CHAPTER 334: LET’S GO BANDIT HUNTING!

All three of them, Aisha, Julie, and Skadi, stared at the screen, slack-jawed. They could never have imagined that a tree could be turned into a weapon so suddenly, so effortlessly...and crush a whole bandit group just like that.

Julie blinked several times, as if her brain was still trying to catch up. "That...That one tree just...wiped them out." She muttered.

Aisha’s tail twitched, her sharp eyes still scanning the projection. "H-Highly effective too. Look at that, the impact alone annihilated nearly half their numbers in one move."

The rest of the bandits on the screen were a mess, some frozen in disbelief, others scrambling around like headless chickens.

They couldn’t comprehend what they were seeing. To them, a massive tree had just fallen out of the heavens and obliterated their comrades.

Julie shook her head. "They probably think the gods are punishing them."

But before she could even finish the thought, she realized there were still survivors.

"Cassius." She began. "There’s still some left, should we—"

She didn’t get the chance to finish.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

A sudden gust of wind rushed past them, and all three felt it whip against their faces.

Cassius already had his hands around another tree, spinning it lazily at first...then faster and faster until the trunk blurred.

Aisha’s ears perked up. "Oh no...he’s doing it again."

This time, he didn’t pause after letting it fly.

Whoosh!

The moment it left his grasp, he was already onto another tree, ripping it from the ground, spinning it like a child’s toy, and sending it hurtling through the sky.

Whoosh!

Then another.

Whoosh!

And another.

In just seconds, three more massive trees were launched in rapid succession from the same direction.

And this time, Cassius didn’t have to call for them to check the screen. All three of them had their eyes glued to the drone projection like their lives depended on it.

...And their anticipation was rewarded.

Boom!

The first tree came crashing down onto a group of bandits who had just staggered awake from the earlier chaos, flattening them instantly.

Bam!

The second smashed straight into another group that had scrambled away from the first impact, cutting off their escape.

Crash!

The third found its mark in the most humiliating way possible, crashing directly into a pair of bandits who had wandered off to relieve themselves, leaving nothing but a grotesque mess where they had been crouching moments earlier.

Aisha’s jaw dropped. "He’s...picking targets. He’s actually aiming these!"

Julie muttered under her breath. "And here I thought you couldn’t make mass murder creative..."

And just like that one after another Cassius sent more trees and they found their marks until only a single bandit remained, standing in the middle of the carnage, staring up at the sky as if searching for divine answers.

His lips moved, though the drone’s feed had no sound.

Maybe he was repenting.

Maybe he was cursing fate.

But he didn’t get long to finish either way.

From above, another tree, Cassius’s final throw, came plummeting down, striking with such force that his upper body simply ceased to exist, leaving only his legs standing upright for a brief, grotesque second before toppling over.

And just like that, the camp that had been so calm and relaxed just minutes ago had become nothing but a massacre ground.

Not a single bandit remained alive.

Cassius then patted his hands together as if dusting off a simple chore and turned back to them with a satisfied smile.

"So...how was that? Pretty good technique to take care of bandits, right?"

The three of them stared up at him in stunned silence before the exclamations burst out.

Aisha was the first to find her voice.

"What was that!? What in the world was that!? Did I just really see trees falling from the sky to kill a bandit group?!"

Julie’s eyes were still wide, her tone half disbelief, half awe.

"Did I seriously just witness someone wipe out an entire camp with...trees?" She shook her head and muttered to herself. "I almost feel sorry for them. They had no idea where death even came from. Probably thought the heavens themselves were angry."

Skadi, on the other hand, bounded up to him and threw her arms around his waist.

"That was so cool, Master! I was already expecting something amazing, but you went beyond anything I could’ve imagined! You’re the best!"

"Following you was the best decision I’ve ever made!"

Cassius chuckled, patting her head. "Judging by the reaction, I’m guessing you all approve?"

Aisha flicked her tail with a sharp nod, Julie exhaled a breath she didn’t realize she’d been holding and Skadi was still clinging to him like a proud puppy.

Seeing this, Cassius gave a pleased nod.

"Good. Then this is what we’ll be sticking with. All throughout our journey, or at least until we’re past this bandit-infested region, this will be our strategy."

His tone shifted as he straightened, his commanding gaze sweeping over them. The effect was instant, all three snapped out of their stunned haze and stood a little taller.

"Here’s the layout." He said. "Aisha and Skadi, you’ll be on horseback while we move forward. Same pace as usual."

"...Aisha, you’ll be our lookout for any signs of bandits. Skadi, you’ll be right beside her to assist."

He held out his hand, and with a flicker of movement, several drones materialized in his grasp.

Passing them to Aisha, he added with a faint smile, "These are from the rest of my wives. After seeing Isabelle play with one, they decided they all wanted one. I made more, and now they’re going to be useful here. With these, you’ll have a much wider view."

"...Do you think you can handle it?"

Aisha’s eyes lit up immediately. She took the drones with both hands, her tail flicking in excitement.

"Of course I can manage them! Give me ten more and I’ll still handle it without a problem."

Cassius chuckled.

"That’s the spirit." He turned to Skadi. "Your job is to help her smell and spot anything unusual. Bandits, civilians, hunters, scouts, anything. No one should be around the area without us knowing."

Skadi thumped her fist against her chest. "Leave it to me, Master. We’ll track every last one of them before they even realize we’re there."

Cassius nodded once, satisfied, then turned his gaze to Julie.

"Both of you will work together as a team." He said firmly. "Note, that this isn’t just about eliminating bandits."

"The plan we’re carrying out now is also to clear the trees on both sides of the road. In the future, those same trees and shrubs won’t be there to give bandits cover."

"No more places to hide, no more surprise attacks. Travelers coming through here will have a much wider view of the road ahead, and it’ll make ambushes far less likely."

He gestured to the path ahead.

"That means both of you will be in charge of clearing the trees on either side of the road. Julie, you take the left side, I’ll take the right. As the horses move along, we’ll keep pace and cut down every last one of them."

He lifted a hand before she could move.

"But, don’t just slice a tree in half and let it fall. That would be messy and slow. I want each tree completely destroyed, cut into small pieces so it’ll break down faster or be easy to haul away later. Can you do that?"

Julie drew her sword, smirking. "A few slashes here and there and the pieces will be gone in an instant."

"Good." Cassius said with approval. "It shouldn’t take too much effort then. But, if Aisha and Skadi find more bandits ahead, don’t bother cutting the trees into pieces."

"...Just split them in half. I’ll use those trunks as projectiles to crush any bandit that’s unlucky enough to choose this forest as their hunting ground."

He looked at all three of them in turn.

"Understood?"

Three eager nods met his gaze. None of them had questions, just the sharp, excited gleam of people itching to get started.

Seeing it, Cassius smiled.

"Since everyone’s so ready...why don’t we start our little bandit-hunting journey?"

That drew matching smiles from them, smiles edged with bloodlust, as if they were already picturing the forest floor stained red by crushed bandits beneath falling trees...