Kruber awoke, gasping for air as he slowly rose up. He had noticed his helmet had fallen off, his gauntlet reaching out to grab it on the grass.
He then turned, taking out his sword and shield.
« Guys? Where have you lot gone off too? » he said, hoping for a response. Instead, nothing.
He found himself in a completely different surrounding. What once was a tropical forest, was now something he was more accustomed to.
« Well at least I'm off that bloody jungle. » he grumbled, until he heard voices from behind a bush.
«Is this the Ruben place where "it" is hidden? Piece of cake! BUAHAHAHAHA! » a muscular man with a scar on his eye boasted, as he walked alongside several men wearing wolf masks. « "It"? What's this bloke talking about? » Kruber said a bit more loudly than he wanted.
The whole group turned to the bush; arms ready. « Oh, bullocks. » Kruber cursed, as he came out of the bush. « Ahem…. hello folks! Lovely place, in'it? » he tried to ease tensions with the group.
«Sooo….could one of you folks tell me where exactly "here" is? » he then asked. The scarred man snarled at the Imperial Knight. « We have enough problems with Velder knights, we don't need another royal lackey on our tracks. » he said cockily.
« Velder? What, is it a Tilean or Estalian kingdom or something? » Kruber asked confused, gaining weird looks from the group. « Nananananah, I'm from the Empire, folks! Reikhammer knight Markus Kruber, at your service. » he then introduced himself.
« What about you folks? Mercenaries I suppose? No need to worry, I'm a former mercenary myself. » Kruber then asked. The scarred man smirked at the question. « Not exactly. You see…. we don't exactly wait for people to willingly pay us to get money. »
As he said that, the whole group unsheathed their weapons and pointed them at the Reikhammer knight. « Ah. Bandits. Sounds lovely. » Kruber sarcastically commented. « Well I'm afraid I'm rather broke at the moment, don't have quite the money to give you folks a fine pay check. » Kruber tried to defuse the situation once more.
« Your armour will do just fine. Take him boys! » the scarred man commanded. « You really want this, do ya? » Kruber asked serious, as he made a stand. One of the bandits confidently charged, sure that the man wasn't going to put up a fight.
Instead, the Reikhammer knight smashed the bandit with his shueld, crushing the wolf mask and the face of the man. Before the bandit could react, Kruber swiftly cut his head.
« First Lizardmen? And now Bandits?! Bloody Moor... What did I do to offend? » Kruber cursed, as he made another stand. « Well, what are you waiting for!? COME AT ME, YA BASTARDS! » Kruber shouted, ready for a fight.
More bandits charged the man, only to be swiftly cut down by Kruber. Some attempted to circle him and attacking him from the back, before they were greeted by an unpleasant surprise. « There you are, Azumgi! » it was Bardin, who came out of a bush with a large axe, driving it against one of the bandits, cutting him down.
« Bardin! Taal's teeth I'm glad to see you! » Kruber exclaimed, as he parried a blow from one of the bandits. « Glad to see you too, Azumgi! Even though you may have not made the best of company. » Bardin responded, as he sliced a man in several tiny pieces.
Some bandits begun throwing knives at the duo, who simply blocked them with their shields and impressive armour. They were about to launch again, until something appeared behind them.
Pitch black eyes that promised murder.
It was Kerillian, who drove her daggers forward, eviscerating two of the bandits as the third panicked, falling back as the elf showed no mercy. Bardin watched, laughing as he drove his axe into the head of a bandit.
« Wutelgi! Can't believe I'm saying this, but I'm glad to see you too are still kicking! » he exclaimed at the sight. « Bardin! Focus! » she cursed, as she slit the throat of another bandit.
The three held their ground against the bandits, cutting down and murdering ever single one that had dared to charge at them. Some had attempted a sneakier approach, going to the side in an attempt to ambush.
Yet months of fighting Lizardmen and previous experienced had prepared the trio, easily spotting any type of manoeuvre and rewarding their foolish attempts with death.
Another bandit tried a charge, before he was turned into a charred corpse by flames. « There you are Darlings! I thought you three were gone! »
It was Sienna, who struck down another bandit with ease. Bardin simply scoffed at the comment, « It'll take much more to kill us, Zarrin. »
« Say, where's Saltzpyre and the rest of the- » Markus started to ask, before another bandit was killed, this time by a bullet. « BY SIGMAR, THE HAMMER, AND THE EMPIRE! » A furious voice yelled out, belonging to Saltzpyre, as another bullet came straight in the air, hitting another bandit.
« Ah, thankfully one-eye survived. » Kerillian commented sarcastically. In the meantime, more bandits charged in, but before they could attack, Sienna began to charge her staff. « Darlings, get behind me! » she exclaimed, before preparing her attack.
The group obliged, moving from their positions as Sienna charged up a ball of pure flame, unleashing it as it became a wave.
«BURN! AHAHAHAHA! »
Cleansing fires ran in front of the charging bandits, roasting them alive as they attempted to flee from the river of heat. Not one survived.
The other bandits were now hesitant to charge again. « So what are we dealing with, sergeant? » Saltzpyre asked Kruber. « Bandits. Lots of them. » was Kruber response. « More fools that dare to venture far from Sigmar guidance, I see. » Saltzpyre frowned.
The scarred man laughed loudly at the comment. « Say what you want about our lifestyle, at least we ain't gonna become a forest in an Ishmael forsaken forest. »
« Uhh… I dunno boss…. These guys took out a big chunk of the boys. Are we sure it's a good idea to irritate them? » one of the bandits asked hesitant. « Yours are words of wisdom. Retreat now, and perhaps Sigmar shall show mercy upon your wretched kind. » Saltzpyre threatened the group.
