Encountering Bandits and Getting Injured

Matthews had collected some fabric and bamboo from the village to make a few folding fans, and throughout the winter, he had taught the village children some basic martial arts. Now that they were leaving, the village chief and the others saw them off to the edge of the village.

The village chief spoke as he pulled a dagger from his robes and said to Matthews, "I picked this up a while ago, and it's of no use to me here, so I'll give it to you!"

Matthews pondered for a moment. He had already encountered danger since arriving in this world. It made sense to have an extra piece of iron for self-defense, so he accepted the dagger handed over by the old village chief.

"I will accept your kindness then, thank you, old village chief."

The children from the village, whom Matthews had taught all winter, stood in a neat row, eyes brimming with tears as they shouted, "Thank you, teacher."

"Brother, don't you want to say goodbye to them again?"

"Let's go."

Matthews walked away without looking back; he knew he was a sentimental person. Staying behind would certainly be pleasant, but he didn't want to live a dull, ordinary life. This was a magical world with the possibility of immortality; how could he not go and experience the winds and clouds of such a place?

That night, Matthews and Mia slept in a tree. Because they had no money, they had to walk all the way to the capital of the Furio Empire. Only there could they find magic academies and the churches that tested for magical talent.

"Rumble—"

"Hmm."

Matthews, who already possessed the strength of a level six warrior, was awakened instantly by the thunderous sound of hooves. In these desolate mountains and wild ridges, how could there be such a large-scale sound of galloping horses!

"This is bad."

Matthews realized the situation; this was not the peaceful world he had lived in before. This was a high-martial world filled with bandits and mercenaries. Now that hooves of this magnitude appeared, there were only two possibilities.

Either an army was passing through, or bandits and horse thieves were raiding a caravan guarded by mercenaries.

Regardless of which it was, it was not something he could handle right now. Matthews remembered clearly that in the original story, the protagonist encountered a bandit leader with level seven or eight strength after coming out of the Magic Beast Mountain Range.

He was just a small fry right now. In a world where Saint Realm powerhouses could destroy nations or cities, a standard attack from a Saint Realm expert was likely comparable to a tactical missile.

If that were the case, wouldn't a level seven or eight expert killing an ordinary person like him be as easy as pinching an ant?

Matthews grabbed Mia and ran. Mia, still in her sleep, asked groggily, "Brother, what's wrong?"

"We've encountered danger."

Matthews had been careless. If they had just stayed put in the tree, the passing bandits might not have noticed them. But by running, they had completely exposed themselves.

"Boss, there's someone."

"Hmm, I sensed it. The target is the priority; you go and kill them."

Two bandits immediately stepped out, spurred their horses, and chased in the direction of Matthews.

Hearing the hoofbeats closing in, he knew he couldn't escape by staying on the main road.

Matthews scanned the area through the night; they had chosen a dense forest by the road earlier. Now, the terrain here was relatively flat, with no rugged mountains to hide in. There was no way to shake off people chasing on horseback!

He had no choice but to drag Mia into the dense forest. When the bandits saw them enter the woods, they reined in their horses at the edge of the trees. Horses were not suited for charging into dense forests, and their boss likely wouldn't tolerate them damaging a horse.

"You stay here and watch the horses; I'll go kill them."

After saying this, the bandit jumped off his warhorse and gave chase. Matthews was carrying Mia, so he would likely be caught up to quickly. If he kept running, he wouldn't have the strength to fight back.

"We can't outrun them. You hide first."

Mia looked at Matthews, then turned and ran to hide behind a tree.

"Hahaha, why aren't you running anymore? You made me chase you for so long; if I go back late, I probably won't even get any soup."

The bandit saw Matthews take a defensive stance and looked at the animal skins he was wearing.

He immediately scoffed, "Bad luck. I thought you might be a scout or something. Killing you would have been a decent payday, but it turns out you're just a poor wretch."

He charged forward. The martial arts Matthews had practiced before were just farm-style techniques. When country folk encountered danger, they focused on a single lethal strike with few fancy moves. This bandit hadn't cultivated any Battle Qi either; he was just an ordinary level five warrior.

His attacks were wide and sweeping, techniques learned through actual combat. Most of the time, they relied on their leader to gain the upper hand before swarming the enemy. Because of this, Matthews was able to handle the situation.

Twisting and dodging, the bandit couldn't take Matthews down immediately.

"Hahaha, I didn't expect you to know a few moves. This makes killing you even more exciting!"

After the bandit finished speaking, he swung his broadsword with even more vigor.

"Good chance."

After the bandit swung his blade, Matthews seized the opportunity to step forward with his left foot. He grabbed the opening and plunged his dagger directly into the bandit's chest. He retreated immediately after the strike, but he was still grazed by the bandit's blade across his stomach.

Matthews clutched his wound and looked at the bandit.

"You... you were hiding your strength all along. You actually have the power of a level six warrior!"

The bandit had assumed his level five strength was enough to easily kill Matthews, never expecting to fall here. After the bandit collapsed, clutching his chest, Matthews stepped forward and cut off his head.

"Calling me a poor wretch, and you only had three or five silver coins on you."

Matthews picked up the bandit's broadsword and left.

"Brother, are you hurt?"

"I'm fine, I still have a bit of fat on my stomach to cushion it."

Matthews bandaged his wound simply and left the forest with Mia.

The bandit guarding the horses waited for a long time, but seeing his companion didn't come out, he grew impatient. "Taking so long just to kill someone."

Cursing under his breath, he drew his long blade and chased after the direction his accomplice had gone. Ten minutes later, he arrived at the spot where his accomplice had been killed and saw the corpse. He nervously raised his blade into a defensive stance, scanned his surroundings for a moment, and then slowly retreated.

He reasoned that since his accomplice, a Level 5 Warrior, could be killed, he was just as likely to be killed himself. Therefore, he didn't bother with the body; after all, they were bandits who lived with their heads on the line, and getting killed was just part of the job. He had no intention of putting himself in danger.

After walking for the better part of the night, Matthews finally stopped to rest in a tree with Mia.

The next morning, looking at Matthews's wounds, Mia said, "Brother, you're hurt so badly. Let Mia bandage you up!"

In this situation, it would be best to have some alcohol to disinfect the wounds before bandaging them, but Matthews didn't have the means for that right now.

"Go start a fire."

Mia quickly built a fire, while Matthews cleaned his dagger for a moment before placing it directly into the flames to heat!

"Brother, what are you doing?"

"Treating the wound. Go get some water."

Mia obediently went to fetch water, but just as she walked a short distance away, she heard a shrill, blood-curdling scream pierce the air.

"Ngh, ah—"

When Mia ran back, she saw Matthews pressing the red-hot dagger against his stomach, causing his skin to hiss and smoke!