Goblin Slayer frowned as he examined the goblin corpses that lay by the side of the road, there were three of them and all lay in bloody heaps with broken bones. Off to the side his party members were looking over the dead body of a Faceless Man, a pool of blood around his neck. Leading away from the broken bodies were the foot and hand prints of what could only be one of the Goblin Brutes.
"There's a broken vial over by the body." High Elf Archer carefully looked over the broken glass and frowned as she looked back toward the dead Faceless Man. "No doubt about it, one of those vials containing that poison."
"It would seem the goblins ambushed him. One of them must have taken the vial off his person thinking it was alcohol and transformed." Dwarf Shaman pondered aloud as he looked toward Goblin Slayer and the dead goblins around him.
"These monster goblins kill their own, yet they become more dangerous than even a goblin champion." Goblin Slayer grunted as he watched the prints leading off toward a destroyed tree. "We must track this goblin down and slay it."
"Hold on there Goblin Slayer!" Spearman was quick to slam the bottom his spear along the ground. "We're well aware of your obsession with goblins, but we need to focus on the Faceless Men and the Necromancer they serve."
"It pains me to say it Goblin Slayer but he is right." Heavy Warrior sighed as he scratched the back of his head. "We can't waste too much time chasing after this one goblin. We've been on the road for nearly three weeks and just finished securing all the outer farms villages, we should really start moving further inward."
"I have not forgotten, but these monsters and goblins are drawn toward settlements. If ignored it will cause far too much damage."
"There's something else we need to worry about. These Faceless Men always travel in pairs, in Frontier Town, the Padfoot village and the other smaller settlements we visited showed signs of the Faceless Men still moving on the orders of the Necromancer." High Elf Archer thought about the few settlements that had been destroyed before they had a chance to get there then back toward the lone body on the ground. "If this guy is here then where is his partner?"
The others all had to question where the second Faceless Man could be, whether he had gone ahead or might be dead somewhere in the woods was unknown at the time.
"I can look overhead!"
The enthusiastic voice drew everyone's attention to see Half-Dragon Daughter happily beams as she flexed her wings.
"You're going to fly up and check for what though?" Cow Girl was a bit confused by what her little sister was suggesting.
"I can fly high enough to check for signs of where the monster goblin went to and if there are any nearby settlements."
"That's a brilliant idea!" High Elf Archer smiling as she moved toward the young dragon to tussle her hair.
"I'm not sure about that." Half-Dragon Mother nervously looked toward her daughter. "I know it should be much safer up there than down here with a possible goblin, but I still feel uneasy."
"I can do it mother! I came on this journey to grow stronger and to help, so let me help in this way!"
There was still a bit of hesitation on Half-Dragon Mother's part but then she felt the firm hand on her shoulder, a quick turn and she could see the smiling face of Lizard Priest staring back at her.
"Go ahead and show us how high you can fly." Half-Dragon Mother relented and smiled as she turned back toward her daughter.
Half-Dragon Daughter was ecstatic as she fully extended her wings and took to the sky, with each flap of her wings she climbed higher and higher into the air. The others down below looked up to see the young dragon flapping her wings to keep her steady while she checked ahead; while she was doing this, Goblin Slayer and the others moved the bodies off to the side while Priestess and Lizard Priest finished their prayers.
"What do you see little one?" Lizard Priest looked up toward the sky, though he was certain nothing would happen, letting his daughter go on her own made him a bit nervous.
"I can see a small farm past the woods from here! There are also some of those odd footprints big brother was talking about in the ground leading toward it!" Half-Dragon Daughter squinted her eyes as she continued to look toward the farm. "I'm not seeing any one moving around the farm! Further ahead…I think I can see a big village, but it's too far away to be sure."
"Alright, then we know where we're going. Everyone back on the wagons, we're making for the farm!" Female Knight was quick to give the charge as the others followed her words.
