alright here's my Christmas present to all my followers, reviewers and other readers, the first half to a custom arc where as a lot people wanted Audrey is doing her own thing. Beyond the merry christmas
Disclaimer: I don't Rotsh
It had taken a bit longer than Audrey would have liked but when Bluebell proposed using an alternate route rather than simply walking head first into cadia she couldn't exactly turn the idea down since taking the road all the way to the village would mean running head first into an enemy the two did not know the strength of which would likely be disastrous. With that in mind the two climbed up a mostly forested slope on the side of the road so they could use the trees as cover as to not be seen just in case anyone was nearby and so that when they arrived they'd have the element of surprise.
The task proved to be a bit tedious however when the tree line slowly began veering further away from the main raid little by little as the party got closer to their destination of the village known as Cadia and on top of that the edge of the slope gradually became steeper as time passed on until it was more akin to a small size hill. The good news was that it meant it was pretty easy to keep themselves concealed since the treeline was almost an entire 15 meters away from the road combined with how steep the slope had grown had made next to impossible to spot the two unless they made a lot of noise, the bad news was that it became increasingly difficult to keep track of the main road since it was no longer visible from where Audrey and Bluebell were and they were forced to use the edge of the slope to keep track of it.
By the time the two arrived it was well into the afternoon hours and the two went to the edge of the slope to see the village below. As fate would have it Cadia was in even worse shape than Lute after the wave as it was almost nothing that remained and what did only consisted of a smithy and two houses occupied by the bandits judging by the ones standing by the entry ways.
There were also a few bandits patrolling the streets or rummaging through the charred remains of the buildings that had been burnt down, likely looking for any coins or other valuables that may have survived. Audrey wanted to roll her eyes at the stupidity of their actions. If they were worried about valuables then they shouldn't have set everything ablaze and destroy anything of potential worth.
Not that it actually mattered Audrey priority was saving the surviving villagers being held be the bandits and speaking of which the bow hero's attention was soon caught by the sounding and wailing causing her to look in the direction it was coming from tk see one of the bandit's dragon a woman who a various bruises and marks on her towards the house forcefully. "Heh heh thought you could away could you?" The bandit asked with a smirk ever present on his face. The woman didn't respond and simply continued wailing and trying to pull away until the bandit in question struck her across the face with enough force to give her a bloody lip. "That got you to stop whining to now come on you owe me some fun later." The bandit said before dragging the woman into one of the houses.
Audrey was extremely disgusted at the sight of what she was seeing. First these men decided to raid and slaughter most of the villagers out of nothing more than a senes of greed and for sport and now they want to take prisoners to rape whenever they pleased. While Audrey had a rough idea of what to expect because of how bandits were generally depicted in fantasy and other types of stories, seeing their actions in real life was horrifying.
It took literally all of Audrey's effort not to fire on the bandits right then and there in a rage but somehow she managed it.
"I know that what these men are doing is sickening but we can't afford to be reckless."bluebell said even though for once even she was shaking with rage.
"Yeah….I know." Audrey admitted. These guys had to pay for what they had done to this place and what they were using the survivors for but the fact remained that the duo was more than little outnumbers possibly 15 to 1 though they weren't able to get the exact estimate since there were likely other bandits inside the remaining buildings, if they acted rashly and tried to jump head first they ve overwhelmed and killed at best at added to the bandits' prisoner collection at worse considering what would follow after it was all said and done.
The one avantage they did have was their levels. Every bandit present ranged from around level 11 to 17 which were all below the two would be saviors' but they'd still have to be careful with how they decided to handle the situation.
"Do you have any idea about how we should proceed with this endeavor?" Bluebell asked.
"If we can't take them all on at once then our best bet would be finding some way to divide and conquer them bit by bit."
"That sounds reasonable." Bluebell mused. "If we did that it would help shift the odds in our favor and make success on this mission a much more prominent possibility."
"Yeah but we still need to figure out a way to….."
Audrey was cut off by the sound of something growling. Both women turned around and saw a group of wolf type monsters behind them just emerging from the treeline and stalking toward them.
'Dammit we don't have time for this!' Audrey thought while taking time to assess the situation and seeing the information on the creatures via her HUD.
Dire wolf lv27
There were less than ten of them which was something to be appreciated since it could be as bad as with the bandits but the problem lied with the dire wolves levels which range from 25 to 27 which while still below that of Audrey's or Bluebell's the gap was a lot smaller.
There was no telling how long a fight with them could take but it could prove to be a bit dangerous to simply try fighting all the dire wolves head on.
Aiming forward Audrey quickly utilized her new thunder arrow skill which she obtained from the iron bow and fired a stream lightning at the group of wolves forcing them to scatter save for the took the full brunt of the attack and lost the majority of its hp but was still alive albeit really injured.
"Come on, we have to hurry and get back into the forest."
Blueball gave Audrey a looked that showed visible confusion. "Are you certain? These dire wolves like to use ambush tactics against their prey."
"Maybe but if we fight them off here we' ll run the high risk of getting the bandits attention and risk having to defend two sides." The bow hero replied before running off toward the forest with Bluebell following close behind. Regardless of whatever misgivings she may have had the sky blue haired sword user knew Audrey was right. It might hot have been appealing having to deal with the very real chance of multiple dire wolves blending into the trees and using them to ambush the two of them from all angles but Audrey was right they really did not want to be caught in between the dire wolves and the bandits so it was better to retreat into the tree line now before they caught the bandits' attention and that was assuming the use of Audrey's lightning type skill didn't already prompt some of them to investigate what was going on.
