As darkness envelops the bandit camp, the forest becomes eerily quiet. The bandits, tired from their day's activities, retreat to their tents, leaving a minimal guard to watch over the prisoners and patrol.
Pete clenches the rusty bars of the prison wagon, his muscles straining as he bends them apart. The metal groans in protest, yet he persists until he creates a gap wide enough for the captives to slip through and escape.
Quietly, Pete helps the other prisoners climb through the gap. The little girl was first to slip through, followed by other captives, each moving silently to avoid alerting the guards.
Just as the last captive squeezes through the bars, a loud shout pierces the night.
"They're escaping! " One of the captives yells.
Pete turns to see the man who had been posing as a fellow prisoner. The man then ran towards the bandit tents, shouting and alerting them.
The camp erupts into chaos as bandits scramble from their tents, weapons at the ready. Quietly sneaking away is not possible now, Pete with a deep breath looks at the captives,
"Run... I will stop them as long as I can ". Pete said as he uprooted an iron bar from the prison wagon.
Morsh: "Escape while you can... you don't even know these people"
Pete: "I am the hero... I can't run away from my responsibilities "
The captives, except the little girl scattered in every direction, running away for their life.
But were quickly captured by the bandits since the prison wagon was near the center of the camp.
The bandits attacked them, breaking their bones to ensure they couldn't escape.
A couple of bandits had already surrounded Pete and the little girl. Pete swung the iron bar at the nearest bandit. His movements are fueled by desperation and fear, but his lack of training and strength are evident. The bandit easily dodged his attacks.
Within moments, the bandits overpower Pete. One bandit kicks his legs out from the under him, while another wrenches the iron bar from his grip. They pin him to the ground.
The bandits laugh and taunt Pete as they beat him. "You thought you could escape us?" one sneers. "You're just making this harder on yourself."
From the central tent, a man steps out, exuding an aura of power and control. His presence silences the bandits, who step back respectfully.
The man is tall, imposing figure, with a rugged, weathered face marked by years of harsh living and combat. His eyes are sharp, taking in every detail of the scene before him. He wears a mix of leather and chainmail.
The leader looks at his subordinates. "Take the girl back to the prison wagon... and tie up that boy to a pole with iron chains, I will deal with him personally "
The bandits drag Pete to the edge of the camp and securely tie him to a sturdy wooden pole. This time, his wrists are bound tightly with iron chains, severely restricting his movements.
The bandit leader strides over to Pete, his expression a blend of curiosity and contempt. The other bandits gather around, eagerly anticipating how their leader is going to deal with Pete.
The leader stands before Pete, arms crossed. "You've got impressive strength for someone your age, " his voice carrying a hint of grudging respect, "You could have easily defeated my subordinates, but strength alone isn't enough "
He steps closer, looking Pete in the eyes. "You lack technique. You swing wildly, without precision or strategy. Against trained fighters, you're just a brute with no finesse."
The leader uncrosses his arms and spreads them wide, "Why don't you join us? I will personally teach you the techniques you are lacing "
Pete with anger and disdain: "I will never join the likes of you "
The leader's face twisted with sinister smile, "You either join us or I will send you to hell "
The leader turned: "I will give you one night to think " With that, He then returned to his tent.
The bandits also returned before significantly increasing the number of guards stationed around Pete.
Morsh: "Join them for now and escape when you get the chance. "
Pete still resolute: "I am a hero now, I will never join the likes of them "
As dawn breaks over the bandit camp, the first light of the morning filters through the trees, casting a soft glow over the bandit camp The bandits stir from their sleep, preparing for the day's activities.
Pete, visibly exhausted, felt the iron chains now beginning to dig slightly into his skin.
The leader walked out of his tent, his sword unsheathed and moving with menace. He stood before Pete and asked in a serious tone, "So, what's your answer?"
Pete glared at the leader: "As I said before... I will not join the likes of you "
With a rage-filled expression, the bandit leader's eyes darkened. He swiftly drew his sword and thrust it into Pete's abdomen.
