Immortal Era's Crafting Master 108

Upon hearing the voice, both Kiro and the bandit archer turned to face its source, only to be greeted to the sight of Bandit Warrior Jack and his squad, all with a mix of emotions on their faces. Kirou could tell that something must have happened since he could see the strange expressions on their faces but it wasn't his place to ask about it. That said, he was curious so he decided to stay back and listen to the conversation that was about to take place.

The female archer went up to Jackson and spoke, "Boss, what are you doing here? Shouldn't you and the rest of the squad be waiting for my return back in the village? And why do you guys seem so down?"

Bandit Warrior Jackson had a wry smile on his face as he looked back between the female archer before him and Kirou who was now sitting under a tree in a meditative state. Although this was a private matter and he didn't want to discuss this with Kirou around, he also knew that they no longer had a choice in the matter. Releasing a sigh, Bandit Warrior Jackson spoke up, "La.s.s, you'll have to find a new city to make your base as our little village is no more."

Hearing those words caused the female archer to let out a gasp while prompting Kirou to raise an eyebrow at the possible implications of those words. The female archer eventually asked, "Boss, could you please explain your words? What do you mean by, 'our little village is no more'?"

Jackson looked at the archer with a caring expression, a complete contrast to his image as a bandit leader. He signaled for the archer to follow him as he went over and sat next to Kirou, prompting the archer to do the same. Kirou saw Jackson's actions and knew what he was planning to do so he didn't make any sudden actions. That being said, since Kirou didn't really trust any of these people, he kept his pet and clone on standby in a nearby location while having his wired gloves still equipped. As for the rest of Jackson's squad, they were sitting on the other side of the clearing, watching Kirou with a wary expression, equally sharing in his distrust.

After both the archer and Jackson sat down, Jackson directed his attention to Kirou as he started speaking, "After you left with the la.s.s here, the other squad leaders got a bit spooked at the possibility of you returning to destroy us. It didn't matter to them whether or not my intel on those five locations were correct, so much so that even with the blood oath as a guarantee, they were still fearful that you would go back on your word and launch an attack against the village when you got stronger."

Kirou raised an eyebrow at that as he never expected that his little trap in retaliation for the initial ambush would have resulted in him casting such a strong fear in the hearts of the bandits. This was something he should note down for the future, for when he's ready to deal with other bandit groups that antagonize him. After musing on that thought for a bit, Kirou eventually spoke up, "While I get it that bandits wouldn't be the trusting sort, considering what they usually do on a daily basis..." When Kirou said that, a wry smile formed on Jackson's face as he understands Kirou's point while the archer was a bit flushed. Kirou ignored their reactions as he continued, "That being said, their actions weren't only in response to my current and potential strength, I a.s.sume. It must have been fueled by other motivations as well, considering how fast all of this went down." After saying this, Kirou had a knowing smile on his face, prompting the archer to make a confused expression while Jackson just released another sigh.

Jackson looked at Kirou with a curious expression and couldn't resist asking the question, "How are you so knowledgeable about our situation? Is it possible that you've got a mole in the village or something?" Although Jackson asked this in jest, the others within earshot of the conversation didn't take it as such.

Kirou noticed the members of Jackson's squad looking at him with serious expressions but he just shrugged before responding, "Nah, that would take too much effort in setting up on my part and I'm a busy man, so I lack the time and patience to do it. Anyways, I believe it's best you explain the situation to the archer here or she'll remain clueless as to what took place while she was following me."

Jackson then took a look at the female archer showing a slightly confused expression before released a sad sigh as he started speaking, "Well, lad, it all started after I led my squad to this clearing to wait for your return..."

*******Flashback*******

Jackson and his men had just arrived at the designated clearing when they saw a trail of smoke coming from the direction of the village. Jackson was the first to rush back, thinking that something bad had happened to the village while he was away. He had only made it halfway when he ran into the few men he had tasked to keep an eye on the village.

Just as he was about to ask about what had transpired in the village, one of his men spoke up, "It's no use going back to check, Boss. Everyone's gone and the village itself is engulfed in flames. Those b.a.s.t.a.r.ds had long since planned to flee from the village and they made sure to make their moves after sending us out. They took everything with value with them, and for those that they couldn't take, they joined the houses and other stuff now being engulfed in flames. Those b.a.s.t.a.r.ds made sure to get everything, making sure that we'd have nothing to salvage when we returned."

