Bandit's Revenge Read online

  Vast Expanse is a large, forest expanse teeming with wildlife and wonder.

  Flowers, fruits, and mushrooms of gigantic proportions grew all over, with some of the flowers and mushrooms being large enough to protect inhabitants of the land from rain, snow, and various other types of bad weather in the event they happened to be too far away from their wooden houses to obtain shelter. Incidentally, moss covered most of the mushroom caps, and coincidentally, half of the mushrooms caps in the land had broken off their stems due to the aforementioned bad weather. Additionally, a large, rushing golden river flowed throughout the land, and extended into Twilight Valley, the land of valiant warriors located directly adjacent to the mystical forest.

  Unfortunately, these warriors were unaware of the current danger that threatened their neighbors in Vast Expanse.

  A twenty-two year old red-haired man named Bandit Lane panted heavily as he slowly climbed out of the golden river and looked straight ahead at the horde of enemies who stood before him in a large plain. Each of them stood beside a cannon they had at their disposal, and Bandit watched as each of them brought a lighter out from their pockets and lit the ropes that would cause the cannons to fire deadly ammunition at their common enemy: him. He groaned as he blinked back a few tears he had in his eyes, and gritted his teeth as he looked at his adversaries with eyes filled with fury.

  He was furious for a lot of reasons. The primary reason was because the people who stood before him planned to take over the forest expanse that was Vast Expanse.

  Eight percent of the inhabitants in this world were born with powers gifted to them by their bloodlines, their ancestors, their genes. Some of the people before him possessed such power, like enhanced strength and speed, or increased durability. They were all from a land known as Dante's Inferno, a desolate, volcanic expanse where ash floated in the air on a regular basis. Located many nautical miles from any other civilization, this land was littered with several volcanoes, most of which were inactive, and possessed a harsh, unforgiving climate. The people of this land, however, had evolved to the point where they were able to live in this land without dealing with any problem much greater than obtaining nourishment, and even then, the land possessed unique plants and animals that actually thrived in the expanse.

  The people of this land were mostly feral and violent in nature, and as Bandit looked at the Infernals before him, he came to the conclusion that they, in particular, were the vilest of the vile.

  It was a legitimate conclusion, all things considered. While each realm in the world housed a variety of empowered beings, Vast Expanse housed none. It was meant to be a place where normal people could live in peace, but the Infernals before him intended to take over their land, which was why Bandit was even there in the first place.

  This leads to the second reason. He had been away from his home for a long time. In fact, it was three years ago he had left his home to go on this mission to save the people of Vast Expanse from being ruled over. He had traveled to several mysterious places over the course of those three years, such as Desert Sands and the Land of Power, but he had not done so because he had wanted to sightsee; he had done so because the Infernals before him had allied themselves with various other groups in various realms to fulfill their mission of taking over Vast Expanse. He had gone to all of those places with the objective of eliminating such groups, and he had done just that.

  This leads to the third and final reason for his fury. He had combated a lot of people during his mission, too many people, most would agree. He did not fight alone the whole time; brave warriors from each realm he visited, as well as some of his best friends, had helped him defeat the scoundrels who had been part of the Infernals' plans. However, he had still suffered a great deal. He had gashes and scars all over his upper body, and was missing a number of internal organs, including a lung, a kidney, his spleen, and his appendix, and the worst part was that his suffering had not ended quite yet.

  For at the moment, as he stood looking furiously at his enemies, he blinked back tears he had in his eyes and panted heavily in pain as he looked down at the two swords that were sticking out of his abdomen.

  He groaned as his blood seeped from his wounds, and looked at Zor, the leader of the army of Infernals who stood before him, with the intent to kill. Zor stood near the middle of the army, so Bandit should not have been able to identify him so easily among the other Infernals, but his incredibly large build, along with his wild, unkempt hair, reptilian eyes, scaly skin, and yellow tribal tattoos, made him stand out from the rest.

  Zor smirked at Bandit as he confidently crossed his arms.

  "This is where you will die, Bandit Lane," he said as his army covered their ears to protect them from the sound the cannons would make when they fired.

  Bandit's eyes widened in surprise when he realized that, despite the great pain that radiated throughout his body, he would have to make himself move as quickly as possible in order to stand a chance of surviving the coming attack.

  Damn them! he thought as he threw up a good deal of blood, They just don't know when to quit, do they?

  Meanwhile, a number of the Infernals before him looked at him in shock and awe, for despite the fact that he had two swords sticking out of his stomach, he had been fully capable of climbing out of the golden river, and was standing before them, albeit in a slouched position, with a look that made them think he would rip them apart if he actually managed to get his hands on them.

  This guy is something else… thought one man in fear.

  Can he be beaten? thought another as his heart raced due to nervousness, Will this tactic work?

  Where does his power come from? thought a third man with widened eyes.

