The moon appeared in the sky, shining its lovely light everywhere. While the Aizel group was finally preparing to head towards the village to save the villagers.
Aizel and Leah led the way, with Lucas, Harry, and Alisha close behind, and the birdie scouting the area in the air.
No one spoke or chatted unless it was absolutely necessary; Lucas, Harry, and Alisha were calming their nerves because they had to fight at least 10–11 bandits while saving the villagers.
While Aizel and Leah were thinking about the mages. They have no idea how many mages are present or how dangerous the situation may become.
"There are many aspects of my power that I do not understand fully. I can put some skills and techniques that I imagined from fantasy novels and anime to use. But there are still many skills that I can't use no matter how hard I try." Aizel pondered as they were walking toward the village.
"Maybe it's because I have a cracked core and can't have as much mental energy, or maybe there are some things that I simply can't imagine without first learning the fundamentals and concepts.
"It stands to reason that such a skill would have some drawback or limitation. I should start learning about useful things on the internet. For example, you could learn more about fire, its temperature, and how lightning works.
"There are many different elements and uses to which I must pay attention, as well as sword skills. I should begin my own training."
"We've arrived." As they approached the village, Leah broke Aizel's chain of thought.
From the distance, they could easily see the two bandits sitting near the gate while having drinks and chatting.
"How do we get rid of them quietly?" Alisha inquired, even though she was a bow user; she wasn't confident in getting rid of both of them without alerting anyone, while Leah turned to face Aizel.
Aizel nodded and picked up two stones from the ground nearby.
The trio looked at him with puzzled expressions, but Leah knew exactly what he was going to do.
"I need to imagine the stones as heavy as a boulder to ensure that bandits would still die even if they used mana manipulation to enhance their bodies."
He began to imagine while scattering lightning sparks across the stones. He aimed the left guard directly at his head and threw it with enhanced strength.
The stone flew at lightning speed and pierced the left guard's head, creating a pebble-sized, see-through hole.
The other guard stared at the body in a daze, too drunk to fully comprehend what had just occurred.
Before he could respond, another stone flew and pierced the remaining guard's head.
"So he's got a lightning core," Alisha muttered; this was the first time they'd seen Aizel use magic, and in such an interesting way.
"Nice one, let's get moving." While Leah was already on her way to the body, she said. She placed the body in her storage ring while everyone dashed inside the village.
From a distance, they can see some cages in the center of the village with the villagers inside fully naked, and some marks and blood can also be seen as they appear to have been beaten. They were four bandits sitting around a fire, chatting and drinking.
Aizel's group was hidden behind a small hut.
"The rest appear to be inside the villagers' house." The rest of them nodded as Lucas spoke.
Meanwhile, Aizel's attention was drawn to the villagers. "Even children are abused. I don't want to know what they've done around here."
He noticed some children lying helpless and others hugging their parents. There was one girl in particular who appeared to be disabled. She was lying in the corner, tears streaming down her cheek.
"Plans have changed. You guys and Leah are assisting the villagers in clearing out the bandits who are hiding in the houses. I'll look after them." Aizel said this while pointing to four bandits who were drinking and laughing without a care in the world.
"Wait a second..." Before Leah could say anything, she looked at Aizel and realized that something has happened to him.
"All right, we'll take care of the rest. Do you need anything?" She asked.
"Do you have a whip?"
*****
Meanwhile, the four bandits were enjoying the night under the full moon by eating meat and drinking beer near the woodfire.
"Hehe... *hiccup*, when do you think we'll leave from here?" One of the bandits, who appeared to be bald, inquired.
"Hiccup.. don't know man, but the boss said they are close to striking some kind of deal in Chester town." One of the thinnest bandits replied. He appeared to be quite skinny, just like a skeleton.
"Why do you want to leave, huh? We have food, drinks, and women; hehe, why do you want to leave this heaven?" The third bandit said while gulping down the beer jar in one breath.
"When is the boss going to return?" The last bandit asked as he was staring at the naked woman while licking his lips.
"Hehe... *hiccup* He said he would be back by midnight." baldy said while noticing something.
He turned back to see if anyone was staring at him, but all he saw was darkness around the huts.
"What are you staring at, Baldy? Are you drunk already?" the thinnest bandit commented while laughing loudly.
Baldy snorted while the third bandit, who was enjoying his beer, also noticed something.
"Hey guys, is it me or can you see someone slowly coming at us from the hut direction?"
This time everyone stared in that direction when they noticed someone was really walking slowly.
He appeared to be around 6 feet tall while dressed in a dark red and black cloak. The man was slowly heading towards them with a whip in his right hand. His dark, deep black eyes were so sharp and deadly that it gave them goosebumps just staring at them.
*hiccup* ...Yo,,you who are you? How did you come here?" The baldy asked while gulping in fear.
"I am Aizel"