To GrandmasterRed: I know referring to Eugeo as Kirito is confusing, but it's the easiest way for me to distinguish Eugeo when he is under his disguise.
I admit, nearly being violated has become a reoccurring theme for this fanfic's OCs, so I'm doing my best to change things up.
I'm sorry if Eugeo isn't to your liking, but that's just how the story ended up with. A lot of my story writing goes forward with what pops in my head in the heat of the moment or when I get hit with inspiration.
To N-Sight: I'm glad to hear that you enjoyed the bandit raid, I hope you enjoy the continuation in the next chapter.
To Guest: I know fully well that there's no Half Amazon, I only mean that Emilya would be very short compared to her peers due to the Prum blood in her veins.
To Quathis: Happy to hear you enjoying the reputation idea that I cooked up in the chapter, same with whole Mother-in-Law moment in the omake. But like I said, all credit for the Omake goes to "Arementi Revnant".
To bloodyredrose1994: Itsuki will most likely see Kirito as an enemy since he would think that he's stealing his glory for saving the Northern Territories. The same thing goes for Motoyasu as Myne will undoubtedly paint Kirito as an evil criminal that needs to be put down.
As for Eugeo getting Dual-wielding, he will definitely get it in the future. Most likely when I reach Season 2 material of the story.
To AnimeFan13579: If that is true, then I'm changing the rules for my own convenience. I will try to stay true to the source material, but remember, this is still a fanfiction. This is where authors like myself are free to call the shots with their own imaginations.
And if I'm not mistaken, Tione is madly in love with Finn and is completely willing to have babies with him. So I'm just going against all logic and say that it's possible for other races to have half breed children too. As for the Amazon half breed, (if Emilya does get turned into one) she would still be regarded as an Amazon, but will be very short compared to her peers due to the Prum half of her heritage.
To SxS: Well no, I'm basing Emilya Von Einzbern from Shirouko Emiya from the Fate Heaven's Failure comedy manga.
As for the Amazon half breed, (if Emilya does get turned into one) she would still be regarded as an Amazon, but will be very short compared to her peers due to the Prum half of her heritage.
To Yameteeee: Like I said before to one of the Reviewers above... If that is true, then I'm changing the rules for my own convenience. I will try to stay true to the source material as best as I can, but remember, this is still a fanfiction. This is where authors like myself are free to call the shots with their own imaginations.
And if I'm not mistaken, Tione is madly in love with Finn and is completely willing to have babies with him. So I'm just going against all logic and say that it's possible for other races to have half breed children too. As for the Amazon half breed, (if Emilya does get turned into one) she would still be regarded as an Amazon, but will be very short compared to her peers due to the Prum half of her heritage.
To Stardust: I apologize if this disappoints you, but I'm trying to stay true to the source material in certain aspects of the story. So Melty would still be the same age as she is in the anime.
To King Dragon: Yes, Nasir would definitely inform Naofumi that Siltvelt won't be sunshine and rainbows for him. I've been multiple times that politics is one of the key reasons why Heroes die in this world, no matter what country they're summoned in.
To Black Rose Sword:
1.) I'm not completely certain on their secondary elements. But if I'm going to choose, Anna gets some Dark element while Rifana gets some Earth element.
2.) I think I will make Anna as a member of a mostly secluded tribe of snake people who prefer to live isolated, away from the political disputes that normally occurs in Siltvelt. And yes, Eugeo and Itsuki will definitely clash over their ideas on how Justice should be carried out.
3.) I have no idea how long this Season 1 fanfic is going to take. But 50 chapters is a plausible estimate in my opinion.
4.) I don't want to get spoiled.
To Dark Drake: I feel so happy that someone like you is here to appreciate the simplicity and the importance of why Eugeo unlocked the Sword of Wrath so quickly.
To Shield Fan: I'm still not 100% sure on how I'm going to handle my own version of events once I reach that point of my fanfic.
To Dark Imperium: I actually have a perfect punishment set up for Myne after she gets put under trial by the Queen, but nothing yet for the Trash King himself. Though watching his eldest daughter getting the punishment she deserves just might be punishment enough.
To T.V. 2000: I really appreciate your concern, but me writing the reaction isn't really all that hard, so it wouldn't slow me down by that much. What really slowed down my writing rate is because I have no reference material to work on. All the events of Eugeo trying to fix Itsuki's mistakes are purely from my imagination and can't be reference with the anime or manga.
To Azizah Putri1: I'm not sure how many girls will be in Naofumi's harem, so that part wasn't included in the Christmas special chapter. He will get more wives in the future, the number depends on how things go in the anime. Rino is confirmed to be wife number 2 though.
To Mega Wizard: Rino is definitely wife number 2. The only reason she wasn't mentioned in the Christmas special chapter is because I wanted to focus more on Eugeo's harem.
To Paradox: We're still a few chapters away from the next Wave of Melromarc. As for Anna's lovemaking with Eugeo, I thinks we're maybe 3 to 5 chapters away.
To Quetzal: While it's true that Eugeo feeling guilty for Motoyasu and Itsuki's mistakes is illogical, you have to remember that this is just how Eugeo is. In Underworld, Eugeo blamed himself for what happened that caused Alice being taken away even though it was nobody's fault to begin with.
To Heracles: Ohhhhh they will definitely be butting heads. We all know that Malty is rotten to the core and wouldn't think twice to lie and spin a false story that will turn the Heroes against each other.
To UTOPIA: Ohhhhh Anna would definitely will. Since Anna would be in "heat" when she has her lovemaking with Eugeo, the act would be several times more aggressive than Eugeo's night with Alice.
To ImaginarySora: Yes, Anna is based on Rider Medusa from the Fate Franchise. As for the Noble Phantasms for the Bow and Spear, it's still up for debate.
To Warlord: I didn't really put much thought into this when I first wrote the Sword of Procreation. The best requirement that I could think of is that it can only be unlocked if the Hero and the Weapon Spirit made love with both sides truly loving each other.
COUNT OF VOTES:
2.) Emilya's Race
Full Prum - 3
Half Prum and Half Amazon - 2
Half Prum and Half Dark Elf - 10
3.) Flight
Yes - 4
No - 4
Compromise - 12
POLL RESULTS:
2.) Looks like Emilya would be a Half Prum- Half Dark Elf hybrid after all. Excited for this story to take flight in the future.
3.) It seems a compromise has been established, I will do my best to assimilate this idea as naturally as possible when the time comes.
1082 Reviews, 1325 Favorites, 1494 Follows
I'm terribly sorry for the late update, my Co-author and I have been very busy lately IRL so we had less free time to write this fanfiction than we used to. Please read the announcements at the Author's Note at the bottom.
And as a compensation for the long wait, this chapter is lot longer than my more average chapters.
"Grrraaaah!"
(*Slikth!!!*)
The boss bandit roared as he slashed another one of the many [Savage Striders] that were now swarming towards him and his men. The insect type monster stumbled back as it perished by the attack – but coincidentally gave room for another one to lunge at the bandit leader, managing to sink its mandibles into the bracer of his left arm.
The man endured the pain only for a moment as the creature was promptly flung away by one of his comrades. Stabbing a spear deep into its thorax before swinging the corpse away, sending it toppling over a few of its kin. With his arm now free, the bandit leader quickly turned his attention on the swarm and its movements as a whole.
But much to his anger and aggravation, contrary to his expectations, a larger portion of the insect swarm is more fixated on him and his band of mercenaries instead of assaulting his intended targets!
"Daaammmittt!!!"
The leader yelled in frustration as it took him a second, maybe two, to process this fact. It was a moment too long however, as his enraged relapse gave another one of the monsters a window of opportunity to charge at him. Snarling and hissing as the giant bug sank its proboscis right at his mostly unarmored shoulder.
"Get off me!" the boss bandit yelled as he brutally skewered the clinging insect with his sword in a panicked rage.
For the unknown number of minutes that followed, everything was reduced to a chaotic blur for the remaining bandits. They were no longer fighting just to escape the law; they were now also fighting for their lives! This was made especially clear when they had lost a few of their members to the swarm.
The multitude of [Savage Striders] made their angry vocalizations known even more as they continued to march forward en masse.
The fact that someone, most likely one of those wenches, had severed the ropes that secured their boats to the riverbank only made things worse. And now, even if they do manage to break through the thinner waves of the insect swarm and attempt to make a run for it, the hordes of monsters would no doubt chase them relentlessly.
Left with no other choice, they proceeded to fight with everything they had...
a Strider lost its head...
another one got its legs cut off...
the next got its body bisected by its thorax...
the one that followed had its softer underbelly sliced open...
There was barely any semblance of teamwork during the whole thing, just their hardwired survival instinct of trying to stay alive while staying out of each other's way. But despite their best efforts, they were steadily being overwhelmed. The occasional attacks that broke through their defenses began to stack up. Their armor of leathers and vambraces were being littered with dents and scratches as they endured the punishment from the rain of attacks.
"Shit!" the Bandit Leader cursed in both anger and exhaustion as their dwindling strength became more and more noticeable. Their footwork and swordplay growing more lethargic and sloppier as time went on.
This was evident as the boss bandit sluggishly ducked and weaved around a few blows but still received a wound on his cheek and a graze on his torso.
"Ah…ow, fuck…. Damn it…" the boss leader hacked and coughed as the pain and fatigue wracked his body, the same thing could be said for his remaining men. After almost a full 10 minutes of nonstop combat for their lives, they were coming very close to collapsing in exhaustion.
But just as they were about to be truly overrun by the swarm, a determined voice spoke out from the background, barely audible and nearly drowned out by the congregated [Savage Striders].
"Enhance Armament..."
A short distance away...
Kirito and his friends were just outside of the remaining bandits' field of vision, having finished dragging the unconscious ones to relative safety when they noticed the swarm's change of targets.
After taking a moment to observe the swarm's sudden shift in behavior, Kirito and his girls all felt incredibly sick to their stomach at what they saw. Even more so for Kirito and Alice, as they now bore witness to how several of the criminals were being eaten alive by the attacking swarm.