Half-Dragon Daughter continued to soar up in the sky looking down below as the wagons continued onward, off to the side she could see her big brother and Wolf calmly walking along. She beamed with pride as she finally found herself being useful to the group, over the days she spent traveling she managed to breathe fire just like her mother and with her father's guidance could finally see the glowing eyes of her dragon ancestors looking back at her. Down below her mother and father would look up, a nervous groan could be heard escaping from their mouths which only made Dwarf Shaman and the others chuckle.
"I never pegged you for the worrisome-type Scaly."
"Even if it has only been a few short months, I have become quite fond of that little one. I am a very proud father, but I too can still be concerned Sir Mage."
"And with only one wing I can't go up there and help her if something were to happen." Half-Dragon Mother continued to look upward with a worried expression.
"Perhaps you're worried that she might be growing up to quickly." Priestess calmly offered what insight she could.
"That…that is also a big concern as well. I know there will come a time where she will go off and become and adult, but there's no need for her to do it so fast." Half-Dragon Mother sighed once again as she looked back toward the sky.
Half-Dragon Daughter continued to smile as she flew on but then stopped herself when she heard something rustling in the tree below. Curiously she looked around the trees for what might have caused the noise when she heard the rustling once again followed by a horrible shrieking sound from in front of her, a large figure erupted from the tree tip flying directly toward the shock dragon. The figure resembled a nude woman with greyish sky, red eyes and wing like a bat appeared to have been made from the flesh and bone on her sides and arms. Half-Dragon Daughter surprised by the sight of the monster suddenly refocused herself and flew upward to avoid the creature. The others down below stopped their wagons the moment they heard this creature shriek and then looked up to see the winged monster attacked Half-Dragon Daughter.
"What the devil is that thing?" Heavy Warrior gripped the handle of his sword while looking upward.
"Forget about what it is, how the hell do we her fight that damn thing!" Spearman gritted his teeth as he looked up to see the young dragon flying to maneuver around the creature.
Lizard Priest and Half-Dragon Mother looked up, their eyes wide and faces ashen as their daughter continued to dodge this monster that would use the talons on its feet to attack their daughter, even though it was only a few moments for them it felt like an eternity and they had never felt so helpless.
"Lady Ranger, can you…"
"Don't you worry, I sure as hell won't allow that things doesn't lay a claw on my sister!" High Elf Archer already drew back an arrow to use against the creature the moment a shot presented itself.
Half-Dragon Daughter was rather scared of the creature that continued to shriek at her, she had no weapons with her and any attempts to talk to it had failed.
"I need to get back down, mother and father will…no. If I do nothing but rely on others every time I'm scared, I'll never grow. Remember what mother said, expel the gases from within your stomach and when it comes into contact with the air past your teeth it will ignite."
Half-Dragon Daughter took in a big, deep breath of air as the monstrous harpy screamed once again before flying toward the young girl. The others down below were worried when they saw Half-Dragon Daughter simply flying in place as the harpy drew closer when the young dragon spewed forth a great ball of fire which engulf the harpy. The monster screamed as it turned and flew away, much of its body covered in flame, but it did not get very far. High Elf Archer let loose an arrow, which curved through the air, until it finally pierced the back of the monster's skull. Without as much as a moment to cry out, the monster plummeted through the trees landing with a heavy thud on the ground before the caravan. Goblin Slayer and many of the others rushed to inspect the body of the monster while the rest waited back with the wagons as Half-Dragon Daughter slowly descended.
"Are, are you alright?" Half-Dragon Mother quickly rushed forward and placed her hands on the young girl's shoulders, a worried look on her face.
"I'm okay mother, still a bit shaken but otherwise fine." Half-Dragon Daughter looked down at her hands to see them shaking, not so much from fear but also from excitement. "Did you see? I finally got to use my fire breath just like you taught me!"
Half-Dragon Mother was quite shocked by this reactions, she had expected her daughter to be frightened by all that she had seen, but realized that her young daughter had grown up quite a bit over these past few months.
