In the forest, where the ambush was already going in full swing with the cracking snap of the bowstrings and men's screams that could be heard as the magic-enchanted arrows continued flying into the chaotic retreat of the bandit gang from all directions, there was no safe cover for them to hide from the arrows, so they could only run deeper into the forest to escape this deadly encirclement that they found themselves in.
As they ran, many bandits from the edge of the group kept finding themselves with another hole suddenly open in their body as the magic-enchanted arrows went through their flesh and bone like bullets, and sometimes the arrow even punctured another bandit in a double kill.
"Arrrrgh…?!" One of the bandits, who was running with an axe and stolen jewelry in his other hand, suddenly stumbled as an arrow just went through his kneecap, causing him to scream before his head got stomped into the dirt by the bandits behind him that were trampling on his body without mercy.
"Ughh…?!" Another bandit suddenly clutching his chest after an arrow just opened a small hole in it as he slowed down with a shocked expression before the man behind him pushed him aside and caused him to collide with another running bandit.
It was a total rout with no sense of order or camaraderie, as everyone was trying to survive by any means necessary.
The ranger knights who were encircling the bandits from a distance while keeping up with their group didn't let up their attack either, as they were harassing the escaping bandits with terrifying precision shots, driving them deeper into the forest while leaving a long line of bodies behind in a bloody carnage.
Some bandits try to organize the group, but they usually find themselves with more than five extra holes suddenly open in their body, rendering any attempt to reorganize ineffective as the black knights mercilessly grind down their numbers rapidly.
Many arrows met leather, fur, and flesh.
Many more arrows silence the bandits' panic screams and pathetic whimpers.
Bandits dropped like flies, clutching stolen goods and trinkets, their weapons falling out of their grasp and their eyes wide with disbelief on the ground, where they either bled out or were already dead.
Some chose to surrender but found no mercy as they died just like the rest.
Some try to charge at their ambushers but die even faster without even seeing their killer's faces.
It's truly hopeless for the bandit gang.
'Fuck, fuck, fucking fuck…!' One of the bandits is frantically shouting in his mind as he lies still with his face pressing on the dried leaves among the corpses of the other bandits surrounding him. He is currently demonstrating a legendary survival technique, playing dead.
The pretending-to-be-dead bandit is not the only one who tried, of course, as many silly ones had tried to play dead as well, but they either got trampled to death by their own comrades or the arrow got to them first before they actually fell down successfully, so he is the only one who actually successfully pulled off the legendary technique without actually dying.
But unfortunately for him, a black armored boot suddenly dropped on his back from above, pressing him flat into the ground while his breath violently expelled from his lungs as the weight of an adult male settled firmly on his spine. The bandit could feel the fracturing ribs inside him, but he couldn't even moan in pain—only a wet gurgle escaped his throat.
The ranger knight on his back then steps off casually, leaving the bandit wheezing blood into damp earth before the fearful bandit glanced sideways as he saw the knight nocking an arrow while watching him in silence—no emotion or murder intent could be felt from the knight as he was about to finish off the bandit.
'Fuck me…' The bandit was beginning to realize that he wasn't meant to survive this ambush. His trembling fingers dug into soil as he choked out, "Please... I know things... know… people..."
But the black knight doesn't care about the bandit's pleas. They don't care about anything except Zarba's command, so the arrow was released with no hesitation, punching through the pleading bandit's skull, killing him instantly.
The silence settles over the forest as the blood soaks the leaves. Only the distant scream of the bandits occasionally breaks the stillness as the Zarba's summoned units slay anyone with a kilt on them...
÷×÷×÷
Back to the road, the black cavalry ran through the fleeing bandits that weren't smart enough to run into the forest as magic enchanted arrows cut through the air with a sharp whistle, finding their necks, knees, and spines, rendering most of the bandits incapacitated if not outright dead while the cavalry galloped past them.
