"Your Majesty! This kid is talking nonsense! I've been careful to eliminate my footprints along the way, and I didn't detect anyone following me during several anti-reconnaissance attempts... Your Majesty! Believe me! This... this guy couldn't possibly have followed me from Ira Village!!"
Fuchs desperately argued, even standing up in his excitement.
"Fuchs, don't get so worked up. Sit down, sit down."
Wolf, however, seemed quite relaxed. He looked at Fuchs' flushed, liver-colored face with interest, having already made up his mind.
"Your Majesty! You must believe me! I really, really didn't do anything to betray you!"
Fuchs knew Wolf's character well. Seeing that his argument was ineffective, he impulsively knelt down before Wolf in desperation.
"Hey, don't be like that, Fuchs. We're all brothers here. What are you doing?"
Wolf said this, but made no move to help Fuchs up, nor did he show any intention of doing so. He sat there, pretending to ponder for a moment, and then leaned down, looking directly into Fuchs' eyes, saying, "How about this? You take two men and go to Luca Village right now. You'll be responsible for tying up any loose ends. Do a good job and make everyone believe in your abilities again."
Upon hearing Wolf's words, Fuchs' face turned pale instantly. He tried to bite his lip hard to keep his emotions in check, and blood seeped from his broken lip, staining his entire chin red.
Even so, Wolf acted as if he hadn't seen it. He clapped his hands and ordered people to "escort" Fuchs to Luca Village. After Fuchs left, he turned his attention back to the boy who claimed to be "Banning."
"Young man, your tracking skills are quite impressive. You want to join our bandit gang, huh?" Wolf asked with a smile.
Banning, looking like a naive youngster, thought his opportunity had finally come. He eagerly nodded while kneeling, his eyes filled with bright anticipation.
"Alright, we happen to need someone to serve as a sacrifice for the heavens in this operation. You'll do just fine. Hahaha!"
Banning was about to say, "Thank you, Your Majesty," but upon hearing the words "sacrifice for the heavens," he was suddenly dumbfounded, frozen like a statue. His comical, helpless appearance made Wolf and the other bandits laugh heartily for a while. They all knew that "sacrifice for the heavens" was merely a title; what Wolf really meant was to kill this self-proclaimed clever brat.
"Bring him! Lock him up! If he escapes, I'll use you as the sacrifice!"
Humph, no one can outsmart me when it comes to cunning—Wolf thought smugly to himself.
·
Fuchs, the vice leader of the Crimson Cloud Bandits, was now heading to Luca Village with two other bandits to complete the final cleanup.
On the surface, it was called "escorting," but Fuchs knew in his heart that this was actually "surveillance" sent by the chief. This proved that the chief no longer trusted him.
Long before this day, Fuchs had somewhat guessed that Wolf harbored suspicions about him, and the appearance of this unknown youth today was merely the last straw that led Wolf to make his decision. Alternatively, this youth could very well have been an actor arranged by Wolf to deliver the "final blow" to Fuchs.
(Sigh, years of brotherhood gone, just like that...)
(At least... we haven't completely torn our faces apart yet... but... Mary... oh, Mary... I'm afraid I'll never see you again.)
Fuchs' current emotions were akin to those of a man who had narrowly escaped death at the cost of being castrated - life was tasteless, yet seeking death seemed a waste.
According to Fuchs' original script, events should not have transpired this way.
Approximately a year ago, the Crimson Cloud Bandits frequently operated around Luca Village and Ira Village. At that time, their team was not large enough to attack an entire village, so they primarily relied on robbing passersby and small merchant groups for sustenance. In the course of these daily activities, Fuchs happened to meet Mary, who was out picking medicinal herbs by chance.
Mary was a married woman from Ira Village, but her relationship with her husband was poor. Taking advantage of this, Fuchs quickly ingratiated himself with her. Eventually, under Fuchs' coercion, Mary reluctantly became intimate with him. Once infidelity began, it continued countless times. Over time, Fuchs unconsciously fell in love with Mary and decided to eliminate her husband and marry her.
Unfortunately, the cavalry unit of Gudetown was about to sweep the bandits around Ira Forest. Under Wolf's command, the Crimson Cloud Bandits fled en masse, and they were gone for a year. When they returned to Ira Forest last month, Fuchs was speechless to discover that Mary had found a new lover!
Fuchs had never imagined that he, who had cuckolded others, could also be cuckolded. It was clear that he had come later, so how could someone come even later than him? Whose possession was Mary now?
In a fit of rage, Fuchs intended to kill the two adulterers, but the bandits were planning a major operation (pillaging Luca Village), so Fuchs reluctantly postponed his plan. By the time the situation in Luca Village had mostly concluded, Fuchs' mindset had changed. He still loved Mary and decided that it would suffice to kill her husband and the lover named Joseph.
Thus, Fuchs began secretly meeting with Mary in Ira Village under the pretext of various reconnaissance missions while simultaneously preparing to assassinate the two men without her knowledge.
However, fate once again played a cruel joke on Fuchs. Their leader, Wolf, having tasted success, now planned to plunder Ira Village! Moreover, he ordered that no one act independently before the official attack, or they would be executed as traitors leaking information.
Fuchs knew the ferocious nature of his comrades, and Wolf was a lecherous man. Once the Crimson Cloud Bandits attacked Ira Village, there was a chance that Mary would become Wolf's woman, and Fuchs would, unfortunately, get triple cuckolded.
Left with no choice, Fuchs risked arousing Wolf's suspicions by trying various methods to sneak out and persuade Mary to flee to the town for refuge in advance. However, Mary did not believe Fuchs. Not only did she think he was deceiving her, but she also demanded that Fuchs renounce his life of crime, as she did not want a bandit as her husband.
Fuchs felt like he was going mad.
Time passed day by day, and the Crimson Cloud Bandits' three-day reconnaissance of Ira Village was nearing its end. Fuchs unprecedentedly volunteered to conduct the final reconnaissance mission. He knew this would inevitably arouse Wolf's suspicions, but it was his last chance.
With Fuchs' abilities, he should have completed the "reconnaissance" and returned to the bandits' hideout before daybreak. However, this time two unexpected incidents occurred.
The first piece of news was good: Mary's lover, Joseph, had died unexpectedly.
The second piece of news was bad: Ira Village had inexplicably hosted a barbecue party, causing Fuchs to waste two or three extra hours on cover-ups than planned. What was worse, he failed to persuade Mary and did not win her over in bed. Regretfully, he returned, hoping to stealthily whisk her away amidst the chaos during the raid.
Upon Fuchs' tardy return to the hideout, Wolf immediately sought him out for a "chat," even making an exception to have Fuchs sit beside him, leaving Fuchs trembling in fear. Everyone knew what happened afterward when the young man who came to submit appeared.
·
Fuchs was miserable, but the young man "Banning" didn't fare much better.
Deep in the cave, Tyler was tied up like a bundle of rags and thrown on the ground. In his head, a silly loli taunted and mocked him.
(Silly Nissen: Tyler, you big fool! I told-o you not to abandon the light-o for darkness! Now you see? Wait-o to be sacrificed to the heavens, you super invincible big fool-o, Tyler!)