Crack! Crack! Crack!
The crisp cracks of a whip echoed through the silent valley. Kaya wiped the sweat from the tip of his nose and surveyed the rocks he had shattered, looking as though he thought he was the greatest guy in the world.
Kite's expression remained neutral. "You've practiced enough. Let's head down the mountain."
Although Kite looked perfectly calm, Kaya knew he was probably pleased with his progress.
After more than two months of hellish training, Kaya had not only mastered the whip but learned to use it fluidly in actual combat. His strength had improved significantly.
He could now easily handle the Shadowfang Beast that had seemed unbeatable five months ago, without relying on favorable terrain or conditions.
Naturally, Kite was very pleased with his exceptionally gifted apprentice. Whether it was Kaya's future use of Nen or his innate potential, Kite had every confidence in him and believed he would become an outstanding Hunter.
The moment they stepped out of the forest, a commotion ahead caught their attention.
There was laughter, along with cries for help.
With a whoosh, Kaya raced toward the sounds.
Not far away, more than a dozen burly men had surrounded a horse-drawn cart.
Two unarmed villagers looked terrified, their hands trembling as they begged to be spared, not daring to resist.
Bandits, huh.
One of the bandits, a one-eyed man, took a watermelon from the cart and smashed it against the ground.
"What is this crap? A whole cart of watermelons? Hand over your valuables!"
An old man trembled as he said, "We're just taking goods to the market. We really haven't brought any money. Why don't you take all these goods instead?"
The bandit spat viciously at the old man. "Pah! Who the fuck wants your lousy watermelons? No money, huh? Then you'll get the blade!"
With that, he slashed the old man's leg, and blood instantly poured from the wound.
The younger man dropped to his knees before the bandit, shielding the old man with his body. "We really don't have any money. How about I go back and get some for you?"
"What if you go back to get help?"
"I wouldn't dare. You've still got my father. I won't."
The bandit rolled his eye thoughtfully. "Get moving. If you're not back in half an hour, your father dies."
Kaya glanced at the whip handle clenched tightly in his hand.
Ever since he had started learning, he had wanted to test it in actual combat.
Hunting experience and combat experience were not remotely the same thing.
Kaya looked back at the expressionless Kite.
Without further hesitation, he gripped his whip and shot toward the bandit leader like an arrow loosed from a bow.
As he sprinted, the whip danced in his hand before lashing viciously toward the one-eyed bandit.
Clang!
The long blade in the one-eyed bandit's hand was knocked to the ground. He stared at his empty hand in surprise, then glanced around in confusion.
"What happened?"
Kaya's attack had been far too fast for an ordinary person like him to see. He took it for some inexplicable accident.
The bandits saw only a short, fine-featured boy standing a little way off, glaring furiously at them.
Kaya pointed at the old man, whose consciousness was already fading, and told the bandits, "Let him go, then get out of here."
The bandits froze for a moment, then burst into mocking laughter.
A little boy talking big to more than a dozen burly men was funny no matter how they looked at it.
Kaya shrugged and chuckled. "Go on, laugh. Laugh all you want. You'll be crying soon enough."
The one-eyed bandit pushed through the crowd and strode forward, clutching his stomach as though he had laughed himself into a cramp. "Hahahahaha! This brat wants to join the fun too? Go home and suck on some milk!"
Kaya wasn't angry. "But I drink dragon milk. Jealous?"
The bandits had just stopped laughing, but Kaya's reply set them off again.
"Kid, get out of here. This isn't a place for you. Go home to your mommy!" a younger bandit advised.
The one-eyed bandit laughed so hard he rocked back and forth. He stepped forward and patted Kaya on the shoulder. "You've got guts, kid! But this isn't a place for jokes. Watch out, or I'll beat all that dragon milk right out of-Aaaaaah!"
With a piercing scream, the one-eyed bandit clutched his hand and howled, "My hand! My hand!"
Kaya wore a perfectly innocent expression. "Your hand's only broken. It's fine-it's still attached to your shoulder. But if you make another sound..."
As he spoke, Kaya drew out his whip and wrapped it around the man's neck several times. "Then your head won't be on your neck anymore. Hee-hee."
Those words stunned the one-eyed bandit into silence. Although the brat before him was still smiling, he was already drenched in cold sweat. He covered his mouth with his other hand, desperately trying not to make a sound, his eye filled with the fear of death.
Seeing this, the other bandits conferred. "Let's rush him together. No matter how strong this brat is, he can't handle all of us at once."
With that, more than a dozen men charged him together.
Kaya withdrew his whip and kicked the one-eyed man aside.
Facing the charging bandits, Kaya only chuckled and swung his whip, tracing an arc through the air.
Every strike brought a scream.
When the sounds of the blows stopped, only groans remained on the battlefield.
In just a few dozen seconds, Kaya had tied up every last one of the vicious bandits and was waving to Kite.
"Master, I'll leave things here to you. I'm going to check that old man's injury."
"Go ahead."
Kaya immediately ran to the unconscious old man and carefully examined his wound.
Fortunately, it wasn't particularly deep, but the bleeding needed to be stopped right away.
Kaya rummaged through his backpack for a while and pulled out a Red Velvet Rose. After crushing it, he carefully applied it to the old man's wound.
Red Velvet Rose could clot blood at a wound to stop the bleeding, and it worked wonders on any kind of bleeding. Scrapes and bumps were inevitable during Kaya's training, so he kept some of the herb in his backpack.
He then opened his canteen and gave the old man a few sips of water. Watching his breathing gradually settle, Kaya figured he should be all right.
Kaya stood up, dusted off his hands, and turned to Kite. "Master! I'm done here."
By then, Kite had already gagged all the bandits and hung them securely from a large tree beside the road.
He said to Kaya, "Let's go."
"Master, would you have been angry if I'd really killed that one-eyed guy?"
"No, but you might have lost your free time for a month."
"Why?!"
"Because you were too slow."
"..."
"I'm back." The young villager hurried to the scene, tightly clutching a pouch of Jenny.
Yet the sight before him left him dumbfounded-
His father was sitting safely on the cart, calmly examining his wound.
Meanwhile, the bandits had been tied together and hung from a tree.
Their mouths were firmly stuffed with their own filthy socks, leaving them able to make only faint, muffled whimpers.
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