First I want to apologize for the wait, granted it wasn't nearly as long as the few last chapters I got out but I meant to get it out sooner than this but my health hasn't been at its peak lately due to one of my sinuses decides to swell up on the inside so much it began hurting my eye and that made all but impossible to even read any fics let alone write one.
Disclaimer: I don't own Rotsh
"Is there really a hideout around here?" Audrey asked whilst looking around the general area of the mountain she was directed to by Ella.
"Yes, it's likely a cave going inside of the mountain rather than any actual structure."
Audrey clicked her tongue. "While that narrows down what kind of place we are supposed to be looking for, that still begs the question if it's at the base of the mountain or further up, are we even sure which side it's on?"
"It would have to be this side, otherwise we would have seen some glimpse of the remaining bandits either trekking around it or climbing over it."
"Fair enough." Audrey mused realizing that Bluebell was right. They may have lost the better part of their numbers their group was still too big to conceal if they were hastily retreating.
"Since we're not seeing them climb the mountain, does that also mean that the cave has to be at a lower part of this mountain?"
"Yes."
Alright, all that information narrowed down the search which was something the duo would need less the search potentially take hours at best and days at worse which meant the bandit leader would have time to use the girl named Glenda for his personal pleasure which was something both Audrey and Bluebell really wanted her to be spared of since she along with everyone else already been put through enough when Cadia was initially raided and pillaged.
Still a bit of searching would have to be done on account of the fact that neither of the pair didn't know the hideout's exact location, only the general area of the mountain on which it had to be on.
Another factor was that they had to make sure they didn't head in the wrong direction less they wanted to drag out the search when they were eventually forced to turn around. Audrey tried using her scouting skill and much to her relief she managed to detect on lifeform just a bit away, though at the same time she was a bit put off by the fact that it was only one person. A part of her wondered if the rest of the remaining bandits were simply inside the cave at least that was her best guess at the moment.
"I think I just got an idea of where the cave is."
Bluebell gave the bow hero a curious look. "Are you certain?"
"More or less, I used my scouting skill and was able to detect someone still outside the cave entrance."
"Were they heading in the direction of the hideout or maybe from it?"
"No rather than they were probably standing guard at the entrance, from what I could tell they were alone and were moving from their spot."
"Okay."
With that brief exchange the duo were headed in the direction that Audrey had found the lone person via the use of her scouting skill before they found themselves getting close and decided to hide behind a large boulder that was a bit higher up the mountain than the cave as not to be seen. When the duo decided to scrutinize the area.
To Audrey's surprise whomever was standing at the entrance before was gone. Shaking off her initial surprise Audrey shot a quick glance around the area but still finding no sign of any lookout.
'Where did the person from just minutes ago head off to, did they head back inside?' That thought made Audrey fear for the last survivor's safety but she heard no screams or any other sounds coming from the cave, in fact it was eerily quiet to the point that something about the noise made Audrey feel a bit uneasy.
Could the cave be really deep? Maybe but somehow Audrey doubted it was big enough that it had the complicity to conceal even the loudest noise. So maybe the remaining bandits were lying in wait? No, they didn't come off as the sort to think that far ahead plus by the end of their first encounter with Audrey's party they were more afraid of the pair than anything meaning they'd more than likely want to avoid any confrontation that risked their own lives.
Before Audrey could think of any more scenarios for the odd sense of silence she noticed a thin stream of blood coming for the entrance and slowing making its way down the base filling her with a sense of dread for the prisoner the bandits still had with them. 'Don't tell me!' Audrey thought before turning to her companion.
"Come on we have to hurry or the last girl the bandits still have could wind up dead."
"Right." With that the two quickly made their way into the cave entrance with their weapons at the ready half expecting to see numerous bandits waiting to ambush them or at least be standing guard but rather what they were beheld with left them with more confusion than ever before.
The remaining bandits were indeed all present from the looks of it however rather than being ready for a fight or harming the last villager they had with them they were all dead with blood coming from slits in each of their throats. "Who did this?" Bluebell asked
"I wish I knew." Audrey admitted as the two walked further spotting more bodies with no sign of anyone being among the living, by some off chance the bow hero glanced in the direction of a body that was more recognizable comparable to the others since they were the only person aside from the demi human slave that stood out from the group responsible for the destruction of Cadia which was none other the leader of the bandits.
A look that likely could be described as a mixture of fear and denial appeared to be etched into his lifeless eyes which gave Audrey the feeling that he didn't meet with the type of end he wanted. Served the fucker right after what he had done to the villagers, Audrey held no sympathy for him in the face of what he had done. That aside however she still wondered just who was responsible, she didn't see anyone around, could they have been the one standing just outside before Audrey and Bluebell came upon the cave entrance?
The bow hero's thoughts were interrupted when she suddenly heard a muffled scream coming from deeper in the cave. Both her and Bluebell spotted an entryway into a room with the door hanging slightly open. Without a moment to waste the party hurried into the said room finding broken items scattered about leaving them wondering if a fight had taken place inside.
Their question was soon forgotten when they both spotted the source of the muffled screams which turned out to be none other than the very individual they were both looking for tied and gagged against the cave wall.
Audrey immediately pulled her hunting knife from her item inventory to cut off the girl's gag while Bluebell worked on cutting off the ropes binding her hand. "Are you Glenda from the village of Cadia?" The bow hero inquired.
Instead of receiving an answer to her question Audrey received a very different reply. "The person who slaughtered all the bandits is still here!"
"What?" Audrey asked, baffled by that statement. How could whoever had taken out all the bandits still be there? Back when Audrey and Bluebell came into the cave every single one of them were dead with the only person still alive being whoever was at the entrance the last time Aidrey used her scouting skill and that person seemed to be long gone.
"They're going to kill us!" Glenda exclaimed putting Audrey on alert. Though she was not the least bit sure of how that could possibly be the case or even why but the bow hero wasn't just going to blindly rule that idea out when this girl had just told her of it.
That begged the question if this person was truly intending to kill her then leaving without a trace didn't make sense but the fact remained there was no sign of them outside the cave and the only hiding spot out there was the boulder Audrey and bluebell were using meaning they would have no way to conceal themselves at all meaning the only place they could have been hiding was…..somewhere inside the cave which brought up the questions of where.
