Chapter 25: Show of strength
[Nascent Trainee Realm: Rank 5]
[Danger Level: 50%]
...
Cole went over every single one of them, and just from one look he confirmed none of them were at the peak of the Nascent Trainee Realm.
His gaze only stopped for a brief moment when he saw the boss mage hiding in the back.
[Nascent Mage Realm: Rank 8]
[Danger Level: 88%]
The mage posed the greatest amount of danger, while the others were just cannon fodder. If he could take care of him, the rest were just prey.
Cole’s thoughts surged like lightning. At this point, he himself did not seem to have realized just how drastic his transformation had been. As someone from modern Earth, thoughts like killing should have shocked him, but here he was, thinking of all the various ways to kill all five of them as efficiently as possible — a very dangerous train of thought.
Once A.I. finished the initial assessment, he commanded in a plain tone:
"A.I. chip, help me kill these five people as efficiently as possible."
[Processing request! Error! There is not enough large battle data, please update the core data.]
Cole frowned. He was not expecting to be hit by such a problem. The lack of data was really starting to get on his nerves, but he could not blame the chip. After all, the data on which the A.I. had been trained was vastly different. Still, this was not an excuse.
"Then use your calculating abilities to do a real-time assessment. If all five of them attack me, what would be the best approach to deal with all five of them?"
[Starting simulation.]
While the A.I. chip was simulating, the bandits moved closer, the grins on their faces widening. The first to get close to the chariot was the lustful bandit from before, followed by young Ricky. Both of them had their swords drawn, ready to spill some blood.
However, the moment they tried to jump toward the Summers siblings, suddenly their movements stiffened. A pained yelp escaped young Ricky’s lips, his shoulders collapsing at an unnatural angle, as if tons of weight had been applied to them.
The boss bandit, who was watching from the side, suddenly noticed something and his face changed.
"Careful! There’s a formation carved on the surface of the chariot...!"
As a mage, he was especially sensitive to the flow of mana, so the moment he felt the gravity surrounding the chariot change, he noticed it.
Once the boss mage warned them, the other bandits immediately jumped back, waiting for following instructions.
"Hm..."
Just then the boss mage’s eyes lit up as he noticed something.
"Attack from the back! The formation is weaker there!"
Ethan was filled with relief. Thankfully, elder sister had prepared some measures. When he heard the boss bandit’s words, he turned to Cole and shouted,
"Proper customer, run! If they catch you, death will be the only outcome!"
Ethan had barely finished saying those words when the lustful bandit had already climbed onto the chariot, showing a cruel expression. He was just about to take his first step when suddenly a cold voice came from inside.
"You filthy trash, how dare you disturb my journey...!"
Cole roared furiously and used all the strength that his body could muster, launching a simple yet forceful punch.
Boom!
A faint explosion sounded when the punch connected with the bandit’s body. A layer of blood splashed outward, staining the outer wall of the chariot. Then, as if launched from a bow, the bandit’s body shot through the air, hitting the nearest tree. Blood flew out of his mouth, and when the bandit fell to the ground, he was completely unmoving.
Cole looked at his own hand and then back at the bandit’s body. He knew he was strong, but not to this extent. The bandit he had punched was not weak — a physical warrior at Nascent Trainee Realm rank six — yet upon taking one punch from him, he had burst open like a watermelon.
Maybe shocked, but now was not the time to think about all these things.
He quickly jumped out, ignoring the other bandits and heading straight for the boss mage.
Now that the Summers siblings were protected by the formation, Cole could be even more bold.
With just one step, his body shot toward the boss bandit like a bullet. A fist-whistling sound echoed in the surroundings as his body cut through the air at high speed.
Similar to the others, the boss bandit himself was shocked when he noticed Cole charging toward him so quickly. In a hurry, he hurriedly poured down a mana potion through his throat. His body immediately turned red, red veins bulging out all over him. The reason was natural — veins that were built only to handle normal blood now had to carry blood mixed with mana.
The boss bandit jumped back and roared,
"Don’t you even think about getting close...!"
With those words, arcs of surging electricity appeared around him like a giant web.
The Summers siblings, who were watching the rapidly changing situation from the chariot, turned their gaze away from Cole and were left stunned again when they saw the lightning appearing around the bandit.
"Lightning Mage!"
Ethan exclaimed out loud. Lightning mages were known for their furious power. At the same level, a lightning mage was normally superior to his physical-path counterpart.
Just as he was worrying, Cole completely ignored the rampaging lightning. Like a living bolt from the sky hitting directly through his clothes, unable to comprehend what he was seeing, Ethan closed his eyes. However, when he opened them again, except for burnt clothes, Cole seemed to have suffered little to no damage.
How is this possible...? Just how strong is his body to not even suffer a single injury...?
It was then he saw Cole’s fist pierce through the boss mage’s chest like a knife, coming out from the other side, sparks of electricity crackling around that fist.
Weak...
Cole muttered in his head and threw the broken body to the side, turning his gaze to the remaining three bandits.
Gulp.
A loud collective swallow echoed in the surroundings. The bandits had barely processed the death of their companion when their boss collapsed with a giant hole in his chest, his eyes filled with shock and fury. The poor fellow had not even processed what was happening when he died.
Before they could beg for mercy, Cole moved again, taking care of them one by one.
Just like twigs, the bandits fell one by one.
If he wanted, he could have spared them, but right now the situation was different. These were no ordinary enemies, but cold and cruel bandits. Moreover, his body’s condition was highly critical. At any time, he could suffer an attack from within. If these bandits had attacked him at that time, it would have been fatal.
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