"She is so much stronger than before. So different from that frightened child taken by the slavers, it's so hard to imagine that was not so long ago. I am truly blessed to have such a strong daughter." Half-Dragon Mother smiled warmly and nodded her head. "I am so proud, though I admit that I'm still worried, you are getting so strong."
"Indeed!"
Both turned to see Lizard Priest scoop up the young girl and hold her up high, a big smile present on his face as well.
"I doubt even I was half as brave as you were just now! You will become a fine dragon in not time, I am sure of it."
Both Half-Dragons had bright smiles on their faces as they heard the praise from Lizard Priest as were the others around them while Goblin Slayer and the other silvers examined the body of the monster.
"A harpy no?" Heavy Warrior pondered as he looked over the body.
"I thought…harpies had feathers. This one here…has wings…like that of a bat." Witch calmly took a drag on her pipe while looking at the body.
"Only these wings aren't exactly like that of a bat. See here, looks like the bones and skin were painfully pulled from the sides." Female Knight crouched down and took in the scent of the body. "She carries the scent of a human, but there is also that same foul smell of the elixir about her."
"How the hell do you get a certain smell from this burned corpse?" Spearman both annoyed and curious as to how Female Knight discovered this.
"A true adventurer must learn to develop their skills in all aspects, rather than just fighting." Heavy Warrior was quick to try and hide any suspicion of her being a werewolf. "If you focused on your other skills rather than just bragging about yourself, you'd be able to pick up on the details."
"You got a lot of nerve you…"
"Hmm. If this creature is not a goblin, then perhaps a villager affected by the elixir from that settlement."
Before Spearman and Heavy Warrior could argue any further, Goblin Slayer quick examination of the corpse then sparring a quick glance down the path drew everyone's attention.
"I'm surprised to see you switch from your goblins to the villagers so quickly there Orcbolg."
"It is only a speculation, though as she mentioned the goblins footprints lead in that direction. If we follow them, we'll find this goblin and perhaps another of those men."
"And I spoke to soon, but you do bring up a good point." High Elf Archer smirked then turned with a big smile to see her little sister and the others approaching. "There's our little fighter! I'm sure it was quite scary up there with that monster."
"I was and thank you for helping me."
"That's my granddaughter for you all, takes after her grandpa if I do say so myself."
"Ha, if that were the case, she'd have a big old belly at this point."
Half-Dragon Daughter smiled as the others complimented her for her bravery, but there was one more person she was eager to hear from, aside from her mother and father, she wanted to know what her big brother thought. Goblin Slayer was silent for a moment as he still focused on the body of the monster and the road before turning to walk back towards the wagons, or at least that is how it appeared to her, until he stopped beside her and gently placed his hand upon her shoulder.
"You did well."
It was only three short words, but the smile on her face shone as bright as the sun. Half-Dragon Daughter knew her brother was a man of few words, only speaking when he needed to, and right now his praise was the equivalent of him giving her a speech about what a great job she had done. The others took notice of this and were just as happy as she was that Goblin Slayer had acknowledged just how strong she had become since being adopted into this family. The party quickly got back into the wagons and in less than an hour had reached the farm. At first glance the farm seemed to be fine, yet they could see spots where the roof of the farm house had been damaged as well as a section of the barn that had a large hole within it.
"Stay here with the wagons. We'll go and investigate."
Cow Girl, Guild Girl, and the two Half dragons stayed with the wagons with Snow laying inside one of the wagons, Cow Girl knew it would not be long before she was due to have her littler. The party split themselves up, half moving to explore the farm house while the others moved toward the barn, in particular the large whole in the side.
"Ready?" Female Knight turned toward her group while she stood by the side of the door.
