30 Chapter 30: Hannibal

Gael left the kitchen when the night came, he saw the usual scene of the villagers gathered inside the restaurant that they now use as a shelter while the other villagers are doing their best to rebuild the houses and other establishments, the village's recovery is taking a long time because most men that are left are the weak and crippled one's.

" what's for dinner? " Gael asked when he saw the village chief and the others eating with Mary and Fortis.

After just a day of being here, they are already used to Fortis' presence, and they accepted him already as a friend, mostly because they saw how Fortis acts and spends time with Mary, they are now like best friends, and they even spent the whole day playing.

Fortis was gentle and careful every time he plays with Mary, since he is a monster and is stronger than a normal human, and Mary is just a little girl.

" oh? You're here, take a seat we just started eating " the village chief gestured for Gael to sit beside him.

Gael then took a seat and started eating.

" chief after we eat I would like you to gather the healthy men we have here, I don't need them to be strong or anything as long as they can run, " Gael said as they eat.

" Okay, no problem " the village chief didn't ask any more questions and just agreed immediately, he completely trust Gael since he is the only person who went to help them.

Gael and the others ate their dinner peacefully, they are even making jokes and laughing loudly, that is why if someone is unaware of the attack that happened in the village they will think that it is just a usual day where travellers are here to have a good meal.

…

Bandit camp, on top of a small unnamed mountain.

" men bring me more women and booze "fat and bald man only wearing pants on his side are two voluptuous women not wearing anything and are smiling without a care, if one looks at them they will see that the women are not in good mental state as if they are high on drugs. His big belly is exposed and his bald head shines as the light hit it, his neck, wrists, and fingers are filled with gold and shiny pieces of jewelry, he's got all of it from raiding villagers and attacking merchant caravans.

" bring up the women! " a man in his thirties wearing a steel chest plate with a sword strapped to his waist shouted. He was one of the Vice leaders.

" Manny, have you heard from them? " the fat bald man who appears to be the leader of the bandits asked.

" no, not yet leader " the vice leader named Manny answered.

" What did you say? They told me that they will send me my money after I attacked the unnamed village " though the fat man sounded calm his eyes seething with anger, he is not a patient man, and behind the fat man appeared a big furry creature with red eyes and sharp claws.

Manny took a step back as sweat started dripping from his forehead, the pressure from the fat bandit leader and the furry monster behind him combined caused the atmosphere inside his tent heavy.

" Don't worry leader I already sent a message asking them to give us what they promised " while Manny is now starting to kneel and having trouble breathing, a voice sounded from the entrance.

He is the other vice leader of the bandit group and is a close friend of Manny the other vice leader.

" Hmmm? Hance…make sure that we receive it this week " the fat bald man said as he gestured for the two vice leaders to leave when he saw a group of women being dragged by three bandits.

The fat man then took a big bite of the pork leg he was holding and chugged a whole mug of beer.

" yes, leader " Hance bowed towards the bandit leader and helped Manny stand up, they then left the tent.

" that fucking pig! I will kill him one day " Manny said gritting his teeth.

" don't worry we will have our revenge soon, that Hannibal will die by our very hands, " Hance said with a murderous tone, his gaze still at the tent of the bandit leader.

" but Hance how can we deal with that furry monster always standing behind him? " Manny asked.

" that furry creature is a monster that is for sure and monsters sleep and eat to survive, meaning they have a weakness as well " Hance smiled maliciously, it seems like he's already formulated a plan on how to deal with Hannibal and his furry monster.

The bandit leader is named Hannibal, he is actually not the original leader of the bandit group, the current bandit group that Hannibal leads was called the Twin Swords they are not actually a bandit group and are led by Manny and Hance, they were once a Mercenary band doing various requests and missions for the nobles, until one day they both received an order from a mysterious Noble to act as a bandit and kill other bandit groups they accepted the mission since it sounded reasonable enough, but they received another order to accept a new member and that is Hannibal and in a short amount of time he gained the trust of most of the member and made the mercenary group an actual Bandit group, he even made the former leaders as his underlings, his vice leaders, but Hannibal managed to do all those things not because he is a good leader but because most of them feared the bug furry creature that is always behind him, those who went against his orders will become the food of the terrifying furry creature.

…

Inside the kitchen of the restaurant.

" I gathered you all here to ask for your help, " Gael asked the group of men of various ages who are sitting in front of the round table.

" we will be happy to be of help, " all of them said in unison, they all feel the same frustration of not being able to defend their village when they were attacked.

" I see, but let me make things clear, what I am about to ask of you guys will be dangerous, " Gael said with a solemn face.

" Still we would like to be of help, we cannot do anything when we were attacked and it will be the most frustrating and humiliating moment of my life, "a man with a missing arm said with a motivated face, he was not forced by the bandits to join them since they have no use of a cripple man.

" yes he is right, my wife was taken by them and I will always carry the guilt of not being able to protect her because of me being weak, " A man with a slim and frail body said.

The other men said their reasons for not backing down and this made Gael smile and satisfied.

" if that is the case let me explain what your jobs will be, " Gael said with a serious expression.

The men gathered inside the room all nodded.

" I will attack the Bandit camp tonight, and I will first attack the place where they imprisoned the captured villagers and let them out, your job is to make sure that they escape, I will tell them to take a certain route where you guys will be waiting, though they can leave on their own there is a chance that some of the bandits might chase after them or they might encounter a wild animal on their way back, your main job is to receive the rescued citizen at certain points and escort them back here " Gael explained, the men all nodded at the same time with a serious face.

" any questions? " Gael asked looking around.

" if that is the case let me introduce the people who will lead you to the mountains " the three strongest hunters of their village took a step forward.

" I will divide you guys into three groups and will be stationed at three different locations, and once you made sure that everyone escaped you are all to descend the mountain " Gael said.

And the three strongest hunters nodded along with the others.

" what about you? Are you not going to escape with us? " one of the men suddenly asked.

" When I said earlier that I will help your village I don't just mean rescuing your family and friends, " Gael said

" then you mean…" one of the men gathered didn't finish his sentence when Gael cut him off.

" I mean to eradicate them, " Gael said with a grin.