SWORD OF THE DEMON WOLF

Failure

Xiao Chen immediately turned his gaze away to avoid seeing the exposed twin mounds that were nearly fully uncovered. He quickly grabbed a piece of cloth and covered the girl's chest.

"Don't worry. I will do my best to save all three of you!" he said, trying to calm the terror felt by the three captive girls in the room.

He untied the ropes binding the hands and feet of the girl on the bed, then moved on to the other two girls.

"Wait here. I'm going to check the situation outside!" Xiao Chen walked toward the door and opened it slightly to observe the chaos unfolding outside.

From what he could see, all the members of the bandit gang were working together to put out the fire.

"They're busy trying to put out the fire. Do you dare to escape?"

All three girls shook their heads in unison. Xiao Chen let out a frustrated sigh. His efforts might be in vain if they insisted on staying in that place.

"If you stay here, there's no chance you'll survive. But if you come with me, there is at least hope that we can escape. It's your choice now, but I'm leaving this place!" Xiao Chen opened the door and prepared to step out when one of the girls called out to him.

"Wait! We’ll come with you!" one of them shouted.

Xiao Chen turned around. In truth, he was unsure whether he could successfully save all three, considering that the clothes they were wearing might arouse suspicion. Especially since they had to pass by a large number of bandits.

If he weren’t so pressed for time, he thought he might’ve made a more calculated plan. But on the other hand, he felt his decision was the right one, having at least saved a girl from being defiled by the bandit leader.

"Remember—don’t walk like women. Keep your heads down so they won’t notice you. One more thing: act like you're busy so your presence seems natural," Xiao Chen instructed.

The three girls nodded. They stood and walked toward the door.

Xiao Chen took a deep breath before stepping outside. The three girls followed closely behind. Their hearts pounded in their chests like galloping horses on a racetrack.

They walked briskly, passing the bandits who were still busy trying to put out the spreading flames.

Meanwhile, the bandit leader grew suspicious, noticing that the room where the girls were held was the only one that hadn’t caught fire. He quickly rushed to the building, now completely dark inside. Just earlier, the lantern had still been burning when he left.

His suspicion grew when he saw that the door was ajar. That was a clear sign someone had entered the room.

To confirm his suspicion, the tall and burly man burst into the dark room. It took no effort for him to realize that the three girls had escaped.

“Damn it!” he cursed, then stormed out of the room.

“Stop what you’re doing! Search for the three girls and whoever set them free! Find them—now!” he shouted.

Over thirty bandit members immediately dropped their efforts to extinguish the fire.

“Half of you, search inside; the rest, search the perimeter. They can't have gotten far!” the leader ordered.

Nearly twenty bandits rushed out of the compound gate, sprinting into the woods to track down the girls and whoever had helped them escape.

Outside, Xiao Chen retrieved his bundle of cloth from under a tree and led the three girls running into the dense, dark forest. He had seen flames from the torches earlier and knew the fire had spread from inside the bandits' hideout.

But luck had not yet favored the four of them. One of the bandits caught a glimpse of several figures dashing between the trees.

“There they are!” he shouted, pointing in their direction.

A dozen cruel and merciless men gave chase. Fueled by rage over the destruction of their base, their legs moved faster, driven by vengeful adrenaline.

“Catch them! Don’t let them get away!”

Xiao Chen didn’t know how to respond to the desperate situation. He could have run off and left the girls behind—but his heart wouldn’t let him do that.

“Run as fast as you can! They’re right behind us!” he shouted to encourage them.

But no matter how fast the girls ran, the bandits were faster. Eventually, the cruel men caught up and recaptured all three.

“Let us go! Please help us!” one of the girls cried out, already back in their grip.

Xiao Chen tried to block out the heartbreaking screams. He had to focus on saving himself now, as several furious bandits were chasing him specifically.

“Get him! Don’t let him escape!”

“Kill that bastard!”

“Catch him and chop him into pieces!”

Each enraged shout pierced the air like sword slashes beside his ears. Xiao Chen was terrified—not of dying, but of failing to avenge his parents’ deaths.

After running deep into the forest, dodging between massive trees, the twenty-year-old’s escape came to a sudden halt. He had failed to watch his footing and tripped over a thick root. His body tumbled uncontrollably, finally coming to a stop as he crashed into a large tree trunk.

Xiao Chen winced in pain, his whole body aching. His breath came in rapid gasps, racing with the pounding of his heart.

“So we finally caught you, you bastard! Because of you, we lost our home. Now we’ll have to work our asses off to rebuild it!” one of the bandits growled, no longer able to contain his rage.

Xiao Chen looked at the figures standing a few feet in front of him. He no longer cared about the pain coursing through his body. His mind was racing—desperately searching for any way to survive.

“Let’s skin him alive, boys! Roast his flesh and feast together!” one of the bandits sneered.

Xiao Chen swallowed hard. He couldn’t imagine the agony of being skinned alive—let alone burned over open flames.

“I agree! I’ve never eaten human meat before, but hey, there’s a first time for everything!” another bandit laughed.

One of them stepped forward, sword gleaming under moonlight filtering through the leaves.

Xiao Chen’s fingers clawed at the soft forest floor, gathering a handful of soil. He waited until the man came closer.

“Aaagh! You bastard!” the bandit screamed as Xiao Chen flung the dirt directly into his face.

With the last of his strength, Xiao Chen got up and ran again. But after only a few steps, a sword hurled by one of the bandits struck him in the upper back.