Rise Of Royal Phantoms And Qixi Festival

Episode 41: 𝑴𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒚 𝒃𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒕𝒔

Three weeks deep in the nation's eastern mist forest, a hidden haven for the vile and bloodthirsty.  A band of bandits, notorious for plundering travelers and villagers, reveled in their ill-gotten gains.

"𝑯𝒂! 𝑨 𝒈𝒍𝒐𝒓𝒊𝒐𝒖𝒔 𝒉𝒂𝒖𝒍 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆!" roared Xiongmao, a hulking bandit with a thick scar etched across his knuckles. He tossed a pouch brimming with glittering jewels, their facets catching the dim light of their fire. "𝑻𝒉𝒐𝒔𝒆 𝒑𝒐𝒎𝒑𝒐𝒖𝒔 𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒗𝒆𝒍𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒘𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝒃𝒆𝒈𝒈𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒐 𝒃𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒅 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒊𝒓 𝒕𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒆𝒔!"

A cruel grin stretched across the face of Lei Hu, another bandit, his single, piercing eye gleaming with malice.
"𝑨𝒔 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒔𝒆 𝒘𝒓𝒆𝒕𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒅 𝒗𝒊𝒍𝒍𝒂𝒈𝒆𝒓𝒔," he rasped, his voice slick with a hint of bloodlust, "𝒘𝒆𝒍𝒍, 𝒂 𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒕𝒍𝒆 𝒃𝒍𝒐𝒐𝒅𝒔𝒉𝒆𝒅 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒏𝒆𝒄𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒂𝒓𝒚 𝒕𝒐 𝒔𝒆𝒄𝒖𝒓𝒆 𝒔𝒖𝒄𝒉 𝒂 𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒕𝒚. 𝑾𝒊𝒑𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒊𝒓 𝒑𝒂𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒕𝒊𝒄 𝒄𝒉𝒊𝒆𝒇 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒂 𝒑𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒆, 𝒕𝒐 𝒔𝒂𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒕."

"𝑵𝒐𝒘, 𝒏𝒐𝒘, 𝑳𝒆𝒊 𝑯𝒖," chuckled Huo Long, the feared serial killer of the group. His muscular frame, adorned with a bloodstained crimson robe, radiated an aura of menace. "𝑫𝒐𝒏'𝒕 𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒅𝒐𝒘 m𝒚y 𝒂𝒄𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒑𝒍𝒊𝒔𝒉𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒔. 𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝒎𝒂𝒌𝒆 𝒊𝒕 𝒔𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒐𝒐 𝒆𝒇𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒍𝒆𝒔𝒔."

A chorus of nervous laughter rippled through the rest of the bandits. Huo Long's reputation as a sadistic butcher preceded him. His massive broadsword, currently glistening with fresh blood, was a chilling testament to his deeds.

"𝑰𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒆𝒅," Huo Long continued, a hint of amusement dancing in his bloodshot eyes. "𝑻𝒉𝒐𝒔𝒆 𝒏𝒐𝒃𝒍𝒆𝒔 𝒘𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒂 𝒏𝒐𝒊𝒔𝒚 𝒃𝒖𝒏𝒄𝒉. 𝑰 𝒕𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒃𝒆 𝒔𝒖𝒃𝒕𝒍𝒆, 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒔𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝒑𝒆𝒐𝒑𝒍𝒆 𝒋𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒄𝒂𝒏'𝒕 𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒊𝒔𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒖𝒓𝒈𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒃𝒍𝒂𝒃𝒃𝒆𝒓."

"𝑳𝒆𝒕𝒔 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒈𝒆𝒕, 𝒎𝒚 𝒃𝒐𝒚𝒔 𝒉𝒂𝒅 𝒂 𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒕𝒍𝒆 𝒇𝒖𝒏 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒍𝒂𝒅𝒊𝒆𝒔 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝑰 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒌 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒃𝒐𝒂𝒓𝒅 𝒕𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒐𝒊𝒏𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒅𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒉 ", he chuckled
A tremor of fear shook the bandits who had targeted the villagers. Huo Long's brand of "fun" was notoriously lethal.

Huo Long's chilling laughter echoed through the cavernous hideout as he recounted his gruesome exploits. It was then, amidst the unsettling revelry, that a crimson splash erupted against the crude stone walls. One of the bandits crumpled to the ground, a strangled gasp escaping his lips.

Panic seized the bandits. One by one, those who had stolen from innocent travelers vanished into the swirling mist, their screams swallowed by the silence. Only the murderers, Huo Long and Lei Hu, remained, their eyes darting through the shadows, searching for their unseen assailants.

Then, from the very air around them, materialized six figures. My team, clad in dark espionage garb, moved with a practiced efficiency that belied their youthful appearance.  In a heartbeat, the murderous duo found themselves bound tightly, their weapons confiscated before they could even react.

The mist swirled once more, cloaking us as we vanished as swiftly as we appeared.  In the bandit's hideout, only the bound figures and the chilling silence remained, a stark reminder of the swift justice delivered by the shadows.

♤♤♤♤♤♤
The mist swirled, swallowing our retreating forms. A chilling silence descended upon the bandit hideout, broken only by the ragged breathing of the bound figures. But the triumph was short-lived.

A sudden surge of dark energy erupted from within the mist. Huo Long, a crimson aura crackling around him, shattered his bindings with a raw display of brute force. Lei Hu followed suit, the scorpion-shaped end of his chain whipping around him with a menacing snap. Their weapons materialized in their hands, drawn by an unseen pull.

We whirled around, the shadows momentarily betraying our positions. In a heartbeat, the hideout erupted in chaos. Huo Long swung his massive blade with a ferocious roar, sending Izumi, Zack, Kasumi, and Tomohiro flying. Their cries were swallowed by the thick foliage as they crashed through the trees.  Renji, Wan, and I barely managed to dodge the onslaught, but not unscathed. Razor-sharp edges bit into our arms and legs, drawing hot trails of blood.

"𝑵𝒂𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒕𝒍𝒆 𝒃𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒔!" Huo Long boomed, his voice dripping with savage amusement. "𝑷𝒍𝒂𝒚𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒉𝒊𝒅𝒆-𝒂𝒏𝒅-𝒔𝒆𝒆𝒌 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒅𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒉? 𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆𝒏'𝒕 𝒔𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒕𝒓𝒖𝒆 𝒑𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒓!" He spun his crimson-stained blade, a whirlwind of destruction aimed at the remaining three of us.

Lei Hu, his eyes glowing a malevolent red, didn't waste words. He lunged at Wan and Renji, his scorpion chain whipping through the air.

Renji and Wan met the attack head-on, their weapons singing a counterpoint to the clang of metal against metal. Each parry was a desperate struggle against the relentless assault.

My heart hammered against my ribs. The plan had gone awry. We hadn't anticipated their raw strength or the presence of dark magic.  Adrenaline surged through my veins, pushing aside the pain. We had to regroup, to strategize. This wasn't a fight we could win with brute force alone.