While it might be said that Kirito (Anna even more so during her time as a solo Adventurer) had seen some gruesome sights, case in point the time back when the Real Kirito ended up cutting Raios' arms off. Witnessing several men, criminal or not, meeting their demise by being consumed by these beasties was just too much!
In a moment of frustration, along with their desire to finish this as instantaneously as possible, Kirito and Alice both made the rash decision...
'"Enhance Armament!!!"'
of invoking Perfect Weapon Control.
As a multitude of magic circles manifested around the legendary blade, the remaining bandits who were conscious enough to watch could only behold in awe. Because for them, what they saw next could only be described as a force of nature that could not be stopped.
(*Woooossshhh*)
Kirito raised the transformed Legendary Sword above his head as a massive torrent of howling winds burst forth. The surrounding air bending to its will as an amalgamation of wind currents converged themselves toward the invisible sword, compressing into blade form.
"Wind Shear Tempest!"
With a final declaration of his newest move, Kirito decided to take another page from his best friend's playbook and took on the stance of a Sword Skill. Although he couldn't activate the Sword Skill itself due to obvious reasons, he still mimicked the long ranged {Vorpal Strike}; the one that ultimately defeated and killed Chudelkin.
"AAAAHHHHH!!!"
Accompanied with a sound that resembled the roar of a jet engine...
(*Screeeeeech!!!*)
Kirito gave the wind powered Armament a mighty thrust forward. Though he did make sure that he aimed his strike a few meters above the remaining bandits' heads.
(*Wooooosssshhh!*)
The ground shook as the winds howled at the violent onslaught. Gales upon gales of wind pulled the swarm of bugs off the ground and into the air where they suffered a death by a thousand cuts. Ripping through them by countless tiny wind scythes, causing bits and pieces of the bugs to fly out in all directions. But much to the conscious bandits' horror, not only were the wave of bugs shredded in an instant, the attack itself wasn't even over yet. As what the bandits would later dub the whirlwind of death, the tornado of blades continued on with its travel until it reached the monster's nest and obliterated that also!
The howling winds only lasted for a few more seconds before the Perfect Weapon Control began to die down, its attack duration now coming to an end.
Kirito lowered the now powered down Legendary Sword as he began to collapse backwards due to exhaustion. Fortunately for him, Anna was there and was quick to catch him before his head even reached the ground.
"Okay..." Kirito gasped for breath, while also sounding a bit embarrassed, as he now felt the consequences of using Perfect Weapon Control when his SP levels were already on the low side, "that was… not one of my wisest ideas..."
'More than a bit, I would say,' even Alice sounded sheepish when she spoke to everyone regarding what they just did.
' "Sorry about that..." '
The couple apologized in unison, feeling quite ashamed of themselves. Not only did they spend their strength unnecessarily, but they also exposed one of their trump cards in front of untrustworthy onlookers!
Yuuki, Anna and Rifana could only giggle at the sight (or rather sound in Alice's case) of the couple's more vulnerable side.
Confidently convinced the two that their worries are unfounded...
"It's okay Master," Rifana said with a smile.
"Don't worry too much," Yuuki followed up reassuringly, "I'm sure my family's Shadows will be more than happy to silence those crooks for you."
"Mmhhmm, no harm done," Anna said in agreement with a surprisingly innocent smile on her face. Her warm smile quickly turns into a malicious one however, "Especially when they don't even have the guts to look at you! Much less stand up to you...! Hahaha!"
And as Anna gleefully pointed out, the previously conscious bandits who survived this whole ordeal, one of their own makings, nonetheless, were all knocked out cold. Most likely due to a culmination of stress, fatigue, and overwhelming fear. Because unlike before, they no longer had the courage to even face the infamous Phantom Swordsman. Not after they were shown in perfect clarity, just how much they were hopelessly... and hilariously... outgunned!
"I'm not sure if I should take that as a complement or an insult," Kirito chuckled, both in amusement and embarrassment, as the girls giggled at his misfortune.
Even more so when Arthur finally rejoined the group and noticed something mighty peculiar with the knocked-out crooks' lower regions.
"Father, what's that weird smell coming from their pants?"
The girls' giggling instantly turned into full blown, body shaking laughter as they couldn't restrain themselves from finding joy at the bandit gang's misfortune. Not that Kirito could blame them, as he soon succumbed to his own sense of humor.
After the remaining bandits were successfully subdued and gift-wrapped for the arriving Toudou Shadows, Kirito picked up a few pieces of the scattered [Savage Strider] corpses and absorbed them into the Legendary Sword.
Just like before, most of the things that he unlocked were more stat boosters, but two pieces stood out that would be extremely useful in the right circumstances. The origin of said monster fragments being that of the monster's head and legs.
[Savage Stylet Estoc Unlocked]
[Quality: Medium - Base Attack: 50]
[Mastery: 0/100 - Resonance: 0%]
[Exclusive Ability: Death Piercing]
[Equip Bonus: Stabbing Damaging Increase (Medium)]
Level 35 Required
[Savage Hydrofuge Sword Unlocked]
[Quality: Medium - Base Attack: 45]
[Mastery: 0/90 - Resonance: 0%]
[Exclusive Ability: Water Walking]
[Equip Bonus: Water Damage Increase (Medium)]
Level 30 Required
After reading up the first sword that they had just unlocked, both Kirito and Alice couldn't help but feel a bit queasy. At first glance, it looked like a typical one-handed sword, albeit having a somewhat blackish metal with a tad bit skinny edge. But what made it so disturbing however, was that its blade point just happened to be a replica of the giant insect's bloodsucking mouth!
Just the mere thought of using this particular sword against a fellow human being was enough to make Kirito feel very sick to his stomach! Made even worse when Alice shakily informed him that it had the ability to quite literally suck the life out of whoever gets punctured by it. Thus came the understandable vow from both weapon and wielder that they would only use it against monsters, preferably those that were on the larger side of the size spectrum.
Wanting to hurry this along, Kirito shook his head and quickly moved on to the next one... and he was left stunned by what he found.
"W-Wait a second..." Kirito stuttered out in disbelief as he wiped his eyes, as he was doubting them, 'Am I reading this right Alice?'
'Yes, yes you are my dear...' Alice replied in equal parts amusement and surprise as she looked over her beloved's new ability. After taking a moment to analyze this newly unlocked Skill in the mindscape, Alice went on to explain further, 'although it does come with its own drawbacks. From what I can tell, this {Water Walking} ability needs at least 10% of your MP per second for it to work. It should serve you well especially after you are able to reduce the energy cost by upgrading it with Skill Enhancement.'
'I guess that makes sense. Thanks a lot for the explanation, Alice,' Kirito replied with an appreciative thanks, internally reprimanding himself for the embarrassing fact that he can't swim. Since he was originally expected to spend most of his young life chopping away at the Gigas Cedar Tree, he was never really taught how to swim back in Underworld. Then again, very few Underworld residents were ever taught how to swim, most of those precious few being ones who had the calling of "Fisherman".
Moreover, after swiping away the displayed Stacia Windows, Kirito walked towards the river where the bandits' boats were originally docked. As the Legendary Sword shifted into its [Strider Hydrofuge Sword] form, he hesitated a bit upon reaching the riverbank
'Go ahead – try it,' Alice cheered him on encouragingly as the new sword's exclusive ability was now undoubtedly in effect.
"Master? What are you doing?" Rifana asked, seeing that her master is walking straight into the water just after absorbing a few pieces of the [Savage Striders] corpses.
"I just unlocked a sword that has a very unique ability attached to it," He answered.
"How useful?" Anna asked as she stood beside her junior.
"I think it's better that I show you," He answered, beckoning the rest of the party over to watch what he was about to do.
And once they were lined up, he took a step to the river, confusing them all as to why he was trying to get his feet wet.
But when he took the second step into the water, their eyes opened wide in surprise, for his feet didn't sink in as they were expecting. Instead, his feet stopped just above the bottom of his boots. Their eyes grew even wider as he took the third step, then the fourth, then the fifth and so on. It was as if an invisible floor or platform materialized right underneath the soles of his feet. Although Kirito's boots were still getting wet, his feet did not go any deeper into the water's depths.
After taking a few more steps away from solid ground, Kirito turned around to face his gob smacked companions, smiling in amusement at seeing their surprised reactions.
"Well? What do you think of this ability?"
The girls expressed their shock in varying degrees of amazement...
"Whooaa!!! You're amazing father!"
"No kidding! This will definitely make so many things so much easier."
"Indeed! This will no doubt be a very invaluable skill to have if we ever have to fight in wet terrains."
"Very much so! It could also be used for Shadow missions if our targets are ever based near bodies of water like today."
"For now though, this water walking ability seems to only work on me and one other person of my choosing. It also has quite the sizable MP consumption, so I will have to use it sparingly if I ever use it. But with some Skill Enhancements and some Leveling up on my part, I should be able to extend this ability to more than two people and minimize its energy cost," Kirito said as he elaborated his limitations while walking back to shore.
"We should get going," Yuuki coaxed, "My mother's Shadows should be here shortly to collect these crooks, so we don't have to worry about them eventually escaping. And after that crazy hurricane stunt you just pulled, I'm pretty sure you scared away every single monster that lived in the immediate area."
Not needing to be told twice, Kirito and his crew quickly returned to Arthur's carriage and clambered back in. Leaving the decimated Bandit Camp behind and going for the next one.
And before they left, Kirin hid a message for her family's Shadows that would be arriving shortly so that only they would be able to find and decipher it. The message included where she and Eugeo's group intended to go next, take the bound crooks into custody, as well as burn what remained of the ones that were killed by the Savage Striders, as she or any of her friends just couldn't bring themselves to even look at the bloody and mangled remains of the unfortunate bandits that were apparently eaten alive…
And the Toudou Shadows that would arrive not even an hour later would do exactly as their young Miss asked. They took the bound prisoners to question them about what they knew, and they gathered the remains of the bandits that were killed by the monstrous insects and cremated, as leaving their corpses be would likely cause a spread of disease, with how unsanitary the insects were.