As both Audrey and Bluebell made their way into the forest the dire wolves were nowhere to be seen which both members of the bow hero's party noticed. "I take it that since they're out of sight those wolves are about to start trying to abush us?" The bow hero asked.
"Yes it's what they're known for."
"In that case…." Audrey went through the incantation for the only spell she could use but didn't cast it just yet instead observing the bushes nearby spotting an occasional rustle before one of the dire wolves decided to leap out from their side and in response Audrey casted her spell and a wall of dirt before slowing rising from the ground though it wasn't fast enough to stop the dire wolf dead in its track it did snag its hind paw causing the it to stumble and trip over its feet which in turn provided Audrey with an opening to take a shot for a vital point that of which being its head and killing it right on the spot.
'That's one of them down.' Audrey noted as she and Bluebell continued to run further into the forest. After around another minute another dire wolf decided to emerge from the bushes just a couple of meters behind them before giving chase, luckily Bluebell similarly to how Audrey had previously had done let a fast thunderbolt loose hitting the pursuing dire wolf head on and causing them to howl in pain before they stumbled and rolled over on the ground in agony.
After about another minute the two women finally came to a clearing within the forest. "Let's stop here. This'll be a good place to fight them off." Audrey announced before readying an arrow as one of the injured wolves came out of the tree line running at the duo blindly and shot it in its head.
"Right."
Drawing her rapier and shield Bluebell took a position in front of Audrey who had already summoned a small number of arrows to her hand. Two more dire wolves emerged from the tree line running after the duo only for Audrey to use all her arrows on one of them shooting the creature in various place weakening it and slowly it down considerably enough for her to aim a shot at a more vital point and ensure its downfall whilst Bluebell blocked a lunge from the other one with her shield before pushing it back and countering with a lunge attack of her own which sent the point of her Rapier into the dire wolves neck failing the monster right then and there.
The next one to emerge was the other wolf that had been injured before the pair had made it to the clear and began running at them wildly before Audrey ended it with a single arrow. Moments later another one emerged from the tree line attempting to rush Bluebell who had dropped her shield allowing her to use her freed hand to shoot a fast thunderbolt spell at the incoming monster electrocuting it to the point of seriously injuring it but not finishing outright.
The wolf continued running after Bluebell in spite of its state but its only reward was a point of the rapier going through its chest and heart the moment it got close enough for Bluebell to stab before she kicked its body off of her weapon and kicked her shield back up into her other hand.
"Any idea how many more wolves there are left?" Bluebell asked before Audrey used her scouting skill to find out.
"Three more and judging the look of it I think they're about to come at us simultaneously."
"We won't emerge from this unscathed if that happens."
"No need to worry, I have an idea to turn their joint effort against them; come over here."
Though she was somewhat confused she complied with what Audrey said and went over to her until they were next to one another while the latter aimed her weapon skyward as the remaining dire wolves emerged from the tree line and began running towards them with intent to kill and fill their bellies.
As they advanced on the party Bluebell began growing more and more nervous as Audrey simply continued pointing her bow skyward as the dire wolves continued closing the distance between themselves and the duo which began leaving Bluebell with no shortage of worry. "Um Audrey?"
"I have to time this just right in order to take them all out with my skill."
"What do you me-?!" Bluebell stopped mid sentence when she realized what Audrey was planning, it was somewhat risky and if it failed they would both have to fight their way out of a relatively tight spot but if it worked the fight would be ended that much quicker allowing the two of them to get back to their mission of saving the survivors and defeating the bandits.
Once the dire wolves were all with about a three meter range Audrey yelled the skill she intended to use. "Rain arrow.' The college student declared before firing an arrow into the which multiplied into numerous other arrows that rained down in the immediate area around the two woman whist the last of the dire wolves found themselves being stabbed in multiple place to the point the they slight looked slightly like something akin to a group of pin cushions upon the deaths.
"Well I have to say using your skill this way certainly is useful." Bluebell said.
"Yeah it's basically an offensive ability that also acts as a defense at the same by skewering any enemy that is too close to me for comfort. Still I have to wonder why did these wolves have to be here now of all times."
"They're likely tamed by the bandits and let loose into the forest to hunt down anyone who might be hiding in it."
"Are you sure? The wolves were on a higher level then the bandits so I'd imagine they'd have a hard time taming these things."
"I'm more than a little certain, these dire wolves aren't local to this region meaning they had to have been brought here and as for how the bandits tamed them when the wolves are stronger, they likely did with one of them at a time to minimize risks."
It made sense. If they focused on just one wolf the task of subduing and taming it was a lot more doable as opposed to going an entire pack since it'd likely result in the bandits' numbers being cut down if not their elimination. "That would explain it but I digress, we need to get back to the village fast, we wasted too much time here already."
"You should harvest materials from the wolves first." Bluebell said.
"We don't have time to skin and dissect one of them let alone all of them."
"True but at the very least you should take the opportunity to strengthen your bow with more forms, doing so will only require the absolute minimum of material and give us a further advantage which we could use since we're outnumbered."
Audrey wanted to protest but sighed in defeat when she realized Bluebell was right. Since the bandits had the advantage in quantity she and Bluebell needed to further their advantage in quality wherever they could to increase their chance of succeeding in their endeavor. "Point taken but you need to help me get this done ASAP."
