What in the world...
Confused and breathing heavily, Chloe desperately darted down a narrow road. She was an adept runner, but too nervous to keep her breath steady. Moving silently and trying to remain inconspicuous, she picked a small alley and dashed through it.
The town had changed, albeit subtly. There should have been people in the streets and buildings, but the place was almost deserted. Anyone she caught sight of was an armed member of Bandit Squad Barrel.
The bandits had completely locked down Suls. Chloe was awestruck by the speed and discretion of their work. They were unlike any bandits she had ever heard of; at this point they were closer to a disciplined military than a bunch of criminals. Fortunately, she couldn’t smell any blood or see any signs of destruction.
The townsfolk weren’t being killed. Most likely, they were being rounded up in one spot so they could be held hostage. But even if she found their location, there wasn’t much she could do to help. She still had her sword, but was out of practice and would be up against far too many bandits. She had been counting the bandits as she spotted them and it was clear they were more numerous than suggested by the named quest issued by Lord Gladis.
Arnold had been immobilized by a poison and surrounded by bandits. Chloe had only been able to escape because Falling Fog, Arnold included, and Scorching Whirlwind had been willing to put their lives on the line to protect her.
Chloe desperately tried to think of a way to turn the situation around. At first, she had considered going to the town guard for help, but there wasn’t much they could do. To make things worse, the vanguard of Bandit Squad Barrel was patrolling the streets in search of her. Luckily, they didn’t appear to be familiar with the layout of Suls, but this wasn’t a large town. It was a matter of time before she was found. But at least she was free; Arnold and the others had all been captured. There was no time to waste.
She looked up at the sky. Squinting, she could make out high in the sky winged mythical beasts unlike any she had ever seen. Barrel was keeping watch from above.
“I never expected these bandits to be this dangerous.”
Even across the whole Zebrudian Empire, very few people were capable of riding flying beasts. For one thing, they were rare, but even harder than finding them was befriending them.
Bandit Squad Barrel had moved with purpose. They entered the town disguised as tourists and other civilians, locked down the town quietly and without permitting any opposition, and took Arnold out with a single hit, even if that was a surprise attack. Their strength was terrifying and she could see it even in the bearing of the bandits walking the streets.
It must have required immense power and charisma to lead such a bandit squad. The names of the two men at the top were Geffroy Barrel and Kardon Barrel. Only a scant number of people had ever encountered them and come back alive, but Chloe knew a bit about them.
Kardon would come up with plans and Geffroy would do the stomping. Their might was no doubt on par with that of high-level hunters. More than a few treasure hunters had been sent to take them out and all had failed.
Geffroy in particular seemed to be of consummate strength. If anyone here could defeat him it was probably only Arnold, Liz, or the Thousand Tricks. The leaders of Bandit Squad Barrel were already plenty powerful, but if even their lower ranks were this formidable then they were in all likelihood a match for the knights of Lord Gladis.
The man who attacked Arnold had said he was out to “bag the biggest prey.” That undoubtedly referred to the Thousand Tricks. Krai Andrey was the strong hunter of the Zebrudia branch of the Explorers’ Association. His combat prowess was unknown, but he had completed a number of challenging quests. Chloe didn’t think he would be easily defeated, but she worried when she saw what Bandit Squad Barrel was capable of.
Normally, bandits followed a typical pattern when attacking a town: loot and destroy. But that wasn’t happening this time. Not one bandit was giving in to greed and breaking formation.
Agh. No dice. They’ve got eyes everywhere.
The bandits were prepared for everything. The inn Krai was supposed to be staying in was being watched from every angle. Even looking at it from a distance, Chloe could tell there was nothing she could do on her own. The guards were in groups of no fewer than three, meaning she couldn’t ambush or slip by any of them.
She took deep breaths as she tried to calm her pounding heart. Now that it had come to this, her only choice was to seek help from the outside. Even in Zebrudia there was a limited number of powerful hunters. She didn’t imagine there were any hunters nearby who might be able to resolve the situation, but it was better than trying to do something like cause a diversion.
