The rising of the Shield Hero X One piece

The Rising of the Sword Hero part 15

The voice didn't lie. The little caravan was actually surrounded by four figures wearing hoods. Zoro couldn't see their faces, but he could feel hostility pouring out each of them. It's not something unfamiliar to him; after all, he had met a lot of bandits in the past.

The intriguing thing was the weapons they were holding. Each of the bandits was holding a different weapon: the one standing in front of the carriage wielded a spear with decorated head, the one standing next to the carriage to the right side had a long bardiche, the one on the left side wielded a big hammer, and the one holding the bridle of the filolial pulling the carriage carried with him a scimitar in a sheath engraved with gems. The swordsman could realize the quality of any weapons he saw with just a glance, and he's more than sure the weapons the four bandits were wielding were of the best quality he had seen on mundane weapons. There's no way some mere bandits could possess such good weapons. And their stances were those of official soldiers who were trained in the art of war.

These guys are not normal bandits, that's for sure.

"Well, well, well," the one with the spear sneered. "It seemed we got a really good haul today, didn't we? A caravan coming from the city, guarded by a guy in fancy clothes together with a brat."

Zoro sighed. Either these guys were idiots, or they were just newbies who hadn't known a lot of things about being a bandit. "You know what?" he said, shaking his head. "You could have done a much better job if you had just stayed in ambush and delivered a surprise attack. Now, without the surprise factor, you've lost most of your advantages. Are you sure you are robbers?"

Those nonchalant words took the four bandits aback. Even though no one could see under their hoods, it was clear that they were completely flustered. "Y-you!" one of the bandits, the one who wielded the long, decorated bardiche, pointed at zoro with his shaking finger. "Who do you think you are, underestimating us like that?!"

"Is that really that important?" snarked the swordsman. The only thing you should care about now is running away, because at this rate you're no match for me. All of you."

You basta-!"

Before the bandit could finish his sentence, he was stopped by the bandit holding his sword. This one seemed to be the leader of the four, because Zoro could feel an aura of commanding coming from him.

Don't fall for his trick," he said in a calm tone. "He's trying to rile you up so that you would lose your head before the fight. If you don't calm down, he's really going to take all of us down."

Zoro grinned. "Pretty sharp for a bandit, aren't you?"

And if you think you're able to escape easily..." the leader continued with a growl, "...then you are sorely mistaken!"

The scimitar flew out of its sheath faster than everyone imagined. The blade drew an arc in the air, aiming for Zoro neck in a bright flash. Had the person the bandit was fighting a normal warrior, that attack would have lopped off his head before he could even realize what was going on.

But too bad for him, facing him right now was not a normal warrior, but zoro with a lifetime of experience fighting battles with his crew. With a simple flip of his hand, the Legendary Sword flew upward, stopping the blade of the scimitar dead on its way, not even leaving its sheath. Not stopping a second, the Sword Hero delivered a low kick at the bandit's heels, sweeping him off his feet and while he was still flailing in the air uncontrollably, a knee hit his stomach, sending him flying. He bounced once, twice, three times on the ground painfully.

"Anything more impressive you can offer me?" taunted the Sword Hero, and those words triggered a surge of rage from the band of bandits.

Don't you dare mocking us!" the hammer-wielding bandit, the tallest one among the four, who towered over even Zoro who was considered pretty tall for a grown-up man himself, yelled and launched himself forward. He swung the heavy weapon in a horizontal path, aiming for his waist, where he was sure that he wouldn't be able to block if he didn't want his weapon to be broken. And just as he expected, the swordsman had to jump up, and that would give a big opening for his brother-in-arm to cut him down when he was in mid-air...