Like with the outside there were no real places one could conceal themselves inside, the closest one could get was hiding underneath a table and that would only work if someone was completely unobservant. Whatever the case if the person was truly still around Audrey would find them with her scouting skill.
Activating it the entire inside of the cave was scanned before Audrey found herself stunned when she found out the unknown person was indeed very much inside the cave and hiding in plain sight, in fact it was via using the one factor of the cave that would make one overlook them even if someone was searching for them.
The bodies, they were pretending to be amongst the dead, that's why Audrey wasn't able to find them before however it no longer mattered as upon being discovered the unknown wasted no springing into question at speeds that were really alarming even for Audrey.
Before the bow hero could even attempt to warn Blueblue, take aim at the assailant or any action that might have given her and her companion the upper hand in this situation the person had practically zipped from the spot they were previously laying to just in from of the bow hero with a dagger in hand ready to dispose of the bow hero right on the spot.
However to both of their surprises Bluebell by some miracle had managed to move in front of Audrey and block the attackers blow with her shield before performing a horizontal swing with her rapier forcing the figure back.
"Th-thank's Bluebell, you really saved me just now."
"Of course, it's my duty to support you."
"How were you prepared to react so fast?"
"Even though Glenda was talking to you I was listening and had my guard up just in case we were attacked."
Looking at the figure now it was apparent that they wanted the identity kept secret, their attire covered their entire body leaving only their hands and eyes visible.
Taking aim Audrey fired an arrow which the figure easily deflected before coming in for another attack which Bluebell intercepted before the two were trading blows parrying and clashing weapons repeatedly until Audrey decided to support Bluebell firing at the figure once more forcing them to retreat back outside the entryway of the room and into the main cave which the duo followed them into before Bluebell spoke up. "Why are you seeking to take lady Audrey's life?"
"The false bow hero must be struck down now that she has betrayed humanity!" With that the figure dashed right past Bluebell and went straight for Audrey who used her quick dash to avoid the attack before attempting a counter attack that the figure easily deflected before being forced to parry a thrust from Bluebell's rapiar and trying to follow up with a fatal counter which Bluebell barely managed to block with her shield.
The figure would have pressed their advantage but a small number of arrows shot in quick succession forced them to dodge them all giving Bluebell time to regain her bearings and attempt a new series of thrust and swings forcing the figure further back towards the entrance of the cave itself before Audrey decided to go even further on the offensive carefully taking aim as to not hit her companion by accident.
Once the two separated from their engagement Audrey fired at the figure. "Thunder arrow."
Once they saw the stream of lighting heading towards them the figure realized that the only choice they had if they wanted to avoid taking the full brunt of the attack was to retreat outside the cave. Both Audrey and Bluebell followed the figure outside where they were forced to think fast and dash to the side to avoid being skewered by throwing numerous knives that had been sent at them.
The figure pulled more throwing knives from the sleeves of their cloak and repeatedly threw them one after another at the pair forcing them to keep running out of their path before Audrey returned the favor with an arrow forcing the enemy to dodge it providing the bow with a window to begin the incantation for her only magic spell.
The figure took notice of this and threw another knife at Audrey in hopes of stopping the incantation but Bluebell stepped in front of the bow hero blocking the projectile with her shield prompting the figure to pull out multiple knives and throw them all simultaneously.
Luckily Audrey had finished the chant and casted the earth wall spell causing a slab of land to rise up from the rest of the ground and form a makeshift wall blocking all the knives. "Are you really the one who killed the bandits?" Audrey suddenly asked.
"That much should be obvious at this point." The figure replied as they began circling around the wall the pair were using as cover only to be forced to an abrupt stop when Audrey peeked out from behind the wall to fire another arrow at them.
"Maybe so but why if you wanted to kill me?" Audrey inquired. She wasn't ungrateful by any means since it resolved the problem of getting rid of the gang for good but it didn't contribute to what the figure was currently trying to do.
"Like you they have shaken the people's belief in the gods we worship by attacking Cadia." With that the figure threw a knife at the bow hero forcing her to take cover behind the wall before they finished circling around and sent more knives at the duo who were forcing the retreat from their position. The cloaked figure decided to try pressing their advantage further and made a beeline for Audrey at high speeds that forced the bow hero to use her quick dash skill once more to create some distance.
The figure not wanting to let what they saw as a key opportunity to take out their main target here and now be lost tried to close in on Audrey once more only for the bow hero to utilize her rain hero abilities to create a downpour of arrows in the immediate area around herself forcing the figure to stop their pursuit before Bluebell tried to close in on them and run them through only for the figure to jump away.
The figure simply opted to wait until the downpour was down giving Audrey time to scrutinize them a bit more. Her HUD showed that the current enemy she was facing was at level 42 which was visibly above even Audrey's own level confirming what was already a given considering how the flow of the fight had been from the beginning up until this point.
Whoever was attacking her had a clear advantage in level and overall prowess and even Audrey's best field which was her speed and that was another factor that frustrated the bow hero, it was hard enough thanks to the enemies skill and strength but for the figure to have such an advantage in speed that Audrey had been forced a few times to resort to her quick dash skill just to keep from being fatally injured just made this entire ordeal practically suffocating.
If she could just close the gap when it came to speed then even that by itself would be a load off of her shoulders. But did she have any bow variants that actually boosted her speed?
Audrey's eyes widened 'Dammit who didn't I remember sooner?!' Switching from her silver bow to one of the newest variants she had obtained earlier. The dire wolf claw bow. As soon as the rain arrows stopped the figure wasted no time on trying to go in for the kill.
However unlike before Audrey was able to dash to this side and avoid the figure causing their eyes to widen ever so slightly before they hurled a throwing knife at her. Which the bow evaded to jump to the side before retaliating with her poison mist skill which created a thick purple cloud like smoke screen engulfing the figure and earning a yelp of surprise.