If Chloe were a hunter, then she might have risked taking them on. But she wasn’t a hunter, she was an employee of the Explorers’ Association. The situation was dire and that was all the more reason to be cautious, even if it didn’t make her happy to acknowledge it.
Keeping to the shadows cast by the stalls and buildings, she pressed onward. Bandit Squad Barrel was well trained, but it seemed they didn’t have enough manpower to lock down every nook and cranny.
Beads of sweat flowed down her cheeks. She was nervous, her mouth felt dry. Keeping a low profile, she somehow managed to get to a spot where she could see the town walls. What she saw caused her to gulp.
Just beyond the meter-and-a-half-tall wall that encompassed Suls was another wall, one that towered above the first. The new wall must have been close to four meters tall and wrapped around the town’s entire perimeter.
Chloe did some calculations. It might be easy for a high-level hunter, but getting over the wall would be fairly difficult for her. If she failed, she would be apprehended by the bandits.
This was a wall meant to seal off escape. Bandit Squad Barrel didn’t want even a single person getting away. And if it had come up in such a short time frame, then the bandits must have some excellent Magi working for them.
The hopelessness of the situation caused Chloe’s head to spin. It didn’t seem possible, but if this turned out to be one of his Thousand Trials she would never be able to look at Krai the same way again.
Suddenly, she heard footsteps behind her. She turned around on instinct. Sprinting towards her was a member of Barrel. There was no time to hesitate, she had to act. She took off.
“I found her! Over here! Don’t let her get away!”
Chloe was certain her legs had never in her life moved as fast as they were moving at that moment. Other patrolling bandits began to close in on her from both sides. A black metal rod, a bo shuriken, was flung at her and she dodged it miraculously. Right in front of Suls’s original wall, she jumped with all her strength.
Chloe had aspired to become a Swordsman; she couldn’t move like a Thief. Nonetheless, she leaped wildly and flew through the air. She made it over the first wall with ease and then a smooth wall devoid of any handholds filled her vision. Each second felt like ten, a full minute even. She felt gravity pull at her. In front of her was a wall.
It won’t work. I’m not going to make it.
Chloe extended her right arm as far as she could. Her fingertips latched on to the top of the wall. She let out a gasp. She was probably more surprised than the bandits chasing her. But once she had her other hand on the wall, escape became just a short hop away.
She pulled herself up and over the wall. She felt a bo shuriken pass over her head, but she landed on the other side unharmed. There were no guards on the other side of the wall. She was right—they were short on manpower.
She might not be able to move like a Thief, but she was confident in her physical strength. Chloe steadied her breath and dashed off before her pursuers could catch her.
***
A battle-axe with an unusual glimmer was thrust into the ground and a loud roar pierced the silence. A tense atmosphere permeated the square by the town gates. The man was feared not only by the hostages but by his own comrades as well.
“Huh? What about this looks like the Thousand Tricks?” Geffroy said in a low voice as he looked at the man on the ground before him. “This one’s completely unremarkable. I send you louts off to capture the Thousand Tricks and you get the wrong guy? Tell me how that happens. This is worse than if you had simply lost to him.”
The man lying before Geffroy was nothing like how he had pictured the Thousand Tricks. There were dark bags under his eyes and he had a tired complexion. And that was to say nothing of his lanky body. But most of all, he was unremarkable. He had mana material, but his glow was all wrong. Geffroy entrusted most of the organizational management to Kardon, but the brute still believed he had an eye for people.
“This is a grunt at best! The Serpent wouldn’t fall to a man like this!”
Geffroy knew the accomplishments of the Thousand Tricks. The hunter had crushed entire criminal organizations and was now both feared and loathed by a number of criminals. Serpent was once one of the biggest criminal organizations around; they even rivaled Fox.
They had been a force of over three hundred, which was massive even compared to Bandit Squad Barrel. And yet they had been defeated. The boss and their top brass were taken down and the whole organization fell with them. An organization of the same name was still going, but their influence had become a shadow of what it once was.
