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Chapter 58: How To Be A Bandit
Greed and Fool were the first to take flight.
Their filthy, black wings pushed the mist aside with every flap.
The goblins, who had been hiding comfortably in the holes along the upper cliffs of the valley, suddenly saw the massive shadow of the two Fallen above them.
"Graaahhsh!" Fool, with a hysterical laugh, grabbed the first goblin by the collar and yanked him out of the hole like a rag doll.
"Don’t! You damn flying dog—ugh!" The goblin’s short legs flailed in the air.
At the same time, Greed dove toward another group of goblins with shining eyes.
His claws, like black sickles, ripped two more goblins from their places.
Further below, two other Fallen were mercilessly tearing through the goblins who tried to leap out of the mist and escape.
At first, the goblins tried to fight back—but when they realized they were no match, they quickly opted for a strategic retreat.
As the old saying goes, if you can’t beat your enemy, run.
But the speed of the Fallen didn’t allow for such mercy.
Daniel, meanwhile, stood still. Arms crossed, an emotionless look on his face as he watched the one-sided hunt.
"I’ve seen these things before... but Daniel, are these your summons? Or something else?" Eva asked, caught somewhere between awe and confusion.
"Something like that. But not exactly summons," Daniel tilted his head slightly.
Still, his gaze didn’t leave the battlefield.
There was no reason to get involved himself. These goblins weren’t even worth using his abilities on. Just a bunch of E- and D-rank trash that were a waste of time.
Not to mention, killing them didn’t give much Exp either.
It didn’t take more than a few minutes.
With heavy strikes and muffled roars, the goblins’ resistance crumbled. Twelve bruised and battered green creatures collapsed to their scrawny knees.
Their small hands were over their heads, panting, their noses barely intact.
Daniel stepped forward.
"What happened? Didn’t you all wanted to rob us?" A half-smile appeared on his lips.
"We were wrong, Lord! We didn’t know who you are!" one of the goblins cried out in a trembling voice.
"We’re just simple bandits! Please, show mercy! We meant no disrespect!" The others quickly started begging as well.
At that moment, Eva, who had been trying to keep her composure, finally lost it and burst into laughter—a deep laugh, shaking her shoulders.
"Seriously... I never thought I’d see goblins beg. I can’t tell if they’re pathetic or hilarious."
The reason behind their behavior was obvious.
Even though the Fallen hadn’t killed the goblins, they’d beaten them to the edge of death.
Daniel wanted to see if they could be made to submit, to find out whether they were useful or not.
"From now on, you call me Master," Daniel said, giving the battered goblins a cold look and a smile.
"Hail, Master!" The goblins, as if waiting for that command, shouted all at once in their screechy voices.
Most were still on their knees with hands over their heads, but the fear in their eyes was obvious.
Master? They wanted to curse him out with every insult they knew, but unfortunately, they didn’t have the balls for it.
"Well then. As a good master... naturally, I should teach you how to be good bandits," Daniel nodded in satisfaction.
The goblins’ pointy ears turned toward him like radars.
Their eyes lit up, like students in an important class.
"Let’s say I’m the bandit, and you’re my targets. Now... hand over everything you’ve got." Daniel smiled kindly.
The goblins hesitated for a moment. They exchanged nervous glances. Everything? They’d worked hard to gather their stuff and really didn’t want to give it all up.
"Now. Or are you itching for another beating?" Daniel said with just one word.
That was enough. The goblins began pulling out gold and silver coins from all sorts of tiny pockets.
From pants, and even one from inside his leather shoe, they dumped handfuls of gold.
The ground beneath Daniel and Eva was suddenly covered in shiny coins. Dozens of kilos of gold and silver had somehow been stuffed into the bodies of those small creatures.
Daniel and Eva stared at the sudden treasure hoard with wide eyes.
"How did you even fit all that gold in yourselves?"
"And where did you even get them from?" Daniel asked, suspicious.
"We found it in the valley, Master. Lots of those giant wooden things with wheels, and those wooden places humans sleep in were full of coins," one goblin said with a broken nose.
Daniel nodded and without hesitation dumped all the gold and silver into his inventory.
Eva gave Daniel a long, serious look—its meaning clear.
"What?" Daniel feigned ignorance. "Is there a problem?"
"Do I not get a share?" Eva raised an eyebrow.
"Consider your share the advance payment and escort fee for guiding you through Broken Valley, ma’am," Daniel said with a laugh.
Eva sighed, but said nothing more.
When they were ready to move on, Daniel paused and turned back to the goblins.
Eva raised an eyebrow, expecting Daniel to tell them to stop stealing or something.
"Keep doing what you’re doing. I’ll check in now and then. Half your gold is mine," Daniel said with a smile.
"You’ve got to be kidding me..." Eva was speechless.
"Life’s expensive, right?" Daniel shrugged.
This time, Eva let out an even deeper sigh. She couldn’t believe that just hours ago, she and the villagers had considered this man a hero.
They mounted their Worak and continued on. For about two hours, the creature stomped forward in silence.
The mist made the valley feel heavier and more mysterious. Along the way, Daniel noticed interesting details—broken bridges, worn-out tiling, and remains of caravanserais built for traveling merchants.
"How long does it take to get out of this valley?" Daniel finally asked, trying to break the heavy silence.
"Normally? About a day," Eva replied, glancing around.
Daniel sighed. Sitting on the Worak for so long was starting to hurt his back.
They kept going—until suddenly, their path reached a fork that changed everything. One of the roads was completely destroyed.
.