Unfortunately the figure decided to use the lack of visibility Audrey's skill created in the immediate area around them to their advantage and sent another knife that the bow hero could not immediately see coming which embedded itself in her left thigh causing her to let out a pained howl before falling to one knee but the enemy wasn't done there. While Bluebell was briefly distracted by the injury the bow had sustained the figure dashed out of the cloud and engaged Bluebell who was caught off guard but somehow still managed to raised her shield in time to block a fatal blow but since she wasn't fully prepared for the impact of the figure's dagger against her defensive armament Bluebell was pushed back just over a couple meters.
The figure then pulled out another throwing knife and sent it at the Blue haired adventurer forcing her to use her shield again all the while the figure dashed right by Bluebell rending a deep gash in her leg before following up with a kick to Bluebell's side that sent her to the ground.
With Bluebell now out of the way the figure immediately turned back towards Audrey and made a beeline for her ready to run their dagger through the bow hero's heart snuffing the life out her for good.
Audrey in response managed to stomach down the pain from the knife still lodged in her leg enough to focus back on the fight and send another arrow at the figure and deflected it with their dagger before they were all but upon the bow hero who in a last ditch effort to avoid certain death utilized her chain arrow skill.
Like with the normal arrow the figure tried to deflect it but the moment the blade of their dagger made contact with the arrow head the projectile instantly morphed into a small number of chains that wrapped themselves around the figure restraining them a great deal and causing them to roll down the hill. Much to Audrey's shock however while the figure wasn't able to break the chains before they were ensnared like the demi human slave had done before they managed to throw another knife at her which lodged itself into her right upper arm
As a result the figure was currently left unable to finish off Audrey due to their current constraints but likewise Audrey was left unable to take advantage of her opponent's current state thanks to her new injury causing too much pain to concentrate on summoning an arrow let alone firing it. As a result the figure struggled to break free from the chains holding them while Audrey was forced to pull out the knives stuck in her leg and arm starting with the former so she could stand up again.
The task of actually removing the knife proved to be a lot easier said than done, the moment Audrey used her good (on the uninjured arm) to grab the knife after she dropped her bow temporally and began pulling the pain in her leg only spiked to much higher degrees until the blade came out and Audrey threw it to the side.
With the knife out the pain at least dulled to some degree at least allowing the bow hero to stand and use her leg again albeit with a lot more effort since the pain was by no means gone and went to work on the knife in her arm. Like with the first knife the pain shot up intensely until it was out.
For a moment Audrey considered trying to hurl the second knife at her opponent until her hand was suddenly shocked forcing her to drop the weapon before she received a notification from her HUD about the weapon rule violation.
Figures that mechanic would stop her from using the knife and while the bow was her actual specialty a part of her couldn't help but want to return the favor to the person for stabbing her and hurting Bluebell. Well it couldn't be helped so she'd have used the means available to her in order to make her opponent pay.
Warping the legendary bow back into her hand she turned to face the figure who was standing up now that the time span of her skill ended causing the chains that were previously wrapped around them to dissipate.
Taking aim Audrey began repeatedly firing at the figure who dodged or deflected the arrows with their weapon before making a beeline after the bow hero.
'Dammit simply firing normal shots is useless.' Audrey thought whilst continuing her efforts. Unsurprisingly they were in vain as the figure drew ever closer until Audrey was forced to use her quick dash to regain some distance from them. It might have been a given that simply using basic attacks was never going to work but she wasn't sure what else she could do.
If she simply tried to use a stronger attack like thunder arrow her opponent would dodge it, if she tried to utilize poison mist the figure could dash out of the smoke before it could have any real effect or worse use the lack of visibility to launch a surprise attack like they had did before to catch Audrey off guard, even though she would now be far more alert of that she didn't want to risk a repeat of that scenario.
Maybe she could try using her rain arrow? No, something told that the figure would use their own speed to get out of whatever area the skill manifested before it had any effect essentially evading it all together. Her chain skill was still recharging and she wasn't entirely sure she could get her opponent with it again a second time, even when she managed it the first time the figure still managed to pull off an effective counter in a mere moment before they were restrained.
Her best chance was probably to use a more powerful attack when her opponent was unable to dodge but they begged the question of how she was supposed to achieve. That. The simplest might have been to wait until the figure got close enough that it was impossible for them to dodge but that would require her to shoot them at near point blank range which would leave herself open to a potentially fatal counter attack by her opponent that had a high chance of hitting it's mark.
The next best thing would be to hinder the figurer's movement but the best skill for that would be the chain arrow but again Audrey wasn't certain it would work a second time. then it hit her, if Audrey couldn't directly restrain the figure then maybe she could hinder what areas the move to making them more predictable then maybe, just maybe…..
During a quick incantation Audrey casted earth wall creating a new slab of land behind the figure causing a hint of confusion to show in their eyes. Audrey then unitilize her rain arrow ability and created a downpour of arrows in front of her opponent keeping them from going forward.
Before the figure could try to escape from their spot Audrey followed up with her poison mist skill creating a mass of purple colored smoke to the figure's left leaving them with only one route they could use to escape from the area they currently occupied. accordingly.
It only took a moment before the figure attempted to utilize that said path in order to resume their assault on the bow hero but Audrey was one step ahead of them and already had her bow aimed accordingly.
"Thunder arrow!"
A stream of lightning soared towards the figure who was still running to their left and was heading right in the attacker's path and since they couldn't stop or change their direction in time they were unable to dodge the attack. Deflecting it was also out of the question since its power was well beyond that of a basic arrow.
For the first time since the start of the battle the figure's showed genuine panic as the attack came ever closer to them. In a fit of desperation they attempted to jump in hopes of leaping over the incoming projectile but it prove to be pointless when they barely rose a single centimeter off the ground before the attack collided with their side and their entire body was painfully shocked as they were sent skidding across the ground.
Once the body came to a halt Audrey took a moment to glance at the figure's life bar and saw that only a few hit points were remaining meaning the figure was still alive but from the looks of their condition they weren't getting up from Audrey's last attack anytime soon. With that in mind the bow hero decided to turn her attention to Bluebell who was staring at her in a mixture of amazement and relief.
"For a moment I feared the worst was going to come to pass."
Audrey clicked her tongue. "If my plan hadn't worked as well as it did it more than likely would have. How are you feeling?"