High Elf Archer and Rookie Warrior nodded as they stood ready with weapons drawn. Female Knight quickly threw the door open and stepped back with sword and shield expecting something to come crashing out, but all was silent. Female Knight and High Elf Archer quickly entered the house and were met with a foul smell, the stench of rotting flesh and there on the table they saw them. Two bodies lay upon the table and another body off in the corner, based on what little clothing was on them, it appeared to be a woman, a man, and a young child, perhaps a family, but that wasn't what stopped the two adventurers. On top of the tables, picking at the bodies were two large bird like creatures, covering their bodies were dirty white feathers, their beaks were filled with jagged teeth and as one of the two-foot tall creatures turned toward the two women, they could see an eyeball still in the mouth of the monster.
"What the hell? Are those…chickens?" Female Knight raised her sword as the monster spread out its wings and shrieked at them.
Priestess and the others outside heard the strange screeching sound and prepared to help their comrades but they themselves heard some strange growling sound from off to the side. Half-Elf Light Warrior and Druid Girl pointed toward the side where they could see a hole under the house. Something was tearing at the ground and out came two dogs, only they appeared to have sections of their fur that split apart to expose muscle underneath, bloody foam spewed from their mouths as they red eyes focused on the young adventurers.
"Earth Mother…what happened to them?"
While the others were discovering the horrors that awaited them at the farm house, Goblin Slayer and his group slowly maneuvered toward the hole in the barn. They cautiously looked in to see a massive creature with green skin with an entire pig carcass in int right hand feasting away, all around the barn were the half-eaten bodies of several farm creatures as well as blood bones.
"I think we found your goblin, Goblin Slayer." Heavy Warrior drew out his sword as he readied himself to attack. "I remember you telling me how difficult these big brutes are. If we attack it in one go, we'll be able bring it down."
"Agreed." Goblin Slayer reached for his mace and prepared to go for a crushing blow.
"Then we shall follow your lead Milord Goblin Sla…"
"Hold on a second there Priest, I hear something else breathing in there." Spearman closed his eyes as he strained his ears to focus on the noises within.
The others paused to listen and they too heard something, but at first glance saw nothing.
"Perhaps a surviving animal hiding away from the goblin brute." Lizard Priest suggested as he anxiously readied his swordclaw to attack.
"If we wait to long, we'll lose the element of surprise. I say we go." Heavy Warrior looked toward Goblin Slayer and with a stern look upon his face nodded toward him.
"Let's go!"
Goblin Slayer and the others rushed in to attack, all of them ready to strike, when suddenly a new cry stopped them in their tracks. They paused to look toward their left and finally saw something moving, the large shape they mistook for a pile of hay in the corner was in fact a massive creature that resembled a pig with four hideous tucks protruding from its mouth, standing as tall as a horse, and in fact the creature had part of a horse carcass in its mouth chewing loudly as it crunched the bones. The goblin brute himself grunted as he turned and saw the adventurers.
"Ah horseshit." Spearman gritted his teeth as he prepared to fight the monster pig which bellowed angrily at them.
Cow Girl and the others were surprised when they heard the sound of battle coming from inside the small farm house and then saw the massive "dogs" emerge from under the house, each one the size of an adult wolf. The adventurers readied themselves to attack as Wolf growled at the sight of these monsters but then everyone's attention was draw to the barn where a section of it exploded as something was thrown out, it looked like part of a broken wagon and soon enough Goblin Slayer and the others rushed and dived toward either side of the opening.
"What in the world is…"
A massive pig rushed out of the hole bellow as it looked for its prey, unaware of the adventurers off to the side of it. Before the young women could comprehend the sight of the massive pig something else exploded out of the barn, the massive goblin brute growling as it too sought out the adventurers. What the adventurers could not know was indeed the other Faceless Man had reached the settlement before them and contaminated the water well. This family, the parents two elder daughters and their young brother would become the unfortunate victims of the elixir, the sisters had given water to the livestock and their dogs and helped themselves to it as well before attacking their family, though it raised the question if one of the daughters had already been dealt with, where did the other disappear to.
"You damn swine…you know what I just happen to be in the mood for some bacon as we speak." Spearman chuckled as he readied his spear to attack.