"Augh... " Pete gasps, his eyes wide with shock and pain as the cold steel pierces his flesh. The sensation is overwhelming, the air forces from his lungs in a painful rush.
Blood begins to seep from the wound, staining his clothes and dripping onto the ground.
The leader, withdraws his sword, "Two of my men were found dead... and you are wearing clothes oddly similar to theirs... yet I sill gave you a chance... "
Pete coughed up a mouthful of blood, his body could handle pain, but his mind couldn't. His senses dulled as everything around him blurred.
"He.. help.. " he managed to rasp before losing consciousness.
A smile crept onto the bandit leader's face as he witnessed Pete losing consciousness..
He leaned in closer to Pete. "So, a hero can only endure one stab..."
Suddenly, Pete's head jerked up, his eyes glaring at the bandit leader with ferocity. Startled, the leader took a couple of steps back.
Morsh had taken over the body.
"Damn... " Morsh spits blood. "It hurts... you know " he grimaced.
"Hah... " Morsh shouted as he poured all his strength in his hands to break the iron chain.
As pain radiates from his wound, Morsh grits his teeth, his hands trembling, his muscles straining against the unyielding metal.
The chains groaned and then, with a sharp, resounding snap, broke apart.
The sound of the breaking chain echoes through the camp, drawing the startled gazes of the bandits. They froze in place, their eyes wide with disbelief as they see Morsh standing free, the broken chains dangling from his wrists.
The bandit leader, momentarily stunned, quickly regains his composure. His eyes narrow with fury as he shouts, "Seize him!"
The bandits, jolted into action by their leader's command, rush to grab their weapons.
Morsh wrapped the chain around his fists as he glared at the bandits running towards him with their weapons raised,
He swiftly dodged the swing of the first bandit, grabbing his sword with one hand while delivering a powerful punch with the other, sending the bandit flying into the path of the oncoming attackers as he seized the sword of the bandit for himself.
Morsh enveloped the sword in dark mist as he killed the bandits one by one while also absorbing the dark mist, resulting in him continuously getting stronger.
The archers were trying to shoot arrows, but Morsh always kept a bandit in their line of sight while also periodically throwing knifes at them which he took from the bandits.
Some of the bandits' attacks did land on Morsh, causing him pain, but he gritted his teeth and ignored the pain, and continue attacking.
With only a couple of bandits remaining, the leader signaled them towards the captives. Half of them engaged Morsh in combat, while the remaining eight rushed towards the prison wagon. They grabbed a couple of captives, including the little girl, and swiftly returned to their leader, all the while Morsh dealt with the other half of the bandits.
The leader, now holding the little girl with a victorious smile, "Surrender or else watch them die "
The remaining bandits in front of him, pressed their swords against the throats of the captives.
Morsh chuckled as he steps forward towards them, "Why do you think I care about them? I don't know them, nor do they know me."
The bandits turned towards their leader. With a nod of approval, one bandit killed one of the captives as soon as Morsh took a step.
The captives shouted, begged Morsh to stop, "Please don't... let us live... let me go... ", but Morsh ignored and continue walking towards the bandits.
The little girl: "Please stop... they will kill them "
The bandits killed the second captive, Morsh leaped and decapitated the two bandits that had killed the captives, their heads fell on the ground right after the bodies of the captives fell.
Morsh stood next to the bandits with a sinister smile, intimidating them.
The legs of the bandit next to Morsh started shaking with fear of being the next person to be killed, sweat was dripping from his forehead on the crying captive.
"Pathetic " Morsh said mockingly and with a few swift swings of his sword, he killed all of the bandits that held the captives, the captives fled after being freed.
Morsh turned to the bandit leader, whose forehead was also glistening with sweat.
"You must be stronger than your men, you should have attacked first " Morsh said.
The bandit leader, scared and thinking if he should hold the girl or not,
The little girl: "Don't worry about me... "
Morsh leaped at the leader upon hearing the girl's words, his sword aimed at the leader's neck, but was also passing the girl's neck. "Kill him brother... "
Hearing the word brother form the little girl, Morsh stopped abruptly, his eyes widened, as he jumped back from the bandit leader.