Record of a Thousand Lives

Chapter 79

Rwekarn was known as ‘Watcher’. It was a nickname he?had?received?after becoming?known for living off his ability to observe and read people.?Reading people?was?not a useful skill for petty thieves and pickpockets, but it?was?a very useful one for someone who stole the ‘person’?themself.

‘I easily obtained an A-grade item. I guess coming to the desert was worthwhile,’?Rwekarn thought as he looked at the elves he had managed to catch.

The elves were blindfolded, gagged, and so?tightly bound that they could not even squirm.

Rwekarn and his party had infiltrated the elf village by posing as adventurers. He thought,?‘I never thought?something so obvious?would?work.’

The kind but ignorant elves had welcomed them with open arms,?but?Rwekarn’s?party?had?secretly spiked the elves’ food with sleeping drugs. The elves had immediately?fallen?asleep after?eating?and slept through the day, and?Rwekarn’s?party?had?bound?them up?while they were sleeping.

‘I heard the desert elves innately?know magic from?birth, but it’s fine since I gagged?them to?prevent them from casting any spells,’?Rwekarn thought.

One of Rwekarn’s lackeys came up to him and asked, “Boss, can’t we choose just one of these bitches to use as our plaything?”

The elves started to cry through their gags?from fear. Most of them just?threw hostile glares at their captors, but some of the female elves could not hold back from crying.

“You fool, have you ever heard of a merchant?who?lays his hands on his merchandise?” Rwekarn?shot back.

“That’s why I’m saying we’ll just use one. You can have first dibs, boss,” the lackey said.

Rwekarn grimaced and glared at the lackey, saying, “Stop talking nonsense and go secure our escape route. We’ll transport the elves by carriage.”

“Why? It’s not?as if?anything’s going to change if we take one elf…” the lackey said, sounding disappointed.

“I said go secure our escape route,” Rwekarn?repeated?firmly.

“…Alright, boss,” the lackey said. He turned around,?discontent visible on his face.

‘I don’t want to make more enemies by touching a girl who could be someone?important,’?Rwekarn thought.

Rwekarn had his own principles and he stood?by them. He stood firmly by his principle not to touch any of the ‘goods’ he kidnapped?until they?were?brought to the market and sold. That?was one of the reasons why he?had been?able to survive for such a long time as a?slave trader.

He motioned the elves to stand up with?a finger; a good forty elves had been captured by his party.

‘It’s retirement as soon as I finish this transaction,’?Rwekarn thought.?He was tired of living as a villain. It had started as a way to make ends meet and?had?turned into a lucrative business, but there was not a day that passed without him?burying?his guilty conscience.

“Boss!”?The lackey?who had?just?gone?out to secure their escape route suddenly came back in a?hurry.

“What happened?” Rwekarn asked.

“Someone’s headed this way!” the lackey?reported.

“How many are there?” Rwekarn asked.

“That’s…?He’s alone!” the lackey replied.

Rwekarn immediately smacked the lackey on the?head and berated him.?“Then just go and kill him already! What are you causing a ruckus for?!”

“T-that’s…?It’s not easy to kill him!” the lackey replied.

“What are you talking about?” Rwekarn furrowed his brow and?exited?the tent with his sword in hand.

A man was slowly and leisurely walking toward the village;?he could afford?to relax?because he was able to easily cut down any arrows that flew toward him.

“Tri-Shot!” a lackey shouted, firing?three consecutive arrows at the man.?The arrows flew in a straight line toward the man, but the man easily avoided two of them?and blocked the third one that was aimed at his thigh.

The lackey?who had been firing the arrows?grumbled from exhaustion, “Damn it, I’m out of arrows now.”

“He must be very skilled if he’s?managed to avoid the arrows?shot?from an elven bow,” Rwekarn?remarked.

“Should?I go and bring more arrows?” the lackey asked.

“No,?never mind. The elven arrows are all money,” Rwekarn said, stroking?his beard.

Then, another lackey spoke up and asked, “Should?I go and dispose of him myself?”

“Arthur, we’re already shorthanded dealing with the elves. I don’t want to lose more men,” Rwekarn said.

“I can deal with him,” another lackey said.

Rwekarn?scoffed and asked, “What was your name again?”

“It’s Hekel, boss,” the lackey named Hekel replied.