“Calm down, Geffroy. The discipline can wait,” Kardon said. His voice was quiet, but his eyes showed the same murderous wrath that was in Geffroy’s. This was a major shock after everything had proceeded so smoothly.
“S-Sorry, boss, Mr. Kardon. But he was the only one in the—”
Kardon narrowed his eyes, his face intense as an inferno. Had their plans been found out ahead of time? Impossible. If they had been discovered, they wouldn’t have been able to take control of Suls so easily. They had already gathered all the hostages in one spot. Kardon wanted to avoid wasting both people and valuables, but he would destroy them all if Geffroy gave the order.
The Thousand Tricks was an ally of justice. If he were to ignore the hostages and resist, Geffroy and his allies could just slaughter their captives and make their escape. That alone would destroy the reputation of the Thousand Tricks. Geffroy tried to imagine how they might be pushed from their advantageous position, but he didn’t see it happening. The look of confidence on Kardon’s face suggested he had reached the same conclusion.
“The Stifled Shadow and the Ignoble are both genuine,” Kardon said. “It’s not over yet.”
He was right. Their mistake wasn’t a fatal one. They could draw out the Thousand Tricks by holding his party members hostage. No matter how ingenious he might be, Bandit Squad Barrel consisted of over three hundred individuals stronger than intermediate hunters.
“Go back and conduct another search,” Kardon ordered in place of Geffroy. His voice was surprisingly calm. “Take whoever you need, we can’t stick around here long. Seeing as he hasn’t shown himself yet, I think it’s clear the Thousand Tricks isn’t as powerful as the rumors say he is. Taking down the Thousand Tricks will be a major boon for us. Increase security on the hostages, but also get ready to abandon the town, just in case.”
Having received their orders, the subordinates all quickly dispersed. Geffroy closely observed their coordinated movements.
“We’re up against a Level 8. You might have to get personally involved,” Kardon said to his longtime accomplice.
His voice contained traces of fear. This was something that had almost never happened once their bandit squad had grown to a considerable size. Geffroy snorted. Fighting was his job and he hadn’t once neglected his training.
“I don’t care what level he is, I’m not gonna lose. Nobody’s stronger than Bandit Squad Barrel.”
***
When I came to, I was lying on the ground in total darkness. The first thing I felt was heat and humidity, it was like a jungle I had once explored. I sat up and yawned. After rubbing my eyes, I began to feel like I had returned to reality.
“That’s right. I was captured. Gimme a break, what’s even going on?”
The situation was pretty bad, but everything that happened was just too strange, I couldn’t find it in myself to feel a sense of danger. It seemed my Relics hadn’t been confiscated. I activated the ring on my finger, Owl’s Eye, and the room slowly came into view. I was in a cell. I was surrounded by dirt walls and flooring, except for the wall of metal bars in front of me.
I thought back to the previous day. A strange creature had suddenly appeared, captured me, and dragged me down the hole at the construction site. There had been a long floating sensation, almost like I had been falling for an eternity. After falling for a while, something came into view—a massive underground city.
“Why’s something like that underneath Suls?”
I was ready to barf. I couldn’t see very well, but the life-forms living in the gigantic cavern clearly weren’t human. But they weren’t just monsters, they had clearly developed a form of civilization. They had built a prison after all.
“Cave People?”
No, no. That’s absurd. I came to Suls for a vacation, not so I could be abducted by Cave People.
I sighed heavily as I shook the metal bars. They rattled a bit and didn’t seem too strong. Liz might have been able to break them, but I sure couldn’t.
I wonder if Liz is gonna come and save me.
I had said I was headed off to a hot spring. She knew how weak I was, surely she would come searching for me once she realized I hadn’t returned. She was a Thief, which meant she could find me so long as the slightest trail remained. Not to mention Sitri was with her.
I don’t even know how long I was out. They may already be searching for me.
This shred of hope began to reinvigorate me. I thought about what I could do under my current circumstances. I could keep myself alive. I would use every means I could to buy myself time.
