Ben knocked out the 2 guards without making a sound. Then he tied them up together and closed their mouths before hiding them in the bushes.
"Good job princess." Ben rubbed Bella's head.
"Milk 1!" Bella exclaimed.
"Alright, alright your majesty. I'll give you your bonus milk later." Ben remarked.
"What should we do now, big bro Ben?" Wendy asked.
"Franklin, you stay here and keep a eye on these 2. We'll enter the cave and take the other bandits out." Ben answered.
"Alright, leave these 2 to me." Franklin nodded.
"Wendy, we will move quietly and try not to alert the bandits. You stay behind me, there might be a chance a mage is with them after all." He instructed.
"Yes." Wendy agreed with him.
Team Ben stepped into the cave to attack the bandits. They quietly walked through the cave. Their experience with hunting animals gave them some mastery of moving silently.
When they got rather deep into the cave, they found 2 paths. One path led to the left, while the other went straight ahead. The left path appeared to be man made with some wood blocks to support it.
"Was this a mine or something?" Ben asked.
"Which path are we going to take?" Wendy questioned.
Sniff sniff*
"Both paths are used frequently, but I hear some sounds coming from the straight path. Hmm, let's go strai-" Ben trailed off.
He suddenly saw a dim light coming down the straight path and stopped talking. He pulled Wendy along with him to hide behind the wall on the left path. They waited for a moment and saw someone walking with a torch.
Ben waited until the bandit got closer and went on the attack. He jumped and put Bella on the bandit's face to cover the bandit's mouth. He also immediately choked him by putting his arms around the bandit's neck until the bandit passed out.
"Milk 2!" Bella yelled.
"Alright, alright." Ben sighed.
He tied the bandit up and put him on the side of the wall. Then they headed down the path the bandit came from. They walked quietly and finally reached the deepest part. They didn't find anyone there, but there were a lot of items laying around.
"This is their storage room, so they must be down the other path. Let's return there!" Ben ordered.
They left the room and went down the other path. However, they suddenly heard more footsteps coming their way. Then soon, they noticed a lot of people carrying weapons and torches.
"We've been spotted. You guys, stay behind! Wendy, prepare for battle!" Ben yelled.
"Yes!" The girls shouted.
The girls stayed behind while Ben was in front. Soon, the enemies arrived and they faced each other.
"I thought it would be some strong mages or knights, but they're just kids and...cats." Bandit 1 noted.
"12 normal bandits, 1 mage." Ben observed.
"Oho, you know that I'm a mage? You have good senses, kid." The bandit mage smirked.
"Wendy, help me fight the normal bandits, but leave the mage to me! Also, don't use big scale magic!" Ben ordered.
"Okay." She nodded.
"Damn, he's underestimating us! Do you think a little girl can defeat us?" Bandit 2 hollered.
"Save your rant for later! They're mages, not ordinary kids, so be careful!" The bandit mage demanded.
While the bandits conversed among themselves, Ben and Wendy advance without warning. They attacked the normal bandits with their martial arts. They covered their hands and legs with their respective elements to attack the bandits.
Ben could handle the bandits with hand to hand combat, but Wendy was another story. She wasn't experienced enough to fight someone with hand to hand combat. She only sparred with him and Roubaul, which isn't the same as a actual fight.
"Wendy, use magic but only a small spell!" He shouted.
"Got it."
She then gathered magic power on her hands and a whirlwind formed on it.
"Sky Dragon Crushing Fang!"
Wendy swung her hand down and swiped at the enemies, leaving a trail of wind behind. The attack hit the bandits and injured them, though it wasn't that deep. The power behind Wendy's magic wasn't that high, but it was still strong enough to fight ordinary people.
Ben also fought the bandits with his flame covered fists and feet. He was a lot stronger than Wendy and the bandits. Added with the fire magic, his attacks were very powerful. Just one hit could seriously injure the bandits and quickly defeat them.
