Chapter 134: Get to It!
The continuous sounds of "thud" echoed around.
Screams of agony followed as the chaotic rain of arrows claimed over a dozen unlucky souls.
The already panicked bandits descended into chaos.
Seeing that the timing was right, Matthew grabbed a scroll.
A swirling fireball tore through the red night sky, crashing into the bandit horde with a loud "boom."
The giant fireball exploded, releasing fiery serpents that twisted wildly.
The stench of burning flesh, mixed with the foul odor of the swamp, spread through the air.
"There's a spellcaster!"
Beverly's eyes widened in shock, and he shouted to warn his men.
Matthew glanced at him but had no intention of targeting him.
Last time, even with fifty fireballs raining down, he hadn't been able to stop the high-tier Shadowhunter Troll.
"Let's deal with the other bandits first!"
Hearing seven or eight delightful kill notifications, Matthew continued his onslaught against the other bandits.
Then, a scene that terrified the bandits unfolded.
One massive fireball after another flew in from the distance.
Boom!
Boom, boom!
The constant explosions drowned out Beverly's attempts to give orders.
They couldn't predict when the fireballs would rain down on them.
All they saw were fireballs exploding around them, engulfing and tearing apart the comrades they had known just moments before.
Under the threat of death, the bandits scattered in panic.
As the bandits fled, they fell right into Matthew's trap!
"The enemy's morale has collapsed. It's done!"
He slightly adjusted the trajectory of the fireballs, sending them flying toward the rear of the bandits along the road.
On both sides of the Misty Swamp's road lay deadly mud pits, stepping into them under the scarlet moonlight would be a death sentence.
Sure enough, the next few fireballs each claimed more than 15 bandits!
In just a few breaths, over a hundred bandits had fallen at Matthew's hands!
The terrifying carnage left Beverly, hiding among the reeds, filled with dread.
"Fireball? Impossible! No one can cast so many fireballs at once, not even a high-tier mage!"
"Could it be... an Arcanist?"
"No, if it were an Arcanist, they'd be using sixth-circle spells like Stinking Cloud or Chain Lightning, which would be even more devastating..."
"Could this spellcaster not be that powerful and is just using fireball scrolls?"
Thinking about the 100-gold-per-scroll fireballs, Beverly did a quick calculation and came to a suffocating conclusion.
"Spending tens of thousands of gold coins just to deal with a group of bandits?"
"What did we do to deserve this!"
The answer seemed absurd!
But when Beverly thought about the Thorn Merchant Caravan's extravagant construction of a temporary camp, it all fit with their money-throwing style...
"Is this the confidence of the Arcanist's family?"
The relentless explosions further rattled Beverly's nerves, and hearing his comrades' panicked shouts, he knew deep down.
It was over!
Even if the enemy's numbers were small, they had the ability to move freely under the scarlet moon.
That gave them an overwhelming advantage!
Additionally, the enemy was cunning, having no intention of engaging in close combat to wipe them out.
Instead, they kept raining down ranged attacks, wearing down their forces.
The enemy's goal was simple: to make them collapse on their own!
Beverly tore open a "Sound Amplification" scroll, risking exposing his location and being targeted by fireballs, and shouted:
"Retreat! Retreat now!"
The defeat pained Beverly deeply, but it was better than losing all his men in this completely one-sided battle!
Beverly's shout was the final straw that broke the camel's back, sending the bandits fleeing in all directions.
Boom!
Another violent explosion erupted near Beverly.
Mud splattered onto his beloved armor, and the stench made him dizzy.
Fighting off the nausea caused by the shockwave, Beverly glanced one last time at the direction from which the fireballs were coming.
Tilting his head back, he downed a healing potion and plunged into the narrow mud path at the edge of the road.
The explosions and screams continued until all the surviving bandits had fled, leaving only the wounded, writhing in pain.
Finally, the sound of fireball explosions began to fade.
Matthew glanced at his fully replenished mana bar, clicked his tongue, and signaled to Yaya, who was circling in the sky.
"Yaya? Is the battle over?"
Resisting the urge to attack, Yaya, with her far superior vision, scanned the now cratered battlefield below and flew back to camp.
Her pale red scales blended perfectly with the sky.
Thanks to the "Blessing" of the High Legendary Time Dragon, she was immune to the scarlet moon's effects and could avoid its "gaze."
The excited adventurers, after confirming the danger had passed, quickly gathered around and finished off the bandits clinging to life.
Only the dead were worth 10 gold coins!
"Ding, you have won a raid!"
"Ding, you have gained 1,000 experience points + 1 skill point!"
"Ding, you have killed 176 bandits, gaining 2,200 experience points and 4 skill points!"
"Ding, your subordinates have killed 674 bandits, earning you 8,500 experience points!"
"Ding, you have changed the fate of 850 people, earning 1,000 fate coins."
The continuous notifications brought Matthew great satisfaction. Though the experience points weren't massive, they brought his total to 43,700.
The fate coins used for Yaya had also been restored to 2,700.
Of course, what pleased Matthew the most was that more than half of the 1,500 bandits had been eliminated.
Judging by their shattered morale, even if the survivors escaped the Misty Swamp, they wouldn't have the courage to attack again.
Matthew reviewed his plan, confirmed that everything was progressing smoothly, exhaled lightly, and turned back toward the camp.
He needed to make the most of his time!
...
The blood moon sank lower in the sky.
Thick clouds turned into clawed, blood-red monsters.
A faint mist began spreading through the swamp.
Clip-clop, clip-clop, clip-clop!
The crisp sound of hooves echoed through the reeds.
The disorganized bandits instinctively turned their heads and relaxed slightly when they saw who was approaching.
Several bandits grumbled angrily, muttering:
"Why are those idiots only showing up now?"
"These guys are the ones who gave us false intel..."
"Why are there so few of them?"
"What are they trying to do?"
"Something doesn't feel right..."
"Don't overthink it. This is my last job anyway..."
"It's too dangerous..."
"Who the hell are these merchants?"
"Who knows..."
"..."
Glancing at the bandits, who looked like refugees, Bloodhand Kahn turned back, coldly waving his hand.
He then led over a hundred cavalry through the midst of the bandits, leaving them stunned.
The bandits watched them leave in confusion, cursing quietly under their breath.
None of them noticed the twisted figures emerging from the thickening mist around them!