I checked my Relics. Since I had slipped out for a dip, I didn’t have much on me besides my Safety Rings. I didn’t have any weapons. I had a few Shooting Rings and my night vision Relic, Owl’s Eye. I also had Red Alert, which informed me of dangers, and Mirage Form, the bracelet that created mirages.
Last, I had the two Aspiration Manifests. One was the pendant Kris had restocked with a spell after I had unleashed Lucia’s spell. The other was the mysterious ring Sitri had given me as a souvenir. The former seemed like the more solid option of the two, but Kris was a Level 3. Noble Spirits struggled to raise their levels due to their personalities. Regardless, she wasn’t much compared to Lucia. Not that I was even considering trying to fight my way out.
Suddenly, I heard an odd voice.
“Ryuu...”
It sounded an awful lot like the voice of the Cave Person (if that’s the right word) that had caught me, but it was much deeper. And then I heard more voices. This was bad news. I had no idea what I was dealing with, but that one had pounced on me the moment we came face-to-face.
I had to do something. But I couldn’t destroy the iron bars. If I released Kris’s spell then I might take down a few Cave People, but that was something I could only do once.
Calm down, Krai Andrey. Look at it the other way around, they’ve locked you up, but they haven’t killed you or even taken your equipment. It’s possible that among Cave People culture, this isn’t a form of imprisonment. It could be a way of welcoming a guest.
I calmed myself down as I stuck my neck through the metal bars and looked in the direction of the voices. Coming towards me were large Cave People. In some ways, they looked like the vaguely charming one that captured me, in other ways they were totally different. Like the one I met in Suls, they had thick hair. The difference between her and them was sort of like the difference between Liz and Gark.
Large claws protruded from their hands. I was certain they were going to kill me. My chest hurt. I wondered what I had done in a past life to deserve this. I had a bad feeling about this. I desperately looked around the room and tried not to think about the situation. I was searching for a way to resolve the situation without having to fight.
There’s gotta be something—I’ve got it!
I had a revelation. Without even needing to think about it, I activated one of my Relics.
***
The sun was shining brightly on the land below. Perhaps because the town was dotted with hot springs, every bit of Suls was warm and toasty. But now the comforts of that warmth were notably absent.
Bound with chains and forced to walk, Rhuda and the other hunters were brought to a large inn situated in the center of Suls. The elegant buildings had a much more unsettling atmosphere now that they were being occupied by armed bandits.
Arnold was approaching his limit. Falling Fog, Scorching Whirlwind, and of course Rhuda herself had all fought valiantly, but they had been outnumbered. They had been completely surrounded. It was a miracle that Chloe had managed to get away.
Rhuda was fine, but some of the other hunters had been wounded. However, the fact that no one had been killed was a good indication of the strength of their captors. They were strong enough to warrant a named quest being issued to a Level 8 treasure hunter. It was no surprise that they were trouble, but this was more than Rhuda or anyone else had expected. Would Krai really be able to do something about this?
If Rhuda and the other hunters were being kept alive, then it must mean the bandits had some use for them. Maybe they planned to hold them hostage and negotiate with the Explorer’s Association? Or maybe it was Krai they planned to negotiate with? Or maybe the bandits planned to turn them into playthings as a show of strength? Nothing good awaited hunters who were captured by bandits. Rhuda hoped that Chloe had at least made it out alive.
Bandit Squad Barrel was really something to be reckoned with. As captives, they had no hope of changing the tide of battle. Their only threads of hope were Chloe and the Thousand Tricks.
The reason Rhuda and the hunters were still calm was because Krai was out there. The skill he had displayed in White Wolf’s Den and the foresight he had used to manipulate Arnold both made him scary, just in a different sense than Bandit Squad Barrel. His foresight was so superb that Rhuda couldn’t stop herself from wondering if perhaps even this was all according to plan.
By the looks of it, the townsfolk had been gathered in a different spot. This was just a place for those who could fight. This was most likely done to prevent any sort of uprising. These bandits really weren’t taking any chances. The few town guards of Suls had been blindfolded, tied up, and knocked on their side. Even if they had weapons, any of the stronger bandits could have easily dispatched them. Still, the bandits chose to be as thorough as possible.
