"Get on the ground, you fuckers!" one of the tribesmen shouted, delivering a kick to the head of a merchant who was already kneeling helplessly in the road.
These attackers called themselves beastmen, though looking closely at their normal human proportions and lack of animal features made it clear they were just ordinary bandits wearing poorly stitched boar skins to seem intimidating to innocent travellers.
It was a cheap trick, but it was highly effective against people who lacked any sort of combat training.
"Please, these supplies are for the people in the city, and they are already running out of food," the older merchant begged, raising his trembling hands to protect his face from another blow.
Listening to pleas for mercy rarely worked out well in the wild, which was proven true when the tall bandit leading the group merely grimaced before driving his boot straight down into the merchant's head.
The sound of a cracking skull echoed across the quiet road as the older man collapsed into the dirt, bleeding heavily from the stomp while his attackers laughed at his misery.
"No... brother!" a younger merchant shouted, trying to scramble forward to help his fallen sibling before another bandit shoved him roughly back into the dirt alongside the remaining captives.
"Why do I give a fuck about what they want?" the tall leader spat directly onto the limp hand of the man he had just nearly killed, wiping his mouth with the back of his wrist before turning his attention toward the ruined cart.
"Take everything valuable and leave the rest of them here."
Counting the attackers from the safety of the grass revealed exactly six people, making this an ideal party size for a roadside robbery situated roughly ten kilometres outside the city walls, where the forest provided plenty of natural cover.
While getting involved in someone else's business was never a priority during a strict survival run, spending another night sleeping on the cold ground sounded terrible, and rescuing a group of grateful merchants provided the easiest possible method for gaining entrance past strict city guards.
Having a legitimate alibi was worth a little bit of physical exertion.
"Well, it is time to earn my ticket indoors," Kai thought, maintaining a low profile as he slipped out of the shadow and crept silently behind the closest bandit who was busy shaking searching through a fallen crate.
Channelling the mana through his palm allowed a sharp particle of ice to materialise between his fingers right before he thrust it directly into the back of the unsuspecting hunter's neck.
"Guh," the bandit stumbled forward, his hands flying up to the freezing wound, while the strange noise caused the others to turn around, but giving them time to react was a terrible strategy for someone playing with low base stats.
Closing the distance in three quick steps, Kai launched himself into the air and drove his foot directly into the ice shard, pushing the frozen magic deep into the man's spine and dropping him instantly.
[+Experience Gained.]
[Agility +1.]
"Kill that fucker!" the leader shouted, his confident sneer vanishing entirely as his remaining men drew their weapons and turned their attention away from the merchants.
Three of the bandits, possessing medium heights but surprisingly bulky builds, charged forward with a barrage of angry shouts designed to intimidate their new target.
Prolonging a fight against multiple opponents usually led to sloppy mistakes, so stepping backwards created enough space to activate his level three Hard Strike, letting energy pool directly into his knuckles.
When the first bandit swung a wooden club in a wide horizontal arc, ducking underneath the clumsy attack provided a perfect opening to drive a glowing fist directly into the man's stomach.
The impact lifted the bulky bandit completely off his feet, sending him flying into the roadside bushes, where he crashed through the branches and went completely still.
Dealing with the first attacker left his flank exposed, allowing the second bandit to land a solid kick against Kai's chest, sending a ache radiating through his ribs and forcing the breath from his lungs.
Stumbling backwards from the blow, Kai quickly regained his balance and planted his boots firmly in the dirt right as the bandit stepped in to follow up the attack.
Reaching out to catch the man's extended leg, Kai twisted his waist and delivered a punishing kick directly to the side of the bandit's supporting knee, snapping the joint backwards with a loud crack.
"AGHHH!" the man screamed, collapsing into the dirt while clutching his ruined leg in pure agony.
Without pausing to admire his handiwork, Kai scooped up the discarded wooden club from the ground and swung it upward in one fluid motion, catching the third charging bandit right across the side of his head and dropping him to the road.
Watching his companions get dismantled in a matter of seconds completely broke the courage of the last remaining grunt, prompting the terrified man to drop his spear, turn around, and sprint blindly into the dark forest.
Raising his hand to form another ice projectile to stop the runner seemed like a good idea until a large hand clamped down tightly around Kai's throat, lifting him completely off the ground.
"Gah!"
"How dare a human filth fight us equals?" the tall leader snarled, tightening his suffocating grip while holding Kai suspended in the air.
Staring down at the angry bandit while struggling to draw a breath, Kai let out a maniacal laugh that bubbled up from his burning chest, purposely spitting a mouthful of blood right across the tall man's scarred face to blind him for a crucial second.
Operating on fumes with his mana reserves running low required a creative solution, so he focused every remaining drop of energy into his right hand, forcing the ambient moisture to condense into the shape of a heavy ice sledgehammer.
"Let us see how well you stand on those legs," Kai thought, channelling the last activation of Hard Strike directly into the frozen weapon.
Swinging the glowing sledgehammer downward with everything he had left, the block of ice connected brutally with the side of the leader's knees, shattering bone and forcing the tall man to release his choking grip with a pained gasp.
"GAHHHH!" the leader roared, dropping to the ground while his legs folded uselessly beneath him.
Landing lightly on his boots, Kai immediately kicked the kneeling man flat onto his back, looming over the defeated bandit leader while the ice hammer rested comfortably on his shoulder.
Before the hunter could spit out another arrogant insult or beg for his miserable life, bringing the hammer down crushed the man's head against the packed dirt road, turning the threat into nothing more than a memory and ending the ambush permanently.
[Level Up!]
[Level Up!]
The four remaining merchants huddled close together near the ruined cart, looking completely terrified of the strange young man who had just brutally executed their attackers without breaking a sweat.
Wiping a smear of dirt and blood off his cheek, Kai turned toward the trembling group, letting the ice hammer melt away into water before offering them a highly confident, friendly smile.
"Are you alright?"