"Of course." With that Bluebell went to help Audrey take the necessary materials to feed. The legendary bow.
Dire wolf fur bow unlocked
Stat bonus: Agi + 8 freeze resistance + 14
Equip bonus: none
Skills: none
Dire wolf leather bow unlocked
Stat bonus: Str + 6 Def + 3
Equip effect: none
Skills: none
Dire wolf meat bow unlocked
Stat bonus: Str + 14 Agi+ 16
Equip effect: none
Skills: none
Dire wolf claw bow unlocked
Stat bonus: Str + 15
Equip effect: Agi + 15
Skills: none
Dire wolf fang bow unlocked
Stat bonus str + 20 bleed resistance + 12
Equip effect: none
Skills: none
"Alright that should do it." Audrey mused.
"Did you get any new abilities?"
"Just a new bow variant that increases my natural speed while I have it equipped."
"Do you think it'll prove useful?"
"In a scenario where I need to use it but I'd like to have an attack power increase." Audrey replied before switching to her silver bow. "Still the new variant had welcome stat bonuses."
XXXXX
"So have any idea how we're going to go about this?" Blueball asked from her and Audrey's position behind the wall of the burnt down building thats' lower half still remained. The bow hero clicked her tongue in frustration at the sight before her and the sounds coming from one of the remaining houses.
Seeing the bodies of men, woman, and children laying in the streets and bandits making occasional commits about which victims they killed or which survivors they had planned to rape made it really hard for Audrey to keep a calm head, when she saw the scene from the top of the slope that was already disgusted not a high digree then but now that she and Bluebell were actually in the village they saw to bodies much more clearly.
Many had gashes or even sticking out of them and a high amount of them had horrified expressions glued into their dead eyes which showed the fear for their lives they must have had when they were at the mercy of the bandits. Though she had never killed another person it had occurred to her that she was going to have to eventually especially with people like Aultcray and Malty were trying to manipulate things from behind the scenes but now it was truly donning on her that she was really about to take the life of another person.
While the thought had no shortage of misgivings because of the nature of the situation Audrey didn't intend to let that stop her. These men only came here and pillaged this place simply because they saw the opportunity to do so and so they needed to answer for it.
Since they were outnumbered the only the only viable option the lowered the chances of lowering the risk of this mission being their end was to get the bandits to separate into smaller groups at the very least so she and Bluebell could use a divide and conquer but even with that in the question remained of just how to do it.
Much to the Bow hero's surprise a group of around five bandits were walking by having a convenient conversion.
"Hey where are the dire wolves?"
"Probably still in the forest nearby hunting for anyone stupid enough to come here."
"Yeah but don't you think they should have been back by now?"
"They're probably still hunting someone in the forest."
"Maybe, but it might be better to look into it and make sure." With that the worried member said before walking towards the slope earning a sigh from the other member he was just speaking with who in turn turned his attention to the other three. "Come on we better go with him so we're not held looking for him if he gets lost."
The other three groaned in annoyance but complied nonetheless. By some off chance the five bandits just so happened to be headed in Audrey and Bluebell's direction which was both good and bad at the same time. The positive is that by the time the bandits walked past the wall the two were using as cover and caught sight of them they'd be relatively separate from the rest of their group giving the pair a starting point to start chipping away at the numbers of bandit group as a whole, the negative aspect tied into the fact that the separation was only "relative" in terms of distance meaning that while Audrey and Bluebell would would be able to take them out they'd have to be quick about it since all the other enemies aside from the five coming their way would still be hearing range of the fight.
Audrey and Bluebell waited in anticipation as they readied the weapons and the five bandits came just past the wall nearly failing to notice them if notice from the person at the back of their group shot a quick glance in the pair's direction barely even managing to register that they were even there at all due to their surprise at seeing them.
Audrey quickly took aim at the bandit in question feeling as if her body was just acting on instinct and it felt as if everything had slowed down to the point she could even see the bandit's head turning back in the direction of the rest of the group likely to warn them however that chance never came as Audrey let her arrow loose and entered the side of their head ending the life right on the spot.
As their body hit the group the remaining four turned to see what had happened and spotted their member's corpse and the duo responsible for it.
"What the-...!?" Before the bandit could try and finish whatever they were intending to say Bluebell rushed them and stabbed them through the throat further shocking the remaining three, one of which tried to rush Bluebell only it Audrey to send an arrow directly into their heart.
"You bitches are gonna pay!" One of the other bandits roared out and charged Bluebell in a rage as she brought her shield up to defend herself all the while the other one went Audrey herself.
As the bandit closed on Audrey bringing down his weapon in an overhead swing she could help but notice the hate filled eyes they had and the irony and blatant hypocrisy about this entire situation. The men they were fighting we're willing to harm others with now regard of their lives and rape them with no regard to their physical or mental wellbeing but the moment they were the pnes being killed they wanted retribution. That was something neither Audrey nor Bluebell would allow them, they were the ones who needed to pay for what they had done.
Audrey simply jumped back dodging the attack aimed at her before she sent an arrow between her attackers eyes meanwhile Bluebell parried the attack aimed at her with a swipe of her shield leaving her opponent open for a counter attack which she wasted no time in utilizing via stabbing them in their heart.
"Da-damn you wenches, our brothers won't let this stand!"
"It doesn't matter, they'll be made to answer for what the atrocity they've committed just as you are." Bluebell replied as the life left her opponent's eyes.