About 2 nights later...
Kirito and his crew were now closing in on what was supposed to be the new King's first line of defense against possible rebellions. Thanks to Alice's {Map Projection}, they were able to navigate their way through the small forest paths without running into any of the bandit's patrollers. Although they did have to leave behind Arthur's carriage under a camouflage once they reached the more unruly parts of the forest, which Arthur didn't like very much since he was getting very attached to his carriage.
But he finally relented when everyone promised that they would be coming back for it.
But despite how useful {Map Projection} was in scouting their opposition with remarkable detail, there are just some things that could only be learned by doing it the old fashion way. So, after spending the entire morning observing the camp's movements and defenses, the group reunited with each other to have lunch and share what they had learned.
As it turns out, while the encampment itself wasn't all that big – only being slightly larger than the minor camps that Alice wrote off as insignificant – the 56 people in it was what caught their attention. Not only did the bandits look to be much stronger, but they were also equipped with much higher tier weaponry than average. It also didn't help that the bandits had fortified their perimeter with thick wooden spikes, closing the inside of the camp off to outsiders.
The spiked walls were erected on three sides while the remaining one side was protected by a large cliff-like rock formation that jutted out of the forest floor. Due to this fact however, this side of the camp ended up having the least number of guards as well as not being protected by the wooden barbs. Something Alice guessed was because the bandits didn't believe anyone would try to approach the encampment by the cliffside because of how steep it is.
As everyone contemplated on the information that they'd gathered, Anna had a moment of epiphany as a memory resurfaced in her mind.
"Umm... Master?"
"Yes Anna?" Kirito, along with everyone else, perked up when the snake of a woman broke the silence that had befallen them. Partially due to their eating being slowed down by their individual pondering. All except Arthur of course, as he was far too busy enjoying the grilled steak that his father cooked and stored in his {Item Storage} a few hours ahead of time.
"I know it's not my place to ask but, is it okay if I take the lead in today's raid?"
Kirito raised an eyebrow over Anna's question, once again feeling quite uncomfortable on how subservient the Serpentine would sometimes be towards him. He didn't know if it was unintentional or deliberate, but it had been growing more and more noticeable as time went on.
"Members of my race prefer to live and hunt in thick isolated forest areas such as these, so I'm quite adapt in taking advantage of this kind of terrain."
Not wanting to make things awkward, Kirito deliberately pushed the issue out of his mind (at least for the time being) and politely gave his response.
"Really? That's great!" Kirito complemented the magenta haired beauty, much to said beauty's joy before continuing, "To tell you the truth, I'm having a lot of trouble thinking of ideas. Making elaborate plans like this isn't really my strongest suit."
His embarrassed confession caused differing reactions out of his party.
While Yuuki and Alice both agreed on Kirito's admission of his own shortcomings...
Anna, Rifana and Arthur were left confused on why their lover/father figure would demean himself like that.
After all, in their eyes, the plan that he concocted for the previous camp went without a hitch. The captives were safely rescued, the bandits were successfully captured, and finally, none of them were hurt or injured during the entire attack.
What could be the issue?
"I'm flattered that you think so highly of me, but you have to remember that I'm not perfect and all knowing. Not only did I push myself too far with my overuse of Weapon Skills, but we were all caught off guard by the [Savage Striders] that the Bandit Leader released out of desperation," Kirito said with honest conviction in his eyes as he gave each of his party members a grateful glance before returning his attention back to Anna, "You may technically be my slave, but you are a free slave. So, if you have any wisdom that you wish to share with me, then you are free to speak your mind. That same thing goes for all of you, understand?"
Needless to say, Kirito received some very happy nods of approval from the girls (with Anna blushing as she was touched by Kirito's words) and enthusiastic ones coming from his son. After calming herself down and cooling her head, the Serpentine of the group promptly asked Alice to activate her {Map Projection} once again. Her mind working in overdrive as she was now incredibly motivated to show more of her good side to her beloved master.
After taking a moment to collect herself, Anna spent the next 10 minutes piecing together her plan on how they're going to take down the bandit camp with little to no risk. Taking into account her years of experience living in such an environment for a good portion of her life, it went without saying that she knew what to be wary of and what she could take advantage of.
"Alright, here's the plan:"
Anna finally spoke up as Kirito and everyone else leaned a little bit closer so they could listen to her meticulously crafted plan of attack.
"All four sides of the encampments are walled off and guarded by patrols and lookouts. But fortunately for us, the side that's right by this cliffside is the least guarded and least defended. That side will be our way in. The bandits were most likely thinking that no one would try climbing that huge rock formation to approach their camp since it's too steep for a normal person to climb down or up. This wouldn't be a problem to any of us thanks to our own skills in traversing unruly terrain."
"Although, there is a watchtower near the cliff that could pose a problem. But since it's not as high as the cliff, we might be able to take care of the watch guard from a distance, using these:" Anna said as she presented to everyone some needle-like darts.
"These darts have powerful sleeping potion applied on them; getting hit by one of these will instantly put you to sleep," she explained to the amazement of the rest of the group.
"Wh… where did you get these? The sleeping potions, I mean," Kirito asked in amazement. Anna smiled in delight in response.
"I've known how to make these sleeping potions before I became an adventurer – I just didn't have the ingredients to make them, at least until we visited Ingrid in Siltvelt. So…"
Taking a moment to take a breath, Anna gestured over to Yuuki while pointing at the landmass on the map...
"Yuuki and I will be the ones to use that cliffside to approach the encampment under the cover of night."
This particular detail caused no small level of confusion with the others except Yuuki. Noticing the confused expressions on everyone's faces, Anna quickly elaborated.
"You see, I took a closer look at that cliffside earlier and I found that the rocky handholds that you could use on its stony surface are a bit fragile. I don't need them since my claws are more than enough to create my own handholds, but Yuuki is the only one here who's light and stealthy enough to make use of them without alerting the guards.
"Plus, Yuuki is much better than me at hitting targets with a throwing knife or darts – if any of our darts matches are any indication," Anna explained to Kirito and Alice's confusion and the rest of the group decided to explain.
During their spare time, one of the things their party did for recreation was target practice using throwing knives or darts, and while Anna was good at it, Kirin was even better at hitting her targets.
The rest of the party took a moment to absorb this information and eventually nodded in acceptance.
"If that's what you think is best, then I'll trust your judgment," Kirito said with a small smile.
Anna's face flushed a bit for her beloved's display of trust in her but quickly shook it off to resume her explaining.
"Yuuki can use the darts to put the lookout on the watchtower to sleep. I only have five of these darts, so use them wisely, and make sure not to miss them, alright Yuuki?" Anna asked.
"Alright," Yuuki answered as she received them. Anna then resumed explaining her plans.
"Once Yuuki puts the lookout to sleep, we'll descend that cliffside and we'll take out the bandits guarding there and sneak inside the camp. They might have set up some signal or alarm bells of some sort in some parts of the camp, so disabling them will be our first priority after getting in."
Everyone nodded in full agreement, even the normally distracted Arthur was listening attentively as he sensed the seriousness of the matter. Though that may also have something to do with the fact that he already finished devouring his sizable lunch and was more inclined to listen.
"If we're successful in disabling the alarms, then the next step will go much smoother. We'll be going after the bandit leader. As I'm sure some of you have already noticed, Bandit Leaders are typically the ones who are the strongest of the bunch. To that end..."
Pausing for a second, Anna gazed at the Legendary Sword's blue gemstone, as if looking at the spirit within it.
"Lady Alice, if you would please."
Taking only a moment for the sword spirit to understand, Alice quickly adjusted the Map Projection's setting so that it would also display the bandits' overall power Levels.
'I never had the need to use this particular function before ever since I discovered it,' Alice spoke out for everyone to hear, 'Almost all your enemies up to this point, with the exemption of Wave Bosses, were so far beneath you in strength that there was simply no need for me to bother with it. But after what happened at the last camp that we've hit, I'm not taking any chances.'
The holographic map flickered for a split second before a good number of Level indicators popped up on the display where the bandits were situated, some possessing higher Levels than others.
"That's understandable," Kirito muttered in acknowledgment for not being told about this before signaling over to Anna, "Please continue."
Accepting her beloved's gesture with a nod, Anna quickly pointed out at the lone bandit who occupied the larger than average tent at the camps very center. A bandit who also just happened to have an indicator above his head with a number 42 on it.
"I don't know how, but as all of you could see, this guy right here is someone who was able to get a Class up. While I doubt that he's anywhere near as strong as us since we all received a boost in our stats from Master, it's still best that we remove him from the equation before he gets the chance to become a problem."
Everyone once again nodded in approval, seeing this phase of the plan as very crucial for their raid's smoother success.
"Once their bandit leader is taken care off, the rest of them should be easy to subdue with their guards down," Anna said as she finalized her plan with one last addition.
"Just wait for my signal for our all-out attack."
A few hours later around midnight...
Anna and Yuuki were now on the prowl as they took full advantage of the darkness of the night. Circling around the bandit camp through the treetops while being as silent as a cat, they eventually arrived at the top of the cliff-like landmass. And just as Anna described it, this side of the camp wasn't the ideal spot for normal people to invade, thus reducing the need for sentries.
As planned, before climbing down the cliff, Yuuki used the sleep dart she received from Anna to put the lookout at the watchtower to sleep. She also made sure that the lookout would be in a position where he wouldn't get spotted by his comrades when knocked out by the dart. And she was able to do that with no trouble.
Then, after inspecting the descent below, the two young women slowly scaled their way down the steep cliff, with Yuuki using the naturally formed handholds while Anna clung to the walls with her claws. While this delicate endeavor of climbing down the rocky surface without causing any disruptions took some time and patience, the two eventually reached an acceptable distance from the bottom. Releasing their hold on the stone wall and landing softly on the earth below without alerting anyone.
