Emotionless Swordsmanship Genius

Chapter 14: Bandits (1)

The next day.

In the early dawn, before the sun had risen, Karon stood in the middle of the desert, a fair distance from the oasis, with his eyes closed.

He enjoyed the stillness of the desert. Standing on the quiet ground made him feel as if he was disappearing.

There were no stimuli to engage his senses, and nothing to disturb him.

He chewed on some herbs, and when he had sucked out the bitter juice, he spat it out.

Hah—

He slowly opened his eyes and exhaled deeply. Perhaps it was the herbs, but he felt all the sensations in his body awakening.

He slowly lifted the wooden sword he was holding. It was a wooden sword that the chief had personally made for him.

Since regaining his health, he had been training his body every dawn.

He began to swing the wooden sword earnestly.

He swung it slowly, almost as if savoring the moment, before shifting to quick and unpredictable angles.

Then, an intangible energy began to envelop his wooden sword, and it emitted a destructive power strong enough to kick up sand.

Whoosh!

The sound cutting through the air grew increasingly grand, and his movements became so fast they were hard to track with the eye.

Thud!

At that moment, when Karon stopped moving, the sand that had risen around him fell back to the ground.

Remarkably, the technique he had displayed was the same one he had observed at the gladiator training facility. He had added his own thoughts to it, modifying and developing it.

“Hmm.”

Karon slowly opened his eyes and looked at his hands.

It’s finally time.

He took out the necklace, a keepsake from his mother, from around his neck and squeezed it tightly. The wooden pendant shattered, scattering in the wind.

The memories of his parents were already engraved in his mind.

Now, he would no longer rely on anything and would fully face whatever lay ahead.

Now, only revenge remained.

“Huh?”

At that moment, a sense of foreboding swept over him. His senses sharpened, and the vague sense of danger began to materialize.

The thick presence of malice, along with the screams of people. The irregular sound of hooves and clashing weapons.

It’s from the tribe!

Thud!

Karon kicked the sand with force, propelling himself forward like a flash of light.

In the distance, gray smoke began to rise. It seemed someone had set fire to the huts.

It was clear that something was wrong.

Damn!

Karon gritted his teeth and increased his speed.

After crossing a few sand dunes, the oasis came into view.

Ordinary people would have missed it entirely, but Karon could clearly see the figures of people.

There were about a dozen intruders. They wore fur clothes that exposed their upper bodies, had shaved half their heads, and sported numerous tattoos depicting demonic figures on their faces.

They were a band of bandits.

He had heard a bit about them from the chief. They invaded every few years, raiding and leaving just enough for the tribe to survive.

Moreover, they killed any adult male who showed signs of maturity and took several young women as trophies.

Although it sounded brutal and petty, Karon had brushed it off; it was someone else’s story that didn’t concern him.

But facing them now, it felt like it was his own fight.

Half of them were mounted, wielding swords, axes, and spears, while the rest were dragging tribe members by their hair.

Among them was a woman—Gaber’s mother.

Gaber rushed out of a hut and bit one of the bandit’s legs, causing the bandit to raise his sword with a shout.

It’s too late to run!

Thud!

Karon, who had been sprinting with all his might, didn’t take his eyes off the bandits. He firmly planted his feet in the sand and threw the wooden sword with all his strength.

Whoosh—

The wooden sword flew toward the bandits at terrifying speed.

Swish!

Thud!

“Ugh!”

The wooden sword struck one of the bandits’ arms.

With the bandit’s scream, the eyes of the bandits turned toward him, noticing Karon rushing toward them from a distance.

They were astonished that he had hit them from so far away, and they were even more surprised by the speed at which he was approaching.

The tribe members watched Karon in astonishment.

“He’s not an ordinary guy! Don’t let your guard down!”

The bandits hurled the tribe members aside and raised their weapons in Karon’s direction.

Among them, the leader, who appeared to be riding the largest horse, observed Karon carefully, alternating glances between his sides.

“Tamir, Tauga.”

At his call, two bandits, slightly retreating on their horses, stepped forward.

They looked like twins, pulling out the bows they carried on their backs and smoothly drawing their strings.

Calculating Karon’s running direction and speed, it didn’t take long for them to release their arrows.

Thwack!

They fired their arrows almost simultaneously. The two arrows landed precisely where Karon was charging.

However, contrary to their expectations, the arrows buried themselves in the sand.

“Huh?”

The leader, Kungga, frowned.

It looked as if the arrows had struck, but they had simply passed through and lodged in the sand. The arrows had narrowly missed him.

He was either incredibly lucky or exceptionally skilled—one of the two.

As the intruders, who were headed toward the tribe, suddenly changed direction and began to rush toward Kungga, Karon, it turned out, had just barely become a young adult in terms of stature and appearance. Moreover, he had no visible weapons.

“Look at this brat.”

Kungga observed the approaching enemy with a curious gaze. He then sent the twins back and called out again.

“Tauga, Anduru!”

“Yes! Coming!”

This time, two men wielding axes and spears, riding on the outside, moved forward. They were the most skilled horsemen among the bandits.

Kicking up a sandstorm, the two men split to Karon’s sides, aiming their axes and spears at him.

It seemed they were planning a pincer attack. Given their experience in the harsh desert, they were determined to seize even a small prey.

The enemy continued to charge toward Karon at a fierce speed.