While that happened Audrey sent an arrow into her opponent's chest just before he could attempt another attack who stopped dead in his tracks before Audrey summoned another arrow causing his eyes to widen in shock.
'This bitch can make arrows out of thin air? Just who the hell is she?!' He thought before his chest was penetrated by another arrow. As the last band of the splinter group fell to the ground Audrey was about to scrutinize the immediate area to see if anyone else he heard or saw the commotion before the voice of a new bandit yelled.
"You two got some audacity thinking you can take all of us on, hope you're ready to die after what you did to our brothers!"
The bow hero's party turned to the source of the voice and saw a group a little bit more numerous than the previous one all making a beeline for them for the road of the village. Audrey realized she needed to act fast before the enemy uster reached them. While odds were that she and Bluebell could take them on there was a good chance that one or both of them would sustain considerable injuries which wouldn't do them any favors especially since they'd still have at least twenty plus more opponents to deal with after this group which could already potential overwhelm and kill them if they weren't careful not to let themselves get swarmed of the bandits.
The question was what she could do. If she used her quick dash she could quickly get up the slope and get a headstart into the forest but that would leave Bluebell as a sitting duck which was something Audrey would die before ever considering, her rain Arrow skill might have been useful but it was still recharging, granted it was likely going to be finished in the next minute or two but Audrey didn't have that time, her thunder arrow skill had just about finished recharging but for all of its power it could only hit a single opponent, her chain arrow skill had the same which left her with one option she could utilize, it'd be a gamble since she didn't know how effective it would be or how many of the bandits it would take out but it was the only chance she had to give both her and Bluebell the headstart they needed to get away and find a better position to face the enemy from.
Aiming her bow she unleashed the only skill she had yet to ever use. "Poison mist." Upon yelling those words the now hero let another arrow loose at the closest bandit, rather than penetrate their chest like a normal arrow would have the projectile created from Audrey's skill burst into a thick purple smoke like substance that engulfed the entire group.
A few bandits immediately came out of the said smoke but rather then try to charge either woman they either grabbed their chest in pain or fell to their hands and knees and began coughing and choking to the point that it became apparent they were having a hard time breath and within the following moments streams of blood began leaking for their nostrils and soon after blood came from their mouth.
As the mist cleared up and dissipated the men who hadn't made it out immediately were mostly in the same condition if not worse all either coughing out or choking on their own blood until they died of either blood loss or suffocation. It was a rather gruesome sight to behold but all things considered it was a well deserved fate for the bandits all things considered.
"A-anyone...still...able to move…..(cough)...go warn the others...NOW!" the make shift leader of the splinter group said before he rose up shakily all the while another bandit at the back of the group managed to get back up and began heading back towards the village, at the same time a few more bandits who somehow remained amongst the living also got up and began advancing on the duo albeit somewhat slower and more sluggish than before.
Audrey grunted as the member who was retreating back into the villager left her life of sight. "Let's take these guys out quickly then retreat into the forest."
"Are you sure?" Bluebell inquired
"Yeah, the rest of the guys who raided this village are about to be alerted to the fact that we're here."
"With the Audrey sent arrows at the bandits who were the furthest from her and Bluebell to make sure they didn't have a chance to try and escape which was something the makeshift leader saw as a distraction on her end and an opening he could make use of in order to take her in one fell swoop. However he soon found out that fate had other plans when he was intercepted by Bluebell the moment he tried to make a beeline for the bow hero.
"Get out of my way!" He said bringing his weapon down only for Bluebell to parry the blow with rapier before following up with a thrust into the bandit's abdomen.
The bandit growled in a combination of pain and more so to the point of rage as he refused to be done in so easily and brought his weapon back around wanting to at least inflict a wound in bluebells side if not kill her only for his efforts to go unrewarded when Bluebell simply took a step back getting just out of his attack range and pulling the tip of her weapon out in the process.
The makeshift leader of the splinter group wasn't done just yet, acting on nothing more than adrenaline the bandit closed enough distance to get back within attack range and made another horizontal swing which Bluebell blocked with her shield before sticking the point of her rapier in the bandit's thigh.
"Da-dammit….I won't die a meaningless death here!"
Bluebell pulled her weapon out of her opponent's leg and took a few steps back. "Oh I think you will." With that Bluebell readied herself to make another thrusting attack aimed at one of the bandit's vital points but before she could one of the other surviving bandits tried to get the jump on her only for Audrey to finish them off with an arrow.
All the while the makeshift leader of the splinter group tried to utilize the distraction to take out Bluebell only for her to deflect his attack with a shield swipe before following up with a thrust to their abdomen causing the bandit to stumble backward before falling to their knees as a combination of the damage caused by the poison mist skill and blood loss from the wounds finally took their toll. "Damn you to hell!" With that the bandit fell to the ground while Audrey took out the last present survivor of her poison mist skill.
"Let's hurry and get into the forest I doubt will have long before the entirety of the remaining bandits occupying this place." Audrey said before heading up the slope with Bluebell following close behind.
XXXXX
The leader of the entire band of bandits glared at his subordinate as they finished informing him of the situation occurring before choking on their own blood to the point of death right in the middle of the village plaza.
"So what are we gonna do about these girls who are killing our guys?" Another member asked.
"After what they did they won't be getting the mercy of being sold or played with, all they deserve is death." The leader announced earning cheers from all his men.