Although they did have to make a speedy getaway the moment they stepped foot into the camp as they heard an approaching bandit or two coming their way. Lunging for the nearest stack of storage crates to hide in, they were fortunately able to avoid being discovered.
"That was close," Yuuki slumped slightly in relief.
"A bit too close if you ask me, but whatever," Anna sighed at the near miss before prodding her friend that they needed to get moving, "Let's go, we have work to do."
"R-Right!"
Taking a moment to check if the coast is clear, the pair of infiltrators quickly but quietly made their way for their targets tent.
Meanwhile...
as Kirito and the others awaited their moment to arise for the coming conflict, Rifana broke the silence when she realized something important.
"Now that I think about it, Big Sis Anna never did inform us what kind of signal she was going to use to convey our attack."
This caused everyone to perk up for a second in thought but was quickly dispelled when Kirito quickly responded with his own hypothesis.
"I'm not completely sure myself, but after getting to know Anna for the past several weeks, I'm going to take a guess that it's going to be something very flashy..."
No sooner did the disguised Sword Hero finish his sentence when an enormous lightning bolt streaked towards the sky just above their targeted camp. Everyone's surprise didn't stop there though, because as soon as the bolt of lightning reached the apex of its flight, it suddenly exploded into a shower of tiny electric bolts heading towards the barely conscious bandits resting below.
"I guess that's Aunty Anna's signal."
Needless to say, from the moment Anna fired her Area-of-Effect Lightning spell into the night sky, the outcome of this Phantom Raid was all but assured. After all, not only did the felons lost their leader before the fight even began, but Anna's impressive display of magical might also inflicted every single bandit throughout the entire camp with a Paralysis debuff.
In any case, the bandits were easily subdued and captured – as they couldn't even put up a decent fight because of the element of surprise against them. They were effectively gift-wrapped for the Toudou Shadows to take a few hours later.
And it had taken no more than 10 minutes for the whole camp to be defeated and subdued.
Before the Shadows arrived however, Eugeo went through the items found in the bandit boss's tent and discovered something interesting – it was a dagger. But what made it stand out was that according to the document they found beside it, the blade could be retracted and extended at the press of a button at the bottom of the handle.
Kirito doubted his reading skills of this world at first and showed the document to Kirin to confirm what he had read, and she confirmed that she read the same as he had read, much to her surprise.
A weapon like this would be more familiar to people from the modern world like Naofumi, but since Eugeo was from a world close to the medieval era, he had never seen anything like it before, and neither had Alice.
And what was even better, was that since it was a dagger, the Legendary Sword didn't punish him for holding it to use as a weapon.
They didn't know how that retractable dagger ended up there… was it taken by the bandits from someone else, or was part of the weaponry the bandits had received from the new King's forces? They would have to find out later.
Since the dagger is still a work in progress and therefore had a few kinks that needs to be worked through, Kirito was still unable to use {Weapon Copy} on it. Curious on how such a weapon was made and how he can replicate and improve upon its original design, he quickly stored it his {Item Storage} for safekeeping.
And that would have been all well and good if that was all they had to face for that day, but Kirito and Yuuki sure didn't need any embarrassment added to all of this… as Lady Aoi couldn't stop gushing at him and Yuuki over how cute their Hakuko personas were when they decided to report to her about their latest mission log, as well as their findings in the now former bandit camp.
"Oh~~!!! Look at you two! Is it possible that you two have gotten even more adorable in the last few days?!"
" "Haa…~" " Kirito and Yuuki couldn't help but sigh in embarrassment as the rest just suppressed their amused giggles. They would have to wait a bit to give Aoi time to calm down.
And when she did, they gave their report. And at the end of it, Aoi's expression changed to pride.
"Good work, all of you – Miss Anna can be quite the effective planner, I see… And my complements to the rest of you as well for carrying out Miss Anna's plans. A perfect execution if there ever was one," Aoi complemented.
"Thank you, Lady Aoi," they all responded.
"I will call you again once we piece together all the information from the crooks you delivered to us, including today's batch," Aoi said.
"Thank you again, Lady Aoi. Oh, and before you go;" Eugeo said as he reached for the curious blade he had found earlier.
"I was wondering if you have seen a weapon like this before," Eugeo said as he demonstrated the 'uniqueness' of the dagger he held; extending and retracting the blade at the press of a button for Aoi and the rest of his team to see.
"Curious… So, this is the experimental blade I've heard about," Aoi said.
"You've seen this kind of retractable weapon before, mother?" Yuuki asked, surprised.
"I've only heard rumors about this new 'retractable weapon' a few weeks before the Heroes' summoning, but this is the first time I am seeing it for myself…" Aoi informed.
"The document we found about the weapon only had instructions for its use – it didn't say where it was made from…" Eugeo informed them.
"Hmm… if I had to make an educated guess, it is a new weapon developed in the Northern Territories made shortly before the ousting of its previous King; or, judging from its rather advanced design, it could also be from Faubrey – that country is best known for their advanced technology and weapons. I cannot say for certain; not without seeing the blade in person. Or better yet, have a blacksmith appraise it when you return here. I suggest you take that blade to Mr. Erhard when you return – I think we all know that he can be trusted," Aoi suggested.
"That we do, Lady Aoi. That we do," Eugeo agreed.
"Alright then. I must be off now – I have other matters to attend to. But please continue taking care of this bandit problem in the Norther Territory. Notify me when you've taken care of the other bandit settlements. I will notify you when we gather the info from your bandits, so expect a call from me in a few days," Aoi informed.
"Understood," they all said and bid her farewell.
About 3 days later...
After days of travelling by Arthur's carriage (much to Arthur's joy to be reunited with his carriage), Eugeo's group reached the next bandit encampment – if it could even be called an encampment at this point…
"As much as I hate to admit it, these crooks really outdid themselves this time," Yuuki reluctantly complemented as she and her group were once again hiding amongst the treetops overlooking the bandit camp in the light if the setting sun. Arthur being the sole exemption, as he was still forbidden from using any of his transformations in order to keep his father's secrets hidden. So, for the time being, Arthur was left on standby back on the ground while they surveyed the enemy camp.
The bandit camp was rather big, probably sustaining over 200 people at the very least. And from where they were scouting, they could see well over two dozen tents strewn about all over the place in a jumbled mess with the bigger ones settled in the middle. Looking at the camp's perimeter, it was clear that it had grown quite a bit since they seemed to have cut down some of the surrounding trees to make more space. Using the wood that they'd chopped down, they also constructed a surprisingly functional fortress wall surrounding their camp, topped off with a simple wooden gate at the front with two lookout towers erected on two corners of the camp.
"That may be true, but their working ethics leave much to be desired," Anna commented as she observed the men who were assigned as sentries, along with everyone else who were occupying the camp.
And she was right for the most part.
While the men who were put on sentry duty remained somewhat vigilant and alert for any impending danger or intruders, the same could not be said for some of their comrades that were lounging about below. Kirito could see a few of them playing some kind of card game that he had no idea about while others were busy loading a number of boxes onto wagons, presumably for future deliveries to both the legal and black markets.
"Why do you think the new king would set up his supply camp all the way out here?" Kirito finally asked in confusion over how a criminal's mind worked, something Alice was also curious about. Underworld didn't really have any organized crime syndicates like this; the Taboo Index normally prevented them from forming in the first place. Though Raios and Humbert had proven that certain loopholes within the law could be taken advantage of.
"It's a bit too isolated and distant from the North's capital if you ask me."
Taking a moment to survey the encampment and recalling her experiences back when she was a solo Adventurer, Anna answered with noticeable disdain in her voice.
"If I'm going to take a guess, this place is more than just a supply camp, it's also their business depot. In other words, this is where they meet with their less than savory business partners and underground clients."
"I see," Kirito murmured as he thought about Anna's explanation, "This is how they were able to sell the things they steal without getting caught. Or in this case, how they were able to keep the North's economy from fully collapsing after they ousted the previous king."
'That's actually pretty clever,' Alice muttered as she joined into their conversation, recalling some of the education that she once received from her parents before the Church took her away, 'and they probably have a few so-called 'upstanding citizens' in their ranks that act as their negotiators whenever they need to do business in towns, correct?'
Anna and Yuuki confirmed the couple's assumptions with their respective nods.
"Just like my mother would say, 'they may not be all that bright, but they aren't total fools'," Yuuki quoted as she shared her mother's wisdom, "The ones who oversee their transactions have to make their crimes worthwhile, otherwise, they'll eventually start losing members."
"Huh, I've always wondered how crooks like them were able to make a living despite their status as outlaws... I guess that answers that question~" Rifana joked with a small giggle to lighten up the mood, something that was very much appreciated by the rest of the party as they chuckled in good humor.
Though they quickly went back to serious mode as they dropped down to reunite with Arthur and formulate their plans. The group didn't have to wait for too long though, as by the time the sun has left the sky, they were successful in concocting an effective plan for their raid.
Although this time, most of the credit went to Yuuki, as the ample knowledge in business and mind game tactics that she learned from her mother helped her greatly in devising the nearly flawless stratagem. One that possessed the least amount of risks to themselves.
As darkness fell for the evening, a good number of the bandits were sound asleep leaving fewer personnel to stand guard for their stolen goods. The bandit stronghold only had their torches left to disperse the darkness of night, something that was only made worse when the clouds also covered the moon and stars, thus reducing visibility even further.
"Is everyone ready?" Kirito asked as they all prepared to leap into action.
Not that he really needed to, as Alice, Kirin, Anna, Rifana and Arthur gave determined replies of confirmation before they all lunged forward to perform their respective roles.
Kirito was paired up with Anna this time around as they parkoured through the treetops while heading towards the west side of the camp. Although Anna may not have received the same Shadow training that Kirito and Yuuki got, her snake-like peculiarities and reptilian disposition were more than enough to make up for what she lacked.
As they sped along the camp's western perimeter, the two eventually reached one of the guarded lookout towers. Sneaking as close as they could through the available branches and vegetation, the pair began to eavesdrop on the two sentries while waiting for the right moment to strike.