The scarred man smirked again. « I have a better idea. Unless these fools don't hit the dirt, those who don't die by their swords will die by mine! ». And with that…. encouraging speech, the rest of the bandits charged.
« All right then. » Kruber sighed annoyed, before he stabbed a bandit, the man gurgling out as he kicked it off his blade with his leather boot, the purity seals on his shoulders looking particularly valiant. The five fought with the same ferocity they showed before.
Sienna worked to burn the various bandits who came too close, effectively turning them into charred carcasses.
Kerillian and Bardin fought together, the dwarf occasionally firing off his weapon, almost blowing the bandits up. A few bandits that had thought to overpower the elf were sorely mistaken as they found the hands that reached out to simply disappear in a gout of blood, the elf's eyes black with murder as they for once, felt terrified of an elf.
Victor continued to fire at the bandits, sometimes cutting them down with his rapier.
The group continued to fend off the attacks, becoming a well-oiled machine of death. The constant fighting of Lizardmen preparing them for these moments of slaughter. Some bandits attempted to attack them from behind.
Sienna turned around, holding her metallic glove up as a skull made of fire developed, leaning close to whisper. « Spread joy my pretty... »
The Wizard then released it, the burning head seeking targets as it became as lifelike as fire. Before the bandits could react, they were soon engulfed in flames. In the meantime, Bardin continued to fire his weapon, while also cutting down his opponents with his axe. He then chuckled, turning to the scarred man « Is that all you've got, Bokumgi! »
But as he said that, the huge man charged forward, hitting the dwarf with his sword. Thankfully, the dwarf reflexes were quick enough to parry the attack with his shield, but he still felt the hit none the less.
« Sometimes, if you want a job done right, you gotta do it yourself. » the scarred man sighed annoyed. « A welcomed change of pace, heretic. The ratmen at Ubersreik put a better threat that your pitiful men. » Saltzpyre mocked the bandit leader.
Angered at the comment, he roared out, charging at Saltzpyre, who merely managed to dodge the attack. The bandit then focused on Kruber, who blocked his attack with his shield. None the less, the attack was so powerful that he was sent back a few meters.
« Taal's teeth! What are you, a bloody Norscan!? » Kruber exclaimed surprised by the attack. The bandit struck again, and once again Kruber was forced to block the attack. « Empire…..Tilea….Estalia….Sigmar…..and now Norscan!? What the hell are you talking about, you bastard!? » the bandit roared out.
Taking advantage of the fact that Kruber was preoccupied, several bandits attempted to charge at him from behind, but they met their doom as Kerillian killed them with her bow and arrows. Before she could then aim at their leader, he dodged, charging at the elf and nearly cleaving her in half with a downright swing.
« Taste Ashqy flames, you bastard! » Sienna roared out, letting out a powerful flame at the opponent. Much to her surprise, not only he survived, but he charged forward, backhanding her with a fist, sending her flying against a nearby tree.
« Bastard! » Kruber yelled out, as he charged at him at full speed, almost as a human battering ram, hitting him in the back. Despite the strength of the attack, the huge bandit was still standing, and was merely angry.
Striking Kruber with his sword, the Reikhammer knight felt on the ground, the timely intervention of Saltzpyre the only thing that saved him. « On your feet, sergeant! There's much holy work to be done! » he then helped Kruber on his feet.
« Can't say that I'm not trying. But that fellow hit as hard as an ork! » Kruber commented. The group continued to circle around the larger foe, at times killing an unfortunate bandit that tried to surprise them.
After a while, the bandit leader got tired of this, and swung his massive sword in a circular matter. The fives were surprised by the attack, which sent them flying. While not mortally injured, the situation seemed relatively grim for the whole group, with bandits surrounding them.
The leader simply laughed. « What did I just say? » he mocked the downed heroes. But before he could order their execution, an arrow almost hit him in the throat, as he dodged by a few millimetres.
In exchange, it hit another bandit in the head, piercing its skull, then hitting another bandit, and then a third, until its killing spree was stopped by a tree.
« Taal's teeth. I missed. » a voice was heard cursing. Then, from the bushes, Wulfhart emerged, his bow prepared to take another shot. Alongside him were several imperial spearmen, swordmen, bowmen and gunsmen.
« Not that it matters too much for you folks, does it? » he then mocked the bandits, as a cannon shell hit the nearby area. As the soldiers charged, the bandits fled without hesitation, with their leader being the first to run.
Soon, the battle was over, and the bandits had fled inside of the forest, the imperials not bothering themselves to chase them. « Huntmarshal, I cannot thank you enough for your timely intervention. » Saltzpyre greeted the man.
« Well, we still could had handled Bokumgi and his lackeys, but it was getting rather boring. » Bardin commented. « That fellow was no joke. I've faced Northmen before, that bastard was at least stronger than 5 chieftains. » Kruber added.
« What matters is that you are alive and well. Would be bad for the renewed Ubersreik five to die at the hands of some pesky bandits. » Wulfhart joked. « Who also don't seem to know anything about the old world. I mean I guess we're still in Lustria, so that's a given. » Kruber added.
« I wouldn't be too sure about that, Sergeant Kruber. I'm afraid we're no longer neither in the New or the Old World. » Wulfhart responded. « What do you mean? » Sienna asked. « I'll explain at the camp site. We managed to find Franz Lohner and his base. It too has been transported far from where we initially were. » Wulfhart responded.
« I've got a bad feeling about this. » Kruber commented.
I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! Please review so I can learn your opinion. I'm willing to accept suggestions, so stay tuned.
See you on the next chapter!