"If not for my leg injury I'd say fine."
"Can you walk?"
"No, otherwise I would have done something to stop your attacker when it seemed you were in danger; I think their attack that cut into my thigh reached the bone."
"That would explain why you can't walk at the moment."
"I'm surprised you're still able to stand on top of still being able to use your weapon after the arm injury."
"Yeah well it's not nearly as easy as it looks, if anything it hurts like hell." Audrey replied before taking out two hp potions and tossing one to Bluebell.
"That should at least heal your leg enough for you to walk."
"Thank you." Bluebell said before she turned her gaze to the potion she was holding before the sound of grovel shifting caught her attention causing her to snap her gaze towards the sound which came from the direction of the figure who to Bluebell's shock was standing up.
'there's no way!' Bluebell thought to herself. Audrey's last attack had them on the verge of death but they were managing to stand on their feet.
Were they just acting on determination alone? No they couldn't be doing that, looking at the figure's hp bar Bluebell saw that almost had half of it was restored leaving the swordwielder wondering how that could have been possible, with their previous injury they shouldn't have been able to take any potion, at least not as quickly as they did. Bluebell glanced at their hp bar once more and then noticed that the figure's mp bar was drained nearly to the other side.
'So you used a healing spell to heal yourself.' Bluebell assessed. The figure had an affinity for healing magic which was already proving to be troublesome since it allowed them to continue the fight. The bright side was that since the said spell was up nearly all of their mp meaning they wouldn't be using it a second time but that wouldn't help the duo's situation if the figure managed to kill Audrey while both of them were still injured.
The figure threw a knife towards Bluebell which rather than hitting her anywhere shattered the hp potion she held before turning their attention to their primary target, at the same time blue haired sword wielder turned to the bow hero in worry who had luckily also taken notice of the figure and already had her bow aimed at them.
"Chain arrow."
It wasn't nearly as likely to work as it did the first time (barring the part where Audrey received a knife in her leg in the process) but the bow hero didn't have any other choice since all of her other skills were recharging from their previous use. Unsurprisingly and unfortunately the skill didn't work as the figure simply pivoted the attack and ran madly in Audrey direction.
The bow hero growled in frustration as the enemy came ever closer. She hadn't had the chance to take any hp potions so her leg (and arm) was still injured hindering her natural mobility meaning that even with the equip effect of the wolf claw bow she couldn't move fast enough to avoid the figure simply by running, as such she was forced to utilize her quickly dash skill to regain some distance whilst shooting one arrow after another in quick succession in hopes of taking out the figure or at least forcing to break off their pursuit.
Much to her shock however the figure displayed even more madness when they only deflected a small amount and let the rest hit them in various places on the body whilst they continued running after their intended target.
Seeing this Audrey was left wondering if the figure was simply blinded by rage or desperation to kill her, overall the average person could easily say that they had thrown any and all semblance of caution to the wind.
The figure simply continued after Audrey reclosing the gap that she had previously created between them moments ago with her quick dash skill. The bow hero became increasingly nervous as the figure came ever closer.
Soon they were only a mere five steps from her as she shot. That they deflected with their dagger.
Four steps
Audrey aim another arrow at heart only for the figure strafe their body just enough so the ended with a punctured lung but otherwise still alive
Three steps
The figure hurled a throwing knife at Audrey's neck which she narrowly avoided managing via leaning slightly to the side escaping certain death with only a graze in the side of her neck.
Two steps
The figure thrusted their dagger forward whilst in a fit of desperation Audrey raised her bow in hopes of blocking the incoming attack.
One step
Their weapons collided with one another causing both opponents to tumble to the ground with the figure on top of Audrey.
The figure immediately sat up on top of Audrey's waist essentially straddling her with their dagger raises in both hands before they attempted to bring it down intending to stab Audrey in the heart who in response managed to switch to her dog headed bow variant.
As the figure began bringing down their weapon one of the dog heads bit into their arm stopping their killing blow dead in its tracks whilst the other bit them in the side of their face invoking a scream of pain and rage from the figure.
When the dog heads retracted the one that had just bit into the figures face tore off the cloth covering their lower face revealing a masculine face the showed nothing but a mixture of blind rage and blood lust.
Audrey tried the summon another arrow but the figure used their arm to swat her bow out of her hands disarming whilst using their free other hand to try and stab Audrey straight through her eye however by some miracle she had managed to catch their arm in time when the point of their dagger was mere inches from her eye.
regrettably however it was literally taking all of Audrey's strength to hold their arm and by extension the dagger back and her arm injury and the situation only grew ever worse when the figure used their other hand to begin choking the bow hero while still trying to stab her.
'Da-dammit?!' Audrey was really trying not to panic but she didn't know what she could do to get out of this situation. Her bow was on the ground a distance away from her and even if that wasn't the case it would matter since she hand both hands full with keeping the figure's dagger from going through her eye and killing her. Having her airflow certainly did not help her predicament if anything it was only further assurance of her impending demise since if she didn't didn't die from a dagger shove through her eye she'd meet her end by suffocation, Bluebell couldn't help since her leg injury rendered her practically imobile.
The bow hero felt strength slowly drained from her arms but she still held the blade back out of sheer desperation, as more time passed her lunges began making their need for more oxygen more apparent and her vision began to darken.
Was she really going to die here, if that was truly what was going to come to pass then what about Bluebell, thinking about it now it didn't take more than a few more moments to realize that her friend would very likely be killed afterwards.
No, that was something she couldn't accept but she didn't know what else she could do as her version began to go pitch black and she was just mere moments from being forced to cease her struggle to stay alive.
Suddenly footsteps here heard rapidly approaching her direction before the figure leaped off of her, releasing her neck and allowing her to breathe once more relieving the strain on her lungs.
"You dare to interfere!?" Demanded the enraged voice of the figure while Audrey let put a few coughs in the process of regaining her bearing.
"This woman saved me from the torment of my previous owner, so I intend to repay that debt." A familiar voice said.
"You damn abomination, enslavement is all your kind deserve!"