"Hey? Did you hear?" One of the guards said as he broke the silence, "a bunch of our patrollers said they stumbled upon a runaway slave escaping from further up north. A delectable catch of a woman at that."
This caused the tiger-and-serpent pair to pause as they delayed their attack for a few moments more so they could listen in on what they can overhear from them.
"Seriously?" a fellow sentry raised an eyebrow in disbelief, "How'd she managed to do that? I thought the North Castle's security were beefed up to house our new King's merchandise."
"Yeah, that's what I heard too. But the thing is, the escapee isn't a Demi-human."
The two eavesdroppers above perked up on this surprising piece of information.
"Not only is she a human slave, but one of the higher ups recognized her as one of our new King's favorite maids. Half of a pair of twins to be exact," the first man explained.
"No kidding? If that's true, then it's safe to guess that the two of them attempted an escape but were busted at the last second. The older twin probably sacrificed herself to give the younger twin a chance to get away. Too bad it was all for nothing," the second man said with a scoff before asking curiously, "Hey, do you think we can take a peek at that younger twin before they deliver her back to the Castle?"
"I suppose so..." the first man replied hesitantly as he blushed in thought before compromising with a condition, "But just a peek, you hear me! I'm not bailing you out if you get caught copping a feel on the King's property! Understand?!"
"Okay, okay, sheesh! Chill out buddy, I may be a perv, but I sure am not suicidal," the second man nervously relented before smiling lecherously, "Where is that foxy broad being holed up anyway?"
Taking a moment to survey their encampment, the first man pointed his finger at a specific tent, "She's being held at that tent over there, the grey one."
"The grey one?!" the second man winced in surprise, "What the hell did she do that our commander would detain her there of all places?"
"Well..." the first man hesitated to answer as a shiver of sympathetic pain shot throughout his spine, "This is nothing but pure speculation, but just about everyone within range noticed how the commander was struggling with a painful limp right after his brief chat with her."
"Uuuwww..." the second man grimaced at the clear implication his comrade was insinuating as he covered his precious family jewels.
On a side note, the two listeners had very different reactions upon hearing this little detail. One is a tiny bit empathetic while the other is incredibly pleased and satisfied.
"Anyway, this shows that the young lass is both vindictive and headstrong. Since the commander couldn't hurt her directly due to her status as the King's property, the next best thing he can do is make her return to be as painful as he possibly can."
The hidden pair didn't like the sound of that at all, most especially for the Serpentine as she fully understood just how humiliating it was to be under the mercy of a poor excuse of a human being.
"He's probably letting her stew in one of our more exotic detention cells to break her spirit while he repairs his pride back in his sleeping quarters," the first man continued with a snicker, "He'll probably return to her tomorrow morning just to laugh at her misery before sending her back to the castle."
"Ohhh... that's too bad," the second man whined.
It was by this point that both sentries had grown silent as they scanned their surroundings for any intruders, presumably no longer having any interesting conversations to share. Deciding that they've gathered all the information that they can, the duo dropped off from their perches...
"Humphh..!"
"Whaaaa..?"
and quickly knocked out the two sentries via strangulation or precise head traumas without raising the alarm. While it would have been easier to use Anna's sleeping darts for this endeavor, they were still a limited resource, so it was agreed by everyone that they should only be used sparingly.
As they gently carried the two unconscious lookouts to the more concealed side of the tower and tying them up, Anna asked Kirito imploringly with her eyes if they could adjust their timetable in response to this recent development. After all, this wasn't part of Yuuki's master plan since they had unknowingly overlooked the escaping twin on the {Map Projection} due to her nature as a human instead of the usual Demi-human slaves. It also didn't help that their earlier surveillances never brought up anything about this captured twin.
"Of course," Kirito said with an approving and understanding smile, "No sense in prolonging her suffering any more than necess-..."
Kirito's words got cut off by a chaste yet pleasant kiss on his cheek before the snake woman sped away for the grey tent. This caused Kirito to blush a bit for the Anna's gesture of affection, something Alice is more than happy to tease him over. As no matter what he does, he still got overly flustered when the girls expressed their affect towards him seemingly out of the blue.
Shaking his head to clear his mind of unnecessary thoughts, Kirito refocused himself for the battles ahead. Not wanting to lag behind, the disguised hero leaped into action to catch up with his Serpentine comrade.
Unlike the leading pair who decided to leap through the trees, the other in the East sped along the ground instead while making sure to be as inaudible as possible.
Although Yuuki and Rifana were both capable of taking the elevated route like Kirito and Anna did, the young Demi-Weasel simply didn't have skills to do it without making a sound. So as a compromise, the two stuck with the forest floor where Rifana was more at home, which was working pretty well all things considered.
Leaping from shadow to shadow in the leafy undergrowth, Yuuki and Rifana eventually reached the Eastern lookout tower.
In contrast to its Western counterpart, the sentries here weren't the talkative sort, so the two didn't have any reasons to delay their attack...
"Heeyy-..!"
"Who-..?!"
and quickly subdued them with quick yet silent strikes to the necks or head. With the two sentries out of commission, the two ladies quietly climbed down while sticking to the shades of the night.
It took a little bit of time for the duo to skip between the camp's torches and evading the few awake bandits, but they were soon able to reach the large tent that Yuuki assigned them to break in. Thankfully, there were plenty of supply boxes and casted shadows for them to hide from the miniscule security guards the tent still possessed.
Taking shelter on one of the stacked-up supply boxes, the two girls made a quick headcount.
"10 guards huh..." Rifana whispered softly to her comrade.
"There's more of them here than we thought; Lady Alice said she only saw 5," Yuuki replied in kind before proceeding to reassure her younger companion, "Not to worry though. If we time our strikes just right and coordinate our attacks, we should be able to take each of them down without alerting the others. And we can use Anna's sleep darts if we're in a pinch."
Noticeably calmer than before, the two shared mutual nods with each other before setting their sights on their first target. Being the more experienced of two, Yuuki gestured to Rifana to follow her lead, which was something the Demi-Weasel was more than willing to obey.
After waiting for their target to walk past them, Yuuki made her move and rushed the unaware bandit from behind. Wrapping one of her arms around the man's neck while the other covered his mouth to keep him from screaming for help. Seeing the opportunity presented to her, Rifana quickly capitalized on it by slamming the butt of her sword straight at the bandit's abdomen. Thereby knocking the wind out of him and rendering him unconscious due to air deprivation.
While the takedown only lasted 6 seconds, they didn't have a second to lose as they didn't want the other bandits to discover their subdued comrade. Dragging him backwards and leaving him partially hidden behind a few stacked crates. Nodding at each other for a job well done, the two quickly moved on to their next target. Being swift yet methodical, the two raiders soon found their rhythm and eventually defeated the rest of the patrolling bandits.
With the guards successfully subdued and restrained, it was now time for Yuuki and Rifana to begin the next phase of their plan: freeing and arming the Demi-human captives. Yuuki searched for the crates that contained the bandits' surplus supply of weapons while Rifana got busy in locating where the slaves were being kept.
Thankfully, it didn't take long for the Demi-Weasel to find the imprisoned Demi-humans. Rifana could see several cages all lined up with around 20 occupants in each one. And what was more, despite how they were all showing various degrees of dread, depravity and malnutrition, none of them were crippled or injured beyond recovery.
Revealing herself to the dozens of incarcerated Demi-humans almost caused a rejoicing cheer but was fortunately mitigated when Rifana frantically shushed them back to silence.
"We don't have much time, so please listen very carefully."
Regaining their sensibilities after a moment of thought, especially after Yuuki arrived with her arms full of weapons and the master keychain hanging by her hip, the soon to be freed prisoners leaned forward to listen intently to what their saviors had to say.
"This is what we're going to do..."
Blending into the darkness as they took advantage of the shadows that were formed by the camp's torches, Kirito and Anna were now slowly approaching the grey tent that they had overheard so much about. Taking special care to freeze whenever a bandit patrol group just happened to walk too close for comfort to their hiding locations. Strangely enough though, the so-called grey tent, where a personal property of the new King was being held, didn't have any bandit guards stationed at its entrance flaps whatsoever.
Not one to look at the gift horse's mouth, once the coast was clear, the two quickly made a mad dash to the grey tent's entrance without any resistance. But once the pair entered and saw what awaited them inside the dimly lit tent, both were left utterly flabbergasted as well as livid.
As within a metal cage was an admittedly attractive young woman who had definitely seen better days. Possessing a seemingly delicate body that hid the lean yet supple muscles underneath, orange hair that was once braided up but is now amiss...and judging by her revealing yet tattered maid uniform, she was obviously a source of both service and entertainment while under the new King's employ.
And if that wasn't bad enough, the petty revenge that the Bandit Leader decided to inflict at the woman was specifically designed to be humiliating instead of painful. Delicately toeing the line of breaking her spirit without permanently damaging her body.
Because not only was she dangling in the air for who knew how long, she was also hung there in the most shameful way possible, especially for a woman.
Numerous chains ensnared her body like a metallic web...
one of them was attached around her neck while another flowed down to the bottom of her breasts between the valley before being tied around the bottom toward the top of her breasts. Another chain was linked to the one wrapped below her breasts before being entangled around her waist. Her arms were crossed behind her back and was bound with another chain holding her wrists in position, securing it with a large padlock. Her legs were then bound together with another chain by her knees and her ankles, fusing them together as one limb.
Her proportional butt and perky breasts were barely hidden by the customized maid outfit that she was wearing. Her breasts rocked back and forth as she futilely struggled against her bindings.
And as a cherry on top on the disgustingly metaphorical cake, she was blindfolded and then suspended into the air at a 90-degree angle by the small hooks at the chains' tips. This not only deprived the prisoner from any chances of escape, but also made it very clear to her just how easy it is for someone to randomly approach and defile her, and there was nothing she could do about it.
Seeing the miserable and downright humiliating state the younger twin had to suffer through, the two onlookers were left extremely livid. Both were barely restraining themselves from doing something rash. Fortunately for them, although Alice herself was also enraged by what they were seeing, she still had the sense to snap them out of their stupor.
