Chapter 13: A Spearman's woes

It was written in history books that bandits and brigands were most prominent after a massive war, and during times of great disasters; most of them being either soldiers and mercenaries that lost their source of income or peasants that had lost their jobs and had no other way to support themselves.

With how massive an impact the Wave has on the continent, it was only natural that such criminals became more commonplace.

That was reasoning I'd decided upon; considering…

"WHY ARE THERE SO MANY DAMN BANDITS!?"

It had been a few days since we returned to Melromarc.

We had accepted a few requests from the Adventurer's Guild at the border town, most of which were monster subjugation and gathering requests.

A few of them had us enter into the forests near the town, where we were ambushed by, you guessed it, bandits.

While we were able to dispatch them with ease, the fact that we had to deal with such ambushes three times in three days was completely absurd; was there some massive bandit recruitment that I didn't know about!?

"Seriously, did none of you even considered joining the army or something? I've heard they offered quite a decent joining salary."

"You do know that they are knocked out, right?"

"Just let me rant on this, Eclair."

After tying up the unconscious bandit, I dumped him with the rest of his gang of criminals; most of them were completely out cold thanks in part to my Morpheus smoke pellets.

"At least we have managed to finish the request this time." Trish noted, "To think I failed one because of bandits of all people…"

"But at least we have dealt with them!" Itsuki stated with a smile, "And dealing with such criminals are part of a Hero's duty!"

"Yeah, but it's annoying that we have to deal with them three times in three days." I groaned.

"I agree with Liya." Grif stated, "This is the first time I have encountered bandits this frequently. It makes you wonder if the lords in charge have done anything about them."

"We should check back with the guild to see if that's the case." Eclair suggested.

"And if there is indeed some foul play in the works, we will put an end to it!" Itsuki stated, "My bow of justice will lay waste to that evil lord!"

With that decided, we slowly made our way back to the town with the criminals being dragged by Talos by their bindings; a few of the conscious ones were complaining, but we turned a deaf ear to them.

These past few days had been a similar grind; taking requests from the Adventurer's Guild, then completing them and collecting the reward, it was the same routine I was familiar with.

It got me thinking about Culann and the rest of my previous party.

"What's on your mind?" Trish asked me.

"Just thinking about Culann, Fionne and Arjun." I replied, "I wonder how they're doing."

I remember asking gramps to inform them about my recruitment into the Bow Hero's party if they came by the house, so they should at least be aware of it.

"I'm sure they are fine." She stated, "Culann is pretty tough, even if he's down an arm; and he got Fionne with him."

"Yeah, that's true."

"What are you guys talking about?" Itsuki asked.

"Oh, nothing; just about our previous party. We did left without much a word to them."

"They're the ones that commissioned the armor set Miss Liya is wearing, yes?"

"Yeah." I nodded, "Though it was a bit much for Culann to make a set for me; he should have just used that money for himself. Seriously, that guy's way too nosy for his good."

"Sounds like quite the guy." Grif noted, "Though it sounds like you have owe quite a lot to him."

"I do; I wouldn't be as skilled as I was without him."

He was the only adventurer in town that was willing to allow a young fledgling like me into his party and even teach me on the procedures of being one; he even trained me in combat to the best of his ability.

Heck, he even helped out Trish when no one even want anything to do with her; that guy was really way too nice for his own good.

"Culann… I think I've heard that name somewhere before…" Eclair pondered for a moment before snapping her fingers, "Ah, that's right; that's the name of a well-known general that fought in the war against Siltvelt."

"R-Really?"

"Yeah, he's quite the living legend among the knights."

Come to think of it, Culann had mentioned that he was veteran soldier of the Melromarc Army before becoming an adventurer; but to think he was actually a general of all things…

"A legend? That Culann?" Trish raised her brow in disbelief, "The Culann I know of is that nosy drunkard that likes burning his savings to get drunk at the taverns."

"…Yeah, I can't see him as a legend of anything; except maybe among drunkards." I added.

The most vivid image I had for him in any situation would be him drinking away at the tavern until Fionne forcefully stopped him; that's not a sight of a living legend.

Though it would explain how he was so much more skilled than the other adventurers in town.

"Wait, if he's such a living legend, why is he an adventurer now?" Grif asked, "Did something happen to him?"

"A certain princess happened." Eclair sighed, "I'm not sure how much of what I've heard is true, but he apparently stood up to the princess for abusing one of the palace's staff and got discharged for it."

"Seriously!? What a bitch!"

"Yeah, no kidding."

"It's par for the course for that First Princess." Trish scoffed.

"You know of her?" He asked.

"More than that; we've met her." I explained with a groan, "And she's just as much as a manipulative bitch as the rumors say she is."

"That bad, huh? Guess bastard royals exist in every kingdom."

"Indeed."

Culann sure had it tough, to get discharged like that despite being so well-known; though it didn't look like he took it that hard with how happy he was drinking the night away at the local tavern.

I sure hope that princess would get her comeuppance for all the shit she pulled and the lives she ruined.

"Speaking of which, I've heard rumors about the Shield Hero terrorizing people all over the kingdom." Grif noted, "What's up with that?"

"It's probably false news the Church is spreading around." Trish stated, "They would do whatever it takes to make the Shield Hero out to be the bad guy."

"It is truly despicable…!" Itsuki growled.

"It truly is. And I wouldn't put it past them to have someone impersonate the Shield Hero to do it."

"Yeah, I can see that happening." I agreed.

It wouldn't be too hard for the Church either; all they need were a transforming shield and a slave.