“Alright, Hekel. Do you think you’re a knight or something? We’re just a group of slave and organ traffickers. I can tell at a glance that you’d lose to that guy, so quit it,” Rwekarn?retorted.?Hekel seemed to?be?greatly offended,?but he chose to remain silent and stay in his place.

“What brings you here?” Rwekarn asked the man.

“I came?to negotiate,” Kang Yoon-Soo said in a low voice.

“What do you propose?” Rwekarn asked.

“I have business with the elves. Let them go,” Kang Yoon-Soo answered.

“And what will I get in return?” Rwekarn asked.

“Nothing,” Kang Yoon-Soo replied.

Rwekarn and his party blinked a few times. Rwekarn asked just in case he?had?heard?the man?wrongly, “What did you say just now?”

“Nothing in return,” Kang Yoon-Soo said once again.

“What kind of a negotiation is that?” Rwekarn asked.?He and?his eight lackeys all seemed dumbfounded by?Kang Yoon-Soo’s brazen words.

However, he suddenly raised his brow and muttered, “Wait…?That guy…?”

“What is it boss?” the lackeys asked.

“There have?been some rumors flying around these days,” Rwekarn said as he stared at Kang Yoon-Soo. He?continued, “The Crossed?Swords Bandits and the Fake Carriage Bandits. They’re?well-known?criminals?on the continent, but didn’t?people say?they?got done?in by?someone?”

“I don’t know, boss,” the lackey answered.

“They say there was?an expressionless guy who didn’t bat an eye as he swept across those bandits. The people?call?him the ‘Bandit Nemesis’ because they think any criminals?who?cross paths with him?won’t?make it out in one piece. It’s quite a famous story in this industry,” Rwekarn said.

“Then are you saying…?That guy is the Bandit Nemesis?” the lackey asked.

“I have a feeling…” Rwekarn replied.

“Then that means?we’ll be pummeled and?be?done in by?that one guy…?” the lackey asked again.

Hekel laughed as if the whole thing sounded absurd to him. He remarked,?“Boss, do you think such a notorious guy would?be here in this harsh desert? Also, where in the continent would?you find a madman?who?would clash?head-on?against?a band of bandits alone? It sounds like?the kind of?cheap story those drunks at the pub would?peddle?for a drink.”

Rwekarn lived off of his instinct alone. He was certain that the man in front of him was not an ordinary man, based?on?his courage to walk?over?alone. His instincts were telling him to avoid fighting the man at all?costs.

“Bring?one elf?over here,”?he?said.

“Do you finally plan to have some fun, boss? Hehehe…!” Hekel replied.

Rwekarn kicked Hekel as soon as?the other man?finished laughing?sleazily.?Hekel seemed disgruntled by the fact that he?had been?kicked, and he rubbed his chin as he?dragged a female elf to Rwekarn.

The elf?was blindfolded, but anyone could see she was a beauty.?Rwekarn brought a blade to her neck and said, “You must be acquainted with them if you’re trying to save them. Stand back at once if you don’t want this woman to die!”

Kang Yoon-Soo did not reply. Instead, he pulled out a dagger from his sleeve as if he?had been waiting for the situation to occur, and threw it.

Rwekarn jumped back as he tried to avoid the dagger, but the dagger?had?not been aimed at him in the first place. The dagger?Kang Yoon-Soo had thrown?narrowly missed the female elf?and only grazed past?her mouth;?the gag?covering?her mouth fell as soon as the dagger?flew past it.

“Damn it!” Rwekarn shouted as he stuffed his fingers inside the elf’s mouth.?However, the elf bit his fingers hard and ran away from him.

“Extinguish,?as?a candle?before?a storm!” the elf shouted.

Rwekarn and his gang tensed as soon as the elf finished casting her spell, but nothing happened. Hekel mocked the elf.?“Haha! Were you in a rush? You seem to have made a mistake casting your spell!”

Suddenly, numerous voices rang out from the tent.

“May shining light burn the bodies?of these evildoers.”

“O light that shines brighter than the stars, please punish these vile creatures.”

“I call forth the sands of the earth to crush them!”

The tent where the elves?had been?kept captive flew away.?Rwekarn and his gang were thrown up into?the air as well. They did not grow wings all of a sudden; rather,?they just flew up into the air.