As Audrey was getting through the last of her coughs brought on from being choked she briefly wondered who had just came for a moment before she remembered how they just mentioned being a slave, but it couldn't really be him, at least that what she told herself before she looked in his direction confirming who the newcomer was.
The one responsible for saving her from certain death was indeed none other than the Hyena demi human who was standing between her and the figure with his axe at the ready.
"Wh-why are you…"
"I'll explain my actions later, for now we need to deal with this church finatic."
"Ri-right." Was all Audrey was able to get out before she summoned her bow to her hand and pulled out the last hp potion. "Bluebell worry and take this." The bow hero said tossing the item to the sword user who wasted no time in wolfing down the contents a second after she caught it.
Slowly the bone began to mend itself along with the gash in her thing allowing the adventurer to stand up properly without being hindered, once mobile Bluebell wasted no time in going to the bow hero's side ready to protect her with her very life.
"Audrey you should worry and use another potion to heal yourself while you have the chance."
"Yeah well I'm gonna have to make using the item creation first."
Bluebell looked taken aback by that. "Don't you have anymore stored away in her bow?"
"The one I gave you was the last one."
Bluebell gave Audrey a brief look of disapproval before turning to the enemy they were faced with. "I see, please hurry and make another one while we both protect you."
With little more than a silent and swift nod Audrey began opening her HUD screen and proceeded to go to the item creation menu. All the while the figure stood up a bit clumsily and dashed after the group wanting to kill the bow hero by any means necessary however they were nearly as quick as they were previously which made it much easier for Bluebell to intercept him.
The figure began swing his dagger wildly at the sword user began like with the task of intercepting him it was now much easier since his reflexes dulling by quite a bit making his moves far more readable, it seemed that all the wounds inflicted on him by Audrey when the figure turned to complete reckless abandon had taken their toll, where it had previously helped him come close to achieving his goal it was now causing it to slip further from the figure's grasp which only fueled his rage and desperation.
Regardless Bluebell's defense was holding up solidly while she used her rapier for counter attacks where she could inflicting small wounds here and there wearing down the enemy's physical state that much more.
It wasn't until the Hyena demi human tried to cleave through their side that the figure was forced to back off in order to avoid a fatal blow by jumping backwards only for the demi human to give chase forcing the figure perform repeated back jumps until…..
"Earth wall."
….! The bow hero was casting another spell to create a new wall made out of the soil but the figure couldn't figure wear until his back collided with it stopping his evasive action and allowing the demi human to close in on him bringing their axe overhead.
The figure was forced to bring his up to block the blow resulting in a weapon lock with both opponents pushing against the other, the figure then used one of his hands to pull a new throwing knife to stab the demi human but action was stopped by Bluebell who had caught up with the two and knocked the second weapon from the figure's hand before following with a stab to their forearm stopping them from drawing anymore and also causing them to not only grunt in pain but also slacken their other arm allowing the demi human to win out in the deadlock bring their weapon down cleaving deep into the upper part of the figure's other arm rendering it unusable.
With both of their arms now useless the figure could only glare at the bow hero who was now healed thanks to the use of a synthesized potion and walked over to them.
"Now that our fight is over with I can't but wonder why the hell you went out of your way to get in the middle of everything and try to kill me."
"Because you shamed the very foundation of our beliefs."
"You've said that already but what could I have ever specifically done to offend you so much that you came out here just to end me?"
"You ally yourself with the devil of the shield! In doing so you've smeared this very kingdom's faith."
That was all? Seriously, this guy just went to extreme lengths to kill Audrey because she didn't buy into the crown BS about Naofumi?
"What about the bandits? While I'm glad to see that you mopped up the rest of them which saved glenda's life I doubt that had anything to do with why you did it."
"Those bandits have also shamed our beliefs, their actions have shaken the villager's faith in the three cardinal heroes?"
Did everything this guy didn't seriously tie into the kingdom's stupid religion? The figure snarled at her with pure hatred."I may have failed her but my kin will strike you down so that we can bring forth our true god."
Sighing Audrey nodded to Bluebell signalling her to deliver the finishing blow. Returning the nod Bluebell removed the point of her rapier from the figure's arm and pushed it through his heart snuffing out the last semblance of life within the unknown avissary.
Once Bluebell pulled out her weapon out of the figure's body fell face first to the ground. Audrey was about to turn towards the cave entrance before the person she was intending to rescue came out. "You really won." The villager said as they approached the group.
"Yeah, it's over, you're safe now."
"Wh-what about the others in Cadia?" Glenda inquired before the Hyena demi human answered.
"They're all safe."
Glenda became visibly nervous upon seeing the demi human opting to keep her distance until Audrey spoke.
"You don't need to worry. He's not going to hurt you."
"Bu-but he was with the men who…."
"Yeah but he was a slave, he was being forced to work for them."
Glenda stared at the demi human apprehensively for a few long moments before she made the decision to trust her rescuer. "Okay….th-thank you for saving me."
"Your welcome. Anyway let's all get back to Cadia." Audrey then turned to the Demi human.
"Thank you for helping us, I would have been done in for if it weren't for you."
The former slave chuckled. "I could practically say the same to you, you not only spared my life but also gave me back my freedom, so if anything I should be thanking you my lady."
The bow hero sweatdropped at the formality. "Your welcome but please just call by my name, Audrey."
"Very well Audrey, if it means anything my name is Baxley."
"Nice to meet you now that we're not enemies. Also just to be honest that guy we were fighting was the one who actually killed your former master."
"Likewise and on the other matter even if that person was the one who had done it, you were the one who was striving to free me and give me a second chance, I doubt that person you faced cared one bit about what came of my fate."
"Fair enough, just make sure you use that chance the right way."
"Believe me, I fully intend to."
Audrey smiled upon hearing that, it was pleasing to know that her choice to save Baxley from enslavement was proving to be the right one. "Good, anyway let's hurry up and head back the others are probably worried."
XXXXX
"Glenda!" Ella exclaimed before running over and taking the girl into a tight embrace. Once she saw the group return.
"It was all thanks to ms Audrey that I'm safe."
"Yes I know." Ella replied before turning to Audrey.
"Thank you, because of your efforts we're free from the grasp of the bandits that have taken our loved ones but there's one more problem we're faced with."
