They don't want me to try anymore.

For a time, the surrounding bandits experienced what it was like to be American soldiers in the jungles of Vietnam... Well, hopefully they won't develop tree man PTSD later.

Their offensive was thus disrupted, and the others seized the opportunity to launch a counterattack.

First up is Zoe.

The girl hadn't shown herself earlier, not because she was cowardly, but simply because she was putting on her gear. Now, with her helmet and breastplate on, she charged straight into the forest.

For bronze-tier warriors, the best way to avoid musket damage is to wear heavy alchemical armor to protect their vitals, thanks to their superhuman strength. Even if they are accidentally hit in the exposed limbs, they can be saved by the healing potions they carry.

Following the girl was the half-elf Ewyn.

He was also a mage, though only at the early Bronze stage, but he could still cast fireballs and stun spells from behind a carriage.

With everyone's help, the bandits, who already had a hard time dealing with the tree people, finally broke down.

"That's sweet! Nobody said there would be so many professionals!"

"We've lost! Run!"

After a few breaths, the large number of bandits completely lost their morale and retreated into the depths of the mountains.

"Long live!"

"Goddess bless you..."

"Thank you so much for saving our lives!"

The caravan members, having miraculously survived, expressed their gratitude to Richard and his companions.

The caravan owner, who had just ducked back, popped out again, and to be fair, he was incredibly agile...

He looked at Richard with humble yet reverent eyes and said, "You are indeed worthy students of Saint Goethe, pillars of the empire, brave and noble..."

Friend, I am from Saint Goethe, but not from the Empire.

You've gone too far in flattering him!

Richard pretended to be polite to his boss, but then turned to check on the others.

The two girls were fine, except Katyusha was grazed on the shoulder by a bullet, but she was fine after applying some medicine.

As for the half-elf brother and sister...

"Melissa? Melissa!"

Evan ran over anxiously and said, "I've searched the whole camp, but I can't find Melissa anywhere."

Upon hearing that something had happened to the little girl, Richard frowned and said, "There are no child corpses on the ground, she must still be alive, it's very likely... that the bandits kidnapped her?"

"Is that the little girl with pointy ears? I saw her!"

At this moment, a laborer from the caravan interjected, "Sir, she just hid in the large chest of clothes, and it seems... it seems she was later dragged away by the bandits..."

Did they think that thing was a treasure chest?

Richard raised an eyebrow, knowing things had gone wrong.

A little girl with elven blood fell into the hands of bandits...

Evan immediately became anxious, picked up his staff, and was about to rush into the forest.

Richard quickly stopped them and said in a deep voice, "Calm down, let's find out what's going on first, then we'll go together."

As he spoke, he had the earth elemental carry over a bandit prisoner who had been injured and unable to escape. He removed the hood covering the man's face and stared into his eyes.

[Black-Clad Prime Minister] Special Ability Activated!

Due to the vast difference in strength, the other party had no ability to resist. He trembled all over, feeling that the young man in front of him was the most imposing person he had ever seen in his life. Coupled with the threat of having a knife to his neck, his psychological defenses collapsed instantly.

"I'll tell you everything! When I was nine, I pooped inside a pumpkin; when I was ten, I pulled up the wheat in the field and planted foxtail grass; when I was eleven, I found a fish with a big mouth and a suitable length, and then I used it to..."

stop!

This is not what I want to hear!

And your character as a bandit is just too appalling!

After much trouble...

Richard finally managed to extract information about the bandits' hideout:

“About five kilometers away is a mountain stronghold converted from an abandoned village, with watchtowers and night watchmen… If we launch a direct assault, Melissa might be in danger.”

After analyzing the intelligence, Richard, feeling a surge of inspiration—like Kennedy riding in a convertible—quickly gathered everyone and said, "I have a plan; I need to use the bandits' corpses..."

"How can you use a dead person?"

"Sometimes the dead are more useful than the living."

Half an hour later.

Richard and the notorious bandit prisoner walked together on the rugged mountain path of Abarania.

However, at this moment, the former was no longer wearing proper clothes, but instead changed into the burlap clothes of a mountain bandit, his face was covered with mud, a short knife was hanging at his waist, and a homemade gun was on his back.

This was Richard's plan.

In other words, he split into two groups. He first used the "Masked Man" given to him to disguise himself and sneak into the bandit's lair. After ensuring Melissa's safety, he then contacted the others waiting outside to break out together.

Evan had originally wanted to come along, but Richard had no good way to cover his pointed ears in the wilderness, so he had to give up.

As for the prisoners, they served as guides and cover for the trip—after being suppressed by special abilities and subjected to a humiliating ordeal, they were no longer daring to resist.

After trekking for several kilometers along mountain paths, the two finally arrived at a stream. Upstream was a high ground where all the trees had been cut down, and a wooden wall could be vaguely seen enclosing it.

That was the bandits' hideout.

The prisoner quickly stepped forward and waved to the top of a large tree, saying:

"Hey! George, I'm home!"

A voice came from the tree: "Why are you up so late?"

"It's because we were chased and got lost..."

Listening to their conversation, Richard secretly rejoiced that he hadn't barged in directly, otherwise he might have been shot in the dark.

He secretly placed two snakes at the base of the tree, just in case.

"...Alright, go in now. Remember to bring the sheep out for me when you have time; it's too boring up here."

"okay!"

Huh? Why are you leading a sheep?

As expected, you guys have serious issues with your manners!

After the two finished exchanging slits, the prisoner led Richard, who looked at him with disdain, forward.

They passed through several more checkpoints before finally entering the walled area.

However, to Richard's surprise, he saw his target the moment he entered, without even turning his head...

Melissa was tied up with ropes, gagged, and placed on top of a box in the middle of an open space, where two large groups of people were arguing.

The man with a scar on his face, who looked like the leader, said fiercely, "We finally caught an elf, how can we let her go? We didn't get anything this time, if we let her go, the brothers will go hungry next month!"

“She’s a child, we shouldn’t be doing business with children! Besides, she’s clearly of noble descent, which will bring us a lot of trouble!”

Across from them, a burly man with a thick, red neck and still wearing a mask roared in heavily accented Imperial language, "You guys can just pack up and hide in the mountains and be fine, but I still have land to farm! Let her go!"

Richard, who was listening in, frowned slightly.

This accent... it sounds a bit like mine.

The scarred leader scoffed, "So what if you're a noble? You can still ask for a ransom. As for farming? Ha, all you get all year is a few sacks of broken potatoes... Besides, you failed to kill the gophers tonight, so your land probably won't last much longer."

"It's all because your information was completely wrong; it didn't mention any mages at all..."

They're having a great time arguing...

Nobody's paying attention to their surroundings anymore...

Seeing an opportunity, Richard stopped worrying about the accent, raised an eyebrow, and snapped his fingers.

A water elemental suddenly appeared, then immediately melted, creating a pool of water in the center of the open space.

"what?"

"It's not raining, so why is it so wet?"

Just as the bandits were startled, Richard summoned the wind elemental again, and then...

A lightning bolt struck the water's surface!

Chapter 51 Murder, then finding a hungry nun

The sudden attack caused seven or eight bandits in the center of the open space to be electrocuted and fall to the ground.

Richard then summoned a water elemental and fired ice arrows at the torches and oil lamps around him, plunging the environment into darkness.

"Someone has come up here!"

"Give me a gun... Damn, this is a banana!"

Amidst the chaos, Richard, crouching low, used his superhuman agility to swiftly leap forward and pull Melissa into his arms.