Karon’s heart raced with curiosity about how quickly they could move, but before he could think, they were already upon him.

Hrah!

The bandit on the left swung his axe low. Whether he hit or missed, the goal was to force Karon to jump or duck.

If that happened, the spear wielded by the bandit on the right would pierce the enemy’s body.

However, once again, the result was unexpected.

The enemy suddenly changed direction and jumped to the opposite side of the swinging axe. Given the speed and direction he was moving, it seemed absolutely impossible.

This was an opponent charging toward him from the opposite direction while riding a horse. Changing direction like that would require immense leg strength.

It was no wonder his leg muscles felt like they might burst.

“Wrong way!”

The bandit wielding the spear found himself at a loss, and the one wielding the axe hurriedly tried to swing his weapon to the other side.

But the enemy was already on his horse.

What incredible reflexes!

This can’t be real!

The bandit’s thoughts stopped there. The enemy, having mounted his horse, swiftly moved behind him and stabbed a palm-sized dagger into the nape of his neck.

Then, without hesitation, he seized the axe and threw it at the bandit holding the spear.

Swish!

The axe spun rapidly through the air and struck the forehead of the bandit who had just turned to face him.

Thud!

Both bandits fell from their horses simultaneously.

It all happened in an instant.

The seven remaining bandits exchanged glances before looking at Kungga.

His expression had turned icy. One of their comrades had died. The situation had shifted from mere curiosity to real danger.

“Bring me his head.”

His tone was frigid.

At his command, the subordinates rode their horses with urgency.

Hah!

As the seven bandits charged toward him, Karon dismounted and seized the spear and axe from the fallen bandit.

The bandits scoffed at the sight.

Rushing at a mounted opponent barehanded was a suicidal move.

But Karon thought differently.

There were seven of them. Riding horses would make it easy to get surrounded.

Moving on horseback in the desert would impose many limitations on their actions.

Moreover, they would have to depend on their horses’ movements, which meant more variables and increased exposure to danger.

On the other hand, his legs were free. He could leap across the sand with ease.

His prediction proved accurate.

He smoothly dodged the horses charging from all sides and kept moving forward.

His movements were so fluid they appeared almost instinctual, as if he were aware of the paths the bandits were taking.

It was no surprise; to Karon, the bandits’ gazes, the muscle movements of the horses, and the trajectories of their weapons were all visible in his mind’s eye.

His speed on the sand was unbelievable; he moved faster than he seemed possible, even appearing quicker than the horses. The arrows from the twin bandits flew wide of their target.

As Karon dashed across the sand, he slid low to avoid a spear and swiftly struck the legs of a horse with the axe.

Crack!

Neigh!

Two horses stumbled and fell, crushing their riders beneath them, while Karon continued his assault.

He didn’t stop. His movements were as agile and smooth as one would not expect in a desert.

He tripped a horse with a spear, then threw a spear at an archer who appeared in front of him.

The arrows and spear crossed paths. The arrow brushed past Karon’s cheek, but the spear struck true.

Gack!

“Tauga! You bastard!”

The twin brother, witnessing his sibling’s death, lost his composure and leaped off his horse. He had already drawn his sword instead of his bow.

But before him, Karon was a mere phantom.

Ducking beneath the incoming blade, Karon swiftly closed the distance to the bandit and cleanly severed his head with the axe.

Thud!

The head and the axe fell onto the sand simultaneously. Karon discarded the axe and seized the sword.

With the sword in hand, he charged toward Kungga at high speed. There were still three bandits remaining, but none dared to approach.

Even the horses refused to come closer.

Watching this unfold, Kungga realized something was going wrong.

Of course, he was confident he could fight better than his subordinates, but he did not possess the skill to gain the upper hand against seven bandits.

Yet this monster was dispatching them with ease.

Moreover, he did it with a single strike. There was not a single extraneous movement in his attacks.

“What are you all doing?! Hurry up and kill him!”

But the subordinates hesitated. The more they fought, the more Karon’s presence loomed over them. It felt futile, as if they were battling a devil.

“These fools!”

Kungga dismounted and drew his sword.

Based on what he had seen, it was unwise to face Karon while mounted.

If anyone had heard him, they would have scoffed at his words, but if they had witnessed Karon’s movements, they would have said nothing.

“Who the hell are you?!”

Kungga shouted, pointing his sword at Karon as he approached.

Though he tried to hide it, his voice was notably subdued in the face of Karon’s overwhelming presence.

Karon continued to advance silently.

Kungga’s complexion grew pale. Desperately, he shouted, “Do you know who we are? We serve the Desert King!”

Kungga could not finish his sentence. In an instant, Karon leaped forward, knocked the sword from his hand, and brutally struck his face with his elbow.

Thud!

Gack!

Karon moved with the swiftness of a tiger.

As Kungga lost his grip on the sword, he fell helplessly to the ground.

With their leader subdued, the three remaining bandits turned and bolted in different directions, each hoping to escape and report back to their base.

Kruk! You think you can get away…

Wiping the blood from his nose with the back of his hand, Kungga looked up at Karon, attempting one last show of bravado.

But already, the glinting blade of Karon’s sword hovered menacingly over his brow.

Kungga’s face went pale.

“Karon! Wait a moment!”

At that moment, the chief’s urgent voice rang out.