It was then that Rhuda noticed someone in the center of the room. Someone who shouldn’t have been there.
“Huh?! Wh-Why are you...” she said with astonishment.
“What? They got you guys too? That’s what happens when you don’t train enough.”
“Huh. Huuuh?”
It was the Stifled Shadow. With an astounded look in her eyes, she sat, all tied up. Sitting quietly next to her was another member of Grieving Souls, Sitri. Behind her was a familiar chimera and that gray monstrosity, both bound in chains.
Rhuda almost couldn’t believe her eyes. The Stifled Shadow wasn’t even the type to just sit still even if she had been defeated. Gilbert, who had met her at White Wolf’s Den and was now battered and bruised, and Eigh, who she had caused all sorts of trouble, both looked at the Stifled Shadow with amazement. Tino’s complicated expression was particularly notable.
“Just sit still and don’t even think about trying to escape. We’ve got hostages,” said one of their captors.
They were violently forced to the ground. Having already lost consciousness, Arnold collapsed and Eigh ran to his side.
A number of guards were watching Rhuda and the other hunters. It seemed only natural that they were wary of the Stifled Shadow, but it seemed Barrel didn’t plan on messing with Rhuda or her comrades.
However, Liz and Sitri looked like their usual selves. Unlike Scorching Whirlwind and Falling Fog, they didn’t seem at all nervous in spite of their certain peril.
“Poison? And it took down a Level 7?” Sitri said, blinking a few times as she looked at Arnold.
Normally, high-level hunters were resilient to poisons and paralysis attacks. Rhuda had a fair amount of resistance, but someone of Arnold’s level should have resilience far surpassing her and therefore be unaffected by most poisons.
“Give us the antidote! Arnold’s gonna die at this rate!” Eigh screamed.
It was probably thanks to Arnold’s large body that he had made it this far. One of the guards sneered at Eigh’s pleas.
“There’s no antidote. That’s the latest product of Akashic Tower.”
Among the numerous criminal magic syndicates, Akashic Tower was the most prominent. Recently they had caused a stir when it became known that the man formerly lauded as the Master of Magi had been conducting experiments in White Wolf’s Den. It made sense that a poison capable of incapacitating the Crashing Lightning was made by an organization that sought out even forbidden knowledge.
With her hands and feet still bound, Sitri managed to scoot over to Arnold and a very pallid Eigh. She pressed her hands against the ground, pushed her body off the floor and spun around, her feet driving into Arnold’s waist.
“Yah!”
Arnold’s body made a dull noise that no human body should make and he was briefly knocked into the air. Still unconscious, Arnold let out a groan and coughed up a profuse amount of blood. Sitri deftly evaded the red liquid.
“The hell are you doing?!” Eigh shouted at her, the blood returning to his face.
“I used acupressure to stimulate his immune system. Unfortunately, I can’t cure him under our current circumstances, but this should buy him some time.”
Eigh’s eyes bulged at this unexpected response. What Sitri had done seemed a bit violent to simply be called acupressure, but Arnold was twitching, an improvement compared to his earlier state.
“You can cure him?!”
“Mmm, I’m sure I can manage. Antidotes are my specialty.”
Sitri had a strained smile, but there was a palpable confidence in her voice. The guard from earlier was staring at her with wide eyes. The seemingly mellow Alchemist must have been another freak if she was so certain she could cure an unknown poison meant for killing high-level hunters.
“However, I can’t do anything as long as civilians are being held hostage. I can’t let there be a single civilian casualty,” Sitri said.
“Krai Baby wouldn’t be too happy if that happened,” Liz added.
“I suppose they hesitated to deploy the golems, even though I lent them out for free. Personally, I don’t have any qualms about abandoning them to their fate.”
Sitri’s bitter expression was quite telling.
I see. So that’s how they were caught, Rhuda thought.
They let themselves be captured not because of the hostages but because they didn’t want to anger Krai. The Stifled Shadow was disheveled and handcuffed, but the Relic on her legs had been left alone. Rhuda was puzzled over why she hadn’t been disarmed when Tino told her in a whispering voice.