A combined magic attack?made up of?fire, ice, and sand hit them hard, breaking a few of the kidnappers’ ribs.

“Kuheok!”?Rwekarn gasped, spinning?a few times in?midair?before landing?face-first?on the desert sand.?He managed to pull his head out of the sand, and he shook his head to come back to his?senses.

However, Kang Yoon-Soo was standing in front of him with his sword drawn. He said, “Hand over everything you have.”

“…The rumors were true. Please spare me! Take this if you want…!” Rwekarn pleaded as he pulled out a black marble from his chest pocket.

Suddenly, however, he?threw the black marble onto the ground, and?a cloud of thick black smoke?covered the area.

“Run! Run as fast as you can!”?he?shouted.?He?ran as fast as he could while struggling with his broken ribs, and his lackeys did the same as they ran for their lives.

Kang Yoon-Soo did not chase after them, and just stood there as he watched them escape.

“It’s a cave!”

“Let’s hide in there!”

The kidnappers entered the cave and?breathed?a sigh of relief as they thought?they had?managed to escape from danger.

However…

What?lay in wait?for them was sixty?club-wielding?Fire Trolls?who had?suddenly appeared from the darkness of the cave.

“Those guys! They ran away the same way?as?that dwarf I caught! Thinking about it is making me mad!”

“We have to teach these kidnappers a lesson!”

“Our elven friends almost got sold off because of them!”

The Fire Trolls were cold and harsh, unlike their usual warm and gentle personalities.

Henrick approached Kang Yoon-Soo and patted him on?the?shoulder as he?remarked, “This happened last time with the carriage as well…?You don’t?seem to get along with bandits.”

“I know, right?” Kang Yoon-Soo responded.

***

“Thank you for saving us,” the elf village chief said, grabbing?both of Kang Yoon-Soo’s hands.?He looked like a man in his?thirties?despite his title as the village chief, but of course,?he?was likely?much older than he looked.

“But didn’t you get captured too easily? Aren’t you elves?” Henrick asked.?Shaneth nudged his side with her elbow.?Henrick groaned before he looked at the village chief and smiled?awkwardly.

“We now live in a world where showing kindness is a sin. However, we do?not regret what we did. Our beliefs are strong enough not to crumble just because of the evil those men did to us,” the village chief said.

A small elf girl came and nudged Kang Yoon-Soo’s knee. She placed a crown made of flowers on his head when he bent down to the girl’s height.?She said,?“Here, take this.”

“Thank you,” Kang Yoon-Soo replied.?The girl blushed and hid behind her mother when she heard Kang Yoon-Soo’s low voice.

Shaneth was surprised when she saw the?flower crown. She asked, “Oh my, how did you manage to make a flower crown in the desert?”

“We are working on restoring the desert into a forest,” the village chief responded?proudly. He added, “This is a flower bred to be able to grow in the desert. We call it a desert flower. There are?not?many?of them yet, but we are slowly increasing their numbers.”

“To think that the desert?could?be restored?into a forest. Is that even possible?” Shaneth asked.

.

“They say that the vast Desert of Death was once a lush forest?in ancient?times. I believe?nothing is?impossible,” the village chief said.

The Fire Trolls?in the back suddenly?faked?coughs?as if they were asking for attention as well.?The village chief laughed and said, “Oh my, I seemed to have forgotten to ask you. What brings you to our village?”

“We’re out of water! Do you mind giving us some?!” the Fire Trolls asked.

“Of course;?you are our saviors, after all. We will?provide for?you abundantly,” the village chief said, easily agreeing?to their request.

Kang Yoon-Soo suddenly added, “That’s not all.”

“What else is there that we can help you with? Just tell us anything you need,” the village chief said.

“We have to mobilize all of the Fire Trolls and elves?who?live?in the Desert of Death,” Kang Yoon-Soo said.

The village chief was surprised; so were the others surrounding them.?The village chief asked,?“And why?is that so?”

“There’s an enemy we have to ambush,” Kang Yoon-Soo said.

The elves’ expression immediately changed?when they heard?the?word ‘ambush’, and a few of them seemed to be on their guard.?The village chief said?coldly, “We do not enjoy partaking in wars.”

“You have to this time,” Kang Yoon-Soo said.

“And?what if we refuse?” the village chief asked.

Kang Yoon-Soo answered from?experience.?“The continent will be destroyed.”