  He has been a thorn in our side for far too long¸ thought Zor as he angrily looked at the one man army, It's about time he got put down!

  Sweat dripped down Bandit's face as he looked at the Infernals with grimace on his face, and watched as Zor raised his hand in the air and pointed a finger at him.

  "Die!" he bellowed, his voice echoing throughout the area.

  His army delivered numerous battle cries as their cannons fired powerful and dangerous round shots into the sky. They could not wait to see their tenacious adversary fall against a massive barrage of cannon fire.

  You have extraordinary power, Bandit, thought Zor with a smirk, but even you won't be able to defend against this attack. It's over...

  Bandit was exhausted from the battle wounds he had already received, but as the cannonballs flew closer and closer to him, he knew if he wanted to survive and save the people of Vast Expanse, he would have to engage the enemy one last time.

  He gritted his teeth as he grabbed onto the hilts of the swords he had stuck inside his abdomen, and yelled as he yanked them out, causing his blood to fly out of the wounds the swords had created.

  He screamed as he doubled over in pain and trembled. At this point, he really wanted to give in to the pain, but when the first few cannonballs landed a few inches away from him, he remembered that he could not afford to die where he stood. He tightened his grip on the swords he held in his bloody hands, and yelled as he began charging at the Infernals at high speed.

  "You bastards!"

  Hundreds of cannonballs came raining down on him as he charged at the enemy, but he had the strength and skill to evade most every cannonball that came his way; most every other cannonball he could not evade, he sliced in half using the swords. Of course, given his severely damaged state of being, he was in a massive amount of anguish as he charged at the army, but he was not deterred. A few cannonballs managed to lightly graze his head and abdomen, and he accidentally dropped his swords in the midst of his anguish, but despite the bruises that formed on his body, he was not at all det
erred. Despite all the suffering he had been through, all the torment his body had experienced, and the immense pain that radiated throughout his entire body, he balled up his fists as he continued to charge at his adversaries with a mighty battle cry and eyes full of rage.

  He had a lot of pent up fury, and he could not wait to unleash his wrath on the awestruck army that stood before him.

  God of Fury

  Rain clouds began to form in the sky as the Infernal army of eight hundred men watched the one-man army fearlessly make his way towards them.

  Most of them were paralyzed with fear, for Bandit Lane had just managed to evade a large barrage of cannon fire they had sent flying his way. Additionally, his mission to stop their plans had made him known throughout the world as a powerful man not to be trifled with.

  Unfortunately for them, the thunder that boomed in the clouds above did nothing to lessen their fear.

  Despite their great fear, however, they had the bravery to, at the very least, take hold of any and all arms they possessed, but that did not mean they were at all physically or mentally prepared to fight the enemy.

  He was currently two thousand yards away from them, but he was closing in on them, and fast.

  When he came within fifteen hundred yards from them, some of them nervously gulped and took a step back in fear, while others prayed to whatever higher power they hoped would save them from who they now considered to be the God of Fury.

  When he came within one thousand yards from them, some of them began to tremble, while beads of sweat dripped down their scared faces.

  "He's coming!" one of them yelled in anticipation.

  "Well, don't just stand there!" exclaimed Zor as he crossed his arms, "Get him!"

  As the leader of the Infernal army, he had no intention of wasting his energy engaging the enemy unless he had no choice.

  When Bandit came within five hundred yards of the army, the majority of them tensed up, afraid to engage the fearsome man in battle. Most of them were now sweating in fear, but despite that fear, one of them mustered up the courage to face Bandit by gripping his sword tight and yelling as he charged at him. This action, as foolish as it seemed, inspired several others to follow his lead, and within a matter of seconds, the entire Infernal army charged at Bandit with the intention of using their enhanced physical abilities and large numbers to annihilate him, or, at the very least, give him more hell than he had ever received in his life.

  If only they had stood a chance.

  Bandit yelled as he charged right into the horde of Infernals with ease, and began disposing of them, albeit with great effort. He knocked a large number of men high into the air, and these men yelled as they crashed down onto their allies.

  One man tried to stab him with a knife, but he evaded the attack and knocked him away.

  Another man swung a sword at him, but he ducked to avoid the attack, and sent the man flying into the air with a powerful uppercut that knocked him out upon contact.

  A third man tried to punch him, but he headbutted him in the nose, causing the man to scream in pain as he crashed to the ground. Unfortunately for him, Bandit was not quite done with him. He picked the man up by his head, jumped into the air, and threw him into a number of his allies.

  Once he landed back on the ground, Bandit continued his assault on the Infernal army. He jabbed his elbow into the collarbone of one man, and the man screamed in pain as he fell to the ground and tended to his now shattered collarbone. Another man tried to get vengeance for his comrade by aiming to stab Bandit in the back with a sword, but Bandit easily grabbed the man's wrist, yanked the sword from his hand, and knocked him down by stabbing him in the nose with his own sword. A third man tried to attack him with a kick, but he swerved to the left to evade the blow, picked the man up, and yelled as he used his unnatural physical strength to literally pull the man's body apart, separating his stomach from his lower body, and horrifying the Infernals that watched him do it. Blood from the man's body sprayed all over both Bandit and the Infernals, and his entrails spilled onto the ground, but that did not concern Bandit, not in the least. The only thing he cared about was making these men pay for what they had been a part of.

