Close to the border between the refugee camp and the Banu Fortress, under the shade of a massive towering wall, a wide tent with huge leather panels could be seen.
Outside this tent, four people stood guard.
Two were taller than the average man, standing over 6ft tall.
The other two were significantly shorter.
One seemed to have suffered from a stunted growth as he was only 5 and a half feet tall, but they all seemed well fed as muscles covered their lean and well trained bodies.
Each of them wore leather armor and carried a deadly weapon.
From the camp, moaning sounds mixed in with vile laugher erupted ever so occasionally.
A flash of envy crossed the face of a guard, while the eyes of the other three clouded with admiration.
Their leader wasn't only a spiritual combatant of the introductory phase, which was a rare sight in the refugee camp, but he was also well-endowed down there, making Lara cry out in pain and pleasure.
He was a man they looked up to and inspired to be.
"Leader is really lucky. He gets to hug the finest prostitute of our refugee camp just by flexing his muscles. I wonder if I will ever get that lucky," Andy, the guard with an envious look on his face, said.
He was promptly slapped on the back of the head by another guard called Alexei who retorted, "Idiot, it wasn't just flexing muscles that earned him this chance. It was his glib tongue."
"I did see him leaning close to Lara and muttering some words in her ears before she agreed to sleep with him for free instead of Shopkeeper Dale who was willing to pay her 3000 Banu Coins for a night," a third guard chimed in.
Timon and Pumbaa felt curious. Just what words can get a top-class prostitute to fawn over you for free?
"I think I know what he said," Alexei claimed confidently.
Everyone turned with a curious and expectant gaze toward him.
"Don't keep us waiting in suspense."
"Share it already."
Urged eagerly by his comrades, Alexei couldn't help but open his mouth.
"He probably told her that he will be participating in the entrance trials of the Banu Fortress. If he passed, wouldn't he gain the chance to go inside the fortress and become an inlander? Even establishing a connection with an inlander is worth not earning a dime for a night. That's why she agreed to sleep with him for free, even though the merchant offered her three hundred Banu coins. At least that's what I believe."
Alexei's theory drew nods from the group. After all, why else would a beauty agree to sleep with a hideous man like their leader for free?
Suddenly, the sound of footsteps caught their attention. They were in a deserted alley that was rarely visited. Everyone in the refugee camp knew it was in their best interest to not mess with the thugs, so they kept their distance. Coming here so late at night, either it was an ignorant fool or a person looking to cause trouble.
The four guards turned their sharp gaze in the direction of the noise and saw a person approximately 170 cm tall moving briskly towards them.
This person was slender like a willow tree. It looked like he could be blown away by a gust of wind.
He was dressed in worn out clothes, looking like a beggar.
His hair was long, black, and unkempt, falling haphazardly all the way down to his waist.
In the dim light of the back alley, the four guards couldn't see what this person looked like as the shadow of the umbrella he held in his right hand cast a murky veil over his features, effectively concealing his face.
However, they could tell he was a man as his flat chest and adam's apple were visible under the obscurity cast by the umbrella, and from the way he was dressed, it was easy to determine he was an ignorant fool they could bully.
"Who are you? Identify yourself!" Timon called out sharply.
"This is not a place for night strollers. State your business or turn back!" Alexei added, his hand tightening on the hilt of his sword.
The mysterious figure paused, slightly tilting his umbrella.
His eyes became visible in the dim light.
Completely different from his gloomy demeanor, his eyes were bright, but not in a good way.
They were glowing with ruthlessness, overflowing with murderous desires, making him look like a ghost that had crawled out of hell.
It was just a glance, but the guards felt so terrified they each involuntarily took a step back, their instinct taking over.
'Who the heck is he?' they wondered in their hearts, but they didn't get the time to put a finger on his identity as the mysterious person chuckled as if he have seen a joke.
His chuckles echoed through the silent night like the ominous tolling of a bell, sharp, ear piercing, and menacing.
The guards felt a chill run down their spines. Their hairs stood on end, and goosebumps covered their arms.
It was at this moment that the mysterious person resumed walking.
The guards' fear surged even further, seeing that he was coming closer. Every step he took pounded directly into their chests.
'This isn't normal,' Alexei thought. The terror he was feeling couldn't be described in words, and to feel such terror from simply watching a person coming closer was weird. He looked around and found his comrades in the same state.