He didn't too much care for the death of any of his men since they were a dime a dozen as far as he was concerned but the thought of just two mere woman managing to take out as many of his men as his dead subordinate claimed was something his pride wouldn't let stand, if he took this laying down he'd be the laughing stock of anyone and everyone.
Making the ones responsible for having the delusion that they challenge him and win wasn't just a desire, it was an obligation for the sake of making people know to fear him.
"Come on boys we're gonna hunt these bitches down!" The leader declared before turning to a subordinate wearing a leather helmet at his side and glaring at them.
"I let you hang back before since you were too much of a wuss to help us raid this village but you're gonna help out here, I bought you off the slave market for a reason.
The subordinate being singled out nust grunted and turned his head away not wanted to meet the bandit leader's gaze, unfortunately for them weather the liked it or not they didn't have the luxury of refusal, well of these two woman off him the moment they were found he'd likely at least have the comfort of knowing that the sick bastard behind this would be following him to the afterlife.
Though one regret was not being able to fulfill the one wish he had after being sold into slavery. Hopefully these women would take care of it or even one of the cardinal heroes after his life was extinguished.
Within minutes every remaining bandit save for a small few charged with making sure the prisoners didn't escape while the rest were away on their hunt to avenge their brothers were at the scene were the attack by the intruders initially took place confirming what had happened which only fueled their desire for retribution.
"Any idea where these wenches went?" One of the men asked.
"They headed to the forest, there's tracks heading in that direction." Another answered.
The bandit leader smiled. "They can run but they can't hide." With that he turned to address his men. "It looks like we'll be doing some hunting in the forest."
XXXXX
"Let's hurry and get in the trees, we'll have more of an advantage there since it'll keep the guys that are about to be after use from simply rushing us with sheer numbers." Audrey announced before leaping into a tree with Bluebell doing the same.
"Audrey I see your point but while being in the tree will give the bandits pause they will either climb up after us or seek to whatever tree we occupy down."
"Tree but I have a way to down both processes down considerably and on top of that give us time pick away at their numbers " Audrey said before she casted an earth wall spell creating a slab of earth in front of the tree they were in momentarily confusing Bluebell before she repeated the process once more than again and so on until she had made a total of six walls of dirt on all sides of the tree they were in forming a hexagon like Barrier around the tree.
Bluebell took a moment to inspect Audrey's handy work and placed a hand on her chin "I can see how this will delay their efforts but there are gaps between each wall."
"Yeah that was intentional."
"May I ask why?"
"If I left no openings not only are the bandits just going to use the walls for cover to keep us from attacking them but they'll focus all their effort into knocking at least one of them before they try to get to us. But this way they'll be occupied with trying to get through the gaps which provide us chances to pick them off bit by bit."
"I see."
"You should ready your thunderbolt spell."
"Of course." Honestly Bluebell was more than a little glad she had the new lighting elemental attack or the most she'd have been able to do was wait until the enemy climbed into the trees after them since she'd wouldn't have a long distance attack option otherwise, at least not on that didn't result in the entire forest being set ablaze.
It only took a few minute before the bandits were in sight and running through the forest, at the moment they appeared to running through the forest not having a fix on the pair's location at the moment but that was about to change as the bow hero summoned an arrow and sent into the eye of the closest enemy felling him on the spot and causing those nearby to come to an abrupt stop.
Realizing one of their own was dead the rest started looking around frantically eager to make Audrey and Bluebell pay in blood before the former decided to pick off another enemy further enraging the rest and giving away her and Bluebell's position top the tree branches.
"You're gonna pay for what you did to our brothers!" One yelled as they ran frantically towards the tree the duo were occupying before being forced to stop when they realized there were multiple walls of earth impending the way.
Bluebell took the chance to fire her spell electrocuting the closest bandit and killing him on the spot.
The rest of the bandits began running towards the tree where the Bow where and hero companion were currently located prompting Audrey to aim her bow skyward before firing. "Rain arrow."
Numerous arrows fell down on an area where the thickest cluster of bandits were currently gathered and within the following moments they found themselves being skewered to the point of sustaining serious injuries that hindered them visibly at best and killed them at worst.
"Wh-what the hell!" One of the bandits yelled out in shock when they saw the allies being taken out in rapid succession before the leader of the gang yelled out.
"Hurry up and kill them!"
The subordinates who who still alive and still in good enough condition to fight scrambled to obey whilst Bluebell extended her hand outward as one of the bandits got close to the walls and tried to forcefully squeeze in between the gaps before the bluenette realize a fast thunderbolt that quickly ended them on the spot whilst Audrey one shot another enemy that tree to use one of the other gaps.
Some of the bandits crouched behind the walls to use them as cover whilst others tried their hand at getting through the gaps and climbing up after the duo only to have their progress slowed when the tight space between the walls proved to take more effort to squeeze through then they could have anticipated leaving them upon to a fatal attack or for the few that did make it to the tree to be taken out by an arrow or thunderbolt before they could make it very far up before they were taken out by either an arrow or lightning spell.
As he watched his men have the numbers reduced bit by bit the leader of the bandits growled in anger before turning to his slave. "It's time you made yourself useful, now buy the rest of us time to escape, that's an order."