  By the time five minutes passed, Bandit had already taken down five hundred of the eight hundred men he had set out to obliterate, and by this time, he had lost count of the number of necks he had broken, the number of organs he had ripped out, and the amount of blood he had caused others to shed. His own body was now covered in an incredulous amount of blood that was not even his own.

  One man tried to sneak up behind him and stab him with a knife, but he sensed the man's presence, and swiftly backslapped him to the ground.

  A second man ran at him and tried to punch him, but he quickly grabbed the man's neck, and twisted his neck as quickly as possible, breaking it and killing him.

  A third man gritted his teeth as he swung a sword at Bandit's head, but Bandit ducked to evade the attack, and kicked the man away.

  A fourth man ran at him from behind, but he quickly spun around and knocked him out with a punch to the jaw.

  A fifth man who wielded dual swords charged at him and tried to slice his throat, but he swerved to the right to evade the attack, grabbed one of the man's swords from his hand, and sliced his head clean off.

  A sixth man ran at him with a knife, but he punched the man right in the nose, sending him crashing to the ground with a thud.

  All the while, his eyes were rapidly scanning for Zor, for the leader of the army had yet to cross his path.

  Meanwhile, somewhere in the crowd of men, one man cried out to Zor.

  "You have to do something, Lord Zor!" he exclaimed, "He has already taken out over half of our men!"

  "No, I don't," responded Zor as he crossed his arms and continued to watch Bandit beat down his men from a discrete location, "What's the point in having an army if I still have to do all the fighting? Now go after him, or I'll come after you."

  He's just as tenacious as they say, he thought as he watched Bandit yank a sword from the arms of one of his men and begin slicing the rest of them apart, but it's not like he'll be able to defeat me if it comes to that.

  He looked down at his waist, and observed a golden scabbard he had strapped to it, and the golden hilt that stuck out of it.

  With the Cosmic Sword, no one is more powerful than me. Not even you, Bandit Lane…

  One man yelled when Bandit slashed his throat, causing blood to splutter out of it at an alarming rate.

  Another man tried to strike him with a sword, but Bandit used his own sword to knock it out of the man's hands, and proceeded to stab him in the face.

  He sliced a third man across the chest, and after ducking to dodge a sword slash from a fourth man, he sliced the man's head off, causing his head and his blood to fly into the air.

  A fifth man gritted his teeth as he charged as Bandit with a sword, but Bandit effortlessly took care of him with a quick but powerful stab to the chest, and took care of a sixth man by slicing his stomach open, disemboweling him.

  As he continued to slice the Infernals apart, a man ninety yards away from him took his bow and arrow off his back and aimed it at him. He was waiting for an opportunity to shoot at Bandit without striking any of his allies, and when it came seconds later, he sent the arrow flying in Bandit's direction at high speed.

  As Bandit brutally attacked another man with his sword, he sensed an object headed his way. He tilted his head to evade the object, an arrow, and grabbed onto it with his free hand, for he only needed one hand to wield his sword. He quickly jammed the arrow into a man's throat, before yanking it from the wound, and throwing it at a man several yards away from him. The arrow impaled the man's stomach, and the man screamed as he fell back.

  A large number of swordsmen came charging at him, but he took most of them down with ease. After taking down the fortieth swordsman, the forty-first swordsman swung his sword at him, but he evaded the attack, knocked the sword out of hi
s hand, and broke his arm with one swift movement, causing the man to scream in pain as he clutched his arm and fell to the ground.

  Two men came at Bandit from either side of him in an attempt to overwhelm him, but unfortunately for them, despite their enemy's trembling and seemingly broken body, and despite his ever increasing panting, Bandit was still skilled enough to deal with multiple people attacking him at once. He threw his sword into the air, and while it flew through the air above him, he stunned the men by punching them both in the face, grabbed them by their necks, and knocked their heads together so hard, they passed out as soon as their craniums were smashed together.

  A third man tried to grab him from behind, but he jumped into the air to catch his sword, and brutally shoved the sword right into the top of the man's head, causing him to scream in agony as he crashed to the ground.

  After having dealt with these men for so long, Bandit was starting to become even more agitated than he already was because Zor had yet to show himself. Eager to find him in the midst of the men who remained, he began to blur all over the place, and cut down any man who stood in his way. Realizing that engaging him in close combat had become an increasingly unwise idea, a number of men shot arrows at him in order to harm him from afar. Unfortunately for them, Bandit used the bodies of their allies as shields against the incoming projectiles.