder.
The man screamed in pain as Braemos kicked his chest and pushed him to the ground, unlodging his sword from his arm.
Out of nowhere, an arrow suddenly pierced into another bandit's chest as Jasmine jumped out from behind the carriage.
Several fireballs were hurled in their direction as well by Arthur who was still hidden, as Liam landed in the middle of all of the bandits out of nowhere with his broad sword up.
"What the!?"
One of the other bandits suddenly yelled in confusion and raised his dagger in defense.
"You done picked the wrong group to rob, bunch a rigidity thieves!"
Braemos said, effortlessly jumping down from the carriage onto the floor.
Slowly, Arthur walked out from behind the carriage, and the two groups had a short stalemate.
Yan was still somehow preoccupied with the man behind the stall, who was working with these bandits as well, and Zareth was yet to be discovered.
He continued to walk to the carriages, but at a normal pace, as he knew he would need to come in at the perfect time, otherwise, his help would go unappreciated.
The adventurers quickly formed a powerful formation around each other, one they had most likely formed after many years of working together.
They progressively repelled the bandits in a manner reminiscent of a classic RPG. It was like an impregnable fortress.
However, in the face of overwhelming numbers, even a robust barricade can crumble.
Naturally, the merchants were helpless as they were still being held captive by the powerful bandit, and Braemos and the others were already starting to feel overpowered.
Jasmine's arrows penetrated their armored breastplates but avoided striking their skin.
Arthur was compelled to fight and had hardly any time to cast his healing spells.
Casting healing spells while also fighting for your life was practically impossible for a mage of Arthur's level because they required more concentration than attack spells.
Multiple bandits attacking Braemos at one time was enough for him to handle, but Liam couldn't take much more damage for the team, as most of the bandit's targeted him, being the tank of the group, as Arthur couldn't find the time to heal him either.
Finally, the bandits broke through their formation and immediately attacked Arthur who was in the middle, guarded by the others.
He had no fighting capability at a short distance.
Even Jasmine was forced to use her bow as a melee weapon as she lost the advantage of distance.
Liam was barely holding four enemies at bay by himself.
There was no way they could survive this scenario at this rate.
All of a sudden, one of the thieves yelled,
"Avoid hurting the girl; her body is beautiful. She will be fun to be around for a while!"
The towering, hulking bandit, who was brandishing a massive cleaver akin to Liam's broad blade, spoke.
Liam, who was already being attacked by four bandits, stumbled back after this large robber struck him with a vertical cleaver swipe.
"Follow the boss' orders, and don't let them kill themselves! We can sell them as slaves in the black market as well if their bodies are as unblemished as the merchants."
A bandit who was positioned in the middle of the group's back spoke as he drew back an arrow that was aimed straight at Arthur's skull.
Before this archer bandit could react, two hands suddenly covered his lips and one seized his neck from behind.
An unimaginable amount of force was applied by the hand just then, snapping the archer's neck before he could even utter a sound.