"I shall join you; I have found that cheese goes quite well with ham." Lizard Priest readied his own weapon to bring down the bull-sized pig, though in truth it resembled a monster boar now.
"Then let's say that you and I deal with this damn goblin, Goblin Slayer." Heavy Warrior smirked as he pointed his claymore at the goblin brute.
"Agreed."
With a roar from the goblin brute, the adventurers charged into battle with the mutated farm animals while Cow Girl and the others stayed neared by the wagons her sling in hand. Inside the farmhouse was the sounds of creatures screeching and things being broken apart, both High Elf Archer and female Knight went to work killing the mutated chickens which screeched and flapped their wings to get towards the tasty morsels. High Elf Archer quickly fire arrow after arrow at the monster foul as the initial screeches brought out others who had been hiding, while Female Knight would push the birds back with her shield and slashed at them with her sword destroying much of the furniture and windows in the process.
"Protection!"
The barrier went up as the rabid dog snarled and clawed at the invisible wall eager to tear the young adventurers apart. Half-Demon Thief quickly went for her poison throwing knives and launched them forward watching as each one imbedded itself deep in the dog's flesh. Rookie Warrior and Half-Elf Light Warrior were ready to attack but Half-Demon Thief held out her hand for them to wait.
"Let the poison do its job, the moment they're down you can finish them! I don't know if poison will actually kill these things but there's no way they can keep fighting it."
"Nice job there lass." Dwarf Shaman had a big smiled as he clapped the young demon on the shoulder before turning toward the others. "While you lot deal with these over-sized pups Witch and I shall help Beardcutter and the others.
The young adventurers nodded and soon began to notice the two wolf-like dogs were beginning to grow sluggish in their movement. Dwarf Shaman and Witch rushed to aid the others adventurers still battling with the monster boar and goblin brute. The dogs took notice of the fleeing prey and took a few shaky steps after them before collapsing to the ground, the poison slowly killing them and currently minimizing their movements. Both young adventurers rushed past the barrier while the monsters were down and went to work beheading the monsters.
"Come on you filthy beast! I've eaten things uglier than you for breakfast!" Spearman snicked as he his lance cut into the thick hide of the pig.
Lizard Priest jumped onto the beast back where he stabbed his blade into the creature's flesh dragging it toward him all the while the pig squealed and thrashed about trying to get the adventurer off its back. Lizard Priest grunted as he tore his blade free and jumped off the monster's back where he stood beside Spearman.
"My word, the beast's hide it quite tough, I feel some more tenderizing will be required before we are able to help ourselves to the meat."
"You don't actually intend to eat that thing do you?" Spearman had an incredulous look about his face as he looked toward Lizard Priest.
"Well it is a pig, and it would be a shame to waste the meat."
While Lizard Priest conversed with Spearman the blood-covered pig snorted as it tore at the ground ready to charge forward once again yet suddenly found itself growing sleepy. The hell pig snort before finally collapsing onto its side much to the surprise of Lizard Priest and Spearman only to see Dwarf Shaman nearby spewing forth a mist of alcohol from his mouth.
"Drink deep, sing loud, let the spirits lead you! Sing loud, step quick, and when you sleep they see you, may a jar of fire wine be in your dreams to greet you! Stupor!" Dwarf Shaman smirked as he helped himself to his fire wine while looking towards his comrades. "Sorry Scaly, but I have to agree with him. Though it is a waste of good meat, there is no telling what would happen if we were to eat that tainted flesh."
"A tragedy indeed, but you have given us the advantage against this foul beast. Let us finish it!"
Spearman and Lizard Priest rushed forward and went to work stabbing the hell pig while Goblin Slayer and Heavy Warrior battled against the goblin brute. The two continued to battle against the monster, though their attacks did produce damage, the two were not causing enough by themselves.
"Damn beast, just how thick are those muscles?" Heavy Warrior hacked at the monster right arm before jumping back to avoid the swing of its massive fist.
