Outskirts of the Demon Beast Mountain Range.
“Creak~”
“Creak~”
One carriage after another rolled slowly along a narrow path, each loaded with heavy cargo.
Every carriage had its own driver and guards to protect the cargo.
At the center of the convoy was an especially luxurious carriage.
Its escort was stronger than the usual guard detail. It had eight regular guards alone:
two Intermediate Mages and six Intermediate Swordmasters.
Besides the regular guards, there was also a captain whose strength had reached the Advanced Swordmaster level.
On the Deep Azure Continent, anyone who reached the Advanced Swordmaster level could already be called a quasi-expert.
And yet, at that moment, the guard captain was respectfully asking for instructions from the person inside the luxurious carriage.
“Young Lady, this path feels awfully sinister. Could there be danger? Maybe we should take another route?”
“No.”
A lovely yet stern voice came from inside the carriage.
“We’ve already lost quite a bit of time on the road. Delivering goods to our customers on time is one of the most basic principles of the Mitchell Chamber of Commerce, the greatest chamber of commerce on the continent.”
“Besides, even if there is danger, you’re here, Uncle Brewster—the esteemed Level Five Advanced Swordmaster.”
“No, no, no. You flatter me, Young Lady. I’m getting on in years, and I’m still only an Advanced Swordmaster.”
Hearing the Young Lady’s words of trust, Brewster smiled and waved his hand.
“You’re so young, Young Lady, and already a Level Five Advanced Mage. You have a limitless future ahead of you. By the time you’re my age, you’ll probably be a Magister—or even an Archmage. I can’t compare, not at all.”
“All right, enough chatting. Uncle, let’s pick up the pace.”
“As you command, Young Lady.” Brewster said, thumping his chest.
But just then, everything changed.
“Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh~”
Dozens of flaming arrows suddenly shot out of the woods on either side of the road.
Every arrow contained tremendous energy.
“Boom~”
“Boom~”
“Boom~”
The flaming arrows struck the ground, setting off explosion after explosion.
Dust flew everywhere, and one small crater after another appeared in the earth.
“Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh~”
A rush of wind.
Dozens more arrows, carrying the power of wind, shot toward the carriages.
The sound of arrows piercing their targets rang out alongside screams.
The horses and drivers were struck by the arrows. The scene was horrific.
“Intermediate Magic: Wind Wall!”
Though the guards had been taken by surprise, none of them looked panicked.
The Intermediate Mages quickly raised their staffs and cast their spells.
Walls of wind instantly sprang up around the convoy to block the incoming arrows.
“Bang, bang, bang~”
Both the fire arrows and the wind arrows exploded against the wind walls.
They seemed to be evenly matched, neither giving way to the other.
The wind walls nullified the arrows one by one.
“Not bad~ You’ve got some skill.”
At the praise, more than a hundred people suddenly surged out of the woods on both sides, forming a semicircle around the convoy from the front.
“By the way, which dumbass was firing those flaming arrows just now? Was it you, or you?”
The speaker was a burly man with a square face. His unkempt long hair was tied back, and his beard had grown so long it hid his neck.
He seemed to be the leader of the group.
At that moment, he was pointing at his men and berating them.
“That’s our supplies you idiots are about to get your hands on! You morons shot fire magic at the cargo. What are we supposed to use or eat if you burn it all? Did your brains get eaten by a dog?”
“Yes, yes, the boss is right to reprimand us. I apologize on behalf of the others.”
A short man holding a staff stood beside the burly man. He had a mouthful of little yellow teeth, and hurriedly apologized.
“But, Boss, look. They’ve got Intermediate Mages on their side too. Our men’s magic isn’t doing much.”
Little Yellow Teeth pointed at the convoy.
“Tch. They’re only Intermediate Mages. They’re no big deal to you and Third Brother, are they?”
The burly man said dismissively.
“Heh heh, Boss, don’t give the game away.”
Then Little Yellow Teeth shouted toward the rear.
“Third Brother, get out here! Time to work!”
“Shing~”
A greatsword shot out from the crowd and streaked toward the center of the convoy.
......
“Brothers, how is everyone? Are you all right?”
Inside the convoy, surrounded by a Wind Barrier, Brewster checked on his men with concern.
As an Advanced Swordmaster, he could have cut down those arrows with a casual swing, even though they had come so suddenly. They hadn’t affected him at all. And, of course, his Young Lady was even less likely to be harmed.
But the others might not have been so lucky.
“We’re fine, Captain. Everyone just got a few minor injuries.”
“I’m fine over here too.”
His men answered one after another.
“Good. As long as you’re all right.”
Brewster tightened his grip on his sword and looked ahead.
He had no idea who these bandits were or how strong they were. If they were only Intermediate Mages or Intermediate Swordmasters, they wouldn’t be a problem.
As he was thinking this—
“Shing~”
A sudden whistle of something cutting through the air came from ahead.
A dark blur shot toward them at high speed.
“Crash~”
The wind walls shattered one after another. They couldn’t slow the blur down in the slightest.
“Captain, th-that’s at least the strength of a Level Five expert!”
Someone called back from behind.
A Level Five expert? That put them on the same level as him.
“Aaaaaah!”
There was no time to think. Gripping his greatsword with both hands, Brewster roared and charged to meet it.