"The village's condition?"
"You catch on quick."
"Seeing that most of the buildings were burnt down the problem was more or less in plain sight."
"True, still the fact remains this settlement isn't livable anymore but I'm unsure of where we could go."
Many of the other villagers began looking downcasted until Audrey came up with a proposition to their problem. "You can all come with us to Lute for the time being."
The villagers looked more hopeful but Ella remained a bit apprehensive. "Perhaps but it likely won't provide a permanent home for ourselves."
"Maybe, but a new permanent home isn't going to fall into your laps overnight at the very least you'll have shelter for the time being."
"You make a fair enough point. Wait did you come here from Lute?"
"Yeah, it was one of your villagers that showed there that told me the generality of what happened."
Upon hearing this Ella went silent for a few moments before speaking. "So Saphera made it." She mused to no one in particular before replying more directly. "Did she tell you any details of….what happened here?"
"No she didn't, in fact she really didn't like me at all for some reason."
"I see."
"Do you know something as to why she showed me such hostility?"
"She had just lost her brother prior to going to Lute, she was likely caught up in her grief."
"Make sense. Anyway let's hurry and get back, the sun will be going in the next few hours and I'm sure it's preferable for us to be there before it comes time to retire for the night."
"Of course, I want to see Saphera as soon as we arrive."
It'll be the first place I take you I promise."
While all the rescued survivors of Cadia were beginning to head out of what little remained of their old home, new arrivals were spectating the scene from the top of the slope. All of them were wearing masks over their eyes and clothing that hid their gender.
From the looks of things the bow hero had successfully liberated the remainder of Cadia from the bandits and even dealt with the church fanatic who had tried to slay her.
It seems there was no need for their intervention in this matter since the bow hero had proved to be competent in battle, still the church would soon find out about what had happened and likely take more active action in the future.
Their master would need to be informed of this development.
XXXXX
Nearly two hours later after they had departed from Cadia Audrey and Bluebell arrived back at the village of Lute at the front of the survivors along with Baxley and Ella taking the villagers who were still outside by surprise.
"Bow hero we didn't expect you to return for at least another day." One of the villagers said.
"Yeah I managed to rescue these villagers and deal with the bandits in one day so I came back as soon as I could. Is the village lord still up?"
"Yes."
"If it's not too much trouble could you tell him to meet me at the Inn?"
"O-of course." With that the villager ran off.
Turning back to Ella Audrey paused when she noticed most of not all of the refugees were looking at her with a lot more apprehension than ever before leaving the otherworlder confused. "Is something wrong?"
Rather than answering Ella replied with another question that Audrey really didn't expect. "Are you….. Truly one of the cardinal heroes?"
"Yeah…." Audrey didn't know what else to say to that question, judging by Ella's tone and the other refugees' expressions they were certainly surprised at the revelation that she was one of the heroes however unlike anyone else they didn't show any sign of being fans or the very idea being anything to take joy in.
This really left the bow hero wondering what could have happened to make these people so wary of the cardinal heroes. Could it have been because none of them showed up sooner before all the damage was done? Maybe but a part of Audrey had a bad feeling that it was something more than that. But that left the question of what it was, she doubted it could have anything to due with a tarnished reputation, the only one who'd have to worry about if people found out who they were was Naofumi when it came to Audrey's own case the biggest rumor that might be considered negative in the eyes of other was she stance of supporting Naofumi when nearly everyone else wished to see him suffer but that was overshadowed by the excitement of her being one of the heroes along with her actions during that waves.
"Ella has something happened that gave you and the others a reason to be on edge around any of the heroes?"
Ella sighed. "It's nothing that's your fault, you came to our aid when we needed it the most and that is something we owe our lives to you for."
"Then why did you and the others suddenly have a change in your demeanor towards me when you found out I was one of the heroes?"
"I'll tell you after we see Saphera." Ella replied.
Baxley looked as if he was going to speak up but Ella gave him a look that sent a message to stay silent before she and Audrey along with Bluebell and Baxley himself all went into the Inn and waited for the village to show up which only took a little over another minute.
"Lady Audrey I have to say I'm quite surprised to see that you managed to rescue the people of Cadia village in the span of a single day."
"Sorry for showing up when it's almost time to retire for the night."
"It's no trouble at all, I'm happy to assist her and the shield hero in any way that is within my power."
"I'm glad to hear it because there's something I want to ask you for but first we need to see the girl who came here earlier."
"I understand." The village lord said before following the group to the room where the girl who had come to the village to get help was currently staying. Once they arrived at the room and opened the door both Audrey and Bluebell were greeted to the sight of the girl simply staring at the wall furthest from her with a combination of grief and bitterness almost not bothering to acknowledge the group's presence until Ella spoke up.
"Saphera, by god it truly is you!" Ella exclaimed before walking and embracing the now shocked girl.
"E-Ella….how are you here?"
"The hero of the bow saved us."
Saphera shot a glance at Audrey. "She did?... But why?"
"It was the right thing to do, you and the others were being made to suffer at the hands of people who were complete scum." Audrey replied
"I see, but still it doesn't make sense why any of the heroes would care to do anything when it was because of you we went through what we did."
Audrey found herself unable to immediately as she wondered why Saphera was blaming the cardinal heroes for the tragedy. Could they have possibly had something to do with it? She knew she had nothing to do with it since she had never been anywhere near Cadia before today and highly doubted Naofumi would have had anything to do with it since he wouldn't do anything that would lead to needless tragedy as what had taken place. That left both Ren and Motoyasu, while they might not necessarily mean any harm to anyone (accept Naofumi in the case of the latter) they both had a naive mindset with the belief that this entire ordeal was just a video game from their respective worlds, when she considered that she realized that they might actually cause harm not realizing that their actions have consequences.
"In spite of what happened lady Audrey has proven to truly be worthy of the title of a hero."
"Thank goodness, now I take comfort in knowing you all were saved."
"As were you." The moment Ella finished that sentence the village lord looked away from everyone and Saphera's expression became melancholy which didn't go unnoticed by the rest of the group or Ella herself. At the same time Audrey and Bluebell glanced at the direction of the potions she left for saphera and realized that not a single one of them had been used.
