Claude feels the man's life fade beneath his arm, and he remains unmoved, because this is not the first life he has taken, as his father once made him execute criminals during his training to become a Knight, a cruel but common method for nobles to stain their hands with blood early.
He pushes the corpse aside and rises, his gaze falling on the dishevelled woman, the girl, and the boy, and he says, "Hello," before turning to help his sister down from the tree.
The woman croaks out a trembling, "Hello," and before anything more can be said, distant laughter and screams drift through the forest, growing closer with every heartbeat.
Claude smiles faintly to reassure them and says, "Now we have to run."
He kneels, grabs the fallen sword, rises, takes his sister's hand, and runs, while the three follow behind them without hesitation.
They rush through the forest as branches whip against their bodies and roots claw at their feet, and soon the ground turns soft and wet beneath them, mud splashing with every step as the forest thickens.
Behind them, angry shouts echo, rough and furious, and Claude glances back to see three men chasing after them.
The girl suddenly stumbles and crashes into the mud, dragging the woman and the boy down with her in a tangle of limbs.
Claude keeps running for a few steps before hearing the fall, and his sister cries out, "Brother, they have fallen."
He slows and looks back, and the woman shouts hoarsely, "Run away!"
Something stirs within Claude, a sharp and reckless resolve, and he realises he can face three ordinary men.
He releases his sister's hand and says, "If something happens to me, you run."
Without waiting, he charges forward, and behind him, his sister screams, "Brother!"
Claude rushes past the fallen trio as they struggle to rise, his body moving at the speed of an ordinary teenage boy, but his intent is as sharp as a blade, aiming to catch the bandits off guard.
One of the men steps forward to meet him.
Claude swings with full strength.
An ordinary adult man reaches one point of strength, while Claude stands nearly double that, yet the bandits are seasoned fighters.
The clash rings out as steel meets steel, and the bandit is forced back, his arm trembling from the impact.
He quickly deflects the strike before the force can travel into his bones, but pain still flashes across his face as he grunts and shouts, "Careful, the boy is a Knight!"
The other two immediately slow and spread out, their eyes sharpening.
The first bandit steadies himself and says, "At least a Knight attendant."
They grow cautious, circling him in a loose formation, while Claude steadies his breath and watches for an opening.
The first bandit lunges, his blade slicing toward Claude's shoulder, and Claude raises his sword to block, but before he can counter, another strikes from the side, forcing him to retreat.
Claude tries to press forward, targeting one, but the moment he commits, the other two move in unison, their blades cutting off every path, forcing him back again.
They repeat this pattern again and again, their coordination tight and deliberate, like men trained to hunt stronger prey.
Claude's attacks grow sharper, but every time he moves, another blade meets him, and he is pushed into a constant defence.
As the rhythm builds, his breathing unconsciously shifts, falling into the cadence of the Red Crane Breathing Technique, his chest rising and falling in controlled bursts as his body begins to align with the flow of combat.
The bandits suddenly change pace.
Their strikes accelerate without warning, breaking the rhythm Claude has begun to follow, and a blade slips past his guard, cutting across his arm.
Another strike follows, carving a shallow line across his side, and then another, sharper, biting deeper into his flesh.
Claude grits his teeth as pain spreads through his body, and behind him, he hears his sister scream.
One of the bandits laughs and says, "After we kill you, we'll take care of your sister."
The other two laugh with him, cruel and loud, and one adds, "But before killing her, we'll have some fun."
The man glances toward Claudia and licks his lips. "She's a beauty."
Claude's grip tightens, his knuckles whitening, yet he says nothing.
He lunges forward, striking at the nearest bandit, but as expected, another blade cuts into his arm, drawing fresh blood, and a deeper wound opens, sending a jolt of pain through him.
The three continue their pattern, shifting between slow and fast, controlling the tempo of the fight, never allowing him a clean strike.
"This is how it feels to be a saviour," one mocks.
"Look at you," another sneers, "you bet your life and your sister's to protect them, and they're already running away without her."
Claude remains silent, his breathing deepening, something dark and steady growing inside him.
The battle drags on, steel clashing, mud splashing, blood mixing with rain-soaked earth.
Then, suddenly, a sharp whistle cuts through the air.