'He'll be getting the punishment that he deserves soon enough. Just be patient for a little while longer. Okay you two?'
' 'Right. / Okay.' '
As the two took a few moments to collect themselves, the entwined detainee seemed to have taken notice of their presence as she began cussing and threatening them for all that it's worth despite the helpless state she was currently in.
"Wh-who's there?!" the bound woman angrily screeched at the new arrivals despite the deplorable state that she'd been reduced to. The younger twin definitely had a lot of fight left in her still, which was good, all things considered.
"Whoever you are, when I get out of here, I'm going to fucking kill you and feed your genitals to the monsters!"
Realizing that the young woman needed to be placated back to rationality before they could do anything else, Kirito gestured over to Anna to do it. Hoping that the voice of a fellow female like Anna would have an easier time alleviating the tangerine haired spitfire while Kirito kept his distance.
"Calmly does it now young lady," Anna spoke placidly as she reached inside the metal cage and gently removed the blindfold from the struggling teen's eyes, "You don't have to worry, we're here to help."
The shackled girl's angry scowl quickly vanished once she saw that the speaker was a female like her.
"W-Who are you?" the now remarkably calmer twin asked.
"My name is Anna Fidi. And we're here to take this entire Supply Camp down. You're more than welcome to join in if you want," the Serpentine answered with an overtly vindictive smile on her face, which is something the orange head was happy to return with her own, "But before that, we must first free you from this cage."
Turning around, Anna waved over to her beloved to come closer, deeming it safe enough for Kirito to make his presence known.
"Wha-?! Who's..?!" the chained woman jolted at his appearance, both surprised and incredibly self-conscious when she realized that her savior had a companion with her, and a male Hakuko at that! Luckily for her though, Kirito didn't pay attention to the girl's unmentionables being exposed and simply went for the source of her predicament.
"Let's get you out of here," Kirito declared determinedly as he entered the cage from its entrance located behind its occupant. After placing his palms on top of the converged chains at the girl's back, Kirito alerted the detainee, "Brace yourself for the landing."
This greatly confused the girl in question, as she had no idea how this male Hakuko was going to free her from her bounds. While Hakukos were renowned for their strength, breaking her chains with his bare hands seemed to be a bit too much. She didn't have much time to contemplate about this matter however, as the chains that once bound her for the past few hours just spontaneously vanished into thin air!
"Ooff!" the girl winced as she landed roughly on the ground on her knees, "Wha-?! How did you...?!"
"Just a spell that I conjured up on my free time," the false Hakuko vaguely answered before offering his hand out to help the girl get back on her feet, "My name is Kirito. And you are?"
"I'm Kaguya. Kaguya Yamai," the younger twin introduced herself as she accepted her savior's hand of assistance. She then proceeded to ask the big question, "So how are we going to do this? If you really intend to burn this cursed Supply camp to the ground, then you're going to need one hell of a plan to pull it off."
"I suppose we do," Kirito replied sheepishly, knowing that the elaborate plan wasn't actually his to begin with, but he digressed. Handing over one of the spears that he swiped from the lookouts earlier before answering, "Just stay here and wait for my signal."
"Wai-! What?!" Kaguya protested in defiance, mistaking the instruction as condescending and thought that the male Hakuko is looking down on her, "Now see here-!"
Fortunately for them, Anna is sensible enough to clamp Kaguya's mouth shut and shush her before she could raise her voice any higher. Reminding everyone that they still need to be silent, before proceeding to clear up the misconception, "The rest of our comrades are freeing and equipping the enslaved Demi-humans as we speak. We plan to go for an all-out prison break and spring out a surprise attack once everyone is ready to catch all of the Bandit higher-ups off guard."
"I like the sound of that," Kaguya grinned mischievously at the thought, overly eager to get some much-needed payback with the ones who humiliated her. Her good mood didn't last for long however as she soon remembered something incredibly important, glaring at the accursed tattoo engraved on her chest.
"But what about everyone's Slave crest? Because I know for a fact that everyone was already branded with one shortly after arriving here."
Much to Kaguya's surprise however, Anna simply smirked at her concern and simply waved it off while Kirito seemed equally apathetic.
"Just wait for my signal," Kirito repeated after seeing that Kaguya had calmed herself down, "You'll know it when you see it."
Make no mistake though, Kaguya still felt conflicted in placing her trust in these people, especially after everything she'd been through. But after finding out that this group had gone through all this trouble, just to make sure that the prisoners were given a fighting chance to take back their freedom, Kaguya finally decided to give them the benefit of the doubt.
"Alright then..." Kaguya nodded in acceptance as she gave the spear that she was given a whirl before resting it on her shoulder, sporting a carnivorous grin on her face.
"Let's give them hell~"
After leaving the overzealous twin in her tent on standby, Kirito and Anna returned to what they were originally supposed to be doing. Sneaking into the other tents, discretely taking down the guards, freeing the slaves, and equipping them with the weapons that they will need from the nearby supply crates.
And just as they planned a few hours prior, Kirito and Anna reunited with Yuuki and Rifana not too far away from the Bandit Leader's sleeping quarters.
"Are the other slave parties ready?"
"Yes master. We managed to free and equip all of our slave tents without alerting the rest of the camp."
"That's good to hear. We were able to do the same on our end. Though we did have to make an unexpected detour while in the middle of it."
"A detour?"
"Let's just say we have another skilled fighter hidden among the slaves and leave it at that."
"Okaaayyy..."
"Anyways, the only thing left to do is to send out the signal of attack."
"Alright then..."
Kirito took a deep breath as he steeled himself for the battle that was about to begin. As he unsheathed the Legendary Sword, Alice automatically morphed it into the sword form that it needed to be, which was none other than the [Slave Cleanser's Sword].
"Crest Jamming Wave!"
As a bluish white shockwave swept through the camp, two occurrences happened in quick succession, both good and bad.
The first one being that it did its intended function, disabling all the Slave Crests that were engraved on the waiting prisoners. As they saw their accursed tattoos crackle with electricity before sputtering out, the previously baffled captives rejoiced on what the energy wave meant. They were now free to fight for their freedom!
Unfortunately, as a side effect of Kirito's use of {Crest Jamming Wave} , the second thing that happened was that it alerted the bandits that were awake and stirred up some of the ones who were still asleep.
"We're under attack!"
"Everyone! Wake up!"
"What the hell were those lookouts doing?!"
This mishmash of screams and lamentations were music to Kaguya's ears though, as she finally exited her tent. Ready to run wild as she currently had a lot of pent-up aggression that needed to be addressed.
And from where she stood, at the southwestern part of the camp, the excitable twin could see many more armed slaves pouring out of their prison tents and charging at the bandits that were caught completely off guard. More outcries were heard throughout the camp, signifying to Kaguya that Kirito's preparations were successful, and his collaborated assault is now in full swing.
Something that she was more than happy to join in!
A chaotic battle ensued as Kaguya leapt into the fray with her borrowed spear in hand. And as much as Kirito wanted to avoid bloodshed, blood was soon spilled as the resentment that Kaguya and the prisoners have accumulated during their time as slaves here have definitely dulled their sense of restraint.
This was heavily evident when Kaguya unleashed a barrage of stabs and swings of her spear in blindingly quick succession. Her strikes were mere glimmers of light that traveled faster than most eyes could follow as she plowed through her adversaries. Blood spurted out from the numerous wounds that she inflicted as she stabbed her spear at the openings in their armor.
A few of the bandits might have been wearing some armor that gave them an edge. But against an army of liberated slaves along with a superior combatant leading their charge, many who tried to oppose them simply stood no chance. Some of the battling Demi-humans cheered in admiration for Kaguya's display of skills in battle.
Unfortunately, even with Kaguya's prowess in the battlefield, some of the bandits who were previously asleep were beginning to join the fight, albeit still somewhat lethargic. They would need to pick up the pace if they don't want to be overrun. Spinning her spear around with a flourish, Kaguya launched herself back into the battle with a war cry.
But much to her and everyone else's surprise and confusion, the former prisoners' war cries were suddenly accompanied by screeches. Looking towards the sound, they saw that the screeches turned out to be from a large flock of Filolials. And for some unknown reason, the flock decided to break into the Bandit Camp and go on a stampeding rampage. Even more perplexing, was the fact that they seemed to be targeting only the bandits, under the orders of the gold tinted Filolial that stood in front.
"I don't know why those Filolials are helping us, but I'm not complaining," Kaguya commented as her baffled expression soon turned into a mischievous smirk. She then rallied the former prisoners behind her declaring, "Let's go everyone! For our freedom!"
" " " " " " "YYYEEEAAAAHHHH!!!" " " " " " "
The moment Anna entered the larger than average tent that was supposed to be the commander's sleeping quarters, she knew that this Bandit Leader would be different from the last one.
Not only was this camp's overseer stronger than the previous camp's, possessing a more impressive Level of 48, but he was also much more cunning. Cunning enough that he decided not to go with a direct approach, simply trying to dispatch the female intruder with a quick sneak attack from behind.
But thanks to Anna's superior senses and reflexes, as well as flexibility, she was able to bend over by her hips before leaping forward across the floor to dodge the attack. Planting her palms on the ground before pushing herself into a handspring, she spun her body around while sliding backwards to face her attacker. Glancing at the spot where she once stood, a large blade now rested there, a few inches deep into the hard rock after being swung with impressive force.
"I thought there was something familiar about you," the Bandit Commander commented as he lifted his blade free from the ground and rested it on his shoulder. "You're the Bewitching Black Serpent, aren't you? I thought the Church got rid of you some time ago. Not that I'm complaining, you certainly are quite pleasing to the eyes. It would have been such a huge waste of assets if you were already dead."
It didn't take a genius to figure out what type of assets the crook was referring to as he wasn't even trying to hide the fact that he's staring at her boobs.
