(Random Bandit POV) *WARNING: This chapter might upset some people; for that, I am sorry. `(*>﹏<*)′*
This life is amazing!
I never knew being a bandit was so rewarding until now. At first I despised these bandits and saw them as the dregs of society, but after being a bandit for close to a year now, I realized that the reason I saw them as such was because I was only jealous of them.
I have my own house, I get a pay of 5 gold coins after a successful raid, and after the top brass are done with the female slaves they got, we, the low-tier bandits, get to have them, and mind you, these girls are all the top beauties of their village. I had even slept with a village chief's daughter once!
This is the life—no worries about rent, clothes, shoes, food, or even girls. if we need more, we just launch a raid on a village, and voila, we have everything restocked.
Of course I had not planned for such a life, but with the wars the kingdom has been launching against other smaller kingdoms, the prices of goods had reached an all-time high, since soldiers also need to eat and drink wine, and it was because of this I lost the only family I had, my sister.
In rage I joined a bandit group called the fearless stronghold and we robbed merchant caravans, noble carriages, and even the supplies that were meant for the army. We were unstoppable.
But that was not enough to satisfy us.
One day our boss brought a group of people in dark robes, and I recognized them as the dark sect. Even though I never knew much about the practitioners of this world, aside from the fact that they hold some annual sect meetings in Lin city, I did still follow some little news about them from the merchants and nobles we robbed from.
The biggest ones were the hunt of any sect that had dealings with the dark sect, the various monster subjugation campaigns they held, and the recent one was about the immortal that ascended about a year ago; everyone was mesmerized by the orbs that fell from the sky.
Anyways, these dark sect people only wanted us to attack villages around the area, but the strange thing was how they only allowed us to attack certain villages and not every village we came across.
Which was weird, but hey, we get girls and gold coins, so I'm not complaining.
"We have a new mission from the boss!" I heard a voice as I stopped my hip movement and quickly got up.
What an inconvenient time.
"Get off me!" I yelled as the girl that was with me started clinging to me when i tried to get off the bed.
"No... please don't leave!" She held me even tighter, crying.
I did not have time for such a thing as I decisively hit her in the face, knocking her out. even though it was a waste, I could not be late, or the boss might withhold my pay after the mission, and I would be irate.
As I came out of the cave, I came face-to-face with another comrade who had an agonizing look on his face as he turned to look behind him every step he took.
Looking at him, I understood his plight, but we have no choice. The last time someone shrugged off the boss's calls and continued his business, he was killed on the spot.
Right, the reason for such a thing was because the people of the dark sect gave us some pills that, when given to women, would make them more responsive and active, but the downside was that if they were not watered in time, they would die, so some of my brothers prefer not to use them, but sometimes, some of the women are still feisty, so they would need some guidance.
"You can still get another one." I patted his back when I saw how he was dragging his feet.
"But she was still a virgin, man!" He said through gritted teeth.
Wow, this guy is very lucky to have gotten a virgin; most girls would have already been used by over seven guys before reaching people like us to enjoy, and by that time she would not be that responsive to stimulation, so some would use the pill to get her going again.
"But why did you give her the drug then?" I asked. If she was a virgin, she was still responsive then; why waste her like that?.
"I wish I wouldn't, but she already got the drug, and the guys at the top, for some reason, did not get the chance to do her in, and it was given to me, and now I am also not able to!" He explained as we made it out of the colony caves we had built in the mountains, seeing the sun shining above us.
"Well, I guess she would die a virgin then." He looked at me with an upset look after I had made such a statement, but I just shrugged my shoulders.
Well, i won't say i was not jealous of him, and I am a bit happy he did not get to have her, though there are some guys who would still love to have her corpse, though.
Making our way to the square, we saw that on the wooden platform stood the boss and a few of those dark sect people, as he seemed to be talking to them about something, and the boss did not look happy; in fact, he looked worried even.
"What is going on?" The guy beside me asked another bandit who was here before us.
"The dark sect guys suddenly appeared when the boss wanted to give out the information about the new mission and stopped him," The guy answered, looking a bit worried.
These dark sect guys are very demanding; anytime they show up, our usually simple raids and robberies would get too complicated, like the time we invaded a small sect that was under the protection of another big sect. Our jobs were to just loot the place, but the traps that those practitioners had set were no laughing matter. we lost close to two hundred brothers that day, reducing our numbers down to about seven hundred.
The boss stopped talking to the dark sect people and then turned to face us with a conflicted look on his face.
"We are leaving!" He announced.
The whole square was silent before an uproar broke out.
"We are leaving? Why?"
"Where are we even going?"
"Did something happen?"
"Is it some kind of expedition or something?"
...
Everyone was talking over each other as they kept asking questions.
I understood their confusion since not only is our hideout hard to find, but the last time we moved, we were almost wiped out by the king's guards when they caught wind of it.
"According to some information from the holy sect, some practitioners have been spotted heading towards our direction and will arrive tomorrow by noon, so we must start packing, and we will leave by evening to a place the holy sect has set up for us," The boss said.
The holy sect is actually the dark sect, but they insist that we call them that, but we know that whatever they are doing is not holy at all.
"So we would need to increase our vigilance and appoint more sentry towers to keep an eye out for any movement, in case they arrive earlier than expected. Dismiss."
...
It is currently nighttime, as I was part of those guarding the base with the guy from earlier.
"So how is the girl?" I asked, striking up a conversation.
"She was still alive when I got there, but barely. I still did not have time for a quickie; those freaks would surely be happy to get a virgin corpse," He said spitting to the ground.
"Yeah, those guys have a lot of nails loose," I added.
"What of yours?"
"Already taken." The girl was no longer in my cave when I got back. due to the risk of a disease spreading, caves have to be regularly cleaned of corpses. "Is it not time for the next group?"
I said, trying to change the topic so that I would not have to remember her. In fact why is it taking so long to pack?
"Yeah, i wonder-- What is that!?"
Huh, I looked at what he was pointing at only to see what looked like a flying sword coming straight in our direction. I instantly blocked it, deflecting it to the side as it fell, and I looked around vigilantly.
"Who is there!?" The man yelled, pulling out his own sword, but what responded were voices instead.
"I guess am still rusty."
"No, master was just too casual with his attack; that's why the thing was able to deflect it!"
Who are--
"Maybe, but I still have the element of surprise," I heard the man speak again before I felt my body lighten, as if I where flyinig, the whole place was suddenly illuminated, and I could see the canopy of the trees up close. then I felt I was falling and the world was spinning. I got a glimpse of a familiar headless body holding a familiar sword as I plunged down.
Is that not my body?