Subscriber of the Gods Chapter 343 - Predictable Outcome

“You’ve got some guts.”

“To come here alone despite knowing the situation, that takes real nerve.”

“We’ll hear you out for about three sentences.”

The 800 bandits who were advancing with wicked laughter suddenly heard a sound that pierced their ears.

Sring-.

It was the sharp sound of a sword being drawn. Despite the considerable distance, the sound was crystal clear.

They suddenly felt a chill.

“Drawing your sword so arrogantly? We said we’d listen to three sentences, but first let’s rip off that arm holding the sword…”

Before the words could finish.

In an instant, the figure far away was standing in front of the bandits.

He walked very naturally among the bandits.

Thump-. Thump-.

As the sound of footsteps on sand continued, the 800 bandits suddenly froze.

Not only could they not see it, no one could react to his movement.

Ethan lightly passed through the bandits and walked towards Ophemar at the end.

“…Haha.”

Seeing the man standing before him, Ophemar laughed as if in disbelief. What kind of situation was this?

If Ethan had wanted to, all 800 of them would have been dead by now.

Originally, Ophemar would have bowed his head at this point.

He was ruthless, but not reckless.

If he hadn’t been able to recognize the difference in skill with an opponent, he wouldn’t have survived until now.

But today’s Ophemar was different.

He had found a way to enter the temple that he had been unable to enter until now.

Because of that, he ended up doing something he wouldn’t have normally done.

“What are you all doing! Attack this damn bastard right now! He’s surrounded himself for us!”

Sring-.

Ophemar drew two curved swords simultaneously.

And he swung them in an X-shape towards Ethan’s neck.

“I had several predictions about how you would act, you know.”

The Frost Sword was already in Ethan’s hand.

“I didn’t think you’d choose the dumbest option among them.”

Thwack-!

Ethan struck Ophemar’s chin with the handle of the Frost Sword. He thought the man wasn’t even worth cutting.

“Guk.”

Ophemar fell face-first onto the sand, his whole body stiffening from that single blow.

Thud-.

Seeing Ophemar collapse onto the sand with one hit, the 800 bandits couldn’t even make a sound.

“Feel free to attack. But from now on, I will kill. For certain.”

Even after hearing those words, not a single person could move.

“I heard you were warriors. You’re just bandits.”

Ethan provoked them once more with a sneer, but no one took the bait.

The difference in skill was too great.

“Still, you’re much better than your leader.”

***

“Shouldn’t we stop him?”

“Even though Count Ethan is said to be an extraordinary person…”

“How many people has that Ophemar killed?”

“Among them were even famous strong ones from the continent.”

As Ethan advanced forward.

The mercenary group and the guide Rashibed were taking steps backward, opposite to Ethan.

Even as they retreated, they muttered words of concern while looking at Ethan’s back.

After they had retreated some distance, they soon witnessed a scene they could hardly believe their eyes.

“Huh!”

“Eh?”

“Uh…?”

Ethan passed through the bandits very naturally.

It wasn’t that the bandits just let him pass.

Ethan had passed through them.

The bandits were just blinking their eyes. They had missed Ethan.

Ethan had crossed through the bandits at a speed and timing beyond human perception.

The bandits unconsciously touched their necks as they watched Ethan’s back passing by.

Right now, they were as good as dead.

Ethan’s mercy had kept them alive.

Ethan, who had already reached the end of the bandit formation, looked at Ophemar.

At that moment, Ophemar shouted. And simultaneously, he was knocked out by a blow to his chin from Ethan.

“Is, is he dead?”

“He didn’t even cut him…”

It was a tremendous humiliation, but it also proved the immense difference in skill.

After Ethan took down Ophemar, the 800 bandits knelt on the spot.

They had completely lost their will to fight.

They judged that fighting would only lead to death.

“Wow…”

They couldn’t even imagine that 800 bandits could be made to kneel without shedding a single drop of blood.

Hanter, the mercenary captain, had his eyes sparkling at the sight of such an Ethan.

“May, may we know who you are? We’re truly sorry. We didn’t recognize you…”

The vice-captain of the bandit group stepped forward in place of the unconscious Ophemar.

The situation was turning very unfavorable. They were alive now only because Ethan hadn’t killed them.

First, they needed to assess the situation.

That was the top priority for survival.

“We are known as the Warriors of Dawn, active in this desert. The person who just collapsed is our leader. First, I’d like to apologize for our leader’s rudeness. We’re truly sorry.”

“We’re sorry!”

As the vice-captain tried to somehow salvage the situation, the bandits prostrated themselves.

As the situation took an odd turn, the Novad Mercenary Group and Rashibed, who had fled to a distance, slowly approached.

“Are you perhaps here to find the Desert King’s treasure said to be sleeping in this temple?”

“Ah, if that’s the case, we might be able to help you! So please, forgive our rudeness.”

Several bandits gritted their teeth, but they had no choice.

Finally, an opportunity to enter the temple had arisen, but if they tried to protect that chance, their lives would be forfeit.

“Have you found a way to enter the temple?”

“Yes, our leader managed to create a hole after great effort. We were planning to use that hole as a basis to create an entrance. But if you wish to enter, sir, we will just help widen the entrance and then leave!”

“We’ll help. So please.”

“We’re truly sorry!”

Ethan stared at them intently.

Then he drew his sword from his waist again.

