I became the king of villains in the game, Part 27

"Even if I, Walsh, die fighting here today, I won't let these filthy bastards lay a hand on you or the young lady!"

Chen Lun knew the bald man was putting on a show. Walsh knew he was a Beyonder, and if things really came to that, Chen Lun wouldn't stand by and let them die.

Originally, Chen Lun hadn't intended to get involved, but Walsh's next words caught his attention:

"Sir Jack, I suspect these men are human traffickers..."

Chapter 26: Stop fighting, all of you

"Go on."

Chen Lun's interest was piqued.

"Normally, bandits like these won't bother much with a party that isn't transporting goods. Too much trouble for too little gain...

"But these men were very insistent. They demanded to search the carriage and see who was inside."

Walsh leaned closer and lowered his voice:

"Actually, in big cities like Amber City, noble young ladies and married women often disappear, only to be auctioned off on the black market or in other private circles...

"And it isn't just women. Handsome young men are very popular too."

At this point, Walsh seemed to realize something and hurriedly added:

"Sir Jack, you're a picture of elegance, as brilliant as the stars, and Miss Froy's beauty is unrivaled, more dazzling and captivating than moonlight...

"I'm worried these revolting scoundrels might get ideas."

Chen Lun raised an eyebrow.

I never knew you were this sort of man, Walsh!

You really don't know how to talk to people!

Nothing but plain truths. You're embarrassing me. I may be thin-skinned, but feel free to keep going and toughen up my fragile heart.

"Big cities really are a mess... But don't they abduct the less attractive men or the older ones? Are these bandits discriminating against them?"

Chen Lun sounded indignant.

"Uh, not exactly. If someone looks wealthy or influential, they'll kidnap him for ransom too."

Walsh explained.

Chen Lun couldn't help shaking his head. Even bandits picked their targets these days. Without someone backing them, they probably couldn't handle the consequences.

Just then, the battle, which had seemed all but decided, suddenly took a turn.

The bandit leader pulled out a pair of iron gauntlets and put them on. Sharp steel spikes studded the knuckles. He caught a guard's slash with his bare hand, producing a sharp clang, then drove his other fist into the guard's abdomen.

Bang!

The instant the iron gauntlet struck the armor, Chen Lun noticed small holes opening along its edges and blasting out a jet of air.

The guard cried out in pain and went flying backward.

Everyone present was startled. How had these bandits, who looked like refugees, suddenly become so formidable? And what kind of advanced technology were those black iron gauntlets? One punch had dented the armor and taken a guard out of the fight!

After defeating his opponent, the bandit leader charged excitedly toward the next guard.

The bandits, who had been on the verge of routing, suddenly regained their morale. The guards grew hesitant and began avoiding him.

Just as the bandit leader thought he could slaughter everyone around him, an explosive report rang out-

Bang!!

Pain struck a second later.

His raised fist had yet to fall when he discovered a bloody hole in the left side of his chest.

He staggered back a few steps, then collapsed with a thud.

Blood began spreading beneath him.

[You killed the bandit leader and gained 10 experience points.]

Everyone turned to look. Standing straight in front of the carriage was a young man with slightly wavy black hair, dressed in a white shirt, trousers, and leather shoes. He held a Flintlock pointed their way, wisps of smoke curling from its muzzle.

"Stop fighting, all of you."

Chen Lun twirled the gun, blew across its muzzle, and slipped it into his crotch... holster.

Thanks to his investigator buddy from the Containment Bureau, he too had enjoyed the thrill of a one-shot kill.

With their leader dead and the firearm threatening them, the bandits scattered. At Walsh's shouted order, the guards refrained from pursuing and instead turned to tend to the wounded.

Just then, Chen Lun received a notification.

[D-rank quest triggered: Pursue the Desperate]

Quest description: You encountered a bandit ambush, but they crumbled before your overwhelming strength. Having been provoked, will you pursue them?

These bandits rob travelers and kidnap hostages. Behind their actions, there seems to lurk some earth-shattering big... boobies...

Quest rewards: 300 experience points and 500 Copper Crowns.

Chen Lun was already used to the notification windows' mischievous antics. Back in his previous life, when he first started playing "Age of Mysteries," the notifications had fooled him plenty of times.