"Continue the attack. We must stop it here."
The goblin brute snarled as it prepared to smash the other adventurer when suddenly a bolt of purple light impacted against its face. Heavy Warrior was shocked by the attack and saw chunks of the monstrous face fly in different directions, but the attack did not kill the monster only forcing it back a couple steps, Goblin Slayer spared a quick glance back to see the smiling face of Witch.
"I felt…you could have used…my help…no?"
"Thanks." Goblin Slayer nodded his head before looking back toward the goblin brute with weapons ready. "Now, we slay the goblin."
Heavy Warrior and Goblin Slayer rushed in to take advantage of the monster's partial blindness with Goblin Slayer striking the head with his mace then following in with a cut from his sword across its throat. Heavy Warrior charged in and rammed his claymore into the creature's gut and pulled with all his might toward his right. With a final yell he tore his sword free and watched as the monster's guts spilled out while Goblin Slayer stabbed his blade into the brute's neck while continuously smashing the head over and over with his mace. The goblin brute finally toppled over as Goblin Slayer and Heavy Warrior looked over the dead goblin brute then looked back toward their comrades to see everyone was also finished with their own battles.
"Another victory then." Spearman smirked as rested his spear along his shoulder.
"Except we weren't able to save these people." Female Knight sighed as she finished wiping the blood from her sword.
"We should take care of the people. We can't just leave them like this." High Elf Archer looked back inside the farm house to the bloody bodies of the people who had once lived here peacefully.
There was a bit of a frown from many of the adventurers as the realization of the lost life, but the family could now rest easy that the monsters dealt with. Spearman shook his head before walking back toward the barn to examine the inside for any other monsters, thankfully there was nothing else moving and among the animal remains he found the scraps of the of a black robe and a broken plague mask.
"Looks like the Faceless Man made the mistake of believing he would not be attacked." Spearman sighed as he finally exited the barn to see with a couple shovels.
The adventurers split themselves up to properly attend to the farm with Goblin Slayer and Spearman digging graves; Rookie Warrior and Fighter helped carry the bodies out covered in long cloth sheets, Priestess using her Purify miracle to remove the elixir from the well. The rest went to work dragging the bodies of the deceased monsters into the barn, Heavy Warrior and Lizard Priest would use their strength to deal with the hell pig and goblin brute while the others went for the smaller creatures. To ensure there were no remains of the elixir, the barn and farm house were set ablaze while Priestess finished her prayers to the Earth Mother.
"Earth Mother, please see that these souls are able to rest."
Everyone bowed their heads and were silent as the farm house and barn were set ablaze, Goblin Slayer was silent as he looked around the area. The farm house and barn burning, the loss of life and the realization that once again, an unknown family and unknown farm would be forgotten. He could feel the anger within him welling up as he thought back to all that was lost the day the goblins attacked when he felt something brush up by his right hand. A quick glance to his right and he found Wolf and Snow beside him looking back at him and beside them was Cow Girl with a slight frown.
"These poor people, I wonder if anyone will remember them now that they're gone?"
"Only the dead will remember them." Goblin Slayer's tone as flat as ever as he looked back to the three graves made for the fallen family.
"Don't you worry Beardcutter, we're going to find the bastard who started this an put an end to his evil."
The others nodded their heads in agreement, this lost farm and others like them would be avenged, this group of adventurers would do all in their path to stop the Necromancer…or die trying.
xxxx
Hero and her comrades continued to travel around the countryside in their pursuit of the Necromancer but seemed to have lost his trail over those few days.
"Damn bastard, with the bridge destroyed we lost quite a bit of time finding an alternate path forward." Sword saint hissed in frustration as they continued down the road. "instead we are only able to see the devastation left behind by his followers."
"I can't be helped, his abilities are still unknown, there is now way we could have predicted him to be able to use Protection." Sage was calm in her evaluation of all that had happened.
