Rohan began walking out of the village with the bandits trailing behind him, their footsteps echoing through the quiet streets. They ventured into the heart of the forest, its dense foliage growing thicker with each step. The bandits couldn't shake off a growing sense of unease, an unexplained trepidation that settled upon them.
As they journeyed for two hours, the forest's canopy darkened, casting eerie shadows upon their path. Rohan himself couldn't escape the haunting memories of this treacherous place—a path he had ventured upon while following Milo. The atmosphere grew tense, and the bandits noticed a few carcasses of enormous beasts strewn along the path, their bodies punctured by mysterious holes.
Colton, growing impatient, questioned Rohan, "Hey, kid, how much longer are we going to wander around?"
"We're almost there," Rohan replied, his voice tinged with a mischievous undertone.
Curiosity mingled with apprehension as the bandits followed Rohan deeper into the forest. The foliage grew denser, and a peculiar buzzing sound began to fill the air. The bandits exchanged wary glances, searching for the source of the noise.
Abruptly, Rohan halted, causing the bandits to halt as well, their gazes fixed upon him. With a cunning grin, Rohan picked up a stone from the forest floor and locked eyes with Colton. "Do you know what the greatest treasure a human possesses is?" he taunted.
"What the hell are you talking about?" Colton sensed that something was amiss.
"It's your own damn life!" Rohan shouted, hurling the stone at a wasp nest suspended from a tree branch just above them.
Zrrr, zrrr, zrrr...
The bandits watched in horror as the nest ruptured, unleashing a swarm of flesh-eating wasps seeking vengeance for their violated sanctuary.
"Run"
Panic seized Colton, who wasted no time in barking the command to run. The bandits, gripped by terror, followed their leader's order, sprinting through the forest. But could they outpace the relentless pursuit of the flesh-eating wasps?
The answer was a resounding no.
"Argh! No, nooo..."
"Let me go!"
"Argh..."
The bandits, consumed by panic, swung their swords and flailed their arms in a futile attempt to ward off the relentless swarm of flesh-eating wasps. Their blades sliced through the air, but the agile insects evaded their strikes effortlessly. The bandits' faces contorted with fear and pain as the vicious wasps plunged their razor-sharp stingers into exposed flesh, injecting their venomous wrath. Everywhere the wasps attacked there would be a hole on the body reaching directly to the bones. Each strike sent waves of agony through the bandits' bodies, rendering them weak and disoriented. Their futile cries for mercy drowned amidst the relentless buzzing, as the overwhelming swarm continued its merciless assault. No matter how valiantly they fought, the bandits were helpless against the onslaught, their feeble resistance no match for the fury of the flesh-eating wasps.
One by one, the bandits fell victim to the merciless assault of the relentless wasps. Their attempts to fight back against the swarming horde proved futile. The wasps were no ordinary insects; they were fearsome flesh-eaters. Rohan had observed the same nest on his previous encounters with this path that led to the enigmatic hole Milo had been digging.
The wasps had annihilated a beast which was the size of a cow in mere seconds. If not for Milo's mysterious power which made the wasps run away from him. Both Milo and Rohan would have died to the wasps long ago.
The beasts themselves avoided this vicinity for reasons unknown. So, while the bandits raced out of the village, Rohan chose a different path, diving deeper into the forest, towards the enigmatic hole.
"It's working," Rohan muttered breathlessly, glancing back to witness the wasps gradually thinning in their pursuit, opting to return to their sanctum instead. Finally catching sight of the elusive hole, Rohan realized that the relentless attack of the wasps had subsided.
The bandits, caught off guard by the speed and ferocity of the wasps' onslaught, found themselves reduced to a mere fraction of their initial number. Colton, seething with frustration, glanced back to discover that only seven of them remained.
"Damn it!" Colton yelled, his voice filled with anger and desperation.
"Wait, did he... did the kid also perish?" Colton wondered; his attention consumed by the imminent danger. Oblivious to Rohan's escape in the opposite direction, Colton made a hasty retreat, leaving the surviving bandits to their own devices. The seven remaining bandits, now exhausted and disheartened, made their way back to the village, their bodies battered and spirits shattered.
As they emerged from the forest, the village greeted them with a mix of relief and uncertainty, for they had survived the encounter with the deadly wasps, but at what cost?
. . .
Meanwhile Agnes who was left behind by Rohan hurriedly asked the villagers to prepare for the bandit's next attack.
Of course, he did not believe Colton's promise.
The villagers who had already brawled with the bandits once knew that they had to do everything they could before the bandits arrived.
They hurriedly gathered together and brought their utensils and tools. In the whole village only Agnes had something close to a weapon, his axe. That's why even though the villagers were more in numbers they were afraid of the bandits who had swords as their weapons.
Once they were all prepared Agnes took some men and waited for the bandits to come back at the village gate.
By the time it was dawn Agnes sees some restlessness in the forest.
"Get ready, I think the bandits are out."
But when he saw the bandits that came out of the forest, he was in for a big surprise.
"Just seven? Where are the others. And they look exhausted."
The question was, when Agnes saw there were only seven bandits coming out of the forest and all of them looking exhausted, what would he do?
"Men let's attack the bandits there are only seven of them left." He shouts at the top of his lungs as he jumps at Colton.
"Curse it"
Colton who was already exhausted looks at the incoming villagers and prepares himself for a tough battle.
The villagers knew they could not lose on this opportunity so they all group together and attack the bandits.
Agnes attacks at Colton which he blocked with some effort, but he was already exhausted and could not react when another villager attacked him.
Within half an hour, all the bandits along with Colton were beaten black and blue, by the villagers.
The villagers tied them with ropes and brought them inside the village.
The villagers did not kill them. They still could not bring themselves to kill the bandits.
"Agnes what should we do now?" asked one of the villagers.
Agnes goes to Colton who was now beaten up and tied by a rope "Where is Rohan?"
"The kid? That bastard got eaten by the flesh-eating wasps"
. . .
"What?" Agnes refused to believe him.
"Where do you think we lost our men you bastard. It was all that twerps plan, he hit the flesh-eating wasp's nest before they started attacking us. When we came out, he was not there. It's clear he was killed by the wasps."
. . .
"Rohan he… he sacrificed himself to protect the village!" Susan muttered.
"Umm… who sacrificed himself?"
A voice came from behind them.