“J-Just a moment… Please wait a moment!”

Ethan first pushed back the mercenary group that had followed.

“Are you going to kill all 800 of them?”

Ethan shook his head at Rashibed’s question.

“Now’s not the time for that.”

What Ethan was looking at wasn’t the 800 bandits.

“Those bastards, they broke through the wrong place. Something came out from there.”

“What?”

Ethan grabbed Rashibed by the scruff of his neck and threw him towards the Novad mercenary group.

“Quickly retreat backwards.”

“Yes!”

Shaaaaaak-.

As soon as Ethan told them to flee, something pitch black began to spread like mist over the sand.

“Wh… What?”

“What is this!”

The bandits who had been startled when Ethan raised his sword became even more confused by whatever was spreading on the ground.

“Vi-Vice captain. Kuh, kuhek…!”

The black mist began to swallow the bandits en masse. The bandits flailed about as if they had fallen into a swamp, and soon disappeared into the black mist.

“Wh-What is this!?”

The bandits who had tried to survive Ethan now had to survive not Ethan, but the black mist.

The panicked vice-captain tried to flee by kicking the ground hard.

“Get out of the mist! Get out!”

He shouted urgently, but the bandits had no other means of escape.

The mist, which had suddenly become sticky, had spread over the sand, making it impossible to move their feet.

A few quick-witted bandits survived, but more than half of the bandits fell into the black mist.

Gulp gulp-.

The black mist that had swallowed hundreds of bandits in an instant grew even thicker.

“Wh-What is this…”

“What the hell is this…!”

The thickened black mist began to take shape.

Swoosh-.

Then it split into hundreds of tendrils and stabbed the surviving bandits.

“Kuk!”

It was at an incredible speed.

The bandits who had felt relieved after escaping the mist were pierced by the black mist that had transformed into spears.

“Kueeeeeeeeek!”

It was a horrific sight. Those who were pierced were sucked in just like the other bandits who had been absorbed by the mist moments ago.

“Wh-What is this? What the hell is this!”

The only survivor among the bandits was the vice-captain.

But he had merely survived. His mind had collapsed due to the sudden situation.

All his subordinates who were alive just moments ago were now dead.

It was only natural that he couldn’t maintain his sanity when it happened in an instant.

Swoosh-!

The 800 bandits were sucked into the black mist.

Except for the deranged vice-captain, only Ethan remained now.

The black mist tried to absorb even Ethan.

Swooooosh-!

The pitch-black mist transformed into sharp spears and rushed towards Ethan.

Shaaaaaak-.

Ethan deflected the mist with his Frost Sword while simultaneously freezing his surroundings.

‘When they made a hole in the temple, something that was inside escaped.’

And that something seemed to need energy immediately.

‘It swallowed them all.’

Ethan didn’t bother to block the black mist.

The bandits were troublesome anyway.

‘Moreover, if it’s this strong.’

There was a high possibility it would drop various good items when hunted.

Especially if it was related to this temple.

‘It’s likely related to the Desert King’s treasure. Achievement, and reward.’

If so, it was better to let it absorb energy completely.

“Co-Count!”

“Are you alright!”

“Everyone, retreat. And don’t come this way until I give the signal.”

Ethan said without looking back.

And at that moment, the black mist began to take form.

“Co-Count!”

“Wh-What is that!?”

A mercenary group member who slipped and fell on his bottom in surprise trembled in fear.

Where his finger pointed, there was a giant monster.

The black mist had transformed into a terrifying aberrant monster.

Its lower body was a giant scorpion and its upper body was a muscular human, truly a scorpion-human.

“Th-That is…”

Rashibed also stepped back in shock.

“The, the guardian of the temple…!”

A guide always needs to keep a lot of information in their head. This isn’t just information about the desert’s terrain and monsters.

In addition to new information, they need to know the desert stories passed down through ages to be able to deal with any situation.

Seeing the scorpion-human, Rashibed suddenly recalled a memory that had been dormant in his mind.

“Oh.”

Ethan was also quite surprised to see the scorpion-human.

‘It’s my first time seeing this.’

As Rashibed said, it seemed to be the guardian protecting this temple, probably a boss monster.

‘But something’s strange. This temple doesn’t seem to be Moonforce’s temple.’

It seemed that Moonforce’s temple was separately located inside this huge temple.

‘Or maybe they used this entire temple before losing influence and being pushed out by another force. It’s been forgotten for a long time.’

Anyway, he would have to go inside to know for sure.

Ethan gripped his sword tighter.

At that moment, Rashibed shouted from behind.

“We, we need to run away! No matter how strong you are, Count, you won’t be able to win!”

“It’s already too late, intruders… This is sacred ground. It’s not a place for blasphemers like you to enter!”

Swooooosh-!

Simultaneously with Rashibed’s shout, the scorpion thrust its tail at Ethan.

Clang-!

However, Ethan easily blocked the scorpion’s tail with a light swing of his sword.

“Oho… What’s your name, human?”

“Ethan Whiskers.”

Ethan lightly swung the Frost Sword, pushing the scorpion-human far back.

Surprised by that strength, the scorpion-human waved its scorpion tail in wonder.

“Ethan Whiskers, I am Scorpion, the desert warrior serving the great one. For what reason do you attempt to trespass on the emperor’s land?”

“I have business inside that temple.”

Ethan said.

“Get out of my way.”