'Simply watching a person walking shouldn't result in such immense terror. This person is using some weird tricks of some sort, or he is a master manipulator who knows how to utilize psychological warfare to his advantage to instill fear in the hearts of his targets before the battle even begins. But one thing is for sure. He is here to cause trouble. We can't afford to fall for his tricks.'
Alexei gulped down his fear, recovering his composure. Not wanting to confront the approaching person alone, he yelled out,
"It's just a trick. He is acting all mysterious to terrify us. Don't fall for it!"
His yell snapped the other three guards out of their terrified state, helping them regain their composure. Griping their weapons tightly, they prepared to confront the approaching figure with renewed determination.
"We warned you. Don't blame us for what happens next!"
Despite hearing the threat, the mysterious person didn't stop, so the guards swiftly surrounded him.
Alexei exchanged a meaningful glance with the other guards. They nodded, seemingly in agreement on a plan. They were to stand still while Alexei would go and check the strength of the mysterious person .
Why him?
Well, he was the strongest and smartest guy under Big Joe. If the enemy proved to be tougher than he appeared, he would be able to pull himself back to safety.
Whoosh!
Alexei lunged forward with impressive speed, thrusting his sword straight toward the mysterious person's heart, aiming to kill him in one precise strike.
His sword only met thin air as the mysterious person stepped to the side with such deftness that Alexei couldn't even react.
He failed to react properly even when the mysterious person counterattacked with a swift, crushing punch.
Crack!
The mysterious person's fist connected with Alexei's neck and the sound of bones shattering echoed like a dry twig snapping underfoot in a quiet, empty forest.
Alexei's eyes widened in shock and pain. The sword slipped from his grasp as he clutched desperately at his neck, wheezing harshly while stumbling backwards.
'I-I can't b-breathe. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.'
Gasping for air became an impossible task for him as his airways have closed off, denying him the vital oxygen he so urgently needed.
'I-I this h-how I... die?'
His life flashed through his eyes.
He had abandoned and sacrificed his family to ease his burdens.
He had traded and betrayed his friends for benefits.
He had killed and looted innocent people to fit in with Big Joe's group and emrich himself.
That's how he had survived for 38 years in this cruel world and lived rather comfortably, and as if "remorse" wasn't a word in his dictionary, he wanted to live like that for many more years.
He definitely didn't want to die because of getting punched in the throat by a creepy stranger.
'I don't want to die.'
His hands trembled around his throat as if trying to alleviate the crushing pressure that throttled his breath away, but it was all in vain.
'S-Someone...
'... please... save—'
He tried to cry out for help but no words came out of his mouth as he choked on his blood and collapsed to the ground with a dull thud, seemingly dead.
His lifeless eyes were wide open as if he couldn't believe he had been killed.
All those years of being cruel, and this was what he got—death at the hands of a stranger. His struggles and viciousness over the past few decades seemed like a cruel joke. Karma caught up to him, and he was done for.
The other three guards gaped in horror as they speechlessly watched their vice-leader meet a sudden and brutal end.
'No, no, no. This can't be.'
For a brief moment, they refused to believe he had died, but their denial didn't change the reality one bit.
Alexei had been killed right in front of their eyes and they weren't able to do anything to save him. He was killed too fast.
They quickly assessed their situation.
Their enemy might be dressed like a beggar, but he wasn't easy to deal with. He was more dangerous than a assassin. He was a ruthless murderer who knew martial arts!
This mysterious figure, who was deemed a ruthless murderer, held an umbrella in one hand and a sword in the other. It was the same sword that had slipped out of Alexei's hand. He had caught it before it could fall to the ground.
He stood close to Alexei'e corpse.
He squinted as he saw wisps of different colored smoke emerging from Alexei's corpse.
Having never seen such a thing before, he felt bewildered, but he decided to ignore it as he was in the middle of a battle which he needed to end quickly. Otherwise, his actual target would get away.
He turned towards the remaining three guards with a mocking grin tugging at his lips and taunted them by twirling Alexei's sword effortlessly in one hand, as if daring them to make their move.
"Next, it's your turn."
For the first time since the confrontation began, he finally spoke. His voice was as low and menacing as the merciless actions he displayed when killing Alexei.
Two of the three guards felt chilled to the bone, while the last one erupted with fury.
"You bastard, you're the one who is going to die. I won't let Big Bro's death be in vain. I will kill you!"