Fantasy Family Simulator (FFS)

The tall man's face was marred by four irregular scars that crisscrossed his entire face. As he smiled, the muscles around the scars twisted, making him look especially sinister.

The short man, known as Wind Rat, grinned slyly, "He's just a newly appointed noble. The defense of his territory is quite weak for us. I scouted around both outside and inside the streets, and I didn't spot a single third-level presence. At the gate, there were only two apprentice knights standing guard. In the town itself, there are only two first-level knights."

"What's the point of looking at the town? How much money could a bunch of peasants possibly have? What about the Deep Rock Fortress?" a blue-haired woman impatiently demanded, her hands on her hips.

"Why are you in such a rush? Let me finish," Wind Rat replied, unfazed. "I checked out the fortress as well. Inside, there's a third-level mage, likely their lord. Apart from that, there are two second-level knights, one first-level knight, and a bunch of low-level apprentice knights."

"Any female knights?" A bald, burly man licked his lips, his gaze turning lecherous as he spoke crudely, "Ordinary women are too weak. Female knights, with their strong physiques, are far more appealing."

"Heh heh heh..." Wind Rat chuckled mischievously, elbowing the bald man. "I've already taken note for you. One of the second-level knights is a woman, and she's quite the beauty."

"Really?" The bald man's eyes lit up, and his breathing grew heavy. "What are we waiting for, then? Let's charge in as soon as night falls. We'll kill the lord first, then we can take our time with the rest of the lambs!"

As he spoke, a powerful surge of red battle aura erupted from his body, exuding a fierce energy—clearly, he was a third-level knight.

"Enough, Baldy, calm your aura down! We don't want to alert anyone and ruin the plan," a skinny old man with narrowed eyes stepped forward, his voice cold. "Don't forget, our main goal this time is wealth and resources! We need to grab the ore and quickly deliver it to Saiplin's group. We can't waste time here!"

He fixed a sharp glare at the bald man, his gaze full of warning. "You can have your fun with the women, but tonight, you can only take them with you. Enjoy them on the road, not in the castle."

"Hmph, I get it."

At this, the blue-haired woman covered her mouth and laughed. "Don't worry, Skam. Even if Baldy has his way in the castle, he's so quick that it won't slow us down."

This comment ignited the bald man's temper. He snarled, "You filthy wench, don't think I don't know you're sleeping with Skam just because you've got a big chest. Even if the boss backs you, you'd better watch your mouth!"

Skam frowned, a hint of displeasure crossing his face, but he held back at this critical moment.

The blue-haired woman, unfazed, also unleashed the aura of a third-level knight, sneering, "Who are you threatening, Baldy? You're nothing but a quickshot, always fast and eager, but never admitting it."

This group of bandits was so used to their arrogant ways that they spoke without restraint, their words laced with vulgarity.

"You..." The bald man ground his teeth in frustration, feeling mocked by everyone around him.

Just as he was about to retort, Skam finally lost his patience. His voice turned icy as he snapped, "I'll say this one last time—shut up! Or face the consequences!"

With that, silence fell over the group. The bald man and the blue-haired woman exchanged one last disdainful glance but reined in their auras and fell silent.

An hour later, it was the dead of night. Skam crossed his arms behind his back, looked up at the moon, and whispered, "It's time. Remember, quick and efficient!"

At his command, the bandits emerged from the forest one by one—some crawled out of tree hollows, others dropped from branches. In total, there were over twenty of them, each cracking their knuckles in anticipation. Their bloodlust was palpable as they thought of the carnage and plunder to come, their eyes glinting with excitement.

In the darkness, the group moved swiftly, their shadows flitting through the night like the wind.

At the same time, two apprentice knights stood guard at the gates of Eagle Town, unaware that a gang of vicious bandits was preparing to strike.

Angra and Prytz, swords and shields in hand, stood tall, dutifully scanning the surroundings.

From behind them, footsteps approached.

Rhett and McCoffe strolled out of the Nightingale Tavern, each holding a bottle of wine. They walked leisurely under the night sky, seemingly relaxed.

"You two, go fetch Laurence and Olricks to take over. I'll stand guard here for a while," Rhett said, his tone carrying a hint of drunkenness.

Angra and Prytz were startled but quickly turned and responded, "Understood!"

Following their lord's orders, the two knights immediately set off, marching back toward the Deep Rock Fortress.

The night was silent.

Once the two knights had gone, Rhett gazed at the town. The rows of wooden houses were shrouded in darkness, blending into the night. As he thought of the approaching bandits, a cold glint flashed in his eyes.

"Rhett, thanks for the drinks tonight. I'll gladly accompany Rayleigh tomorrow," McCoffe said, draping an arm over Rhett's shoulder. Standing at the town gate, he gazed out at the vast plains and smiled contentedly.

"Thank you," Rhett replied, the cold glint in his eyes fading as he turned to smile at McCoffe.

"Haha, with our friendship, there's no need for thanks. Just treat me to another drink when we get back," McCoffe laughed, taking another swig from his bottle. As the fiery liquid burned its way down his throat, McCoffe's eyes sparkled. He looked up at the night sky and mused, "This quiet little town on the plains feels like the brightest star in the night sky—so far from the dazzling moon. It's peaceful, yet it offers a sense of security. Quite nice, don't you think, Rhett?"

Hearing McCoffe's words, Rhett didn't respond immediately. Instead, he narrowed his eyes, sensing the presence of several powerful knights approaching from a few hundred meters away.

