Chapter 89: Bandits II

Chapter 89: Chapter 89: Bandits II

The Peak Advanced cultivator stared at Tolu.

"You’re a Beast Tamer?"

Tolu shook his head.

"No."

"Then what are they?"

Tolu’s eyes hardened.

"My companions."

The Peak Advanced cultivator stared at the creatures.

Three Level Two hyenas.

Twenty Level One hyenas.

The bandits had come expecting an easy target.

Now they were facing an entire pack.

The axe-wielding man looked between Tolu and the creatures.

"We can still handle them."

The Peak Advanced cultivator glanced at him.

"You sound confident."

"We have three Advanced cultivators. With seventeen cultivators."

" Twenty-three wild, hungry and ferocious beasts."

The woman with the curved blades narrowed her eyes.

"They’re only Level One and Level Two."

The Peak Advanced cultivator said nothing.

He was still watching Tolu.

There was something wrong.

He couldn’t sense the young man’s cultivation properly.

That alone made him cautious.

Tolu stepped backward.

Kenny noticed.

"What are you doing?"

Tolu looked at him.

"Stay behind the caravan."

"What?"

"Don’t come any closer."

Tolu took another step back.

Then another.

The bandits watched him.

The Peak Advanced cultivator frowned.

"You think hiding behind your beasts will save you?"

Tolu didn’t answer.

He simply moved farther away.

The three Level Two hyenas lowered their bodies.

Their ears flattened.

Their eyes locked onto the bandits.

The smaller hyenas spread out behind them.

A pack.

Not twenty-three separate creatures.

A single moving force.

Tolu looked at them.

Then he spoke quietly.

"Go."

The three Level Two hyenas lunged.

The Level One hyenas followed.

The road erupted into chaos.

The bandits barely had time to react.

"Attack!"

The axe-wielding Advanced cultivator swung his weapon.

A Level Two hyena leaped over the blade.

Its jaws snapped toward his throat.

He twisted aside and brought his elbow down against its back.

The impact sent the hyena crashing into the dirt.

But before he could follow up, three Level One hyenas rushed him from different directions.

"Get off me!"

He swung wildly.

One went flying.

Another bit into his leg.

He roared and kicked it away.

The woman with the curved blades moved through the pack like a shadow.

Her blades flashed.

One hyena fell.

Then another.

She spun and cut down a third before it could reach her.

But the pack didn’t stop.

Every time she created space, more hyenas rushed into it.

The three Advanced cultivators were strong.

But the beasts were forcing them to fight continuously.

The Peak Advanced cultivator thrust his spear.

A Level Two hyena twisted away.

He struck again.

This time the spear pierced its shoulder.

The creature howled.

It snapped at the shaft, forcing him to release it.

He immediately drew a short blade from his waist and slashed across its neck.

The hyena dropped.

The Peak Advanced cultivator pulled the blade free.

One down.

He looked toward Tolu.

The young man was still standing behind the pack.

Watching.

The man’s expression darkened.

He isn’t afraid.

That bothered him more than the beasts.

A sudden movement caught his attention.

Several ordinary bandits had broken through the pack.

They were charging toward the caravan.

Kenny saw them too.

"Tolu!"

Tolu turned.

Four of the bandits were already running toward the wagons.

All of them were Novice cultivators.

One carried a sword.

Another had an axe.

The other two were already reaching for the merchants.

Tolu sighed.

He bent down.

A small stone lifted from the ground.

It floated beside his hand.

The Novice cultivators didn’t notice.

Tolu flicked his fingers.

"Stone Shoot."

The stone disappeared.

THUD!

The sword-wielding bandit was struck directly in the chest.

He flew backward and crashed into the side of a wagon.

The others stopped.

"What the—"

Another stone rose.

Tolu launched it.

THUD!

The axe-wielding bandit dropped to one knee, clutching his shoulder.

The final two exchanged a frightened glance.

One tried to run.

Another stone shot past him.

It struck the ground directly in front of his feet.

The man stumbled and fell face-first into the dirt.

The last bandit froze.

Tolu looked at him.

"Stay there."

The man immediately dropped his weapon.

"I surrender."

Kenny stared.

He had not seen Tolu fight before.

And seeing him casually pick up stones from the road and launch them without even moving from his position was different.

"Tolu..."

Tolu didn’t respond.

His attention returned to the battlefield.

The three Advanced cultivators were still fighting.