The slave crest began shocking the slave until pulled a one handed axe off their back and leaped up towards the branch the pair was occupying. Seeing this Audrey immediately took aim at them. "Chain arrow." After sending her skill induced shot towards the would be attack it manifested into numerous chains however much to the bow hero's surprise the axe user swung their weapon downwards cutting through the chains before the finally landed on the branch along with the duo and readied themselves to charge at Audrey before being intercepted by Bluebell who now had her weapons drawn and raised her shield to block a swung from the slave.
The moment the two armaments made contact with each other Bluebell felt a painful vibration shoot through her arm inciting an audible grunt. The slave then followed up with another swing of their weapon this time sending Bluebell skidding back a couple inches backward before Audrey tried to turn things around buy shooting the axe user in the head only for them to duck under the arrow with took off the leather helmet revealing a pair of Hyena like ears a top messy dirty tan colored hair leaving Audrey shocked before she recalled getting a glimpse of the chest giving off a faint purple glow when they first leapt into the tree she and Bluebell were on.
"You're a slave?"
The hyena demi human simply shrugged before replying. "It's just the way things are in this country." The slave was about to make another charge before Audrey shot another arrow at them prompted them to block it with the flat of their axe however Audrey had immediately fired another arrow towards their leg which the hyena demi didn't have time to react to since they were just preoccupied with her previous shot and as result the second arrow found its mark right in the demi human's thigh inciting a pained grunt from them before they fell to one knee.
They looked up expecting to see either Audrey firing one last arrow or Bluebell to charge at them with the intent of delivering the final blow but instead they saw the bow hero with another arrow ready and Bluebell standing protectively in front of her.
"You mine as well deal the finishing blow." The demi human said.
"I don't think there's a need to go that far in your case." Audrey replied.
"You didn't have a problem killing the other members of the band."
"That's because they deserved it after what they did to the people here in this village."
The demi human gave a shrug. "And what makes you think I'm any different."
"Considering you have a slave crest you're not acting of your own free will. Am I right?"
"I won't deny that I had no desire for any of the things done to the people living in Cadia and that I didn't even take part in the initial raid since my master didn't see the need to compel me to."
Hearing that second part of the demi,s explanation brought a smile to Audrey's face, while she wasn't actually sure of whether he had taken part in hurting the villagers or not she had hoped the answer was no even before getting the fortunate confirmation. Unfortunately what the demi had to say next took that said smile away.
"But even so I can't go against him as long as the crest remains and he's alive."
Audrey and Bluebell both tensed up expecting the hyena demi human slave to attack but to the combination of their surprise, relief, and frustration, they chose to leap back out of the tree and retreat with the rest of the bandits that had already left and went back to the village.
"What should we do?" Bluebell asked.
"The only thing we can, head back to the village to finish the rest of these guys off for good."
"What about that Hyena Demi human?"
"If possible I'd like us to get around killing him since he hasn't actually done anything wrong."
"We may have to fight him when we get back to Cadia though."
"Maybe, if that happens we'll just have to defeat him without ending him if at all possible."
"Right."
"Let's hurry and get back to the village. I don't want the bandits having the chance to run off with any villager if they decide to leave Cadia altogether."
XXXXX
It felt like it took forever but within mere minutes the bow hero and her companion both emerged from the forest and immediately went to the edge of the slope and saw all the remaining bandits gathering items and women from the village into the main plaza confirming what Audrey suspected they'd try to do.
They were planning on leaving Cadia with everyone and everything they could gather in toe. "We gotta hurry!" Audrey exclaimed before firing a small number of arrows in quick succession taking out a few more enemies and startling the rest before she activated her quick dash skill in order to cover more distance in the shortest amount of time. The maneuver might have been a bit reckless since it momentarily separated her from Bluebell leaving the bow hero on her own for a brief amount of time but she didn't want to give the bandits any chance to simply turn tail and run off with any of the women they gathered.
Audrey already when she and Bluebell rushed back to the village at top speed caution was going to need to be throne to the wind for the sake of taking action, the bandit's were now well aware of the two of them so there was no need to try and do things stealthily and with the all the hits to their number Audrey and Bluebell could afford to fight them head on now so long as the didn't let the guard down.
Within what might have actually been mere seconds thanks to her natural speed as the bow hero Audrey was at the edge of the plaza edge before she shot another bandit between their eyes.
The others all stared at Audrey but none seemed eager to move, taking a few moments to scrutinize them while they were caught in the stuper it became apparent they were now afraid, it made sense when one thought about it, over the course the entire confrontation both Audrey and Bluebell not only took put all of the dire wolves they had with them but managed to cut their number down by more than half of what it was originally, in fact the only ones left were grewing fewer at such an alarming rate that they were getting too close to the single digits as far as they themselves were concerned,
Aside from salvaging whatever prizes they could, their priorities shifted from revenge on the bow hero's party to survival but they weren't going to get any mercy after what they did to the people of Cadia.
One of the bandit finally worked up the courage to charge at Audrey who was about to dispatch of him with ease before Bluebell caught up and got in front of her intercepting the bandit and slashing the tip of her weapon through their through allowing them to bleed out. It was also around this time that the bandit leader emerged from one of the two remaining houses with a woman slung over his shoulder and the demi human slave following close behind.
As soon as the bandit leader saw the duo who had all but wiped out his gang and growled out in anger for turning to his slave. "Fight them off and this time don't stop until you're either dead or you've taken them out, the rest of us are going back to our hideout." The bandit leader then turned to his men, "leave the prisoners here and take the stuff we gather with us.
