The Path to Lordship Begins in the North

Hidden within the vast and expansive Giant God Mountains are many scattered individuals who fled into the mountains to escape exploitation by nobles; these are commonly referred to as savages.

Because there was really little profit to be made, and the local people were known for their fierce nature, many of the savages would become bandits if they covered their faces, so the nobles at the foot of the Giant God Mountains hardly bothered to care. They figured the savages would just have to pay their taxes honestly when they came down the mountain to trade.

Of course, because the cost of tracking down the savages to evade taxes was enormous, the nobles wouldn't really pursue the existence of the savages as long as they paid some protection money or mountain goods.

Darcy was one of those savages.

Because of the extremely poor sanitation conditions in the mountains, Darcy's mother passed away after giving birth to him. When Darcy was eight years old, his father gambled away all his money and ran away while selling goods down the mountain, leaving Darcy and his bedridden sister to depend on each other for survival.

"What are you standing there for? Get out of here!"

One of the bandits kicked Darcy in the backside, sending him sprawling face-first into the dirt, which made the other bandits burst into laughter.

Because of the years of war in the North, more and more people fled into the mountains to live as wild men, but even more chose to become outlaws.

Originally, the refugees and savages could stand up to these bandits, but from some point onwards, these bandits not only acquired more sophisticated equipment, but also had professionals in charge.

Darcy's village was attacked just like that. Because there was a second-tier mage in the bandit group, they captured everyone in the village, including Darcy and his sister, with almost no effort.

With his hands bound, Darcy struggled to get up, but immediately tripped and fell into the mud.

"Go easy on him, this guy might just be the Earl's brother-in-law someday."

Upon hearing this, the bandits laughed even more heartily.

"If we sleep with that woman, wouldn't that be the same as sleeping with the Earl's wife?"

The bandits chattered away without a care in the world. Although they were black gloves, their relationship with the nobles wasn't that deep; they were disposable items that could be used at any time.

A second-tier professional mage in the group explained, "You wish! This kind of woman is only good for passing the time of the Earl; she's not presentable."

But after the monk finished speaking, he licked his lips, seemingly pondering the opinion of the bandit in front of him.

Darcy struggled to his feet again, his fists clenched behind his back, his eyes bloodshot. Although Darcy desperately wanted to kick the bandits in the face, the difference in strength between them was too great.

Although Darcy is only fourteen years old and has inherited his father's hunting skills and physique, he is already the most capable fighter in the village. He is also clear-headed, dexterous, and adept at setting traps. With his family's heirloom bow and arrow, he can even fight against jackals and brown bears in the mountains.

But all of this was meaningless in the face of the bandits' superior equipment. Even if Darcy could hit the parts of the bandits that weren't wearing armor, the other villagers couldn't. Their woodcutting knives could barely scratch the bandits' leather armor and couldn't cause any real damage.

Moreover, there were professionals among the bandits; two fireballs were enough to demoralize the villagers, who scattered and fled in all directions.

This is an almost innate fear that ordinary people have of professionals. Even Darcy's legs went weak when he saw that huge fireball.

And so, Darcy was captured by these bandits. The overwhelming disparity in strength left Darcy in utter despair.

As the bandits' words grew increasingly vulgar, Darcy's fists tightened, and the bloodshot in his eyes intensified. But Darcy was powerless to do anything. Villagers who walked slowly along the road were even killed by the bandits. Darcy believed that if he made any move, the bandits would immediately and mercilessly chop him up.

The bandits got carried away with their conversation and dragged Darcy's sister, who was bound hand and foot, off her horse, hoisted her onto their shoulders, and headed deeper into the woods.

Darcy prayed incessantly in his heart, begging the goddess to save him, but just as Darcy had predicted, his prayers went unanswered.

Yes, how could someone who only prays every day and never makes offerings to the goddess possibly receive a response from God? Darcy himself laughed; the goddess probably only responds to those noble gentlemen who throw gold coins into donation boxes.

Watching the bandits carrying his sister, who was barely breathing, slapping her buttocks and lewdly laughing, Darcy clenched his fists, ready to make a final desperate attempt. Even if it had no effect, he wanted to at least let those bandits taste what it was like to eat shit like dogs.

But at that moment, it seemed that the goddess had truly answered Darcy's prayers, for the bandits at the front suddenly began shouting, "Enemy attack! Enemy attack!"

Before the bandits and prisoners behind them could react, a series of deafening explosions suddenly rang out. Darcy, standing at the back, felt the terrifying heat and sonic waves.

Is this magic? Or a miracle? Completely bewildered, Darcy stared in disbelief at the scene before him. It seemed that even the bandits' leather armor could not completely protect them from the shrapnel from the explosion. The bandits hit by the shrapnel fell to the ground, howling in pain.

This was considered lucky; several unlucky people were directly hit by the explosion and died on the spot before they could even react.

The bandits immediately abandoned Darcy's sister, drew their swords, and stared blankly at the explosion site. To this day, they still have no idea what happened.

"Don't be afraid, such a powerful spell can't be cast continuously. Locate the enemy and counterattack! Counterattack!"

The professionals in the group immediately began to give orders, which helped the bandits regain some of their senses. The bandits quickly began to move closer together and surrounded the spellcasters in the group.

Darcy immediately knelt down next to his sister. Although he didn't know if it was a double-cross, it didn't matter. Darcy just wanted the bandits in front of him to die!

"Darcy, the stone!"

The older sister opened her eyes and turned her body to remind Darcy. Darcy immediately reacted, followed her sister's gaze, found a somewhat angular stone, and immediately began to grind the rope binding her hands on the stone.

Although the first wave of explosive magic looked powerful, Darcy felt that the two sides were evenly matched at most. Darcy had experienced the strength of this group of bandits before. Judging from the fact that they could immediately form a formation to protect the caster after just experiencing the explosion, he knew that the other side was not an ordinary bandit.

Even among the bandit gangs in the Giant God Mountains, these bandits were among the best in terms of military skills. In fact, their ability to obey orders alone was comparable to that of many noble private soldiers.