"Hmm? Why aren't you saying anything?" McCoffe mumbled.

"Someone's coming."

"Someone? Who?" McCoffe was startled, instantly sobering up. He scanned the area, his right hand raising his wand to summon a ball of light that illuminated the surrounding area.

"No one's here," McCoffe said, puzzled as he turned back to Rhett.

Rhett remained silent but conjured a larger ball of light, illuminating an area two hundred meters ahead as if it were broad daylight.

The bandits, sneering as they advanced, froze momentarily in the sudden brightness.

"We've been spotted?" Skam muttered, shocked.

He turned to the short man beside him, his brow furrowed. His first thought was that Wind Rat had betrayed them. After years of being a bandit, Skam had learned to be highly suspicious, having seen too many betrayals.

"Two third-level mages?" Wind Rat muttered, scratching his head. "That's strange—I only detected one earlier..."

The old man's face changed dramatically. His suspicions dispelled, he cursed, "You fool! If they managed to hide from your detection and are waiting for us here, they must be a fourth-level mage! Damn it, we must have a traitor, or maybe Saiplin hired help to double-cross us!"

But there was no time to figure out who had leaked their plan or how the enemy had discovered their ambush. As soon as the thought crossed his mind, the old man turned and fled without a word, not even warning his comrades—he needed them as distractions to increase his chances of escape.

"Rhett, these people must be bandits or robbers, likely after your territory!" McCoffe's face darkened. With his years of experience, he quickly recognized the danger.

Rhett remained calm. Before heading to the gate, he had conducted a real simulation half a day in advance, just to ensure he could wipe out this group without any survivors.

But he still voiced his surprise, "An attack?"

Then, acting quickly, he said, "McCoffe, leave these people to me. You go after the ones trying to escape!"

"Got it!" McCoffe trusted Rhett's abilities. They split up, with McCoffe, a wind mage, casting a Swift Wind spell on himself and charging after a burly figure on the outskirts of the group.

The twenty-odd bandits hesitated under the intense light, slowing their advance. But seeing the old man flee, they quickly realized something was wrong and turned to run.

Suddenly, the ground beneath them trembled slightly. In the next instant, three sand wolves materialized, each over two meters tall and three meters long. Though expressionless, their bodies were shrouded in swirling yellow sand, and their sharp claws and teeth glinted ominously, exuding a powerful sense of danger.

"Oh no, it's Sand Wolf Roar—a fourth-level spell! There's a fourth-level mage here!"

"Run!"

"Scatter! Don't group up!" Skam shouted. He hoped that by scattering, his men would distract the mage long enough for him to escape. He enveloped himself in dark battle energy, blending into the night and praying that the fourth-level mage wouldn't notice him too soon.

But his plan was quickly foiled. Under Rhett's control, one of the sand wolves moved like a yellow lightning bolt, leaping through the air and landing beside Skam in no time. The wolf's massive claw slashed down with deadly precision.

In that critical moment, Skam, a seasoned bandit leader, didn't draw his sword but instead raised a shield to block the sand wolf's attack. He knew that unless he unleashed a massive surge of battle energy, slashing at the sand wolf would be futile—the creature would simply reform and continue its assault.

The broad shield could at least provide some temporary protection.

With a loud bang, the shield absorbed the force of the sand wolf's strike, though Skam's arm throbbed with pain. While the sand wolf was a formidable fourth-level spell, its close-range attacks weren't as powerful as a fourth-level knight's. If it had been a fourth-level earth knight, Skam would have immediately surrendered, without even considering resistance.

Using the shield's recoil, Skam tumbled backward and gained some distance from the wolf.

Rhett smiled coldly. If he wanted to kill Skam, a single self-destruct from the sand wolf would be enough. But he had other plans—he wanted to capture these bandits alive to collect Fate points. According to his strategy, the next spell he cast would cripple Skam.

He even had the presence of mind to glance over at McCoffe.

McCoffe was pursuing the scattered bandits, launching quick Wind Blades to cut through the battlefield.

The bald bandit, growing frustrated by the wind magic disrupting his escape, noticed that the fourth-level mage wasn't paying attention to his side of the fight. With a growl, he shouted to the blue-haired woman ahead of him, "Run, you filthy wench!"

Then, a savage grin spread across his face as red energy surged beneath his feet, propelling him forward like a rocket. Despite his large build, the bald man had mastered a lower-level footwork technique, making him exceptionally fast over short distances.

He had successfully ambushed several mages in the past, and this situation felt all too familiar. He could almost see McCoffe's head exploding under his mace, brains splattering everywhere.

McCoffe's eyes widened in surprise, but he remained calm, preparing to cast Wind Wall to slow the bandit's advance.

Suddenly, a flash of earthy yellow light shot through the air. The bald man's head was instantly pierced by a flying spike, and his massive body was dragged back several meters before collapsing to the ground, lifeless.

McCoffe nodded gratefully to Rhett, then focused his attention on the blue-haired woman, resuming his chase.

"Damn it, I knew it—Baldy can't even delay them for a few seconds!" the blue-haired woman cursed under her breath. As she ran, she discreetly pulled out a small vial from her chest and uncorked it.

Glancing back with a venomous glint in her eye, she flung the contents behind her.

A small pool of black liquid splattered across the ground, nearly invisible in the darkness. But McCoffe didn't dare underestimate it, his mind instantly recalling the infamous "Black Crow's Bane" poison.