The leader raised his head while kneeling.
“We are the bandits that have settled here.”
“They must be bad people.”
“Well, we’ve done a lot of things.”
“So what do you want us to help with?”
When I asked, the leader changed to a more comfortable sitting position and began to speak.
“Please defeat Paki.”
“Isn’t that just a lie you made up?”
“No, he truly exists.”
Fear was clearly visible in the bandit leader’s eyes.
“What’s taking so long?”
Aila, having waited too long in the hut, stepped outside when I didn’t come.
Seeing dozens of people kneeling in front of me, Aila had a puzzled expression.
“They say these people are bandits.”
“Really? So what?”
“They want us to deal with Paki.”
Since I needed to hear more details, I decided to change the location.
“Since Paki appeared, we can no longer go banditry.”
“Isn’t that good? Innocent people won’t get harmed.”
“Well, I can’t argue with that.”
The bandit leader scratched his head, looking embarrassed.
“Have you fought him?”
“Not even a spear has touched him.”
Aila took a quick glance at the weapons of those around us.
Perhaps these people were not skilled enough to injure that monster.
Even the swords looked completely dull, and the spears were broken and only loosely tied with string.
From the state of the weapons, it was clear they were not prepared to fight the monster.
“Embarrassingly enough! I must ask for your help!”
“If you promise me one thing.”
“I’ll do whatever it takes! Just tell me!”
It was quite pitiful to watch the bandit leader like this.
I set a condition that they should not engage in banditry once they descend the mountain.
Of course, if these people find it difficult to survive again, they will resort to banditry.
But since they are citizens of the Latnia Empire, what they do after descending the mountain won’t greatly concern us.
“So, where does this monster appear?”
“Right down in the valley.”
“A valley?”
“Yes, a small valley where it often appears to drink water.”
It was hard to imagine a valley in a snowy mountain.
“Um, but can I really catch it by myself?”
“I won’t be going alone.”
“Pardon?”
“All of you will be coming along.”
The reason for bringing these bandits was primarily to have them guide us.
Besides that, it would be dangerous for Aila to confront the monster alone.
At my words, the bandits were rendered speechless, like bees with their mouths full of honey.
“What help will we be?”
“Well, we won’t know unless we try.”
They are bandits.
It’s evident they would abandon their comrades and flee if needed.
If Aila and I go to catch the monster Paki and the bandits escape from the village, we would just be used.
To prevent that from happening, I decided to take all the bandits with us.
“This will be good for you too.”
“We will definitely die if we fight that monster, so how could that be good?”
“If you come down with us, won’t you be able to handle that monster well enough?”
The bandits’ expressions brightened a bit at the suggestion to descend together.
“Right, the sorceress is right.”
“A sorceress?”
When I glared at him with a slight frown, he hastily corrected himself, calling me a magician.
“Then everyone, prepare to leave and gather!”
The preparations didn’t take long.
Everyone came out with only the essential supplies from their homes.
The leader brought a small box and placed it at the back of the cart.
“What’s that?”
“Weapons and armor.”
Though I brushed it off casually, it made no sense to bring a box of weapons and armor to catch a monster.
Besides, the box was too small for weapons and armor.
Aila and I had an idea of what the contents were.
“Check your weapons before we depart.”
When I told them to check their weapons, they produced slightly rusted metal weapons instead of the old ones they used.
Those weapons must have been the ones they actually used.
“Can we really trust these people?”
Aila expressed her concern a bit.
“No, we can’t.”
If things go south, these bandits would sneak away while Aila and I are engaged in battle.
One question remained: why didn’t they think of sacrificing a few comrades to descend the mountain and avoid facing the monster?
I approached the leader, who was tending to his weapon, and asked.
“Why would I do that?”
“Doing so would save us from this hassle.”
“Half of those guys have spent a long time with me. Would they follow me if I did such a thing?”
It was called camaraderie among bandits.
Once the preparations were complete, the bandits looked somber, as if heading to war.
“We will hunt the monster today! The only thing we have lost is our lives!”
The bandit leader posed in front of his men and gave a brief speech.
“Three people will use bows; the rest will have swords or spears.”
In the meantime, Aila surveyed the bandits’ armed state.
“When the battle starts, follow my orders.”
“Yes!”
The bandits replied in unison, with their voices booming in response to Aila’s command.
