''This should be enough…Status!''


    The young bandit''s revtions regarding the strength of the Notorious Bandits'' upper echelons stirred up waves in not only Seira''s heart but also Shye''s.


    Hence, he made a few preparations outside the entrance of the bandits''ir, and that included upgrading his attributes.


    ==


    [Attributes (Base)]:


    [Strength: 180]


    [Intelligence: 160]


    [Agility: 170]


    [Dexterity: 170]


    [Stamina: 130]


    [Vitality: 140]


    [Wisdom: 57]


    ==


    [Attributes (With two greatswords equipped)]:


    [Strength: 234]


    [Intelligence: 160]


    [Agility: 204]


    [Dexterity: 204]


    [Stamina: 156]


    [Vitality: 168]


    [Wisdom: 57]


    ==


    Shye used almost all of his points (35,800), to upgrade his attributes, leaving him with only around 1,104 points.


    However, he believed that the upgrades were worth it as they would greatly increase their chances of wiping out the bandits andpleting the quest.


    After all, failure meant death—for a woman like Seira, possibly even worse.


    Moreover, their opponents this time weren''t monstrous creatures who mostly acted based on wild instincts but real thinking, sinister humans.


    "Seira, are you done with your preparations?" Shye whisperingly asked as he nced at Seira.


    "All done, boss! I''m ready!"


    Hearing Seira''s resolute answer, Shye nodded satisfactorily, crouch-walking near the entrance of their shortly after.


    He then slightly peered out from behind therge rock and checked if anyone was exiting.


    Seira already had her bandit cape which she got from the young bandit''s corpse, and although the size was a little too big for her, it would at least allow her to blend in more naturally once they entered their.


    On the other hand, Shye still needed his cape—or not…


    While checking their out, another feasible idea entered his head.


    "Seira! Let''s temporarily return to our hidden preparation area, I have a n!"


    "Roger, boss!"


    Swiftly returning to where they initially were, Shye patiently exined his n to Seira.


    "Listen carefully. You…shall be the bait." Shye said, making Seira slightly pale in fright.


    This boss of hers was truly ruthless!


    She couldn''t even imagine how she would be able to hold off the low-emerald vice captains!


    Nheless, she trusted her boss so she allowed him to continue exining and borate further.


    "O-Okay…What should I do?"


    "First, hand over the bandit cape. I''ll wear it and create a distraction by pretending to fight you near the entrance to catch the squad captains'' attention. The twin vice-leaders probably won''t bother with you as long as the captains can handle it. But if they do, I''ll take care of them so you don''t have to worry. I''ll also act like I''m losing, so go all out. Got it?"


    "Yes, boss!"


    "Good. Now, once we manage to lure at least seven captains, we''ll kill them all and I''ll leave the rest to you. I shall deal with the bandit boss and the vice leaders myself."


    After hearing Shye''s n, Seira was impressed.


    Seira thought that her role as the bait would be pretty bad.


    However, upon hearing Shye''s entire n, she realized her role wasn''t as perilous as she thought.


    All she had to do was defend herself until seven squad captains arrived.


    Once they appeared, Shye would then reveal himself and eliminate all seven captains and their followers alongside her.


    Although more than five squad captains would probably be a bit difficult for her to handle, if Shye''s n worked and they managed to eliminate seven in one fell swoop, she would be able to handle the remaining three by herself.


    As for her boss…Her belief that he was invincible remained steadfast, and there was no doubt in her mind that Shye would defeat the upper echelons of these scums.


    Prepared in both mind and body, Shye and Seira once again crouch-walked towards their''s entrance.


    *BANG!*


    "UAAAHH!!" Shye suddenly screamed in agony as he flew backward for a few meters,nding on his back inside their.


    "Scum! I finally found yourir! Hahahaha! You idiot! You think you can detect me, the mighty Seira?! You must be dreaming!"


    After saying her loud and obnoxious piece, Seira once again charged towards the downed Shye, ruthlessly shing her greatsword downwards.


    Swiftly kneeling up, Shye raised his shortsword horizontally to block Seira''s vicious attack, pretending to struggle—slowly pushed back by Seira, the invader.


    Naturally, such a loudmotion near one of the entrances instantly attracted the attention of a bandit squad.


    "Ice, bring everyone and see what''s going on at the right entrance."


    In aposed manner, a middle-aged man with short, spiky blue hair issued orders, prompting Ice, a young man with a bald head, a muscr build, and a cold expression, to rise and lead a group of approximately ten bandits toward the entrance where Shye and Seira were engaged inbat.


    Upon their arrival, they witnessed a scene where a member of their group was under attack by a young female adventurer who appeared to be an intruder, likely having followed their foolishrade back to their.


    "You fool! Which squad do you belong to?! Didn''t your captain always emphasize triple-checking before entering?! You won''t escape punishment for this!" Ice eximed angrily.


    Throughout the brief history of their bandit group, such incidents had never urred before, thanks to the group''s diligence in training recruits.


    Hence, Ice was infuriated.


    He wanted to see this specific member get punished.


    However, before that, they must eliminate the invaders first.


    "Help! This young adventurer is strong! Quick! Help me!" Shye pleaded.


    As angry as he was, Ice still charged forward to aid Shye.


    After all, he was "one of them."


    Ice was a promising ex-tinum-ranked adventurer and he was fairly strong.


    Unfortunately, the current Seira was stronger than him, thus, after the first sh of swords, Ice was sent sliding backward for a good few meters, inciting panic amongst hisckeys.


    "Hahaha! I, the great Seira, will be the one to wipe your scummy group out! Are you the leader here?! Weak!"


    ''Tch…This b*tch is indeed strong, however, if you think I''m the strongest here, then you''re sorely mistaken! I shall have fun looking at your face once my captain makes you his ything. Who knows? Maybe I''ll get my turn!'' Ice sinisterly thought as he shed a cold smile at Seira who was posing like a heroic idiot in the entrance. "Darter, call the boss! We can''t stop her by ourselves.


    I''ll try to hold her off for as long as I can!"