"Saphera?"
"I'm sorry but I'm going to die here."
Bluebell looked appalled. "Were you really so intent on refusing help from lady Audrey to get better even if it had meant dying?!"
"After what had happened to our village and my parents I don't have a reason to live anymore nor to believe in any of the heroes so yes, even if it means my end I was never going to use anything from any of the heroes."
The lord finally worked up the nerve to look towards everyone else once more. "I pleaded with her to use the potions that lady Audrey left here but she refused since she resented the heroes so much.
Saphera then turned to Audrey. "I thank you for saving those who were still left….,still after what has happened I still cannot bring myself to believe in any of the heroes."
"It's your decision who you believe in."
Saphera shrugged before turning back to Ella. "I'm glad to know you and the others were saved at the end."
Ella grabbed Saphera's hand in both of her own with tears now coming from her eyes. "This is really what you want?"
"Yes, my entire family is gone and my home was burnt down, I just want to see my family again in the next life."
"I see." Ella conceded before Saphera's eyes shut for the last time, never to open again.
"If it means anything I can have her buried here in Lute." The village lord said.
"Thank you." Ella said before everyone began leaving the room. Over the course of the next hour the villagers who were still up helped ready a new grave for saphera and allow the other refugees to carry out a small makeshift memorial for Saphera who had managed to find someone to save them in their time of need before passing on to the next life.
"You'll always be in our hearts." Ella chanted before she stood up from her knees and turned to Audrey.
"In spite of the circumstances of a home and loved ones' fate we'll never forget what you've done for us."
"I'm happy to know the rest of you are safe but…" Audrey tried, unable to finish but Ella knew what the bow hero wanted to bring up.
"You still want to know where the heroes come in when it comes to our village's destruction, am I right?"
"If it's okay to ask then yes, what exactly happened, in the beginning I thought it was just a random act of cruelty on the bandits' part but now I'm led to believe there's more to the story than just that."
"Of course it's fine for you to ask and also your right in your assumption. You see our village originally had a small group of knights who formed a village guard that would protect it from such atrocities as the one that took place."
"So what happened?"
"A couple weeks ago we put out a request to have a nearby monster dealt with and from what I know it seemed the hero of the spear must have taken care of it."
"Are you saying you never actually saw him?" Audrey inquired whilst raising an eyebrow.
"Not at that point in time no. None of us are sure if he had even actually done the deed at all."
Okay that was rather unusual, from the times Audrey had seen Motoyasu he came off the one who actually wanted to showcase himself to the people especially towards women who had the potential of making appealing sexual partners. Audrey's only guess to his absence was due to Mien's manipulation."I See. But then how did you ever even receive word of the monster's demise at all."
"A red haired woman came with a battalion of castle noise and told us that she was the first princess of the country and went on to tell us that the spear hero had taken care of the monster."
Audrey had a feeling this story was about to go in a bad direction, actually that was more or less a given considering what happened to the village. "So what happened next."
"We took the woman's word for it and gave her the reward to in turn give to the hero but she felt she was entitled to demand much more."
"What exactly did she want?" Audrey inquired already knowing she wasn't going to like the answer.
"To make the spear hero our village lord and issue high taxes that we couldn't afford."
Audrey probably should have guessed as much all things considered, still the thought of that woman going around trying to use the situation with the waves to extort the people out of everything. "Then what happened?"
"We refused and she tried to threaten us with the battalion she had brought but was forced to back down when our own village guard got involved telling her that they would not allow her to harm us and after that we had all thought the situation resolved however…."
Audrey tensed up knowing that whatever she had heard next was the part where things turned ugly.
"A few days later the hero of the spear showed in our village and immediately began butchering every single soldier charged with protecting Cadia."
"Why would he do such a thing? Surely even he must have known there wasn't anything heroic in such actions!" Bluebell exclaimed in shock.
"He claimed he was saving us from them believing them to be bandits in disguise or so he claimed." Ella replied leaving the duo completely dumbstruck before she continued. "After what he had done he had thought we would all praise him for the massacre he had committed and was confused when many of the women and children were angry with him for coming into our village just to slaughter our only protection from outside threats as well as husbands and fathers."
Audrey sighed doing her best not to let her newfound disgust for her fellow hero get to her. "What happened afterwards."
"The hero of the spear insisted that he had just saved us from bandits and couldn't seem understand why we were angry, he appeared to be steadfast in his belief that his actions were supposed to have earned him our admiration, eventually the woman from before showed up telling the spear that we were all brainwashed and that it would wear off and that we'd begin admiring him afterwards and they left." Ella took a moment to sogh and recompose herself from recalling bad memories.
"Than the previous night the bandits gang you saved us from showed up and raided our settlement reducing to what you saw when you went there."
"So that's what happened."
"There's actually even more to the story than just that." Baxley said, gaining everyone's attention.
"Truly?" Ella asked.
"Yes….you see, the attack wasn't just a coincidence."
"Please explain."
"If that red haired woman is the same one I'm thinking of then I can tell you that she orchestrated the entire ordeal."
That left Ella and Bluebell stunned whilst Audrey gritted were teeth in disdain.
"A week before the initial raid she showed up at the hideout and informed my former slaver that the village guard was wiped out and told him to wait until after the second wave struck to attack Cadia that way he could burn and sask the village before anyone else ever found out what had happened.
That revelation left Audrey and even Bluebell with an inner boiling rage. First the woman decides to wrongfully betray and frame him for a crime he didn't commit then she tried to use the situation with the waves to extort the people and if that wasn't enough she was trying to have them killed when they didn't fall in line and obey her every whim. Was there no low she would sink to?
She needed to pay for everything she had done along with the crown in its entirety, if they were going to undermine the hero's efforts and harm their own people that they were supposed to be protecting then they needed to be brought down in the future. The problem was how, from what Audrey had learned so far the entirety of the nobility was supporting the crown's wrong doings, both Motoysau and Ren were eating out of the palm of their hands (with the former essentially aiding them in harming the people because of his own delusions) ultimately there really wasn't anything that could be done to make the king and princess answer for their crimes.