Hearing those words, Jackson's mind went blank for a moment. After a few seconds, Jackson rushed past the scouts and continued his mad dash towards the village. This time, the scouts made sure to keep pace with him, each having their own complex and cloudy thoughts and expressions. After traveling for another five minutes, Jackson and the scouts were finally standing before the entrance of the village.

Jackson looked at the village he's called home for so many years going up in smoke. When Jackson had heard the report from the scouts, he didn't believe them and had to verify it with his own eyes. No, Jackson did believe them but he didn't want to admit it. With the evidence now staring him in the face, however, he could no longer deny the reality that appeared before him for all of them to see.

It wasn't until half an hour later that the fire finally died down enough for Jackson and the scouts to start searching the now ruined village. Roughly five minutes later, the rest of the squad that he had left in the clearing had only now appeared after their minutes of hesitation earlier. When they too saw the ruin that was formerly their home, their minds also went blank, doing their best to deny the reality that laid before their eyes.

After a few minutes of this, the squad broke out of their stupors and joined Jackson and the rest in searching the ruins of their village. Ten painstaking minutes of searching later, the group was now a.s.sembled at the entrance of the former village with little success outside of a few items and food stocks they had hidden in various places around the village, unknown to the others. Jackson looked at all this with a heavy heart as a solemn expression formed on his face.

He didn't need to ask whose brilliant idea this was as he already got that answer when he searched his own home. Inside the remains of his destroyed home, Jackson noticed that his best and favorite weapon, a black steel battle-axe was missing. Inside this village, there was only one other person that could wield it and could possibly figure out a way to bypa.s.s his various security features in such a short amount of time.

As the squad members stared at him with crestfallen expressions, Jackson spoke underneath his breath, "Good, Cain. Very good. This is a debt that I'll be sure to pay back within the future. You better pray I die or you flee this continent, otherwise, when I find you, your death will be slow and painful. That I swear on my blood."

As if to show that even the heavens, or rather the all-seeing system acknowledging his blood oath, a streak of red lightning flashed through the skies before they returned to normal. While the rest of the squad saw that streak of lightning, Jackson himself never paid any attention to it as he stared at his ruined village with tears of blood flowing on his face.

Taking a minute to get it out of his system and another to fully compose himself, Jackson turned away from the ruins of his home and started walking back in the direction of the clearing. The members of his squad said nothing as they too did so after putting away what little gear they had on them. As the group left the area, Jackson spoke in a quiet voice that all were able to hear, "After we pick up the la.s.s, we'll need to find a new place to settle down before we start searching for info on those traitorous b.a.s.t.a.r.ds. Even if we have to join one of those d.a.m.nable villages and risk being put in jail, we'll worry about such luxuries after we take down those b.a.s.t.a.r.ds. Is that understood?"

Although the group kept quiet, every person behind Jackson nodded at the same time, producing a peculiar sound in the environment as they silently made their way back to the clearing. They were of the same mind in thinking that even if they had to sell their souls to the devil, it would be worth it so long as they get their revenge.

Jackson spoke up in a similar voice after a few seconds, "Very good. Let's hurry up. The two might have already returned and we should probably catch up to that mysterious Lycan while we are at it." Following those words, the group rushed back to the clearing, arriving just ten minutes before Kirou and the female archer had returned.

*******Flashback End*******

Having listened to the story from the beginning, Kirou could only release a sigh as he never expected his presence to have triggered such a serious reaction. If he didn't know any better, he was starting to think that he was some protagonist in an action novel with how his actions keep resulting in such weird situations (*Sips tea* that's just crazy talk, right?).

As for the archer, she was currently shedding a few tears of sorry at the news. While she is just a player that's technically only been living with these bandits for roughly three weeks, she was saddened that they had lost their home in such a messed up manner. Like the rest of Jackson's squad, she too wished to find those traitors and string them up by their toes.

With the story of what went down now out of the way, Jackson turned his sights towards Kirou once again before speaking, "Kirou, was it? I'm wondering if you would be willing to aid me and my men in tracking down those traitorous b.a.s.t.a.r.ds and exacting our revenge? I'm willing to use my life as collateral as long as you're willing to help." When Jackson said this, he had a very serious expression on his face, with the fires of revenge burning in his eyes.

At the same time that Kirou heard this, surprisingly, both he and the female archer received a quest notification from the system.

[System: You have received a quest from Bandit Warrior Jackson, u003cA Bandit's Revengeu003e]