“Boom~”
The two clashed. The dark blur was knocked flying, while Brewster staggered back a single step.
The blur was a greatsword. It flew back into the hands of its owner, a hulking man two meters tall.
He hadn’t expected the other side to have an Advanced Swordmaster too.
Brewster frowned slightly.
Right after that—
“Advanced Magic: Flame Spear!”
“What?!”
A gigantic, ten-meter-long spear of flame appeared out of nowhere in front of the convoy, its tip aimed at them as it shot forward.
The other side had a Level Five Advanced Mage who specialized in fire magic as well.
But—
“Advanced Magic: Wind Barrier!”
That lovely voice rang out from the carriage once more.
A massive rectangular barrier made of wind appeared in front of the convoy.
It was countless times thicker than the Wind Walls from before.
Everything in the flame spear’s path turned to ash.
“Boom~”
The flame spear slammed into the barrier.
But no matter how powerful it was, the flame spear couldn’t advance even an inch.
“Hahahaha! How interesting. A little convoy like this has two Level Five experts!”
The burly man in the distance clapped his hands and laughed.
“But I’m taking those supplies. No one can stop me!”
Suddenly, he vanished from where he stood.
“When did he—”
Brewster’s pupils contracted sharply.
The burly man was already right in front of him, and Brewster hadn’t even noticed him approach. This level of strength...”
“Gah!”
Brewster was kicked flying. The blow crushed into his abdomen, and he spat out a mouthful of blood before crashing hard to the ground.
He tried to get back up, but couldn’t.
The only ones who could overpower him, an Advanced Swordmaster, so completely were Sword Kings who had crossed the threshold into the realm of true experts.
“Uncle!”
A panicked voice came from inside the carriage.
“They say the gap between a Sword King and an Advanced Swordmaster is a watershed. Now I see they’re right. This speed, this strength—I just love the feeling of crushing someone completely.”
The burly man muttered to himself.
“Oh, that voice. Sounds like there’s a pretty little girl in this carriage.”
“But don’t even think about casting a spell. I can overpower your uncle, which makes me a Sword King in your eyes. The moment you try to cast, I can be there and kill you in an instant...”
“You...”
“Heh heh heh, Boss, come on. Just leave the girl to me...”
Little Yellow Teeth, the second-in-command, had somehow sidled up to them.
“Fine, fine. Just don’t damage the supplies. Do whatever you want with the rest.”
“Heh heh, thank you, Boss! Thank you!”
Little Yellow Teeth hurriedly bowed in thanks, then shouted toward the rear.
“Men, hurry up and grab the supplies!”
At their leader’s order, the bandits surged forward.
Some of the guards beside the convoy tried to put up a fight.
But they met a gruesome end.
They were either cut down by the other side’s burly man with his greatsword, or pinned to the ground by Little Yellow Teeth’s Flame Spears.
It was all over. The bandits began opening the cargo, one load after another.
Beside the luxurious carriage.
“Heh heh heh. You lot, carefully bring the Young Lady out.”
Little Yellow Teeth rubbed his hands excitedly as he ordered his men.
“Yes, Second-in-Command.”
With that, several burly men rushed into the carriage.
A short while later, they dragged a young woman out.
She had long, light-blue wavy hair, blue eyes, a lovely face, and a quiet air about her.
“Stop! Let go of me!”
The young woman was held by all four limbs. She fought with all her strength, but could only twist helplessly, unable to break free.
“Ah!”
Unable to wait any longer, Little Yellow Teeth knocked the young woman to the ground.
“Heh heh heh, what a pretty girl. This was worth it.”
Little Yellow Teeth grinned lecherously and licked his lips.
“Why are you still standing there? Get out of here!”
Little Yellow Teeth urged his men along.
“Yes, yes, Second-in-Command. Enjoy yourself. We’ll be going, we’ll be going.”
The burly men promptly disappeared without a trace.
“Heh heh heh, beautiful girl. Now it’s just the two of us.”
Little Yellow Teeth leered.
“You won’t get away with this.”
The young woman glared at Little Yellow Teeth, ready to bite through her tongue and kill herself at any moment.
“Rustle~”
“Rustle~”
Just as Little Yellow Teeth was about to roughly tear the young woman’s clothes off—
The leaves on a nearby tree suddenly began to tremble.
“Who’s there?!”
The challenge burst from his lips.
“Crack~”
“Crack~”
Someone was snapping branches underfoot, one after another.
“Kitty, I’m so hungry...”
“And I think I can smell food.”
A black-haired boy emerged from the shadows of the woods, looking famished. His clothes were in tatters, and he wore animal hide, with leaves covering his private parts.
“Master, you must be so hungry you’re hallucinating, meow~”
“You don’t eat raw meat, Master. We’ve been wandering around this mountain range for almost twenty days, and aside from Demon Beasts, we haven’t seen a trace of anyone living here, meow.”
Following behind the boy was a tiny, incredibly cute little beast.
“Who says there’s no one? Look... huh?”
“...Huh?”
“Ah?”
The boy’s gaze suddenly fell on the two people in front of him, their bodies pressed tightly together.
“Um, sorry. I think I interrupted you. My bad, my bad. I’ll leave right away. You two, take your time. No rush...”
The boy awkwardly scratched his cheek, then immediately turned around to leave.
He moved incredibly quickly.