The bandit mage, the group's leader, gritted his teeth in frustration. His men has easily been defeated by 2 kids, especially Ben. He took out 8 of his men, while Wendy took 3 out. Now he was the only one left.
"Humph, you kids sure are powerful to easily defeat my men. But don't think I will be beaten that easily." The bandit mage confidently said.
"Wendy, step back and rest!" Ben ordered.
Wendy stepped back and sat with Carla and Bella. She panted a little because she was somewhat exhausted from the battle. The bandits might be ordinary people, but they were able to fight rather well. So for the inexperienced Wendy, they were good opponents. Well she was a 7 year old, so she didn't have a lot of stamina.
"Prepare to die, brat!" The bandit mage shouted.
The bandit mage presented a long staff. Then he created a large magic circle with it.
"Lightning Snake Bite!" The bandit mage hollered.
A snake made out of lightning flew towards Ben. He wasn't able to dodge because the girls were behind him. So Ben put his hand in front of him and spread his palm out, then a red magic circle appeared.
"Sun Dragon Fire Jaws!" Ben yelled.
A flaming dragon mouth appeared and bit the lightning snake, destroying it.
"Tch, then how about this? Lightning Roots!" The bandit mage stabbed his staff into the ground and a big white magic circle formed underneath him. Then from the magic circle, a lot of lightning currents came out and moved along the ground like slithering snakes. The lightning currents spread on the cave's wall and floor.
Ben wasn't able to counter this without destroying the cave in the process. So he decided to defend himself by covering his whole body in plasma. The lightning currents hit him and electrocuted him.
"AARRGHH!" Ben cried out in pain.
"HA HA, TAKE THAT, BRAT! DIE!" The bandit mage hollered.
"BIG BRO BEN!" Wendy shouted.
"BEN!" Bella called out.
"STAY BACK! I can handle this." Ben shot back.
The lightning attack soon stopped and he was still standing, having only received minor injuries.
"Is that all you got? Heh, that's weak." Ben smirked.
"Tch, I'll show you what I can really do." The bandit mage made a move to strike again.
"Too bad, now it's my turn." He remarked.
A magic circle had already formed in front of him when the bandit was done talking. Ben placed his right palm on the magic circle.
"Sun Dragon Rays!" The rays of the sun came out of the magic circle. They shot straight towards the bandit mage. The mage tried to dodge, but no one could dodge the speed of light.
BOOM BOOM*
"AARRGGGH!" The bandit mage screamed.
After Ben's attack ceased, the bandit mage laid on the ground, unconscious. That attack would normally kill a ordinary person, but a mage would be able to survive it. The bandit mage had some injuries and burn marks from that attack, but he was still alive, so it was fine.
"Heal!" Wendy announced.
She immediately healed Ben after he launched his attack.
"Thanks, Wendy. Are you guys okay?" He asked.
"We should be asking you that." Carla responded.
Bella immediately flew around Ben to check and see if he's fine.
"Ha ha ha, I'm fine. That was just a small sting." Ben chuckled.
"Yeah, we'll believe you if don't scream like that." Carla rolled her eyes.
"That's just a reflex because I was electrocuted." He replied.
"Hee hee, you should believe Ben nii-san, Carla." Wendy told her.
"Alright, alright let's not discuss this anymore and just finish the job." Ben sighed.
He then tied all the bandits up and dragged them outside. But when he came across the other path, he decided to check it. They followed the path and only found dirty mattresses and other furniture. It's just the bandit's bedroom.
They left it and continued dragging the bandit out. Franklin, who was hiding behind the bush worriedly finally emerged and was relieved. He heard the sound of fighting and became concerned. He was willing to go inside if Team Ben took much longer.
Franklin returned to the town alone. He was going to ask the guards to take the bandits away and recover the stolen goods. It didn't take long for the guards to arrive and take the bandits away. Team Ben went back to the mayor's office, their job complete.