“When a guard tried to touch her, Lizzy kicked them back. Her yukata had been set on fire, but she ripped it off...”
“And she’s supposed to be a hostage?”
Rhuda felt she had the full picture now. Under the right circumstances, the Stifled Shadow was willing to resist even if it meant getting the hostages killed. And that was why Barrel had dedicated so much manpower to keeping an eye on the hunters. Nothing was as scary as a high-level devoid of any regard for human life.
“By the way, where’s Krai?” Rhuda asked.
“I don’t know,” Tino replied.
“Is this another one of his Thousand Trials?”
Tino averted her eyes and didn’t say anything. Rhuda thought this was all far too much to be a Trial, but if Tino looked away like that then it must still be in the realm of possibility.
“Aaah, I haven’t been captured for so long, but I’m already bored. Hey, you there, do something funny,” Liz ordered one of the guards.
“Lizzy, control yourself,” Sitri chided her.
The guards had their hands full. You couldn’t even tell who were supposed to be the ruffians. And Liz had said, for so long. Had this happened before?
“It’s a dragon!” A voice suddenly cried out. “There’s a dragon! In the hot spring! Why?!”
“Rawr?!”
“It’s an uncertain element! Don’t let it get away!”
Wobbling on its hind legs, a sky-blue dragon stumbled down a hallway. A number of bandits chased after it. An odd silence settled over the room.
Ah. So that was the dragon Tino was talking about, Rhuda thought.
Sitri and Liz exchanged looks of astonishment.
“It’s a dragon and yet it can’t even help us out. Even after Krai Baby spared its life, all it’s doing is screeching and running around. Can’t it try just a bit harder?”
“It would appear luck isn’t on our side this time.”
The guards smiled viciously, pleased that even a rampant dragon hadn’t distracted them.
“Give it up, there’s nothing you can do,” one of them said. “Relax, once we have the head of the Thousand Tricks, we won’t have any need for you. The boss is a merciful man. I’m sure he’ll let all the hostages go.”
An obvious lie. There was nothing merciful about a savage bandit squad that had pillaged a number of towns. They would never do something so genial. Still, Rhuda wasn’t in any position to protest.
Could there really be some way to turn this situation around? Their assailants were numerous and all spread out. In all likelihood, there were plenty of guards watching the other group of hostages. Even if Chloe managed to quickly call for assistance, Barrel would no doubt take their hostages and escape.
Rhuda couldn’t turn the tide in this situation, even if she were ten times stronger than she currently was. Even if she somehow were to defeat Barrel, it would come at the cost of a number of innocent lives.
It was said there was a large wall between Level 7 and Level 8. No one knew how it might be done, but if Krai could manage a way out of this situation then surely that would be a sign of the difference between Level 7 and 8.
“Krai Baby, huuurry up! That’s it! I’m going to the hot spring. Call me when he gets here!”
Huh? Huuuh?
The guards became uneasy. Liz stood up and groaned before casually breaking the chains linking her handcuffs together. Rhuda couldn’t believe she and Liz were the same class.
“Lizzy?!” Tino cried.
“Lizzy, calm down!” Sitri said.
“It’s fine. I’m sure Krai Baby will forgive me, he knows how I am. And I’m not the one killing the hostages. These Barrel guys are the ones in the wrong here. Maybe I’m not even breaking our rule about not hurting civilians,” Liz said, offering some rather contrived reasoning.
The guards all simultaneously drew their blades and pointed them at her. One of them dashed off, most likely in order to alert someone of the situation.
“You’re being stupid. Hostages are going to die because of you.”
“Huh? Weren’t you listening? You’re the ones doing the killing, not me.”
“That’s fine, we’ve got the whole town held hostage. We can kill one or two and still have plenty to spare.”
Things weren’t looking good. A look of dissatisfaction formed on the Stifled Shadow’s face and her hands balled into fists. Her younger sister was pressing her hands to her temples as though enduring a headache.
