---------------------------------------------Bandit Boss POV-----------------------------------------------

Finally, Finally, I can finally rule a region.

I'm done with living at the bottom of this continent, sifting through the garbage to get what I want.

"Everyone fights, anyone who retreats will be thrown to the enemy as a distraction! This battle will decide how we will live from now on!!!"
"Raaaaghhh!!"
"Destroy them!"
"Kill them!!"
"Leave none alive!!"

Good, good, as long as these guys are this eager then I don't have to worry about deserters. I can just kill the few who try to escape and scare the rest back in line.

It works good but if there are a lot of them who want to back up, they would only retreat as a show and run when the fighting gets tense. Cowards!

"Hahaha, We will rule this region!! Everyone follow me!"
"Boss!!!"
"For the boss!!!"

When the majority of them have this much morale and I kill a few of the deserters as a show of force, everyone who runs will be killed by those around them. I can manipulate them easier this way. These simpletons are key to my rule, I can't let them crumble this early. I still need them to fulfil their purpose.

The other bandit group already has some dissatisfaction with me, so they won't give it their all. They will also try to push my lackeys to spearhead the attack, to make sure my group suffers the most damage.

However, that is still fine. Most of the people here are only the fodders. My main subordinates are coordinating things safely behind these meat shields. I even sent some of them disguised as one of the lackeys in the other bandit group. No one would notice which is which when we clash with these so called 'defenders of the region'. A bunch of glorified town guards playing soldiers. Do you think having that much people and a formation is enough to make you like the elder's army?

Those disguised will help switch out my fodder for the subordinate of the other bandit group. I need to show my balls in this charge or the other bandit group will use my lack of action to threaten my leadership, so my forces will have to take some damage.

I will take those losses but for every blood my forces bleed, your groups need to bleed twice as much. Don't think I will let you all watch from outside the ring, hehehe.

*Boom*

"Ahhh!!"
"No, no, nooooo!!!"
"What is that? An enemy?"
"Who is the bastard that is aiming at us!?!?"

A misfire? This last volley should have been the last of our ammunition. Did those braindead morons try to 'style' the last shot? If I find that out, I'll kill them later.

Wait, could it be by the order of the other bandit group leaders?

Hmm, no they suffered losses too. Some of them even lost their sub-leaders from that stray shot. The losses don't outweigh their gain. Tsk, I lost a lot of fodder thanks to that rock. I'll have to find a way to make sure the other bandit groups lose more.

"Boss, it seems to be a missed shot. We were just unlucky!"
"That better be the case or I will roast those idiots!! Send someone to tell them to stop if they still have ammo. We are already close to the old base, I don't want to see any more 'lucky shots', Understand!?!?"
"Yes, boss!"

The old base is getting close. We have changed base a lot of times to prevent the people in this region from finding the base. This particular base is pretty new, maybe a few months or so since it was created.

Hahah, It's funny how I still recognize where each part of the ruins originally belonged to. It's not that I am particularly attached to this place, so I don't really feel anything seeing it broken down like this.

I'm too involved with the construction. It's a massive pain but I need to make sure everything is built correctly. I have to arrange secret passages, traps, and I also need to be the one who is the most involved in the establishment of a headquarters. Even if the other leaders know that it's just for show, the majority of the other bandits aren't thinking about 'under-the-surface' things like these. Even if there are some who notice it, they won't care about it. However, having the majority of the bandits instinctively think that I am the boss is one of the things needed to secure my leadership.

"Run! Run! Everyone charges right up! They will be hiding behind the walls! All the traps are destroyed by the continuous siege weapon attack! Run up and kill every enemy you see! The more you kill, the better the reward!! Charge!!"
"Hunt them down!!"
"Hahaha, I'll be going on ahead!! Everybody out of the way!!"

I may have the unfortunate role to lead the charge but I don't have to be the one to deal first blood, right? Especially if a few hotblooded idiots rush up like this, which you could probably describe the majority of the bandits.

*Grab* *Smash* *Smash* *Smash*

"Watch out! They are hiding behind the walls!"

Hmph, you think I don't know about the hidden path behind those walls!? I'm aware of every place you could hide in this place. Why do you think we used it to trap you all?

"Ambushers, retreat!! They know your locations!"
"Find them before they retreat! Don't let any of the ambushers return!!"

They actually set up ambushers. Do they think they can hide from us, the one who used to live here?

"They are here! I need help here! A lot of the defenders are here!!"

They are already found? This soon?

"Bristleshield! Take your group and reinforce the one who found the defenders!"
"Me? Why do I have to? Where are you going to go?"
"I'm going to take a group and sweep the surroundings for any more ambushers!"
"They just called the ambushers back to them!!"
"And you actually believed them? Don't question me and do your job! I don't need you to bicker with me at this moment! You don't need to fight them all, Contain them until the rest of us come to reinforce you! We will come as soon as we finish the sweep!"

This overly-careful idiot, whose only redeeming feature is this thick armour with spikes everywhere. I know you are the one who is eyeing my position the most but you should at least know how to follow orders in times of emergencies!

Those large groups of defenders are most certainly a trap. Regardless if you attack or not, I am sure they have something in store for you, hehehe

"Ugh"
"Is that all of them?"
"Yes, boss. Should we go and reinforce Bristleshield?"
"The others should have regrouped at his position. We will look around one more time and regroup at their position too."

There are less than I thought. I only found a few of them hiding here and there. Did they really regroup at the place Bristleshield headed?

"Enemy attack! Enemy attack! There are soldiers on their way here!"
"Soldiers on this side!"
"Trouble! Trouble here!"

Again? Did they dig out our escape tunnel and surrounded us like we did? Impossible, we collapse a whole building on the tunnel. We even made sure the tunnel collapsed within itself once we passed through.

"Quick, regroup with Bristleshield! Call everyone back! We need more information!!"

I thought Bristleshield was keeping the defenders contained! How could they appear around us!?

"Send out scouts!! I need to know how many of them there are!!"

Have they found a way to sneak past us? Dammit! How could they work properly under the constant rain of rocks!

"You, you and you! Assemble a team to find some ammo for the siege engine! I need you all to deliver them back to them as soon as possible before the enemy reaches their position!"

Did they wait until we used up all of our ammo before they appeared? Have they been hiding and laughing at us as we pepper our ruined base!?!?

"I need a group that is good at digging and tracking to sift through the ruins! They must have made another tunnel to escape our encirclement! The rest will follow me to Bristleshield!"
"Yes, boss!"

Just you wait, You won't be able to trap me and my group here. I don't think it's possible to completely wipe them all out. We need to find that tunnel and escape here. The other bandit group can fight them and delay for us.

They wouldn't be able to completely bury the tunnel they used to escape us. As long as we find it and escape the moment they and the other bandit team clash, me and my bandit group can escape this region.

The army finished the sweep at the dragon's road. The playing field there is swept clean. If I can establish myself and my group before the others, I could be part of the upper echelons there.