Hopefully that would change in the future. Bluebell had similar thoughts but she had faith that the wrongdoings of the king and princess would be corrected and answered once the meetings of the nations over the waves were done with however when it came to the subject of the heroes potential to do good in the world her worst fears when it came to the hero of the spear were confirmed.
The spear hero was completely delusion in his belief that he was doing genuine good and the Naofumi was evil when ironically the truth was all but the exact opposite, where he thought he was performing heroic deeds he was actually rather blatantly (manipulated or not) causing harm to the people of this world, he thought himself the greatest figure in this world when in reality he was doing NOTHING HEROIC.
XXXXX
"Before you retire for the night there was one more thing I wanted to ask you about." Audrey said to the village lord.
"Of course lady hero."
"The refugees from Cadia need a new home to truly settle, I was actually wondering if it would be possible for them to settle down right here in Lute."
"That's not out of the question but…"
"But?" Audrey repeated.
"We'd need to find a way to get the money to support them along with ourselves."
"Oh, if that's all I can easily solve that." Audrey replied before she switched to the currency bow and pulled a bag of silver coins. "This should suffice, there are once thousand silver pieces. Will that help the situation with the refugees?"
"Of course."
"Good, I need to get some rest finally so I'll see you tomorrow." With that Audrey handed the bag over to the village and headed to the inn reflecting on everything that had happened.
She saved survivors of s horrible raid from being used as repeated playthings from bandits only for the one who informed her of the whole ordeal to choose to die because of her disdain for the heroes than found out the entire tragedy took place because of both Malty and Motoyasu.
After being told about the reason it happened at all Ella had asked to retire for the night needing time to herself to take in the half of truth of what happened to Cadia that she had previously been in the dark about which was something Audrey couldn't blame her for.
Discovering the Malty was intentionally murdering her own subject and on top of that Motoyasu was helping her do it wasn't a pleasant realization, hell a good part of her worried how many other people the two were going to hurt and how many more Saphera's there would be as a result of their actions, the former was not worthy of any title and Motoyasu might have held the title of one but he was no hero in any shape or form.
For now however she just wanted to get some rest for now and figure what to do going forward and headed off to retire for the night at the inn.
The following day Audrey went the tavern and waited for Bluebell, looking around she saw a few of the refugees sitting at other table and while the place wasn't completely fixed up any holes in the ceiling causing by the fire that was set to the place were boarded up closing the place off to outside elements from above but that were still a few holes in the walls here and there but it couldn't really be helped at the moment.
Still the place was usable nonetheless, it would serve as a meeting spot for her and Bluebell to meet up and talk about what they wanted to do going forward once the latter got up.
"Say is it okay if I sit here?" An unexpected voice but familiar suddenly said, gaining the bow hero's attention and prompting her to look at the source.
"Baxley?"
"Yeah there was something I wanted to ask you about."
"Alright the seats open if you want to use it."
"Thank you." With that the Hyena type demi took a seat across from the hero of the bow.
"So what did you want to ask me about?"
"Well you see, I heard from your companion that you were looking for more party members to help you in your fight against the waves."
"Yeah right now it's just the two of us until my Filolial egg hatches, still I'd like to add another member on top of that if possible."
"I assume that there's only so much you can do with just two of you?"
"You wouldn't be wrong, we really had to play things smart when fighting the bandit gang you were forced into servitude by or we would have been overwhelmed by sheer numbers." Audrey admitted.
"So as you pretty much worked out we need extra help if we're planning on taking on a more dangerous mission or even continuing against the waves, but I not only need to find someone who is willing but also competent enough to contribute when needed."
"Meaning that it has to be the right type of person right?"
"More or less, I can't just hire a mercenary since if the odds begin to look bad they'll likely just bail to save their own skin and many others…." Audrey trialed off before Baxley unexpectedly finished for her.
"Buy into the false rumors surrounding the shield hero?"
"You know they're a lie?"
"Yeah Bluebell told me what happened from your account."
Audrey could only chuckle at that. "It's rather ridiculous, even though Naofumi never drank any alcohol on the night his supposed crime took place they insist of believing he was drunk and even when nobody heard anything indicating a struggle took place they all insist on believing it happened, even though no he was never given a chance to tell his side of things this kingdom's shitstain of a ruler declared Naofumi guilty."
"Naofumi, is that the shield hero's name by any chance?"
"Yes."
"I'm honored to have learned the name of our god but I digress. What I really want is to ask if I can become that extra member of your party."
Even though it should have been fairly obvious that Baxley was going to request that judging from the direction of the overall conversation but a large part of Audrey couldn't help but feel caught off guard.
"I have no problem with the idea but are you absolutely sure? If you travel with me that means you'll be facing dangerous monsters and likely even more bad people like the men who raided Cadia and that's when we're not facing the waves."
"Of course, aside from wanting to save a dear friend pf mine who was also sold into slavery against their will I want to use this chance to do something with myself, besides I owe you my life so I want to repay you."
Audrey smiled upon hearing that reply. "In that case…." she quickly sent him a party invite. "Welcome to the group."
After receiving a notification of acceptance in her HUD Audrey felt a sense of both joy and relief at the knowledge that she'd have another ally she could rely on in future endeavors
Once her egg hatched and she got a wagon she'd be able to travel to more places. Now all that was left was to decide what she needed to do going forward in preparation for the next wave.
And that's the end of this chapter. So Audrey has managed to save the Cadia refugees though fighting off a church shadow (I think it became obvious during the fight what they were) in the process the conclusion was a bit bittersweet.
Sorry if that bummed anyone out but the reason for that bitter part of it was to showcase to things differently then they would have been in canon since the Mc is an OC which is how irredeemable Bitch is and the that contrary to his BS delusions of himself Motoyasu really isn't really someone who could ever be thought of as a hero and the overall arc also shows that the other heroes Montoyasu and Ren (and Itsuki as far as canon goes) have probably made other messes than just the ones Naofumi found out about which this Arc was meant to reflect.
On a good note ending wise as people were hoping for judging by some of the reviews from the last chapter Baxley has indeed become a member of Audrey's party.