The group of eleven were clad in semi-leather and metal armor, walking along with swords, machetes or bows in their hands.
Two of them were also carrying sacks on their shoulders each.
Alex quickly found out that two women had been stuffed into those sacks, having their hands and mouth tightly bound with a rope so that they cannot move around or make noise in the middle of the forest.
The clothes on the bodies of the two women suggested that they were also mercenaries or hunters who had come to the forest for hunting demon beast or foraging for spirit herbs.
Seeing this, Alex's expression turned solemn. For the past few days after he had become the ruler of this island, his puppets had extensively carried out his orders to stop activities that he deems illegal. First, he abolished the slave trade on his island.
The merchants or families that had kept slaves before in their house, was told to free them or they will face punishment.
Mercenaries groups that were in the line of slave trading were either forcefully disbanded or punished if they still carried out such work in the future.
Anyone caught involved in such kinds of activities was treated very harshly by the puppets. Whether it was inside the three cities or in villages outside, the puppets had already put an end to activities like slave trading, or abducting women so as to play with their bodies elsewhere.
Naturally, the puppet's eyes do not cover every inch on the island, especially whatever happens inside the forest is out of their hands for now.
"Chief, I think we are deep enough into the forest. If we go any further then we might face Rank 1 Demon beast."
"You are right,...but I think we should at least travel further south so that that police officers or whatever they call themselves in the frontier village don't find us here. If they come to know what we did then they would definitely hunt us down." the chief looked worried when he thought of the new guards, their numbers and strength and how they treated offenders to the law made by some Lord who can't just mind his own fucking business in the south.
Today, they had come to the forest to hunt for demon beasts, like many times. they then came across a group of five people who were battling a demon beast on its last breath.
Before snatching the other party's prey inside the forest was quite normal for them or any other groups too.
Today, their group did the same, they forcefully snatched the prey of the hunter's party after they had killed the demon beast and were just about the skin it.
The hunter's being the weaker party should have backed off and they tried to but the members of the mercenary group started lusting after the two women's bodies in the other's group when they saw them.
It's been quite some time they had tasted women. Well, in reality, they just didn't like paying for them at the pleasure houses inside the villages.
The men in the hunter's group actually did as they were asked and left the two women, their comrades, behind to fend for themselves.
But the moment those three men turned to run and showed their back, the mercenaries attacked them from behind with their bows and killed them.
The mercenaries were not going to let the witnesses of the crime that they committed inside the forest to run away as that would be stupid considering how strict the laws were now back in the villages because of the new lord.
"Brother, aren't you tired? Hehe, why don't you pass her to me, let me carry her weight so that you can rest." one member of the mercenary group said to the other carrying the sack with the women inside, onto his shoulders. But the intention of the one giving his help was crystal clear to his comrade.
"Hey, keep your hands off. Don't get so desperate? Everyone will get their chance to enjoy them. First, look where we are now and stay alert." came the reply from the man but looking at his face everyone could tell why he wouldn't want to pass on the girl to any else. It was the same for the other men walking beside him carrying the other women on his shoulders.
The mercenaries kept bickering with each other, passing lewd comments about their prey or how they would enjoy the night with the two women that they had captured today.
"Chief, see there's a lake ahead... We should not go near it" Suddenly, a mercenary exclaimed, walking at the front when he exited the cover of trees and out in the open.
He advised that his leader take a detour and not pass through the area around the lake as there might be a strong demon beast occupying it.
"Alright, lets...wait a minute... is that human swimming inside the lake."
The chief spotted Alex as he was coming ashore in their direction.
"Fuck... who has so much gall to swim around in such a big lake this deep inside the forest. Is he mad?"
"...Oh my god! What am I seeing? Is that a fucking kid? What is he doing in there?" Another member gasped in shock when he saw how young the person was. The chief of the mercenary group instead looked around to see if there were any other people with the boy as he also didn't think someone at his age would dare to come here unattended and alone.
Alex soon stood on his feet on the ground with only his pants covering his body as his robe had been destroyed before when he fighting the demon beast inside the water.
He looked towards the two people's carrying sack on their shoulders and said: "You two, place the sack on the ground and release the two women inside of it."
His words shocked the mercenaries as they couldn't understand how the young man knew about what luggage they were carrying inside the sacks, placed on their shoulders.
"What nonsense are you spouting boy? Get lost from here if you don't want to die!" the chief tried to scare the boy as shouted at him and waved his machete at him threateningly.
But the boy didn't look one bit scared to them, he instead started walking in their direction without showing an ounce of fear on his face.
"Boss, there is no one around here. What should we do with this kid?"
"...What can we do other than to dispose of him here? He has seen us with those two sacks. If he goes back and reports what we have done it won't bode well for us." The chief said in a low voice and then he gestured his hands towards two of his subordinates ahead of him to go and kill the boy.
"Oy, Oy stop right, boy and watch your tone. Are you tired of living with that attitude of yours? Who are you and what are you doing here all alone?" These mercenaries had clearly not seen the face of the new Lord as they were living inside the frontier village rather than the city where Alex made his appearance and shown his face to the people.
But some villagers were still not aware of what he looked like as they had only heard about him and his deeds through the word of the mouth passing from person to person.