“Let’s go!”
As the bandit leader shouted, the subordinates began to march in step behind him.
Our first destination was the valley where the monster occasionally appeared.
Not far from the village, it served as a water source for both the original residents and the bandits.
After walking down for about ten minutes, a path leading down to the valley quickly appeared.
“Did you fetch water along this path?”
“It’s too dangerous to go all the way down. We stop midway and send down buckets attached to ropes.”
It didn’t take long to understand how they fetched water from the ice-filled valley in the snowy mountains.
Next to the bucket was a large rock tied to the rope.
The bandits broke the ice with the rock to extract water.
“Form a tight line.”
When the bandit leader ordered his subordinates, they all turned sideways, huddled close together, and slowly descended the slope.
As we approached the bottom, the frozen valley revealed itself.
“We’ve occasionally seen it drinking water around here.”
The valley was frozen solid, sturdy enough that we all standing on it wouldn’t break it.
“How thick is this ice? How did you break it with a rock?”
“It just breaks if you drop a rock on it.”
Considering the size of the rock, it probably took at least three or four drops.
The rope was just for retrieving the rock.
I took a moment to survey the surroundings from the center of the frozen valley.
“How often have you seen it?”
“We come to fetch water twice a day. Not every time, but usually we’ve seen it at least once.”
It seemed the monster came to drink water more often than expected.
It must have descended from the harsh snowy mountains to quench its thirst.
“Those who use bows should always be prepared.”
When Aila commanded, the archers drew their arrows simultaneously, ready to fire at a moment’s notice.
“Paki! Paki!”
Turning towards the direction of an odd sound, we saw a grotesque creature breaking the ice of the valley with a rock.
“That’s it.”
The monster hadn’t realized we were there.
It was our chance for a surprise attack!
When Aila signaled, the archers began nocking their arrows.
In the meantime, I unleashed a lightning spell with all my might and dropped it above the monster’s head.
Flash! Crash!
Zzap!
Startled by the lightning striking, the monster glanced around in panic.
Then the arrows shot by the archers flew toward the monster.
Two struck its side, one hit its arm, but they bounced off.
“Paki!!!”
Letting out a cry I had never heard before, the monster charged toward us.
“Hold your spears forward!”
Aila commanded, but the bandits didn’t seem to move properly out of fear.
“Ririan! Provide cover!”
Seeing that, Aila drew her sword and stepped forward.
As the monster came closer, its full figure came into view.
It looked like a gigantic monkey.
It had sharp claws like I had heard.
Clang!
As Aila’s sword clashed with the monster’s claws, the valley trembled softly.
“Tough one.”
On cue, Aila backed away from the monster.
Boom!
I hit the monster with lightning again, but it merely shook itself off and targeted Aila once more.
The lightning had no effect.
The bandits stood stupefied, shocked by that scene.
“Go help! When I snap my fingers, back away from the monster.”
“W-What can we do against a monster that your magic doesn’t work on…?”
“Why are you still standing there?”
As I shouted, the bandit leader stepped forward first.
Only then did the rest of the subordinates slowly follow him.
“Let’s go!”
“Waaah!”
An exaggerated cheer to mask their fear.
As the bandits joined in, Aila let out a sigh of relief and aimed for the monster’s rear.
Meanwhile, I racked my brain to come up with a spell that could still affect the monster.
Fire! Even a beginner’s basic attack magic can be quite effective!
“Here I go!”
Without caring about the purity of my mana, I conjured up two large fireballs.
Whoosh!
The blazing fireballs shot straight toward the monster.
Whomp! Crash!
With the heat of the fireballs, the surrounding ice crumbled, causing the monster to fall beneath it.
With only its lower half submerged, the monster began swinging its long arms to avoid the attacks from the bandits and Aila.
One bandit hit by a swinging arm slid across the ice.
“Ugh!”
“Aim for its eyes!”
As the archers began shooting arrows at the monster’s eyes, its thrashing intensified.
To protect its eyes, the monster raised its arms.
“Keep shooting!”
The monster was defenseless until the arrows ran out.
“Paki!!!”
The monster’s cry echoed throughout the valley.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
With a loud crash, trees fell from the forest, and something emerged.
“Paki!!!”
Another creature, twice the size of the one stuck in the valley, appeared.
