[Some Minutes Later.]
[Exit of the Forest... Well, desert now.]
"So, to recap, while you were unconscious, you somehow triggered your blade family's bloodline, which bestowed upon you an... 'endless' power level, and then, this kingdom you mentioned, it allows you to create soldiers from mere cotton?" Gabriela asked, her voice a symphony of skepticism and disbelief.
"Yes... I know it sounds utterly preposterous, but--"
"--I believe you," she interrupted, her tone surprisingly firm.
"Uh?" Kyle turned, his brow furrowed in confusion, as they continued their trek across the desiccated landscape.
"Yes,"
She reiterated, her gaze unwavering. "You just obliterated an entire forest, and I witnessed those soldiers firsthand. They're even following us now!" She gestured towards the five black-clad figures, their movements silent and precise.
Kyle sighed, his eyes scanning the ten additional soldiers he had painstakingly trained.
'Fifteen soldiers in total now... Ten archers and five foot soldiers... They should be sufficient for my immediate objectives,' he thought, his mind calculating and focused.
"Kyle... there's something I need to tell you," Gabriela said, her voice dropping to a somber whisper.
"What is it?" he asked, his pace remaining steady.
"It's about Juliet."
Kyle halted abruptly, his body tensing. He turned to face Gabriela, his eyes searching hers for answers. "What about her?"
"The Prince arrested her," Gabriela replied, her voice heavy with dread.
"What?! That vile bastard! He murdered me, and now he's targeting Juliet?!" A wave of incandescent rage washed over Kyle, but he forced himself to take a deep breath, striving for a semblance of calm.
"Don't worry, I'll set her free," he declared, his voice a low growl.
"But..." Gabriela hesitated, her words caught in her throat as she struggled to deliver the crushing news.
"But what?!" Kyle's anxiety intensified, his heart pounding against his ribs.
He had taken Juliet in when she was just ten years old, treating her as a beloved sister. The thought of her being harmed was unbearable, igniting a primal fury within him. Anyone who dared lay a hand on her would face his wrath.
"She was sentenced to death, beheading," Gabriela finally managed to say, her voice barely audible.
"What?!"
Kyle's voice echoed with horror, his eyes widening in disbelief. "I need to save her!"
Before he could even begin to process the information, Gabriela delivered the final, devastating blow.
"That was three days ago, and her execution was two days ago."
Kyle froze, his world tilting on its axis. The words reverberated in his mind, each syllable a hammer blow to his soul.
"Why didn't you tell me?" he asked, his voice dark and menacing, thick with a palpable killing intent.
"You..." Gabriela took a step back, her eyes wide with fear. "You were unconscious," she stammered, her voice trembling.
The sheer intensity of the killing intent emanating from Kyle was overwhelming, a suffocating aura that pressed down on everything around him. Even the five soldiers behind Gabriela stood motionless, paralyzed by fear. 'Can a human truly unleash such a terrifying aura?'
{MS: High levels of killing intent detected.}
{MS: Host has received a new quest... Eliminate 100 (10,000) entities to gain a 50% increase in all attributes...}
Kyle blinked, his mind struggling to process the information. 'Why does it say 10,000?' he questioned inwardly.
{MS: Quest deduction was applied... Host currently has two deductions available.}
{MS: Quest deductions are automatically granted weekly. They can only be used when the target number is 10,000 or higher.}
Kyle nodded, his face devoid of emotion. He turned to Gabriela, his voice flat and cold. "Let's keep moving."
"What are you going to do?" she asked, her voice laced with concern.
"Just keep moving," he repeated, turning and resuming his march.
Gabriela stood rooted to the spot, her eyes fixed on his retreating figure. The five soldiers moved past her, their footsteps silent, following their master.
"Did I make a mistake telling him?" she murmured, her voice barely a whisper.
The journey to the cotton field was enveloped in a heavy silence, the air thick with unspoken emotions. Kyle's mind was consumed by thoughts of vengeance, while Gabriela grappled with the weight of her revelation and the fear of what Kyle might do.
__
Kyle stopped abruptly, his gaze fixed on a covered area ahead. "Is this the cotton?" he asked, his voice devoid of inflection.
"Yes," Gabriela confirmed, nodding slowly.
Kyle approached the covered area and removed the makeshift shroud, revealing a pile of worn clothing. He stared at the tattered garments, a soft sigh escaping his lips.
Before he could reach out and touch the fabric, an angry voice shattered the silence.
"What are you doing?!"
Kyle, Gabriela, and the five soldiers turned to face a group of thirty people, all clad in worn leather armor and armed with an assortment of weapons.
The speaker, a woman with black hair and an eye patch, wielding a menacing axe, stepped forward. "That's mine," she declared, her voice laced with hostility.
Kyle turned to Gabriela, his eyes questioning.
"No, I left it here!" Gabriela quickly asserted, her voice rising in protest.
"So what?!" the woman hissed, her companions sneering behind her.
"You know... I'm in a particularly foul mood, so I'll give you two options: leave now, or die," Kyle stated, his voice calm but laced with a deadly edge, his hand resting on the clothing.
"How dare you?!" The woman's face flushed with rage. She was a Rank 10 hunter, and she couldn't believe that a mere ordinary human dared to be so insolent.
With gritted teeth, she hissed, "Take them down... Show them why we're called the Forest Bandits!"
At her command, the twenty-nine bandits drew their weapons and charged towards the seven figures, their faces contorted with bloodlust.
"AHHHH!!"
The bandits let out battle cries, weapons raised as they changed forward.
'So annoying?'
Kyle sighed deeply, and commanded inwardly:
'Show yourselves, and make sure to leave none alive.'
With his thought, the spece before him tore opened.