An arrow slams into one bandit's arm.
He screams, his sword dropping into the mud.
Claude's eyes flare.
He roars and surges forward, releasing everything in a single strike.
A faint current forms along his blade as it swings.
One bandit raises his sword to block.
The clash lasts only a heartbeat.
Claude's blade cuts through the weapon and continues, slicing deep into the man's chest.
The second bandit rushes in to strike, but Claude twists aside, faster than before, his body moving with a sudden clarity.
He pivots and strikes the third bandit, the one with the arrow lodged in his arm, his blade cutting clean across the man's throat.
The wounded bandit collapses.
The last one hesitates for a fraction of a second.
Claude steps in and drives his sword forward, piercing through the man's chest.
Silence falls.
The forest stills.
Claude stands there for a moment, his body trembling, blood dripping from his wounds.
Then his strength gives out.
He collapses face-first into the wet ground.
Seeing him fall, Claudia screams his name and runs toward him without hesitation.
The woman follows close behind, the girl gripping a bow in her hand with a quiver of arrows on her back, and the little boy stumbling after them.
Claudia drops to her knees beside him, her hands shaking as she turns him over, mud and blood smearing across his face.
"Brother, are you okay?" she cries, her voice breaking.
Claude's lips move, his breath shallow and uneven, and with great difficulty, he whispers, "Hungry…"
His eyes close.
His body goes limp.
Time passes.
Claude wakes to a sharp, gnawing pain in his stomach, hunger clawing at him like a beast from within.
Voices drift into his ears, blurred at first, then slowly becoming clear.
He recognises his sister's voice.
His eyes snap open.
He pushes himself up.
Claudia screams his name and rushes to his side, stopping beside the bed as tears fill her eyes.
"Brother, are you okay?"
She leans in close, her face almost touching his.
Claude lifts a finger and gently pushes her head back, his voice dry and weak as he says, "I will be okay if I get something to eat."
He looks around and finds himself in a small wooden room, hunting tools hanging along the walls, and through the window, he sees the cabin built high upon a tree above the wetland.
The woman steps forward and hands him a rough wooden slab filled with fruits.
"It is all we have for now," she says.
Claude begins eating immediately, biting into the fruit without pause as juice runs down his fingers.
"It will do for now," he mutters between bites, not slowing down.
The woman watches him and says, "Thank you for saving our lives."
Claude nods slightly as he continues eating.
"I am Maria," she adds.
Claude swallows and replies, "I am Claude."
Claudia puffs her chest slightly and says, "I already told them your name," then points toward the girl sitting at the other side of the room with a sleeping boy in her arms.
"She is Mary, and the little boy is Harry."
Maria nods and says, "Harry is my son."
Claude finishes the last of the fruit and lowers the slab.
"Looks like we are in a hunting cabin," he says.
Maria nods. "Yes, this is our village hunting cabin near the wetland."
Claude glances at his body, noticing every wound wrapped in clean bandages, and steps down from the bed.
He is wearing only a short cloth that reaches his knees.
"Where are my clothes?" he asks.
Maria replies, "They were torn and filthy, so Mary went back to the village and brought you these."
She hands him a worn shirt and pants.
Claude puts them on without complaint, and as he does, he notices Claudia is also wearing an old, worn dress.
"They left the village," Claude says calmly.
Mary nods. "Yes, no one was there when we returned."
Claude finishes dressing and says, "My sister and I are going to Lake City."
Maria exchanges a glance with Mary before looking back at him.
"We will go with you," she says. "We need to report the bandits."
Claude nods once.
As they prepare to leave, he speaks silently in his mind.
'Status.'
*Name:* Claude
*Follower:* God of Knowledge and Digital World
*Level:* Knight Apprentice (2)
*Condition:* Mild Hunger, Cursed
*Strength:* 1.41 (1.91)
*Agility:* 1.28 (1.88)
*Constitution:* 1.78 (2.12)
*Spirit:* 1.19 (1.42)
*Skills:*
* Basic Fighting: (108/1000)
* Basic Sword: (114/1000)
* Red Crane Sword: (48/1000)
*Technique:*
* Red Crane Breathing (Stage 2): (03/300)