The guards all charged at Liz, but at that exact moment, a shriek came from the inn’s entrance. There was a crashing sound and the guard who had darted off earlier was flung down the hall. Having been unable to even hold up their arms to block the impact, the guard lay completely still when they came to a stop.
What had happened? The faces of the guards contorted, they took a few steps back from the hallway. And then Rhuda saw it. First, she saw a long gray vine. It wriggled like a living creature, and then the ground shook as the main body appeared. It wasn’t just Rhuda and the other captives, all the guards froze when they saw it.
It wasn’t Krai. It wasn’t even human.
“A monster?” Rhuda said.
Those things that resembled vines were something else entirely. Not arms—they were hair. Tentacle-like hair that extended from the head of a large bouldery body. It was no golem, for golems had a more inorganic quality to them. This creature had a body that almost seemed to be made of stone, but it was clearly alive.
Its face was oddly human, its golden eyes showed hints of intelligence, and it was wrapped in ragged fur. The monster spread its arms wide open and let out a roar.
“Ryu-ryu, RYUUH!”
With a deep grunt, the mysterious giant attacked a nearby guard. The bandit swiftly raised the blade to block the attack, but the giant’s hair effortlessly knocked it to the side.
“Wh-What is this thing?! Is it with you guys?” one of the bandits yelled.
How could it be a friend of the hunters? The monster was using its long hair to attack hunters and bandits alike. A tendril was headed straight for Arnold, but Eigh used his body to knock it off course. It swung again, but this time the Stifled Shadow blocked it with a kick. The tentacle flailed wildly in the air.
“What is this? Siddy, explain,” she muttered, sounding quite bewildered.
“It looks like a Troglodyte, a Sapien species that lives deep underground. But why is it out here?”
It seemed Grieving Souls weren’t the cause of this mess, but knowing that didn’t do anything to improve the situation. The giant, the Troglodyte, that is, stopped attacking and looked around, almost as though it were sizing up its prey. But even as it stood still, the thunderous footfalls didn’t stop.
“It’s not just one! Get ready, there’s more!” screamed a member of Barrel. They were panicking, a complete reversal from their earlier attitude.
***
It appeared without warning. The first person to notice it was a subordinate who was expectational even within Bandit Squad Barrel. They were patrolling from the skies while atop one of the chimeras obtained from a magic syndicate.
Even though they were a warrior who had a number of experiences under their belt and done much for Bandit Squad Barrel, they were still slow to react when faced with the unknown. Not that a faster reaction would have made much difference.
The next to notice it was the shinobis patrolling the ground. When they saw that strange sight, they immediately dashed off to report it to Geffroy. Just like with the patrols in the sky, their response to the situation made little difference.
Even the fast calculations of Kardon, sitting in the command tower, didn’t matter in the end. What was happening wasn’t part of some scheme. Unlike the planned movements made by Bandit Squad Barrel as they invaded Suls, this was a simple invasion.
“What are those things?” Kardon mumbled, his eyes bulging.
“Ryuuu!”
Gray humanoid monsters had appeared, a whole horde of them. A monster roughly the size of Geffroy made clear just how powerful it was as it lunged at a bandit. Its wriggling hair slammed into the ground, leaving cracks in its wake. The attack was powerful, but slow enough for a shinobi to easily dodge. There was just one issue: there were far too many of the monsters.
The bandits quickly found themselves surrounded by a swathe of gray fiends. They stared at Geffroy and his allies through golden eyes. It defied understanding. There was only one gate, the one near Barrel’s camp. Such a large number of monsters couldn’t have possibly slipped past the patrols in the sky.
“How are there so many?! Where’d they come from?”
“Ryu-ryu-ryuu!”
The fiends came in two varieties, the small, fast, humanlike ones, and the powerful ones the size of Geffroy. The main thing they had in common was their tentacle-like hair. Without delay, they set upon the bandits.
“Try and hit a few of them at once! Let’s go, boss!” Kardon shouted.
“Damn it. Just what are these?” Geffroy growled as he swung his battle-axe.
