The Eclipsed Order

Chapter 14: Chapter 14: What’s Wrong, Mr. Bandit Boss?

The bandits could hardly believe what they were seeing.

There were only five people standing before them—one man and four women—yet those five had nearly annihilated the entire organization in a matter of minutes. What should have been an overwhelming advantage in numbers had become meaningless, as the intruders moved through the hideout with such overwhelming strength that the bandits could barely understand what was happening.

Even the two men who had confronted them earlier were no longer in a position to fight properly. Their weapons had been knocked away, and several of their companions were already lying motionless across the ground.

The bandit boss stared at the scene with disbelief.

Five people...

There was no way ordinary warriors could possess this kind of strength.

His grip tightened around his sword as he watched the young woman standing in front of him. She didn’t appear particularly concerned by the situation. In fact, she looked almost amused.

Zyra stepped forward and glanced at the two men who were still struggling nearby.

"I’ll handle the boss. You two take care of them."

There was a noticeable excitement in her voice, as though she had finally found something interesting after being surrounded by opponents who were far too weak to entertain her.

She then turned her attention toward the bandit boss and smiled.

"Hi there, Mr. Bandit Boss."

The man’s expression hardened.

"Who are you people? To possess such power at your age..."

He didn’t get the chance to finish.

Zyra suddenly closed the distance between them, her blade cutting through the air with frightening speed. The bandit boss reacted on instinct and raised his sword just in time to intercept the attack.

Clang!

The impact traveled through his arms and forced his feet firmly against the ground.

Zyra’s eyes narrowed slightly as she looked at him.

"Nice reflexes."

She immediately followed with another strike.

The boss managed to block it, but the force behind the attack made his arms tremble. Before he could recover, another slash came from the opposite direction, followed by another that forced him to retreat several steps.

He could keep up with her movements, but defending against them was another matter entirely.

She’s incredibly strong.

Every time their swords collided, his arms grew heavier. Even though he was an experienced fighter, he could feel himself being pushed back by the sheer force of her attacks.

Then Zyra suddenly changed her stance.

The expression on her face became even more excited.

"Eclipse Multiple Slash."

The moment she spoke, her figure vanished from where she had been standing.

The boss’s eyes immediately followed her movement, and for a brief moment he could still see her. That was what made it terrifying. He could see the direction she was moving, but his body simply couldn’t react quickly enough to defend against it.

A flash of silver passed across his vision.

Then another.

And another.

Before he could determine where she would strike next, several cuts appeared across his body almost simultaneously.

"Argh!"

Blood splattered across the ground as the boss staggered backward, his sword nearly slipping from his hand.

Zyra reappeared a short distance away, casually lowering her blade as she looked at the wounds she had inflicted.

"What a great scene."

She laughed softly, the expression on her face carrying the amusement of someone who was enjoying the battle far more than she should.

"It’s making my blood boil."

The bandit boss gritted his teeth as he looked at her.

Then, despite his injuries, he began laughing.

"You think you’re the only one capable of doing something like that?"

He reached inside his clothing and pulled out a small vial filled with a dark substance.

Zyra watched him with curiosity rather than concern.

The boss removed the stopper and injected the contents directly into his arm.

For several seconds, nothing happened.

Then his body began to change.

His muscles rapidly expanded beneath his clothes, his shoulders became broader, and his entire body grew noticeably larger. The veins across his arms became more prominent as his breathing deepened, while a dark aura began to leak from his body.

The pressure surrounding him was completely different from before.

Zyra narrowed her eyes as she sensed it.

"This energy..."

She looked at his transformed body and then at the empty vial.

"I get it now."

A smile appeared on her face.

"You’re using a drug to increase your strength."

The boss raised his sword.

"Don’t underestimate me!"

He charged forward with a roar, swinging his sword downward with enough force to crack the ground beneath his feet.

Zyra raised her blade to block.

BOOM!

The impact forced her backward several steps.

She looked down at the ground beneath her feet before glancing back at the enlarged man.

"Woah. So you didn’t just get bigger. You actually became stronger too."

The boss laughed.

"Don’t take me for a fool! First I’ll kill you, and then I’ll slaughter every one of your people!"

Zyra tilted her head slightly.

"Well, would you look at that."

She stepped toward the side, deliberately giving him a clear view of the battlefield behind her.

The boss followed her gaze.

His expression immediately froze.

There was no one left standing.

Every single bandit who had been fighting them was already lying defeated across the ground. The two men who had confronted the group earlier were also down, their swords planted beside them as the others stood over the battlefield.

The boss stared in disbelief.

"What...?"

His face gradually turned pale as he realized what had happened while he was fighting Zyra.

His entire organization had been destroyed.

"AAAAAAARGH!"

His roar exploded across the area, releasing a powerful shockwave that shook the surrounding trees and sent dust rolling across the ground.

Vorlan stopped and looked toward him.

"This energy..."

He narrowed his eyes as the demonic aura spread through the area.

"No wonder it felt familiar. This is certainly demonic energy."

He looked toward the others.

"We need to report this back to the organization. This is similar to the report we received yesterday."

The boss had already charged toward Zyra again.

His attacks were now considerably stronger, but Zyra simply moved around them without difficulty. She avoided each swing by the smallest possible margin, occasionally deflecting his sword and allowing him to stumble past her before calmly turning to face him again.

The boss began attacking more desperately, convinced that his increased strength would eventually overwhelm her.

It never did.

"Why won’t you stay still?!"

He swung his sword with everything he had.

Zyra slipped past the blade and lightly tapped his shoulder with the flat of her sword.

"If your opponent came from the Third Order, I’m sure you’d be able to defeat them with that strength."

She stepped around his next attack and continued speaking as though they were having an ordinary conversation.

"But unfortunately, that won’t work against an opponent who is stronger than you."

The boss’s breathing became heavier.

What should I do?

He had already used the drug.

He had increased his strength to a level that should have been enough to crush almost anyone in his path, yet this woman was still treating him as though he were nothing more than an amusing opponent.

They killed every single one of my men.

Just who are these people?

His thoughts became increasingly desperate.

Only high-ranking fighters could possess this kind of strength... warriors capable of destroying an organization like mine.

He raised his sword once again and charged forward with everything he had left.

Zyra watched him approach.

But before she could make another move, Vorlan suddenly appeared beside the boss.

With a single motion, he grabbed the man’s head and slammed it against the ground.

CRACK!

The boss’s body went limp.

Zyra stared at Vorlan for a moment.

"Hey, why did you kill him?"

"Enough."

Vorlan looked toward the others and then toward the ruined hideout.

"We’ll take everything here and report to the organization. This matter can’t simply be overlooked."

The others understood immediately.

They began searching through the hideout, gathering everything of value they could find. Weapons, coins, documents, supplies, magical items, and anything else that might provide useful information were collected and brought together.

Not long afterward, the other members of their organization arrived.

With their assistance, the remaining rooms of the hideout were searched thoroughly, and the bandits’ valuables were taken one by one.

By the time they finished, almost nothing of value remained inside the hideout.

But the treasures they had recovered were not what concerned Vorlan.

The strange demonic energy surrounding the bandit boss was far more important.

Whatever had happened yesterday, and whatever had happened here today, the two incidents were beginning to look less like coincidences.

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