Anna simply chuckled as she replied coyly with a wink, giving one of her breasts a soft squeeze as provocation, "Well too bad for you, these puppies already belong to someone else," And as an afterthought, Anna added, "And I suggest that you surrender yourself now if you know what's good for you."
"And what makes you think someone like you could defeat me?" the Bandit Leader sneered at the young woman, "You may have been infamous for being a somewhat powerful adventurer. But unlike you, I've been given an official Class Upgrade for years! Something this country would never allow a lowly Demi-human like you to have! You don't stand a chance against me!"
"Oh yeah? Well then..." Anna replied coldly as her mirthful eyes shifted into an ice-cold glare, "let's go and find out, shall we?!"
No longer bothering to give a reply, most likely thinking that the female Serpentine would hardly be worth the effort, the large man slashed down with his sword. His swing was both fast and powerful as he attempted to slice the Bewitching Black Serpent in half.
Unfortunately for him, it was all for naught as Anna instinctively unhooked her signature weapons from her hips and seamlessly deflected the attack, forcing the blade to go sideways and the crook to lose his footing. And with a swift spinning kick to the stomach, the Boss Bandit was painfully thrown back and slammed at one of his own furniture with a resounding smack.
"I think you'll find out that it is you who's completely outmatched," the reptilian Demi-human said with a predatory glim in her eyes. Releasing the chains from their restraints so that she could fight at her fullest, Anna knelt down on all fours like a predator ready to pounce, "And I solemnly swear, I will make sure that you suffer for every woman you have sold into slavery!"
What's going on?!"
"We're under attack!"
"Wake up you idiots!"
In the midst of so many cries of confusion, chaos reigned in the bandit camp as its inhabitants tried to regain some semblance of order but ultimately failed. Despite the fact that they technically have the advantage in numbers, it still didn't change the fact that a good number of them were still sluggish due to being awakened from their slumber. It also didn't help that the first thing they saw upon exiting their sleeping quarters is a human wrecking ball that barreled through them like bowling pins.
"Raging Air Spike!"
At the northeastern side of the encampment, the so-called man of the hour, the infamous Phantom Swordsman, was bolting between the enemy ranks and tearing through them en masse without slowing down in the slightest. Under Alice's suggestion, Kirito took her advice and tweaked his approach of how to use his Weapon Skill {Air Strike Slash}. Instead of using it in conjunction with his slash type Sword Skills like what he had been doing all this time, he instead incorporated it with thrusting type Sword Skills instead.
By combining the Weapon Skill {Air Strike Slash} with the Sword Skill {Rage Spike} , the couple was successfully able to create an attack that not only packed quite a punch but would be safe enough for him to use against large groups of enemies without going too far as to kill them in one hit.
While no part of Kirito's assault was overly lethal, his new attack was nonetheless very effective in wiping out the bandits with each powered up dash that he performed with his infused Sword Skill. Either rendering them unconscious or weakening the ones that weren't injured so they could easily be subdued by the liberated Demi-human slaves.
After what seemed to be Kirito's 6th nonstop {Raging Air Spike} barreling through the bandit's ranks, the dashing blur skidded to a stop a few meters away from his latest victims. Much to the amazement and awe of the Demi-humans who weren't busy with their own battles. But unknown to everyone who was watching however, despite Kirito's calm composure, their so-called savior was actually suffering a mild case of motion sickness.
'Okay...(*hic*) that's the last time...(*gulp*) I'm using that attack...(*cough*) several times in a row.'
'Understood... I may not have a stomach while in Sword Form... but even I felt a bit nauseous after doing that attack in quick succession.'
After recovering his wits, Kirito observed his surroundings and saw that everything is pretty much being handled by the liberated slaves. While he and Alice flinched at the sight of blood being shed by some Demi-humans killing some of their former captors, the couple couldn't really bring themselves to stop them. Because as much as they would like to end this conflict by arresting these crooks and throwing them to jail, there were somethings that couldn't be avoided.
Forcing themselves to push these sensitive thoughts aside, they turned back to the battle at hand. With the desire to end this without any more senseless killing, Kirito resorted to using his more foreign spells instead of using the local one. Sheathing the invisible Legendary Sword back in its scabbard, Kirito started chanting.
"System call - Generate Cryogenic Element..."
As the false Hakuko's fingers glowed with blue orbs of energy, a few of the surviving bandits noticed him in the middle of his chant. Realizing the danger that his non-native spell posed, they frantically made a run towards him in an attempt to disrupt his spell casting. Unfortunately for them though, some of the idle Demi-humans also noticed what their savior was trying to achieve and were quick to assist him by buying him time.
While it wasn't really warranted since Kirito was still capable of dodging his attackers without disrupting the spell, he still appreciated the help. Giving his comrades a nod of thanks before resuming the Sacred Art that he was casting.
"Form Element: Bird Shape - Split and Fix on hostile targets..."
The blue spheres then morphed into tiny, bird-like energy bodies before multiplying to an impressively high number. All of them fluttering around Kirito as a luminous flock before turning their heads toward their respective targets. And much to the bandits' horror, they soon realized that they were already finished.
"Discharge!"
A magical barrage that could easily be mistaken as a dazzling light show, was brought forth at the center of the bandit camp. The lustrous fowl zipping through the air in different directions before homing in on their designated targets. All the freshly awoken bandits along with a few of the recovering ones, all cried out in surprise and pain as the bone chilling lights literally froze them in their tracks within large chunks of ice.
And with that, the battle was pretty much over as it didn't take long for the immobilized bandits to be taken out of commission. The Demi-humans were even merciful enough to simply knock the helpless bandits unconscious instead of killing them like they did before. Perhaps they felt conflicted in killing them and found it unnecessary, seeing that they've already won.
Their inevitable defeat was made even more apparent when a loud smack of a human body crashing into something was heard coming from the Bandit Commander's sleeping quarters.
"Wake up you idiots!"
"What's going on?!"
"We're being raided you imbeciles!"
"Look! The prisoners are escaping!"
"They're what?!"
A few bandits from the southeast shouted on high alert, the sound of stamping feet from the newly freed Demi-humans alerted them of what else happened during their slumber.
"What the he-" said one of the men only to be silenced by a backhanded strike by a pummel to the throat. The remaining bandits were shocked to see one of their own be taken out so easily by the Demi-Weasel that now stood before them.
"Who the hell are you?!" questioned one of the angry bandits as he and a few others with him tried to flank her, keyword tried, as Rifana easily jumped over their formation and struck a crippling blow at one of them by the armpits. Without missing a beat, Rifana spun by her ankles and quickly gave the bandit who was attempting to sneak up on her from behind a spinning kick to the face.
"I'll get you for that, you little slut!" growled the injured bandit as he nursed a badly broken nose.
"Oh, I don't think so," Rifana replied before she took on a stance, her sword resting on top of her shoulder as it took on the bluish glow of a Sword Skill. Rifana then ran forward and leapt high into the air before slamming down to the ground in the midst of the cluster of bandits.
"Sonic Leap!"
The impact caused a devastating shockwave that not just broke their defense, but also threw all surrounding enemies back and off their feet. This impressive display of power also had added benefit of rallying up the other Demi-humans into arms as they were all given a huge boost in morale.
As the battle commenced between the two sides, the Demi-humans obviously having a clear advantage over the somewhat woozy criminals, Rifana began running across the battlefield to give aid to those who needed it.
Swinging her blade with another Sword Skill, Rifana dished out a {Serration Wave}. Though the blast of air was nowhere near as powerful as Kirito's; barely doing any damage and not sending the bandits flying, it at least served its purpose of hampering the bandits' movements. Thus, leaving a good number of the crooks more vulnerable to the Demi-human's attacks.
"What the hell?" questioned one of the bandits as their confidence and morale received a devastating blow.
This was made even worse for them when Rifana unknowingly followed Kirito's example, deciding to sheathe her blade so she could use magic to support her comrades.
"As source of thy power I order thee, decipher the laws of nature and create a blast of wind to blow my targets away!"
A strong gale manifested itself in front of Rifana's fingertips.
"Zweite Air Shot!"
Rifana declared her attack spell as she threw her hands forward, sending all the bandits and structures in front of her flying backwards as if they were hit by an actual hurricane. As dozens of bandits sprawled out on the ground, Rifana quickly unsheathed her weapon once more and dashed towards the next largest group of bandits to resume the fight.
As the Demi-Weasel ran closer, Rifana activated another Sword Skill as her blade took on a purplish glow. When the bandits were nearly in striking distance, Rifana kicked off the ground in full force, her jump going even higher than before. She then performed a mid-air forward somersault, reversing her grip at the same time before thrusting it downward.
"Brutal Squall!"
At that moment, a seismic shockwave was released in all directions within a medium sized radius of the impact point. All the bandits who were unlucky enough to be inside the blast area were hit by a few stone shrapnel's while those outside were sent flying.
After taking a moment to catch her breath, Rifana was just about to continue her offensive with the freed prisoners when they suddenly heard of a commotion coming from the commander's tent.
In the southwestern side of the camp, the bulk of the bandits there were having their own prides being crushed as their ranks were falling down left and right like flies. To add insult to injury, the interloper wasn't even receiving any aid from the freed Demi-humans as this section of the just so happened to be solely assigned for food storage tents and a few of the bandits' sleeping quarters. Meaning there weren't any nearby Demi-humans to support her.
"What the hell is wrong with you idiots?! It's just one girl!" One of the more higher leveled bandits of the troupe shouted hysterically at the other men. Seething in anger at the teen standing in the middle of at least thirty bandits, who wasn't even showing a shred of fear or concern on her face. In fact, what was grating at the bandit's nerves the most, was the fact that the false Hakuko was laughing and smiling throughout their entire conflict!
Yuuki's innocuous appearance from the bandit's point of view could be regarded as unnerving as she had already decimated a good number of their forces without breaking a sweat. As seen by the two dozen or so bodies that were strewn about on the ground around and behind her.