Quite a few players had gone onto the forums to curse about it.

One fellow said he had received a quest that explicitly mentioned an unparalleled Mysterious Object. After all his hard work completing it, he ended up with a [D-rank] self-refilling coffee pot.

That alone would have been fine. At least he would always have something to drink while traveling.

Until one day, he poured a strange yellow-brown liquid out of the coffee pot...

And the price of using this [Mysterious Object] was that he had to drink every last drop. Otherwise, he would be forced into a state of thirst, with all his stats reduced for ten days.

A ten-day weakness debuff was worse than death. Left with no choice, the player braced himself and downed it in one gulp.

Whatever else could be said, that coffee pot probably needed to drink more water.

The quest notification hadn't lied. This pot really was one of a kind. Later, quite a few wealthy people with bizarre tastes even approached him to buy it. Things took a truly surreal turn.

Chen Lun hadn't intended to accept the quest; the rewards were too paltry. But he caught himself in time. He couldn't let his newfound wealth go to his head.

There's no such thing as too much experience or money!

My journey toward greater strength must never stop!

So, after accepting the quest, he told Walsh and the others to make camp where they were. He also asked them to put away the suspicious iron gauntlets for him so he could examine them properly when he returned.

Then he said a quick word to Froy and set off in the direction the bandits had fled.

Chen Lun followed the bandits' tracks, leaving the main road and entering a dense forest.

The place was rather eerie. Towering trees and thick foliage blocked out the sunlight.

A deep layer of fallen leaves covered the ground, crunching beneath his feet. Every so often, strange sounds drifted in from all around him.

Caw-caw-

A crow swept through the trees, shedding a few black feathers.

It fluttered its wings and slowly settled on Chen Lun's arm. Turning its head, it studied him with its intelligent little eyes, then cawed several times.

Chen Lun offered it a few beetles he had casually caught along the way. The crow ate them one by one, tipping its head back to swallow. It cawed twice more, then flapped its wings and flew away.

Having obtained the information he wanted, Chen Lun continued in a particular direction.

"So there's a camp, with roughly a dozen people..."

After another ten minutes or so, Chen Lun glimpsed firelight.

He slowed his steps, parted some shrubbery, and got a clear view of the scene in a clearing ahead.

The bandit camp was about the size of a small basketball court. A large bonfire burned in the middle, with a beast's haunch roasting beside it. Several men in filthy, disheveled clothes were cooking a pot of unidentified soup.

A few other men were sharpening their weapons: axes, sickles, daggers, kitchen knives, and all sorts of other junk.

Looted goods were piled in a corner, crates stacked neatly together. A covering appeared to have been slashed open, revealing metal ingots, ore, and coal.

Beside the goods stood several large iron cages. The people locked inside were all men, and every last one was old and ugly.

"Why doesn't this match what Walsh said?"

Chen Lun was puzzled. Why had these bandits captured these people? Were there really buyers with tastes that extreme?

A burly man sat sprawled on a stool, toying with a short sword. Beside him stood the bandits who had blocked the road earlier, their heads hanging like schoolchildren being scolded for failing an exam.

"You're all useless!"

The burly man cursed.

"Hyena was even more useless! It's bad enough that he botched the job, but he also lost the 'Mad Hands' issued by the higher-ups!"

Chapter 27: My two guns will give me the answer

"It wasn't our fault, boss!"

One of his underlings protested miserably.

"Boss Hyena was the one who told us to attack. He said that with 'Mad Hands,' we could definitely handle them...

"Anyone escorted by seven or eight guards was probably somebody important. Kidnapping them was bound to pay off.

"But we never expected that kid who got out of the carriage to have a firearm. He killed Boss Hyena with one shot!"

"A firearm?"

The burly man frowned, apparently realizing that things were a little tricky.

"Sounds like this kid you mentioned has some serious backing, but we can't lose 'Mad Hands.'

"If he only has one firearm, we still have a chance."

He stood and pulled out a pair of iron gauntlets identical to those worn by the previous bandit leader, then put them on.

He struck his fists together with two metallic clangs.

"Move out! Catch up to them!"