123 May Devil be With You (1/2)

The Light Empire Captain looked at the tall man on the wall. Although his armor is old and worn, it is clearly better than the other bandits.

”Are you the leader? I'll be very direct. You will drop your weapons and become our slaves... We can do this the easy way or…”

”What the fuck?!?! Do you expect me to surrender just like that?” The tall man gritted his teeth in anger.

The Captain walked over to another one of the kneeling bandits and cut off his head.

”Look how easy your people are dying. I'm going to kill these people, then I will destroy that gate and continue killing anyone that resists. Unless you surrender.”

The tall man grimaced and turned. He knew he couldn't win this fight, but he couldn't let his people be executed, either.

One of the bandits at Enzo's side knew that he wouldn't want to surrender so easily, but the situation seemed hopeless, so he advised him.

”They are over five hundred... We cannot win this fight, Enzo.”

Enzo looked at the other bandits who were gathering on the square behind the walls. All of them were picking up old weapons and shields.

Even though they knew they were screwed, many were ready to fight for their home and people.

Still, even if they try their best, they couldn't even kill 1/4 of the Light Empire's soldiers. The bandits are not trained soldiers and did not have good equipment.

As for the Light Empire's soldiers, they are very strong and well trained, equipped with high-quality weapons and armors, and there were still those shields, impenetrable even by spells.

Enzo didn't have to think long to make his decision. He ignored the Captain, still threatening him, and came down from the wall.

He looked at his people and spoke in a sad tone. ”We have to get out of here as soon as possible! If we stay, we will die or become slaves. We can escape through the caves.”

Enzo knew that the old wooden gate would not resist long. Despite keeping the beasts outside the fortress, a few axes would be enough to destroy the gate.

So he sent his people to gather everyone and prepare to escape through the secret passage of the cave.

But while he was giving orders, a familiar voice came from the secret passage. Then Neola ran out of the cave with a worried expression.

”Enzo!? What is going on? Wait! Are you going to abandon our people out there???!?!?”

Everyone in the fortress could hear the threats from the Light Empire Captain and knew that he is executing the captured bandits.

Enzo ignored Neola talking about combating and continued to tell the bandits to get ready to flee. They were confused about what to do as both Neola and Enzo are their leaders.

”We must not stay here!! Shit!! There are over five hundred Light Empire soldiers out there. We'll be lucky if we manage to escape.”

Neola was about to argue more when they heard the Light Empire Captain shout.

”OH?!? Are you going to hide like rats? Your friends are pissing themself here while I cut off their heads... Just so you know, I still have a hundred more prisoners.”

The bandits on the wall turned around, so they didn't have to watch the Captain decapitate their friends. The bandits inside the fortress had expressions of fear and anger.

”GO!! We have to get out of here before it is our heads that are rolling.” Enzo ignored Neola's protests and ordered everyone to start moving.

Still, half of the bandits were not following his orders. They were divided into two groups. While some wanted to run away with Enzo, others wanted to fight for their people with Neola.

Enzo knew about Neola's stubborn personality, so all he could do is to order his people to flee and carry her by force. He would not let all his people die in hopeless combat.

He pointed to the bandits who did not want to follow his orders, but then Neola took his arm. ”Enzo! Listen to me!! We must no-”

The situation was extremely tense. They could die at any time when the Light Empire soldiers destroyed the gate, but Neola was still thinking about fighting…

Enzo can't help but lose his temper. He used his other arm to slap Neola in the face and calm her down.

Well, actually he tried.

Neola saw Enzo's hand coming towards her face. She instinctively closed her eyes and waited for the blow as she could not dodge at such a short distance to him.

”WHAT?!” But neither the pain nor the sound of the slap happened. All Neola heard was Enzo's confused voice.

She opened her eyes and saw a hand holding Enzo's wrist just a few inches from her face.

Maybe it was because that hand has skin too clean to belong to someone of her people, or perhaps another reason, but Neola was sure it is Lucien, defending her.

Depending on how stressful a situation was, the people emotionally involved in that situation could lose the ability to reason properly, and even their senses could fail.

Since Neola came out of the secret passage in the cave, Lucien, Ghilanna, Lust, and Oya were behind her.

But nobody noticed them because the Light Empire soldiers are so terrifying, making everyone very tense.

Of course, some people noticed them, but they were focused on the discussion of their leaders about what to do.

Enzo was very focused on giving orders to his people, so he did not notice them. Lucien was silent to observe what kind of person Enzo is.

But that does not mean he would stand by and see Neola getting slapped. He wasn't even using 1/10 of his strength, and yet Enzo couldn't get rid of his grip.

While Enzo clenched his teeth, Lucien spoke calmly. ”You are not allowed to touch my servant.”

Neola couldn't help feeling warmth in her heart when she saw Lucien defending her. But his arrogant words remembered her that he is a wicked devil who killed her comrade.

But her angry expression turned to blush when Lucien spoke his next words. ”Only I can slap her. Of course, if she misbehaves, she would be spanked on the ass.”

Enzo went into a state of fury. He wasn't that furious seeing the Light Empire Captain killing his people, but Lucien managed to strike his weak spot, his ego.

”WHAT?!?!?! SHE IS MY FIANCEE!!! YOU BAS-” Enzo let go of his grip on Neola's arm, took the dagger from his belt, and tried to cut Lucien quickly.

Lucien smiled, watching Enzo's movement in slow motion, so he kneed his stomach, throwing the man over twenty meters until he hit a wall.