The rest of the bandits began complying with the order without question prompting Audrey to try taking the rest of them out before they could get away only for the slave to stop via picking up a knife from one of the fallen bandits and throwing at her forcing her to dodge it before making a beeline towards her only for Bluebell to step in their oath and lock weapons with him earning a look of disgust from the bow hero who glared in the direction of the bandit leader.
"Do you even realize how sick this is, forcing someone to fight like this?!"
The bandit leader smirked. "What's wrong with forcing him to fight? He's a lowly demi human, his kind's only purpose is to serve their rightful masters till the day they die, just like these villagers only purpose is to be used as our playthings to use whenever we feel the need for a good time."
Upon hearing such an outrageous reply Audrey saw the edges of her vision turn red as she felt a new sense of hatred for these men.
Bow of wrath II unlocked.
Stat boost: atk + 15
Equip effect: Atk + 45, Spd + 55 inflict stat down curse
Skill: brass bull
Had it not been for the demi human slave pushing Bluebell back and running towards Audrey to attack her she might have taken more time to register the new notification she had just received and maybe even used the new bow in question, but thanks to the slave's action Audrey was forced to snap out of her enraged state and focus on the task at hand of defeating the demi human opponent without killing him.
The task was likely going to be easier said than done. The hyena demi human was at a higher level than the bandits were at at level 26 to be precise and while it was still a few levels below Audrey and Bluebell she knew that didn't necessarily mean he was no threat, his attacks had enough power behind them to damage Bluebell even when she blocked them with her shield and he was still pretty agile even with the leg wound he had received during the previous skirmish.
As they closed in Audrey jumped back shooting two arrows in quick succession at his head and uninjured leg. Like before the demi human blocked the first arrow with the flat of his axe but this time he also swung it downward blocking the second arrow.
Audrey let out a breath grunt of annoyance at the realization that the same trick wasn't going to work twice, meanwhile Bluebell rushed at the Demi human who quickly turned toward her and traded blow with her with their weapons repeatedly clashing and making sparks in the process until the demi human got the upper hand forcing Bluebell to use her shield.
Once the demi human axe met her shield Bluebell managed to successfully block the incoming attack but stumbled back from the force of the impact which incited the slave to press to assault only for Audrey to fire a small number of arrows at the forcing him to abort his attack in favor of avoiding Audrey's. The Demi human than quickly looted a throwing type axe off of one of the bodies of the fallen bandits and hurled at the bow at full force before she retaliated with an arrow aimed at her opponent's arm which found its mark forcing the hyena demi human to withdrawal behind of the wall one of the burnt down buildings that was still standing long enough to yank the arrow.
Mere moments afterwards Bluebell had followed him behind the wall with Audrey not far behind. The latter shot another arrow at the slave forcing him to dodge it but Bluebell used the opportunity to go on the attack repeatedly thrusting her weapon at him further forcing him on the defensive as he had to either parry or dodge.
Things only spiraled further out of the Hyena demi human favor when Audrey start occasion firing off arrows at him while he was still occupied with holding off Bluebell's assault and as a result he found the occasional arrow being lodged in his side, back, or some other place on his body until he was forced to break the engagement with Bluebell by jumping back before he used his axe a bash a hole in the wall he had previously used as cover before running through it and began it incation.
"As the one who commands the great power I command you, decipher the laws of nature and protect me from harm." The slave held his hand outward. "Fast guard."
Once his body began to glow Audrey saw a notification in her HUD informing that he now had a defense buff in place. "So you had a spell like that this whole time?"
"My magic affinity is purely for support. I never really gave it much thought but a friend of mine insisted that I at least learn this spell saying that it might save my life in a bad situation.
Audrey didn't bother with any reply but rather she decided to fire a couple of shots at the demi human who deflected or dodged them whilst Bluebell closed in on them once more trading multiple blows with them. As this went on the bow hero tried utilizing any potential opening she could find against the demi human only for him to deflect her shots when he could or for them to simply bounce off of him whenever they hit.
To make matters worse the duo soon discovered that even Bluebell's attacks were no longer effective when she managed to bring the tip of her weapon across the demi human's chest only for her rapier to cut nothing more than the clothing before the demi human countered a kicking forcing Bluebell.
Audrey then decided to use her rain arrow skill peppering the slave with a swarm of arrows from above him but none of them penetrated his skin much to Audrey's frustration. While it made sense that the rain arrow skill had no effect since the arrows it created were the same as her normal shots a part of her still hoped for a better result.
"I'm sorry but this is over." The demi human said before running after the bow hero intent on taking her out in one blow. Audrey simply took aim at him with her bow.
With that buff in place Audrey's base level attack nor Bluebell's were going to cut it, even with the attack boost from her silver bow all her basic arrow did was bounce off of him which reduced her to one last option her could personally utilize, otherwise she'd either have to really on Bluebell's magic or wait for the bebuff to come off both of which would likely drag this fight on way too longer, actually that was guaranteed with the latter scenario.
This was risky as it might actually kill the slave but Audrey had to bring this fight to a close so she could find the bandits who had fled the village. As the hyena demi human turned slave came at her with his axe raised for an overhead swing Audrey simply chanted two words.
"Thunder arrow."
Audrey's arrow turned into a steam of lighting that flew toward the demi human who's eyes widened in surprise and panic as he brought on his axe up to block the projectile with the flat of his weapon only for the shot hit with enough force to not only knock the weapon from his hand but continue until it rammed right into his midsection with enough force to send him flying for a couple meters but electrocute him to the point of causing serious damage.