The Level Two hyenas were stronger than the ordinary bandits, but the difference between them and Advanced cultivators was still significant.

One of the remaining Level Two hyenas rushed the woman.

She sidestepped the charge and drove both blades into its side.

The creature collapsed.

Another hyena attacked immediately.

She blocked its jaws with one arm and drove her knee into its chest.

The Level Two creature stumbled.

She finished it with a slash.

Two Level Two hyenas were down.

The third was fighting the axe-wielding cultivator.

It was wounded badly, blood running down one side of its body.

Yet it continued attacking.

The axe came down.

The hyena dodged.

The axe struck the ground.

The hyena lunged.

Its jaws closed around the man’s forearm.

"Get off!"

The man roared.

He slammed his fist into its skull.

Once.

Twice.

The creature refused to release him.

He finally managed to wrench his arm free and brought his axe around with everything he had.

The blade buried itself in the hyena’s side.

The creature staggered.

The axe came down again.

It fell.

The final Level Two hyena was dead.

Tolu’s expression tightened slightly.

He had known the risk.

The Heart had warned him.

But seeing one of his creatures die outside the dungeon was different.

The remaining Level One hyenas continued attacking.

There were fewer now.

Much fewer.

Bodies littered the road.

Several bandits were down.

Several hyenas lay motionless among them.

The Peak Advanced cultivator looked around.

His breathing was heavier now.

The woman was bleeding from her arm.

The axe-wielding man had a deep bite wound across his forearm.

And the caravan guard was still standing.

But the fight was no longer worth continuing.

The Peak Advanced cultivator suddenly raised his hand.

"Fall back!"

The woman looked at him.

"What?"

"Fall back!"

The axe-wielding man hesitated.

The remaining hyenas immediately rushed them again.

He cursed and swung his axe.

The three Advanced cultivators forced their way through the pack.

One hyena jumped toward the Peak Advanced cultivator.

He thrust his blade upward.

The creature twisted in midair but wasn’t fast enough.

The blade pierced its chest.

It fell.

The man didn’t stop.

He grabbed his spear and ran.

The other two Advanced cultivators followed.

The remaining bandits quickly abandoned their weapons and fled after them.

The hyenas chased for several seconds before Tolu called them back.

"Enough."

The creatures stopped.

They turned toward him.

Then slowly returned to the caravan.

Tolu looked over them.

Only a handful of the Level One hyenas remained standing.

The three Level Two hyenas were dead.

The road had gone quiet.

Kenny walked toward Tolu slowly.

He looked at the bodies.

Then at the direction the Advanced cultivators had escaped.

Then back at Tolu.

"You..."

He shook his head.

"You summoned them? But how did you know they were nearby? How did you even control them so quickly?"

Tolu looked at the surviving hyenas.

" Kenny those are questions for another day."

Kenny stared at the twenty-three creatures he had seen earlier.

"There are supposed to be twenty-three."

Tolu didn’t answer.

Kenny looked again.

His expression slowly changed.

"How many are dead, how many are still alive?"

Tolu counted silently.

"Three Level Two."

His eyes moved over the remaining Level One hyenas.

"And eleven Level One."

Kenny’s face fell.

Tolu crouched beside one of the injured creatures.

The hyena was breathing heavily.

Tolu placed a hand against its fur.

"You did well."

The creature lowered its head.

Tolu stood.

The caravan guard approached.

He looked at the battlefield.

Then at Tolu.

"You saved everyone."

Tolu shook his head.

" I was saving myself. It’s just we had the same enemy so it all worked out."

The guard looked at the unconscious Novice cultivators lying near the wagons.

"That’s a strange way of putting it."

Tolu glanced at the road where the three Advanced cultivators had disappeared.

"They’ll probably think twice before stopping another caravan."

Kenny looked at him.

"They escaped."

Tolu nodded.

"Yes."

"You could have stopped them."

" The loss out weighs the gain. It is not worth it."

Kenny frowned.

" What do you mean it isn’t worth it, they might attack others?"

Tolu looked down at the dead Level Two hyena.

" Nine creatures already died, the rest injured. Even if I sacrificed all of them it is possible they still escape."

He turned toward the surviving pack.

"I wasn’t going to sacrifice those poor creatures just to chase three people.

who were already running."

Kenny was quiet.

He understood tolu’s expaination. And he was right. Why waste the lives of the creatures for bandits that’ll still there escape.

Tolu wasn’t treating the creatures like disposable weapons.

They were part of his strength. Or at least added to it.