"We'll find him, it's only a matter of time." Hero still frustrated in being tricked by the Necromancer and her failure in not being to stop him there and then. "Like you said, he is quite fond of all the destruction his damn formula leaves behind."
In their days traveling they managed to save other villages which had been afflicted by the effects of the elixir. Though many lives had been lost, they had also been fortunate in protecting the villagers from further harm and Hero found her sword was able to purify the contamination just as well as any spell, a message delivered to her by the Supreme God as a way of combating the contamination.
"By the way, do you think the rumors of other groups traveling around the countryside fighting the monsters are true as well?" Sword Saint recalled what had been said to their group in the last village. "It's hard to imagine the King and Sword Maiden actually traveling together fighting these creatures. I would have thought they would have deployed their own forces."
"I'm going to believe that there are other adventurers out there helping us. It's comforting to know we're not alone in this fight." Hero had a small smile on her face as well as a slight blush as she thought about a certain adventurer. "I wonder if he is out there also fighting these monsters? Will I get the chance to meet you again on this journey Goblin Slayer?"
"Speaking of others, I'm also wondering what the forces of evil are doing as well." Sage had a neutral expression on her face as she voiced her thought. "Though the forces of the Necromancer are also fighting for evil and chaos, I wonder if other creatures such as demons are allied with them as well."
"Well of course they would. All of this is to throw the world in chaos, for all we know this might be some ploy to aid in the resurrection of the Demon Lord." Sword Saint was convinced that the two had to be connected.
"It is too early to say. If that was the case, I would imagine I would have received message from the Supreme God." Hero then thought about the half-demon who had fought alongside her in their past battles. "For now we shall deal with the Necromancer and discover for ourselves if there is any connection between him and the Demon Lord Worshipers."
Her comrades nodded their heads as they continued to follow the road leading toward the next village, the sun was still high so there was hope that there would not be any trouble from the Necromancer or his Faceless Men, but with the daylight, they could easily see the smoke rising. Hero charged forward with her sword drawn quickly followed by her comrades as they prepared to face the mutated monsters.
"Damn, please let us be there in time."
The trio of heroes reached the outskirts of the large village but to their surprise found the bodies of mutated monster thrown upon a large bonfire. Much of the town had been damaged and there were several villagers tending to the dead and injured, but the village had not fallen. The trio calmly walked through the village greeted with stares of disbelief by the surviving villagers, it was then in the center of the village they saw them.
"Let's go! Load up the wagon!"
It was a large male centaur with an unruly red mane who sneered as he watched his subordinates loading up a wagon with all the valuables they could find. There were three humans who ran from the houses with goods in their hands while off to the side were two padfoots carrying a sack each stuffed full of food. Perched above the largest village were two dark harpies with gray colored skin, black wings and orange eyes who snickered at the people down below.
"This should be the last of the loot boss, after this we can leave this blasted village." One of the humans chuckled as he looked over small chest of gold. "For such small village they had some pretty good things for us."
"Bandits." Sword Saint growled in frustration as she tightened her grip on her sword.
One of the dark harpies then caught sight of the trip of women who had entered the village and were rather well armed.
"Boss, Adventurers!" She and her sister took to the air flapping their wings in readiness to act.
The other bandits dropped whatever they were carrying and readied their weapons to attack as did the Hero and her comrades. Boss Centaur was the only one who was calm as he turned to face the trio, a slight frown on his face as he rested his broadsword along his shoulder.
"Who the hell are you?"
Author's Note: Sorry for the delay there everyone, had a bit of writer's block there this past month (The ideas for the chapter were there but it was hard getting it written down). Anyway, I'm back and ready to continue my work on Howl of Vengeance. I'll also be continuing with my side story, Goblin Slayer: The Lost Tales, where the various adventurers and friends we've come to know will encounter unknown monsters and legends, try to guess which monster or legend I'm referencing. Anyway, everyone stay safe out there and I'll see you all in the next chapter.