CHAPTER 335: ONE SMALL HICCUP...

Now that the plan had been set, every single one of them expected it to go perfectly.

And let’s just say, it didn’t just go as planned.

...It went better than anyone could have imagined.

Throughout the rest of the day, all four of them worked like a team that had been together for decades, executing every single step without a hitch.

Despite the constant cutting, scouting, and launching of trees, their pace on the road didn’t slow at all. The horses kept their steady rhythm, the group advanced at the same speed as if they were just traveling normally, except now, the forest around them was being transformed.

Aisha, sitting tall, was busier than ever, her fingers moving with precision as she controlled multiple drones at once.

The controls seemed to come naturally to her, and now she had multiple live feeds showing every angle of the forest, from above the canopy to deep between the trunks.

Her eyes darted between screens, scanning for any flicker of movement that could give away a bandit’s position.

Beside her, Skadi was equally dedicated.

She inhaled deeply every few steps, her sharp nose twitching as she picked up scents. The smells weren’t always pleasant, in fact, some were downright horrible, making her face pale, but she never slowed down.

Her determination was absolute, as if she were on a personal mission to root out every hidden threat.

Julie and Cassius, meanwhile, took to their duties with relentless focus.

Moving alongside the road, Julie’s blade flashed again and again, slicing through every tree in her path.

Each cut wasn’t just a simple felling strike, she diced the wood into tiny fragments, leaving the ground covered in a thick carpet of splintered branches, twigs, and wood chips.

The road was widening with every step, and what was once a dense wall of greenery was turning into open space.

On the opposite side, Cassius was no less efficient, though his method was...a bit different.

He didn’t bother with a sword. Instead, he simply drove his fist into each trunk with just the right amount of force.

The sound was deafening, like thunder cracking right beside them, as the trees shattered on impact, exploding into fragments that rained down around him.

It was almost effortless for him, and he didn’t even break his stride.

But despite his brutal efficiency, Cassius’s voice suddenly rang out one moment, firm but thoughtful.

"Julie, watch for bird nests." He said. "We’re here to clear the trees, not destroy homes unnecessarily."

Julie blinked, slightly surprised, then nodded. "Alright. I’ll keep an eye out."

From then on, whenever a nest was spotted, Julie or Cassius would call out, "Skadi!" and the wolf-kin would dart over, carefully lifting the delicate bundle of twigs and eggs before bounding off to place it in another tree far from danger.

Cassius had said it casually, almost like it was just a passing thought, but to the trio, it hit far deeper.

Aisha glanced at him with an almost dreamy look, like she was thinking that he was even kind and considerate to birds.

Skadi smirked like she thought as expected of her master.

Julie, though still unsure about her own feelings toward him, found herself smiling just a little. Something about that small act lingered in her mind, it was strange, but it made her chest feel warm.

Of course, that kindness evaporated the instant Aisha’s voice came over.

"Bandits. Twenty of them, X-2354 Y-7609, near a creek." She reported sharply.

"Confirmed." Skadi added, sniffing the air. "Smell like they’ve been here for a few days."

Julie’s sword was already up. "Left side trees ready for harvesting."

Cassius grinned. "Good. Cut ’em in half."

She moved like lightning, slicing through several thick trunks and Cassius caught the first one mid-fall, muscles flexing as he swung it like a massive spear and let it fly.

Whoosh!

The tree tore through the air with a roar, smashing into the bandits’ camp.

Boom!

The impact echoed through the forest, cries of alarm cut short by the crunch of splintering wood.

Another tree followed...Then another.

Boom! Boom!

It didn’t matter if the bandits were hiding under a tree, crouched by the river, or even lurking inside a cave, Cassius’s aim was unerring. If Aisha spotted them, he could hit them.

One bandit tried to flee, sprinting for the cover of thicker woods.

"X-8654 Y-9275!" Aisha called out instantly.

Cassius didn’t hesitate. He hefted a single tree and hurled it straight into the man’s path. The impact left nothing but silence.

Mercy wasn’t part of the plan.

And so the day went, one moment filled with the sounds of trees being sliced into dust, the next with the thunderous launch of trunks crashing through distant camps.

The forest’s usual peace was gone. Every bird, squirrel, and deer had fled the area as the noise carried for miles.

Travelers on the road slowed as they passed, wide-eyed at the sight of massive trees sailing through the air like javelins.

Most of them had no idea why it was happening, but they could see the widening road, the cleared ground, and the efficiency with which it was done.

"They’re...clearing the way." One merchant muttered in awe.

"Let them work." another said, urging his cart forward. "They’re doing us a favor, even though I still find it hard to believe that someone is throwing those trees like they’re a bunch of rocks."

And so, no one interfered, they simply kept moving, leaving Cassius and his team to turn the forest into both a safer road...and a graveyard for bandits.

But even though the plan was going smoothly all day, there was one small, ugly hiccup that no one had noticed before.

Some of the bandit camps didn’t just have the bandits themselves, they also had hostages.

It was a sickening sight.

Through Aisha’s drone feed, they saw the truth: terrified young girls and small children, some tied to posts, others bound and huddled together on the ground.

The older ones clutched the younger ones, trying to shield them.

Some bore the marks of what the bandits had already done to them, bruises, torn clothing, skin pale and eyes hollow.

A few just stared blankly at nothing, the light in them already dimmed.

Aisha’s hands clenched around the drone controls so tightly her knuckles turned white. Her voice trembled with rage.

"These...These animals—" She nearly snapped the control stick in half.

"Easy..." Cassius said firmly, stepping beside her. His voice was calm, but there was a hard edge to it, one that made even Skadi glance up. "Losing your temper now will get them killed. We just have to adjust the plan accordingly."

He then looked around at all three women. "When there are hostages, we don’t throw trees. It’s too risky. Even if I can aim perfectly, one wrong move...and it’s over for them."

Skadi’s ears flicked back. "Then what do we do?"

"I go in alone." Cassius said without hesitation. "Fast and clean. I’ll take care of every bandit before they even know what’s happening. Then I’ll bring them back here."

Julie frowned. "Alone?"

"Yes." He said. "It will be much faster that way and it won’t hinder our pace."

And he was right.

The first time it happened, the hostages didn’t even have time to scream.

One moment, they were cowering in the corner of a filthy tent, listening to their captors laugh and argue over who would take the next "turn."

The next, the world exploded in noise and motion.

A shadow flashed past them, bandits’ heads cracked like melons, their bodies torn apart as if by some wild beast. Blood sprayed across the ground, painting the grass and the wooden stakes around the camp.

Before the terrified captives could even blink, the figure stood before them, a man covered in blood, breathing steady, eyes with a casual calmness.

He didn’t speak. He just crouched, hoisted four or five of them onto his back at once, and then...the world blurred into nothing.

The wind roared in their ears, the forest became a smear of green and brown, and in mere seconds they were somewhere else entirely, standing in front of three armed women.

When they recognized who those women were, the Holy Guard’s leaders, Julie, Skadi, and Aisha, the dam broke.

They collapsed, sobbing into the dirt, clutching at the hems of the women’s cloaks as if afraid they would vanish.

"You’re safe now." Aisha said softly, kneeling to embrace a trembling child.

Just like that, the problem was solved. The hunt for bandits continued, but now the rescued innocents traveled in their wake, safe under their protection.

But saving them created a new problem that came out of nowhere...