Dungeon of Pride, Laplace

'No wonder he was able to deal with two of my bandit leaders, I must kill that man no matter what' recognising the threat that Simon represented, the Brigand Master thought internally.

"Hey, shouldn't you all do something? At this rate, all of your members will get killed" Bignoiso commented anxiously.

"Hmph, there is no need to fret over their lives, as long as they can diminish the stamina of their opponents, their lives wouldn't have gone to waste".

The one to answer him was the bandit leader Osbin. He then took out his two stilettos from his waistband and mockingly pointed them at the adventurers who chose to stand on their side.

"Hehe, it's time you guys showed your gratitude for sparing your life. Attack the convoy along with those bandits" Osbin commented while licking one of his stilettos.

"What?!" the adventurers were startled, nonetheless, they did not display any impulsiveness and turned their gazes towards the people fighting the hordes of bandits who were once their teammates.

Although unwilling they still took out their weapons and charged towards the convoy. They knew that doing this will make them fall even low in the eyes of their former comrades; however, they still thought that saving their lives at this crucial moment was paramount.

The bandits that were lazily standing behind the Brigand master, laughed at the adventurers who had decided to betray their own group in thoughts of saving their life. These people that were still not making a move, were each releasing a strong aura. Clearly, this group was the cream of the corps.

"Dammit, to think I have fallen so low as to take orders from a mere bandit. This is all your fault" Bignsoio cursed incessantly, his petty mind blamed every misfortune that had befallen him on Simon.

After their former teammates joined the bandits in attacking them, the members of the convoy started having an increasingly difficult time holding them back. Their fatigue that have accumulated after facing so many bandits, was starting to show its effect.

The blades and lances of the people at the vanguard were starting to become dull and their movement sluggish. Not to mention the ones attacking them this time were their former teammates made the situation all the more difficult for these people.

SLASH… one of the Silver guards who was unable to dodge an attack, was blown away by the a skill. Finally, there appeared a gap in the formation through which the bandits poured in. The pressure on the other people in the frontlines increased and it looked the formation wouldn't hold for long.

The bandits that had managed to enter the formation immediately darted towards the mages and the non-combatants at the centre trying to disturb the flow and concentration of the members fighting at the front.

However, before they could approach any closer, an alluring figure of a woman in leather armour, appeared before them. The long sword in her hand was shining a faint emerald and her short hair rustled along with the wind.

<br/>"[Sword Mastery], [Cutting Enhancement], [Super Enhanced Agility]" Alvara cried inwardly and pressed forward.

Instantly, her figure disappeared from the line of sight of the bandits, her speed was so fast that in a few seconds she appeared in front of the bandits who still had their eyes wide open in surprise before stabbing them with her sword.

THUD…

The others only came to their senses when they heard the body of one of their people coldly hitting the ground. They pointed their sickle-like weapons at the woman, however, she was already gone by then.

Cold sweat trickled down their faces, the bandits looked all around their surroundings. Just then another sound of a body hitting the ground rang out and before long all of the bandits lay on the cold grassy floor with dull eyes and listless bodies.

"Haa… haa" the guard commander took hurried breaths, activating all those skills earlier, took a little toll on her body.

After settling the matter of the bandits breaking in, she swiftly ran towards the injured guard before taking out a small vial from her space ring.

"Drink it, it's a minor healing. potion and get back to your position. No matter the cost, we cannot allow them to break our formation" her words were cold, but right now she had no time to mask her words.

She knew that the enemy was trying to drain their stamina by pitting them against the weaker bandits. Even though she knew what the objectives of the enemies were, she could do nothing but grit her teeth and endure on.

While all of this was happening, the Brigand master threw a sneaky glance at the butler who was quietly standing at the other side with the non-combatants of the convoy. Perceiving the message the butler was sending through his gaze, the Brigand Master narrowed his eyes motioned and with his hands.

