LIGHTNOVELONLINE Chapter 371 - Goal
Milliendra's growth was insane, magically speaking, but to think that it would affect her other senses even at such a young age… that was very worrisome.
"It is okay, Millie," Zaos said after he put her in his arms. "Don't worry, this will end soon…"
Aleni approached Zaos, and then he touched her legs and enhanced them with wind magic. Her speed was already human, and now with that extra support… she would be unstoppable. Aleni disappeared, and then Zaos used Protection and Magic Shield just to make sure Milliendra would be all right during the fight.
The bandits tried to attack Zaos, but their arrows and bolts were stopped by the spells he had just cast. Before they could try again, Zaos began to hear the sound of bones being cracked one after the other… It was pretty scary to hear that since everything around them was so dark. The bandits began to groan in pain as they fell on the ground… based on the number of cracks, Zaos assumed that Aleni had broken their limbs in a single instant. Zaos didn't even feel the need to use Light in the Darkness. That level of opponent was only good to be beaten down and attack old merchants.
When the fifth of the enemies fell, the others finally decided to escape. However, Zaos's spell on Aleni's legs still would last for thirty-five more seconds. Even without those, their chances of escaping were already small, to begin with. The fight ended even before Milliendra finally stopped crying, and this time those who were crying to the pain were the bandits.
While kicking them, Aleni rolled the bandits toward the campfire. She also stripped them from their weapons. This time, Zaos was surprised since the quality of the weapons was a cut above the previous ones… They even had a bow and a crossbow that used a magic stone to produce elemental arrows.
"It seems these guys aren't like the others," Zaos said. "They are a bit stronger, and the quality of their weapons is better."
"In this type of large crime organization, they have a hierarchy," Aleni said.
That would explain how they had better weapons. Little by little, Zaos' suspicions were being confirmed. Before they could do anything, some of the bandits mustered the willpower to get up even though all their limbs were broken. They were certain that they wouldn't survive in the hands of those two, so they naturally had to escape. However, Zaos put them to sleep with his magic. As for the others, he made them piss themselves by using the strengthened version of Evil eyes.
"I think we won't need to torture them after this," Zaos said. "Try not to go too far since it is clear that Millie has good senses, and she will sense their agony as well."
Aleni nodded and decided to take one of the bandits to another location. After a couple of minutes, she returned and pulled another. Her interrogation lasted for over an hour, and she even disposed of the bodies while she was at it… while having such a reliable ally was good, at that rate, Aleni will always be connected to her previous work.
"... What did you learn?" Zaos asked.
"A man called Killy is their leader. Apparently, he is a fairly rich and well-known merchant who has deep ties with the leader of the noble family West of this region," Aleni replied.
Zaos sighed and then facepalmed. Things got complicated very soon… if noble families were involved, then it was a matter that soon could become a problem for the whole kingdom. Attacking to obtain their knowledge wouldn't be so easy either.
"According to them, they are trying to gain influence by gaining more money by selling the stolen goods to the kingdom as their own," Aleni added. "That will make the noble of this region lose power, and then the next one, the Melvins, will try to annex this region to their territory."
That became obvious after Zaos heard the first part. Someone greedy is always the fire starter. In any case, while the enemy was someone troublesome, it obviously was someone who had a lot of knowledge regarding magic stones and their use. Zaos could always start his research from scratch. Still, he was willing to make an enemy out of the whole world if he could free Milliendra from the demon god's influence even a single day sooner.
"You didn't hear anything regarding that while we stayed in that city?" Zaos asked. "The guards of the mansion should have mentioned that possibility at some point."
"No, I didn't," Aleni replied. "Apparently, the previous family had died of a disease a few months ago, and the current family head is young and naive… That is all that I heard."
That also explained why the force that was formed to hunt the bandits didn't accomplish anything. No one had any idea who the true enemy was… the head of the Melvins family probably hired some mercenaries to attack the cargo of the ship even though he could arm them. Still, that prevented everyone from thinking that some noble was the troublemaker behind everything.
"It seems this whole thing is a lot bigger than we thought," Zaos said. "What do you think we should do?"
"Kill all those who are evil," Aleni said
"Okaaaaayyyy…. this might take a while," Zaos frowned. "Your hatred for this type of people is justified, but there is more to life than cleansing the world from its trash. Anyway, I want their research no matter what, so I am with you. Did you ask them where their bases are?"
Aleni nodded and then showed several points on the map. While she didn't have much time to interrogate anyone, Aleni sure obtained information pretty fast. There was always the chance that the prisoners lied, but that was fine. What happened once happens twice.. Zaos and Aleni just had to fool another group of bandits if they didn't find the bases mentioned.