Now he wants them to fight each other? Was Raymond that confident in their skills, or was he looking down on him?

"You want me to fight these two in a death match?"

"Yeah, so do you agree?"

"Are you really going to let me go if I kill them? You won"t try to hunt me down once I succeed."

"I-" Before Raymond could answer Lux intervened.

"Sir Raymond, a moment please."

"What is it?" Lux pulled Raymond away before answering in whispers.

"Sir Raymond, you might not know this, but that bandit leader is particularly famous in the area. He"s a rank 4 warrior."

Upon hearing the new term, Raymond talked to the system using his mental link.

"Hey, system, how powerful do you think a rank 4 warrior is?"

"I"m currently unable to answer the question due to the limitations of my level. The host needs to upgrade me first before I can answer."

"You"ve been such a useless system lately."

"..." The system didn"t respond which surprised Raymond.

"What"s this aren"t you going to threaten me?"

"Sorry this system does not talk to idiots, please come back when you have at least plus fifty in intelligence."

"Who you calling an idiot, useless system?!"

While Raymond was arguing with the system Lux thought that Raymond was in deep contemplation. After a few minutes of silence Raymond finally spoke.

"It doesn"t matter if he"s a rank 4 warrior or a higher rank warrior. As long as my guild members want to do it, then it shall be done. You two, did you hear that this guy is apparently a rank 4 warrior. Do you two still want to face him?"

Raymond might not know what a rank 4 warrior signified, but the siblings should have a basic idea. Hearing what Raymond said the siblings answered with resolve.

"It doesn"t matter how strong he is we will get our revenge."

"You hear that?" Raymond looked at Lux. Hearing the siblings answer, Lux finally understood that there was something deeper going on here. At first he thought that Raymond was just bringing the two out to gain some experience, but it turns out it was for revenge.

...

The bandit leader waited at one side while Raymond"s group was having their little discussion. He couldn"t hear what they were talking about and he didn"t bother to listen, as he was thinking about what to do next. As someone who has seen the evil side of the world, the bandit leader didn"t put too much trust in what Raymond said. It was entirely possible that once he wins, Raymond would not do as he promised and kill him.

"Maybe I can take one of the brats as a hostage... No, that won"t work. If that guy is willing to have them have a battle to the death, he won"t care if I take them hostage or not. d.a.m.n it, what should I do?"

As the bandit leader was thinking of different ways to survive, he saw that the two siblings were now in front of him glaring at him.

"Do you remember us?" Brom asked while clenching his fist.

"Sorry, but I don"t seem to remember you two. I"ve seen a lot of people before and my memory isn"t really that good." The bandit leader answered shrugging his shoulders while unsheathing his blade and raising his round shield.

"You dare forget what you"ve done to our mother! You dare forget what you"ve done in our village?!" Roselia shouted at the bandit leader with a fury.

"Sorry la.s.s, I can"t remember what I can"t remember. So are we doing this or not?"

"Of course we"re doing it, I won"t be satisfied until my fist smashes your head!" After Brom shouted he dashed forward madly at the bandit leader. The bandit leader raised his shield as he was covered in a reddish aura.

...

"What"s that?" Raymond asked the system.

"That"s combat energy, it"s the same energy you use when you activate some of your skills. Though your other skills are activated via mana and the rage bar, the majority of them use combat energy."

"Why isn"t that kind of thing in my status screen?"

"My abilities are limited due to my current level. If you want me to be able to accurately measure your combat energy you need to upgrade me first."

"You keep telling me to upgrade you, but you never tell me how to do that."

"The host just needs to level up and do his tasks diligently." Hearing the system"s standard reply, Raymond no longer continued talking to it.

...

Brom attacked the bandit leader who raised his shield and blocked Brom"s fist. Upon contact with Brom"s raging fist, the bandit leader was shocked. The power behind that attack was stronger than he expected.

Brom then continued to deliver attack after attack, punching, and kicking at the bandit leader. The flow of Brom"s attacks was relentless, giving the bandit leader no time to counterattack. Yet despite the continuous attacks Brom couldn"t get past the bandit leader"s shield.

"[Frenzy]." The bandit leader heard Roselia"s voice as she raised her hand. A gold light enveloped Brom, and then suddenly his attacks grew faster.

"d.a.m.n it! I need to get rid of the priestess first!" The bandit leader gathered combat energy and once one of Brom"s attacks. .h.i.t his shield he pushed Brom aside. Brom"s balance was broken and he stumbled giving the bandit leader a chance to dash towards the priestess.

The bandit leader was about to stab the priestess, but he was surprised to see the priestess looking very calm as she was about to get stabbed. The bandit leader was expecting her to do something but in the end he was able to easily stab the priestess in her belly.

The bandit leader wanted to pull out his sword but it was stuck in the priestess"s body. He then heard the priestess saying a string of words. "[Heal], [Fortify], [Heal], [Imposing]." The bandit leader didn"t understand what the priestess was saying, but when he saw the golden light envelop her, he had a decent idea of what she was doing.

The bandit leader who was still in a dazed state felt combat energy acc.u.mulating from behind him. He wanted to evade but it was too late as a powerful strike had hit him from behind blasting him away. The sound of booming thunder echoed throughout the hideout as Brom"s fist hit the bandit leader from behind.

Brom had struck the bandit leader with his strongest skill, [Thundering fist]. With his current level, he could only use [Thundering fist] twice. So he waited for the perfect opportunity to use it. Seeing the chance of course he used it without hesitation.

...

Brom helped his sister pull out the sword that was stabbed into her belly. The siblings thought that victory was theirs when suddenly they heard a roar coming from the direction where the bandit leader was blown away.

The whole body of the bandit leader was now enveloped in an ever thicker red aura. His eyes were now devoid of reason as he charged towards the siblings.

Seeing the change that happened to the bandit leader, the three knight-apprentices were about to help but Raymond stopped them.

"Don"t disrupt the match."

"We need to help them. That"s the warrior skill [berserker"s rage] it increases the warrior"s strength by one whole rank in exchange for his sanity. For the next hour or so that guy will go on a rampage killing everything in sight. Even for you Sir, a berserk rank 5 warrior isn"t easily handled." Rei told Raymond in a tone full of panic and urgency.

"It doesn"t matter. No one is allowed to intervene in this match until a winner is concluded."