With that latest insult to their so-called manly pride, along with Yuuki's infuriatingly mischievous smile, at least half a dozen of the crooks lost their patience and charged forward. Coming at her from all angles with their weapons drawn, they were fully intent on cutting her down for good, no longer hesitating of wanting to enslave her due to their wounded egos.
Normally, a situation like this would end with recipient of the assault being or at least fatally injured by the collective barrage attacks. Unfortunately for them however, this particular Hakuko just happened to be beyond their pay grade by a whole lot; her sword glowing with a whitish hue as she swung.
"Wing Burst Rotation!"
Yuuki proudly declared as she activated one of her clan's famous sword skills, rotating her body in a complete 360 degrees with her blade outstretched for maximum reach. Upon her swing's completion, a powerful tempest expanded from her sword like a thunderous storm in all directions. The result of this attack caused almost all the bandits to be flung into the air by a considerable margin before falling back to the ground helplessly at roughly the same time.
"Are you ready to give up yet?" The false Hakuko asked the few surviving bandits with a mischievous tone in her voice, "Because I can do this all day."
Yuuki's claim was actually true for the most part. {Wing Burst Rotation} was a taxing technique to perform, normally consuming a sizable amount of stamina because of how powerful the swing needed to be to generate the whirlwind. But thanks to Yuuki receiving her Class Ups and her Stats being boosted by the Legendary Sword, she could still go for a few rounds before her body begins to give out.
"No way! I refuse to lose to a Demi-human whore like you!" Growled the deep and slightly insane voice of the bandit sub-leader as he tried to rally the remaining bandits. His unstable eyes bore down on the girl and her admittedly voluptuous body. "You're from the once famed clan of the Hakuko's aren't you? There's bound to be a very big price tag on your pretty little head isn't there? Especially for a female specimen like you with a body like that."
"I most likely do," The supposed Hakuko calmly stated, only feeling slightly irked for being ogled, but she inevitably shrugged it off with a smirk, "So I guess you would prefer to do this the hard way, huh? Even though you know you don't stand a chance."
The thinly veiled insult only served to aggravate the bandits even more, so much so that they simply regressed back to their crude ways of blindly launching themselves at her. Not seeing any improvements on their approach, Yuuki simply conjured up another {Wing Burst Rotation} and spun the whirlwind around her frame for her next counterattack. The remaining bandits roared out as they collided against the wind barrier and were repelled once again.
Surprisingly, the bandit sub-leader managed to deter some of his troupes to not rush in and simply waited for Yuuki's sword skill to end. The Toudou heiress noticed by the corner of her eye what they were planning, so she prepared to counter them appropriately. Just as her {Wing Burst Rotation} ended, only then did the smarter bandits make their move, charging forward with their weapons going headfirst for their target's moment of weakness.
In any other circumstances, Yuuki would've commended them for noticing this flaw in the {Wing Burst Rotation} , but they made the fatal mistake of committing all their efforts on this one strike. And that would be their undoing.
As the bandits charged forward with desperate abandon, the sub-leader in front almost didn't notice that the girl jumped up high into the air before her spinning came to a stop. By the time they realized their folly, it was already too late. Yuuki was already above them with a follow up sword skill at the ready, her blade taking on a bluish glow.
"Blue Sea Waterfall!"
At that last moment, the surviving bandits knew that they were doomed as the false Hakuko swung her sword downward for a full powered vertical cut to the ground. While it could be said that Yuuki showed the bandits some mercy by not striking flesh, some of them might have preferred a swift death instead, as the impact the men suffered through was immense. Especially for the bandit captain, who just happened to be the one closest to the blade's impact zone.
He was struck so hard that he was flung back and took out several of his men and even destroyed one of their tents, coming to a stop when he crashed into the camp's wooden fence. The entire area was quiet as the now leaderless band of thieves and kidnappers that were somewhat conscious looked upon the tiger eared girl with wonder and fear.
Before any words could be said or any actions could be made however, Yuuki and her victims were all distracted by the uproar that suddenly occurred at the bandit camp's center.
"This is pathetic," Anna murmured to herself as she continued to dodge and deflect the Bandit Commander's thrown daggers.
The battle, if you could even call it that, had only been going for a few short minutes, mainly because Anna wanted to prove a point. The Bandit Commander had a decent amount of skill to back up his strength and overall Level, definitely above the average thugs that the other bandit camps were comprised of. However, his attacks were pitifully slow – so slow that Anna quickly grew bored with it.
"Hold still you cowardly snake!" the commander said in between pants.
"Now why would I do that?" Anna asked in a rhetorical fashion before finally shifting gears. Her eyes turned into slits and her slender legs tensed in preparation for a full high-speed beat down.
In an action so quick the large man barely saw it coming, Anna lunged forward and appeared right in front her target. Dashing past the stunned commander four consecutive times at the front before going for a left elbow strike from the side to the head!
The blow was so unexpected and unorthodox that the commander failed to brace himself for the follow up right elbow strike from the opposite direction, thus flinging him into the air towards a pile of crates. Unfortunately for him, the Serpentine wasn't done as she dashed ahead to continue her combo with a picture-perfect roundhouse kick to the spine! While the crook was still stuck in mid-air, Anna pounced forward with one of her chained needles going blade first.
"Aaaagghh!"
Fortunately for the crook, Anna didn't aim for anything vital and simply stabbed him on the shoulder. Unfortunately for him though, it wasn't out of mercy as he soon found out that she did that simply to extend his suffering. Using the stabbed needle as an anchor, Anna leapt backward with tremendous force to brutally pull the bandit commander along for the ride.
Swinging her chains in a full 360 degrees multiple times around the interior of the tent, smashing the crook through a few crates and furniture while she was at it, before finally ending it with a final recoiling pull. The commander screamed in sheer agony as the anchored needle got forcibly pulled out. And with the powerful momentum his body had built up throughout the spinning wheel of torture, he inevitably crashed against the tent wall and got flung outside for everyone to see his defeat.
"I told you I would make you pay," Anna murmured to herself with a sigh of relief, feeling quite proud of herself for a job well done while also satisfying her rage.
"And to think that I got bested by the likes of you the first time we met… How humiliating… Although," Anna scoffed but then gave a satisfied smirk at the subordinate bandits' faces turning into sheer panic at seeing their leader defeated and knocked out.
"Seeing you defeated like that for all your cronies to see, now that's textbook payback," she finished.
It went without saying, that the few remaining bandits who were miraculously still conscious by this point, lost their will to fight. After seeing their commander battered, bruised, and thoroughly defeated by the Bewitching Black Serpent, the remaining bandits reluctantly laid down their weapons and surrendered.
Once again, the bandit camp was officially out of commission. But this time, since the camp was much bigger than any of the previous ones they'd taken out, they needed the freed slaves' help in binding the bandits that were now their prisoners.
It was quite satisfying to watch, to see the captors turn captives and vice-versa.
Although Kirito did have to permanently disable all the slaves' slave crests away from the eyes of their enemies. And by the time they did that, more Toudou Shadows were sent to them by Aoi's orders. After another slightly embarrassing chat with Aoi, she again confirmed that her Shadows would take care of the freed slaves and the captured bandits to gather any helpful information.
And so, thanks to the Shadows' help, the outlaws were now in custody and the former slaves in trusted hands.
And now, there was one more thing left to do – get to the capital where the new King would be at.
And thanks to Kirito and Anna freeing someone that had run away from the Castle, after they talk to her, she could lead them to exactly where they wanted to go next – because she too had a reason to return there as quickly as possible…
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
1.) The next chapter would be a Naofumi chapter, so the awaited downfall of the False King in the north would still be a while.
2.) I only found out recently that Naofumi's English Voice Actor, Billy Kametz, who has also voiced many other characters in the entertainment industry, died due to cancer. As my own way to honor his memory, I plan to make an Original Character dedicated to him that will make a short appearance in a future chapter.
3.) Help wanted for Beta readers and editors for future chapters. My long time co-author "Arementi Revnant" would soon be busy with work IRL so he might become too busy to help me in writing future chapters after this. So if he isn't available, I'm hoping for other competent fanfic writers to help me in refining my chapters when "Arementi Revnant" is not available.
NEW VOTING POLLS:
1.) Because the source material never mentioned any Royal Family members aside from the King that once ruled over the Northern Territories, I decided to use another character from a different anime who will take the False King's place after Eugeo and Naofumi defeats him.
She will have very little involvement after this North Territory Arc but she will occasionally provide support here and there for Eugeo and Naofumi in the future.
Please choose the one who you wish to be the next Ruler of the North:
- Princess Henrietta de Tristain (from Familiar of Zero)
- Princess Rayneshia El-Arte Corwen (from Log Horizon)
- Princess Hakuei Ren (from Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic
And to answer the eventual question as to why I only chose Princess characters, I'm gonna go out and say that the False King would no doubt kill the Former King's child if said child is a guy. That's pretty much the trend in many shows that have medieval settings. The Prince's are almost immediately killed out of principle while the Princess' are spared out of spite and to be used as entertainment.
2.) Do you wish for Glass to have a SAO companion with her when she makes her first appearance? While Naofumi and Eugeo are still both outgunned and outmatched, I thought that maybe adding another SAO character as one of Glass' allies would make things more interesting. But he or she won't be from the anime though, the SAO character would be from the SAO video games and won't be a summoned hero like Eugeo. He/she would be a normal citizen of Glass' world and would slightly be OOC from his/her video game counterpart.
So choose, do you want another SAO character on Glass' team or not?
- Yes
- No
These are the candidates for Glass' partner:
Strea
Kotone Takemiya / Philia
Nijika Karatachi / Rain
Nanairo Alsharvin / Seven
Ryota Sumeragi / Sumeragi
Premiere
ArFA-sys / "Rei"
Momiji Takamine / Kureha
Midoriko Hoshiyama / Zeliska
Eydis
As always, thank you for all the reviews, favorites and follows. I'm open for compatible suggestions and any advice that you readers could give. As for those nasty Reviewers who loves to Insult us authors, please just leave us alone.
Stay safe from the Coronovirus and stay indoors as much as possible!
