Is that a Wisp?

"W-What happened?" A bandit with a rough face woke up with a start, looking around as he was alarmed, watching five creatures nibbling on his comrade.

"Heuk! What the heck are these?" The other bandit, sporting a freckled face, exclaimed in shock upon getting up, staring at the figures of the hatchling Yin Beasts in closeup.

"Quick! We don't have time to waste!" Krune shouted, causing them to look at him instinctively. For some reason, they automatically followed his words, getting up from the place as the trio distances themselves from the five hatchling Yin Beasts.

"What happened here, old man?" the rough-faced bandit asked Krune, trying to appear intimidating like usual. But after a second of observation, upon hearing his shivering voice, he put down the act, asking normally.

"We have been captured by the Yin Beasts and brought here to become food for their children," Krune replied, pointing at the pile of human skeletons nearby. "It seems they didn't regard me as an enemy since I was so weak. So, I wasn't bound."

"That's why once I woke up, I proceeded to remove your bindings and freed you," he said, pointing at the pieces of rope lying on the floor at the spots they had been before.

"Thank you for saving our lives, old man," one of the bandits said in response, patting his heart in relief while he watched a familiar face now lying on the ground, as a corpse, almost half-eaten by the hatchling Yin Beasts.

"We'll have to escape alive," Krune said in all seriousness, pointing at the hatchling Yin Beasts. "But first, they must be killed. If they grow up into adults, they'll end up wiping out all our villages."

"Even though you're bandits, all your families live in one of the villages, right? So, I'm sure you don't want to cause our doom," Krune said, watching the two bandits becoming convinced by his words immediately.

After all, they were witnessing the act of their comrades being eaten right before their eyes. Without any hesitation, the freckled-faced bandit rummaged through the pile of human bones, picking out a sturdy thigh bone as he used it to slam the head of a hatchling Yin Beast.

"Damn it! Why is its head so tough?!" He grunted in response, repeatedly whacking his opponent.

As they were only hatchling Yin Beasts, they were unable to run quickly, getting attacked nonstop by the two bandits.

Even though the bandits hadn't eaten much for the past five days, they still retained enough strength to finish killing the five hatchling Yin Beasts. However, by the end of it, they were panting in exhaustion.

"We don't have much time to waste. Let's leave," Krune said in a hurry when he saw the bandits slump to the ground in exhaustion. He then changed his words, telling them, "Alright, I'll remain on standby. Please rest in the meantime."

"Thanks, old man." They nodded in response, gasping for air soon after.

In the meantime, the Cloud Whale gently slipped out of his dress and stealthily arrived before a hatchling Yin Beast, gently inserting its needle into its body before sucking in its blood.

As the blood entered its body, it was rapidly absorbed by the Nightmare Core. Upon seeing the situation, Krune nodded in response. 'So, it's the same as before. Since they're products of the Nightmare Core, their essence can be absorbed back into it to strengthen itself further.'

Normally, to create an Imperial Arms, at least ten Nightmare Cores had to be used. That was because the Nightmare Cores were tiny and lacked enough power on their own. However, the one in his hand contained a tremendous amount of power.

Plus, when he killed the hatchling Yin Beast that burst out of the woman's stomach, Krune noticed the pulsing in the Nightmare Core. When he did the same, he noticed its blood being absorbed by the core.

Once it had absorbed all the blood, the energy it contained was strengthened by a bit. This allowed him to understand that he could strengthen the Nightmare Core enough to make an Imperial Arms using it alone.

The Cloud Whale stealthily absorbed the blood from all the hatchling Yin Beasts, sucking them all dry, leaving them as withered corpses.

In the meantime, he distracted the bandits enough to prevent them from seeing their corpses again.

After that, Krune led them towards the entrance, explaining the specifics. "I know the way to return to my village."

One of the bandits crouched on all fours as the other used his back as a stepping stone to climb up. After reaching the surface, he extended his hand, helping Krune exit the cave as well. Finally, the two of them helped bring the second bandit to the surface.

"Follow me! If what I heard before isn't wrong, then the bandits are currently fighting against the Yin Beasts," Krune said, beckoning for them to follow him, bringing them through a side path. He was constantly conversing with them, looking like he was assuring them of many things.

But in actuality, his voice was used to sense his surroundings, also to make out the figures of the bandits walking behind him. Upon seeing the two of them make eye contact from time to time, Krune frowned.

Suddenly, he tripped and fell on the floor, grunting in response as he began to sweat profusely.

"Old man, are you alright?" The two bandits expressed their concern. But in actuality, they had already decided to kill him, no longer having any use for him.

"Sorry, it seems this is as far I can go." Krune smiled wryly as blood leaked out of his mouth. "My ribs have broken and have pierced through my lungs. I don't have much longer to live."

He then slowly cupped his hands, speaking earnestly, "When you meet with your boss, please tell him of the fact that I saved the both of you. If possible, please repay the favor by making my grandson join your bandit group."

Upon seeing the old man's face paling rapidly before them, the two bandits got rid of their thoughts to eliminate him, sighing as one patted his shoulder. "Old Wang, right? I'll promise you. You can rest assured and be at peace."

"Thank you… thank…" Krune muttered weakly, his voice turning fainter and fainter. Even though he was still breathing, it was apparent that he didn't have much longer to live on. He then pointed in a certain direction, saying, "Once you head in that direction, you'll reach my village."

Followed by a sigh, the two bandits gave him some words of assurance and left.

After a couple of minutes passed in such a fashion, Krune woke up, wiped the blood on his lips and grinned viciously, walking away.