At that instant, the bandits that were standing still all this time, finally made their moves. Their powers that weren't any weaker than those experienced and sturdy guards and adventurers, made everyone from the convoy unable to not notice them.

Their presence stuck out like a sore thumb amidst the bandits.

Contrary to the rejoice and delight of the bandits, the members of the convoy had a darkened face. Their face was haggard and their breathing ragged, it was already difficult for them to hold their former comrades back, but now to their dismay, they would also have to deal with these strong bandits now.

The hopes for victory looked extremely bleak now.

BOOM… BOOM 

Just then two explosions rocked the area where the bandits were flooding from. When the members of the convoy turned around to looked behind, they saw a young man casually tossing out powerful magic one after the other.

The sight of the young man who stood valiantly without any trace of fear or worry, raised the morale of all the others. His actions were literally saying that the bandits weren't the only ones having strong people at their side.

The reinvigorated spirits of their opponents made the Brigand Leader frown his brows and the mistress of the Serene Palace Merchant Guild to intensely look at his back figure. The white ring on her hand glowed with an unusual white light.

The magic that fell onto the onrushing bandits continuously and fiercely burned until their bodies became scorched black. The strong ones that were able to doge in time still had minor burns from the intense heat released by those flames.

"Keep charging, I want to see how long their formation can hold" the bandit leaders commanded. The magic that was meant to stop their momentum from rising anymore, was broken apart by that call from their two leaders.

'That's right, even if those people have a strong people with them, they still had the bandit leaders, and the brigand Master, there was no way they would lose' the bandits thought internally before attacking the formation once again.

The pressure on the frontlines tripled, it wasn't much for powerful and experienced fighters like Chuck and his team but it was just too much for these adventurers and silver guards to hold back.

SLASH…

"Gurgh…" one of the adventurer spat out a mouthful of blood when two scimitars like weapons managed to pierce through his armour and penetrate his chest. The light in the eyes of the despairing adventurer became dim before his cold body hit the floor.

After the first injury, the convoy had suffered their first casualty. Subsequently, one after the other adventurer and silver guards succumbed to the tension and fatigue. Before long, the entire formation came apart and bandits exploited that to flood in.

"Tremor Magic Mastery- [Heavy Earth Guard]" with a coarse roar, Chuck manipulated the small pebbles and rocks around him. His body was just like a magnet that pulled all of the rocks towards him.

They all stuck to his body like a tightly packed armour and before anyone could marvel at this scene, a five-meter tall human golem appeared in front of everyone.

"Haaaaah" with an energetic shout, he brought down the fist of the armoured golem down on the bandits.

BOOM… many of the bandits were blown away, their bodies were just like kites with their strings cut. A wide dent had appeared at the place where the fist had landed and the ground trembled from the force for a while.

When he was about to bring another of those attacks, two sharp attacks came targeting his face and legs. Chuck was forced to stop his attacks midway and defend his face from those attacks.

Although the [Heavy Earth Guard] gave him a strong defence, those parts that were still popping out from the golem like his head, were still vulnerable and hence can be exploited.

The Human golem that Chuck had transformed into, was just like a fortress, powerful and sturdy but at the same time, it was extremely slow. the Two attacks that came flying at the human golem, achieved nothing other than managing to carve some scars on it. Nonetheless, it was enough to halt the momentum of the golem.

The two bandit leaders after stopping Chuck's attack, sneered at him.

"Why don't you play with us Chuck Remington" Osbin stated while Grime repeatedly nodded his head.

"You know my name?" Chuck inquired maintaining his awareness of the surrounding.

"Haha, you must be kidding, who doesn't know the fame of Chuck Remington from the Sea God's Trident Guild," osbin said shrugging his shoulders.

"That's right, I also heard a rumour saying that you had become too complacent with your achievement and let it get into your head that led to the disaster of almost all of your guild members dying in an exploration. Seeing you bring only two people, I wonder if the rumours were really true?" Grime mocked