For a moment, they wondered if this was part of some plan by the Thousand Tricks, but the fiends seemed to be attacking indiscriminately. Their deep golden eyes were like those of an insect, devoid of emotion and only showing pure murderous intent. If the hostages had been present, the fiends most likely wouldn’t have hesitated to attack them as well.
Some of them seemed to be smart enough to discern that Geffroy was the leader. They charged at him, but he annihilated them with a swing of his axe. Bisected by the heavy swing, they collapsed and lay still. But the rest of the fiends weren’t deterred in the slightest.
Their thought process must have been entirely different from a human’s. More fiends charged at Geffroy, almost like they had no fear of death. The corpses piled up, meaning these weren’t phantoms. But that was a fact that provided little solace.
Besides their moving hair, the fiends all had two arms. They didn’t seem that dexterous, but they moved in ways unlike that of any human. Whether you dodged or parried, every single attack from the fiends was obnoxiously followed up by another attack the very next moment.
For Geffroy, they were no big deal. Even their stony flesh was no match for his axe, a Relic that enhanced its own impact. But his subordinates weren’t having such an easy time. They struggled to fend off a foe that fought with sheer might and numbers.
Even if the fiends found their bouldery skin pierced, they wouldn’t slow down if it was anything less than a major wound. Perhaps because they weren’t human, the poison on the bandits’ blades had no effect. If anything, the fiends became more ferocious when poisoned.
Geffroy blocked a strike from the hair of one fiend, and then another. He and his bandits were managing to hold out, but they were outnumbered heavily. Geffroy swung his axe and cut down a group of fiends, but it seemed like a drop in the bucket.
“Geffroy, we’re falling back! Gather as many of our squad as you can and retreat!”
“Urk. Damn it!”
They had come so close to success. They hadn’t made any mistakes. Just a bit further and they would have taken the head of the Thousand Tricks. As if trying to vent his anger, Geffroy drove his axe into the ground. The hefty blade dug deep into the dirt and sent projectiles in every direction.
“It’s time to retreat, boss! Remember, we can start over! Nobody’s stronger than Barrel!” Kardon shouted.
“Ah, I haven’t forgotten!” Geffroy shouted back.
His roars had shaken knights, hunters, and bodyguards, but it had no effect on the fiends.
“We’re retreating! Gather up whoever you can and fall back! Stick close to me, I’ll clear our path!” Geffroy yelled. His voice was sharp so as to help his subordinates keep their composure.
Bandit Squad Barrel had deep coffers. Weapons could be replaced, but well-trained subordinates weren’t so easily reacquired. The decision to regroup the scattered bandits was made not out of compassion but practicality.
But then, the fiends simultaneously stopped their attack. All of them froze, even the ones mid-attack, blocking an attack, and those about to perish by Geffroy’s axe.
“Wh-What are they doing?!”
All the fiends turned their gaze in a single direction. Their onslaught came to a halt and was replaced by an unnerving silence. There was a momentary lull and then the fiends all opened their mouths.
“Ryuuu!”
Unlike their earlier roaring, their voices were now melodic, almost as though they were singing. Stepping like dancers, they began to spin around like they were performing a ritual. They showed no hesitation in spite of the enemies right before them.
“Boss! Over there!” one of the shinobis cried.
Following their gaze, Geffroy found himself looking at one of the largest inns in Suls. Atop a tiled roof stood a fiend, a giant who was overwhelming even compared to its kin. But that wasn’t what caught the bandit’s attention. Geffroy squinted. Standing on the fiend’s head was a single human silhouette.
It had a human’s outline and was slimmer than the large fiends, but taller than the small ones. It wore a yukata similar to the ones Geffroy’s subordinates were wearing. Their skin was gray like the fiends, but they otherwise appeared human. Their hair was making a paltry attempt at wriggling about, but it was clearly much shorter and weaker than those of the gray creatures.
The person wore a crown on their head and looked benign and uncertain as they opened their mouth. The fiends had stopped and seemed to be awaiting whatever this person might have to say. Then the person screamed, their voice sounding quite like a human’s.
“Ryun-ryun-ryuu-ryu-ryu!”
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