After taking the hit he tried to get back up only to find out that the skill Audrey used left him more than a little worse for wear as he struggled to even sit up.
"As the one who commands the great power I command you, electrocute my target." The demi human shot his head towards Bluebell in time to see her hand extended toward him but because of his current state there wasn't anything he could do.
"Fast thunderbolt." A stream of lightning flew from Bluebell's hand towards the Hyena Demi human striking him and doing damage that while not on par with Audrey's skill it was enough to finalize the pair's victory over the demi human as he felt himself lost consciousness.
After seeing that the slave was finally defeated Audrey checked his hp and saw it still had a few points meaning he was still alive. She turned to Bluebell. "Let's hurry and untie these people.
With a simple nod Bluebell helped Audrey free the girls taken prisoner which luckily only took a few minutes. Once it was done Audrey addressed.
"If there's anyone injured I have potions you can use."
Many of the prisoners simply stared at Audrey in apprehension with none of them wanting to give a reply before one of the older women finally took the initiative. "You needn't worry about any one of us, the bandit's never tried to hurt the way they did to those that are dead, that said we...we're not even remotely okay."
Audrey realized what she was getting at. "I'm sorry we couldn't get here sooner."
"You've done more for us than the knights have or even…" The woman trialed off once more not finishing the sentence this time confusing Audrey who decided not to press the subject.
"Do either of the houses have a bed to put him in." Audrey inquired, gesturing to the demi human earning a look of outrage from one of the girls who was previously silent.
"Why does it matter what happens to him? He was with the bandits and attacked our village and….."
Audrey sighed "He's a slave and from what I've heard he didn't take part in the attack or what followed with all of you."
The woman who initially spoke for everyone placed a hand on her chin. "That's true, back of the village was attacked he was never seen cutting down anyone and even when the bandits decided to use those of us left for their amusement he never took part.
'So he really isn't a bad person.' Audrey thought as the woman continued. "I can look after him for the time being but I must ask you to hurry and save Glenda.
"Was she the girl slung over the bandit leader's shoulder?"
"Yes, she unfortunately caught his eye more so than anyone else here."
"Any idea where they went?"
"They came down from the mountains to the west of here. That's the best place for them to retreat to since they likely have a hideout there."
"Thank you miss…"
"Ella." The woman answered Identifying herself.
"Alright Ella here's a few hp potions for the demi human and anyone who might need them."
"Thank you but please be sure to bring back Glenda.
XXXXX
"Arrggg DAMMIT DAMMIT DAMMIT!" the bandit leader roared from the back room of a hideout built within the cave of a mountain which the gang used as a hideout.
The bandit leader began throwing various items around the room in a rage. "How the hell did I lose nearly all my men two just two measly girls?"
He began pacing around the room before the bandit leader punched the wall during more damage to his hand than the wall. "I had women and loot within my grasp and it's all ripped away in just one day."
Was this some kind of joke, just the previous day the bandit leader was at the top of his game and finally especially when news reached his ears about what Cadia's local town guards were wiped out a little of a week ago making the settling ripe for the pillaging and now this happens. How the hell was he supposed to accept this humiliation?
The bandit leader then turned his attention to the one prize he had kept even when he and the others were forced to retreat. The girl he had brought with him tied and gagged sat against a wall staring at the leader of the men who were responsible for killing a friend and family in fear and disgust as he smiled at her like a predator. " I can at least work off my frustration with your help."
"That might be an understandable gesture but you are going to die here." A new voice announced in a monotone fashion that lacked any emotion causing the bandit to turn and see and figure that on their figure concealed by a thick clock and their face mostly concealed by two pieces of cloth going over their head and face leaving only their eyes visible.
"How did you get in here? My men should have dealt with you the moment you were stupid enough to show your face here."
"They've already been dealt with, I made sure that not a single one of them was left alive."
All color left the bandit's leader's face before he ran out of the entrance of the room hoping to any god that would heed his prayers that what he was just informed of was a lie, it just had to be a lie, the men that followed the bandit back to the cave were all he had left.
He had already lost all the dire wolves he had, most of his men back at the village, if the remainder of the gang was wiped out he'd be done for.
Once he opened the door to the rest of the cave the sight he was beheld with was the final nail in the coffin, every last remaining underling was lying dead on the cave floor with blood leaking from the slits in their throats.
"Now that you've had a chance to see the bodies of your men it's time for you to atone with your life in the name of god."
No this couldn't be happening, there had to be something there had to be something he could do, the leader refused to accept that he was going to die here. Scrutinizing the bodies of his men he only further confirmed what he didn't want to believe when he saw that every hp bar was drained. If he just had one subordinate to use as fodder he could escape, someone or anyone hell even that slave would...wait what about his slave?
Looking at his HUD he saw that their hp was mostly empty and being refilled, filling him up with hope that if his slave could just arrive at the hideout in time then he'd….
Before his thoughts could go any further he suddenly felt a sharp pain in his neck before he found himself choking on his own blood mere moments before he fell to the fell with the figure standing right behind him who turned towards the terrified girl still tied up at the back of the room.
"You won't die yet, I still need to punish the false bow hero in the name of god." The figure announced.
And that is the end of the first half of this first custom arc so I hope it was entertaining enough for you.
I'll be working on the second half as soon as I can but I can't make any promises about its release date.