Building a Kingdom and Conquering the World-Chapter 236: Fighting bandits

Leier looked down from atop the tree, her eye narrowing as she studied these intruders. There was something off about them and it wasn't only their shady appearance or their leering smiles. She hadn't sensed them approaching until they were already in the clearing. That alone made her alert.

She was a Third Stage warrior, nearing the threshold of the Fourth, and even from this distance, she could tell that most of the men below were at least in the Second Stage. Not enough to overpower her outright, but certainly enough to be dangerous.

They didn't seem like ordinary bandits. Their movements were too fluid, their spacing too calculated. They knew how to surround a target without making any sounds, like predators. Despite being absorbed in her thoughts Leier should have noticed it. As they approached, they were entering formation without needing to speak a word.

Leier shifted her gaze to her squad. The Shadow Guards stood in a loose ring. Despite just waking up, their weapons were already pointed at the approaching group. No smile. No words. They only watched, ready to react.

The greasy-haired man took another step forward, arms outstretched in mockery, as if inviting them into an embrace. "Come on now, don't be shy," he crooned. "We'll treat you nice. You girls look like you've been travelin' too long without the right company."

The other men chuckled behind him, low and unpleasant, their lecherous laughter echoing through the trees like hyenas. Aside from the greasy-haired man, there were twenty of them in total, stepping into the clearing with casual confidence, each one armed, though their weapons hung loose at their sides, as if they didn't see these women as threat.

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"I have never seen you around our village, did you come from another village?" - The greasy-haired man asked again, but no woman responded, they just remained silently looking at him, exchanging glances between each other - "Women of few words, huh."

He looked at his men that had already surrounded them, crossing his arms he gave his orders - "Capture them, make sure that not a single injury happen to them."

The men unsheathed their swords, the lecherous smile never leaving their lips, even licking them, as if they were looking at some kind of meat - "Don't make it hard for us babies, we would hate to see a cut in those beautiful faces of yours" - One of them said and the others chuckled.

As for the Shadow Guards, they only gave each other a glance. Suddenly, one of them disappeared right before the men's eyes, activating her tribal tattoo. The others also activated theirs, immediately disappearing. All of them have been granted the same Inverno Owl's tatoo, the same as Leier.

The laughter died almost instantly, silence devoured the clearing. The greasy-haired man spun in place, sweating. "What the…?" he muttered, eyes darting from tree to bush, scanning the surroundings for any trace of movement. Did he just humiliate a group of noble mages?

Then came the scream.

It was short. Wet. A gurgle, really. One of the men stumbled forward with a look of utter confusion on his face before collapsing to his knees, blood already pouring from a thin red line across his throat.

"Shit! They're behind us!" someone shouted, swinging his blade wildly towards his back, blindly attacking.

Wrong again.

Another man dropped, this time with a short sword buried to the hilt in his back, perfectly placed between his ribs. Two more turned just in time to see a blur rush past them, an almost invisible flicker of motion, and then their legs gave out, tendons neatly severed, their bodies falling limp into the grass.

From above, Leier watched with cold precision - "They are doing well. The training paid off." - Silent, efficient. No wasted movement. No wasted breath. Her girls were handling it exactly as trained.

But still, she couldn't leave it entirely to them. The greasy-haired man, their leader, wasn't as simple as his disgusting appearance made him out to be. He might be as strong as her. And, right now, he was completely dumbstruck, unable to give orders or react as if he was afraid of something.

"Let's deal with that." - Leier muttered to herself and with a swift motion, she dropped from the tree, shrouded in shadows that covered her like a mantle.

She landed without a sound.

The moment her feet touched the earth, she was already moving. The chaos in the clearing masked her descent well. Two of the remaining men were clustered near the edge of the treeline, backs turned, blades drawn, spinning frantically as they tried to catch the invisible threat.

They never saw her coming.

Her blade flashed once, a smooth, precise motion, and the first man crumpled, his throat slashed open with surgical grace. The second turned just in time to catch her cold gaze before her short sword plunged into the soft spot beneath his chin, slipping up into the brain. His eyes went wide before the light left them.

Blood hit the ground, forming pools, no snow to soak it.

After finishing the two enemies on his way, Leier's eyes turned to their leader. He seemed frantic, not even seeing two people falling a few steps behind him. His soldiers were falling one after the other for invisible enemies. His men, once cocky and laughing, were now gasping, screaming, dying.

Leier approached silently, her blade dripping crimson. The Tribal Tattoo along her shoulders pulsed faintly, almost reaching her arms, still holding the residual blue glow of the activated tattoo. She tried to be silent, but when she took another step closer, the man noticed it.

"You... what are you?" he whispered, voice thin and shaking, looking at that shining blue eye. The only thing that he could see in the darkness of the forest, away from the clearing.

Leier didn't answer.

She just walked toward him slowly, calmly, like a wolf approaching a wounded animal. The other Shadow Guards were still clearing out the last pockets of resistance. Screams continued to sound. Then another. Then silence.

"Fucking hell!" - Noticing his dire situation, the man's right hand flashed towards his own sword. However, Leier wouldn't let that happen. This man was powerful, at least as powerful as her. She would never let him get an advantage.

Without a word, she threw her short sword towards him, like lightning. The greasy man had no option but to dodge, jumping to the side. However, he wasn't a Third Stage for nothing. He managed to unsheathe as soon as he touched the ground again.

"Stop it, let's talk, right?" - He screamed. Leier said nothing. She didn't need to. She didn't want ot.

She lunged, but not like a charging beast, but like a silent owl. With the tattoo's power pulsing through her veins, her body seemed to dissolve into the shadows between the trees. One moment she was in front of the greasy-haired man, the next she vanished completely.

The man spun in place, blade raised, sweating as he looked around the edge of the clearing - "Where—?!" - he growled, panic rising. His sword swept in wide, desperate arcs, carving the air and slicing low-hanging leaves, but finding no target - "What is this witchcraft? I didn't intend to disrespect you, noble mages!" - he screamed, confusing them for mages.

A whisper of wind passed behind him.

He turned immediately, but again, nothing.

Leier's ability, inherited from the Inverno Owl's tribal tattoo, allowed her to shift her mana into harmony with her surroundings, blending light and sound, masking her very presence. It wasn't true invisibility, but close enough. Especially in low light, especially for a man too shaken to think clearly or those weaker than the user.

He was breathing hard now, teeth clenched. No lecherous smile on his lips - "I said let's talk! We don't have to—"

A sudden sting, hot and sharp, slashed across his thigh. He stumbled back with a shout, barely catching himself. Blood began to soak through his pants.

Leier reappeared just for a second, crouched low, her blade glinting red in the moonlight, before she vanished again into the trees. She was like a wolf, hunting down its prey. Despite being as strong as her, the man couldn't understand her powers.

"You bitch—!"

He slashed wildly again, more out of fear than technique, each movement wasting precious energy. The blood from his thigh was already weakening his stance. Maybe a tendon had been hit. And Leier was circling.

She wasn't rushing this. No. She was dismantling him piece by piece.

A second cut, this time across the back of his calf. Shallow, but precise. Meant to hamper movement.

He fell to one knee, sword still clutched in his hand. "Show yourself!" he screamed into the trees. "Fight fair!"

Leier stepped out of the shadows behind him, her steps as soft as the wind caressing the leafs.

"I don't fight. I just kill" she whispered, and drove her knee into his spine - "But you are in luck right now. We need some informations."