"Ahhhh—shit!!" One of the bandits stumbled; an arrow destroyed his knee as he screamed in the dirt before the warhorse golems trampled him into meat press.
"You motherfucker—!!" Another bandit just went crazy from a stressful situation and turned to foolishly charge at the cavalry knights with only a chipped sword in his hand before he got run over as expected after the skeleton horse crashed into him.
The knights didn't slow down as they scattered the bandits off the road and killed anyone who was not fast enough.
The running Gayder, among the escaping bandits, looks behind him and sees that the charging knights are about to reach them and immediately grabs the nearest bandit—a burly man named Bano—by his arm.
"Shield me, shithead!" Gayder snarled, yanking the surprised Bano body in between him and the cavalry while he moved to the side of the road to avoid the black skeleton horses' charge just as the magic enchanted arrow flew towards him.
"Bastard…?!" Bano cursed at his shitty boss with his eyes bulging in betrayal before the arrow punched through his sternum with a sickening crunch while Gayder smirked cunningly.
But Gayder had miscalculated something, as the force of the enchanted arrow was more powerful than he realized; it went through his Bano shield with ease and was still coming towards him!
"Argh…?!" Gayder gasped as the cold, enchanted arrowhead tore through Bano and lodged deep in his own chest, piercing through his lung. A searing pain spread from the wound, stealing his breath. He stumbled back before pushing both Bano's body and the arrow off him with a wet rip, leaving a fresh hole leaking dark blood. Gayder never thought that someday someone would put a new hole in him!
Gayder looked around wildly for something to help himself, clutching his bleeding chest. His men are useless, as they were busy dying while the knights were running them down. Gayder immediately rushes to the tree as he hides behind it while the knights seem to be ignoring him.
Gayder could see the knights' arrows flying like ballista as the screaming bandits fell prey to them en masse. There's really no realistic way for them to stop the cavalry charge as the skeletal horses trampled on the incapacitated bandits trying to crawl out of the way.
The warhorse golems' hooves stomped down as they cracked the bones of the down bandits with dry pops while the bandits' internal organs burst from the heavy weight of the golems. The air reeked of blood and piss.
This wasn't a battle at all; it was just pest control.
'Fuck, I must get the hell away from here...!' Gayder thought as he pressed his back against the rough bark, each ragged breath scraping against his punctured lung. Blood seeped through his fingers, staining his kilt dark crimson. The screams behind him were thinning, replaced by the thunder of hooves and the wet, crunching sounds of ruined bodies. His gang was being wiped out so quickly it's not even funny.
When he was thinking about what to do next, Gayder suddenly realized that the forest had gone quiet. No more screams. No more arrows whistling. Only the ragged rasp of his own breathing and the cold sweat soaking his fur cape. He decides to peer around the tree's trunk he leans on to the road.
The road was littered with bodies. His men. Some were lying down with arrows sticking out of them, while others were curled up like broken dolls. Not a single cavalry knight stood among them. Relief flooded him as Gayder thought that they were gone, at least for a moment. He could slip away, find a healer in the next godforsaken town, patch himself up, and start over. Maybe even blame this massacre on that ghostly bastard from last night...
Then a twig snapped behind him. Gayder froze, hand tightening on the dagger hidden behind his kilt. Slowly, he turned around towards the sound.
They were already there since when, he doesn't know. They are not charging, not shouting—just standing there in silence. Gayder saw six black-armored knights currently aiming their bows and glowing arrows at him, forming a half circle around the tree he clung to. There's no chance for him to fight back or even escape. Death seems so certain.
Gayder sighed painfully with a sense of resignation to his fate.
"Wanna do it…?" He said with a nasty grin before six arrows pierced through his body and pinned him against the tree trunk.
'I want to be the one who does the stabbing, though…' Gayder thought as his vision grew dark before he died standing with his head dropped like a puppet.
The infamous bandit gang Big Brotherhood in the Rear is now no more…