"Damn, the Shield Hero sure can't catch a break…" Grif sighed, "Though I have to wonder if people will be easily fooled; all they need to do is attack him and he will be exposed."

"That's true." Eclair noted, "Though I highly doubt anyone would be daring enough to attack a Hero."

"Grraahh!"

A swing of a spear cut down the shield in the thug's arm, breaking his limb like a twig and forcing him to let go of the chains holding the slaves who quickly made a run for it.

The deceptively young adventurer then kicked him to the ground; blue eyes stared down at the frightened man in contempt as Culann placed his spear's blade next to his throat.

"You are the Shield Hero? Don't make me laugh." He scoffed, "There's no way someone as weak as you would be one of the Cardinal Heroes."

"Grgk…! What kind of nutcase are you…!?"

"The kind that knows when someone is bullshitting about being a Cardinal Hero."

Culann wasn't sure who was dumber; this guy was trying way too hard to sell himself as the Shield Hero, or the people that hired this dumbass to do so.

'Who in the world would call themselves evil?'

"N-No! I am the—GAAHHH!?"

The faker screamed out in pain when the spear pierced his shoulder, Culann gave him a deadpan stare as he said, "Really? Then how am I hurting you? If you are going to act the part, at least have the required stats for it."

"G-Grgk…!"

It didn't take long for his partner to bring the local authorities to his locations; the soldiers immediately cuff and drag the man away while he was kicking and screaming about being the Shield Hero.

'Got to give him credit for sticking to his part to the end.'

"This makes it the third one this month." Fionne sighed, "The Church sure is persistent in their slandering."

"No kidding." Culann sighed.

It had been over two months since the start of the Waves; and a month since Liya and Trish had left their party to join the Bow Hero's.

It had happened when they were in Castle Town to get their Class-Up; he had decided that with the Waves on the horizon, he would need to be stronger in case another one appeared in their region.

While he was there, Liya had been captured by a noble of the neighbouring region and the Bow Hero had rescued him along with the other apothecaries he had held captive. Either moved by his heroics, or noticing how strong they were, he had decided to join up with them along with Trish.

While he was a bit miffed about them leaving without saying a word to him, Culann was glad that Liya was moving on from his near-death experience; and he knew how deep the guilt the apothecary was for not able to stop those slavers.

"You rock, Culann! You've show that fake Shield Hero bastard who's boss!"

Culann sighed at the sight of his party's newest and youngest member to date; the dog demi-human looking at him with eyes of awe and a wagging tail.

Keel was one of the survivors of Lurolana Village, and currently its only villager; the rest had apparently left for another demi-human friendly region of the kingdom.

When he and Fionne visited Liya's house and got the news about him from his grandfather, this little tyke showed up and pretty much pleaded to joined his party, so to become strong enough to defend his village from the slavers.

While Culann wasn't keen on letting a kid to join them in fighting dangerous foes, he knew from experience that if he rejects, Keel would no doubt start recklessly enter the nearby forests to hunt monsters to raise his level.

As such, he reluctantly let him join the party, got him some equipment in the form of simple breastplate and a short sword, and started training him to fight while raising his level.

So far, he had managed to raise the kid level up to 22, and his current appearance reflected that. When he first joined, the kid was only up to his chest; now he was now to his chin and looking more like a young teenager.

Though he was starting to look more feminine than masculine, much Keel's dismay.

'Looks like Liya wouldn't be the only one giving people confused boners.'

"Well, with that jerk taken care of, shall we be on our way?"

"Yeah! Let's go!"

The reason why they were in this town instead of Port Lola was due to recent news of the Sword Hero.

Word has it that the Sword Hero had defeated an evil dragon that had made the nearby mountains his home; that got people from all over to gather towards said mountain in hopes of getting parts from the dragon's corpse.

His current equipment was getting worn down from years of use, and wearing armor made from dragon scales had been a boyhood dream of his; there was no way he's going to pass up such a chance.

"Wait a minute, where's Arjun?"

"Huh?" Keel looked around confused, "That's weird; he was just here–"

"I'm back."

"WAH!?"

The dog demi-human let out a shriek of fright while ducking behind Fionne; she and Culann let loose a chuckle at the sight.

"Stop doing that!"

"Sorry."

"Arjun, where did you go?" Culann asked.

"I went up ahead to check on the dragon corpse." He explained, "And…"

"And…what?"

"Well, let's just say that they really made good use of that corpse; and not in a way you would think."

"Huh?"

"1 silver just to enter!?"

"That's right, sir. It's the entrance fee."

"Entrance–It's a monster corpse!"

"Hey, I didn't make the rules here."

Culann let out a groan as he gave the money to the 'guard' overseeing the supposedly entrance; never in his life had he ever thought he would need to pay just to go up a mountain.

Once his party passed over the hill, a grimace appeared on his face as he looked at the scene in front of him.

In a massive opening of dirt and rock, a giant dragon corpse was left rotting on the middle of it all; the stench of rotting flesh filled the air and made him want to puke out his lunch.

"Uuh… it stinks…" Keel groaned as he pinched his nose in desperation.

"Looks like they left the offals untouched since its death." Arjun grimaced, "Such disregard to their catch…"

"It's only natural; offals aren't worth much comparing to the scales and claws." Fionne noted, "Still, you would think they would at least bury them instead leaving it out in the sun like that."

Looking around, it was clear to Culann that the stench of rot wasn't much of a concern to the various stalls that were selling the dragon parts.

'At this rate, it might cause another plague outbreak.'

It was common knowledge that corpses left to fester untouched were the main cause of many known plagues in the past; it was why adventurers were advised to bury or at least strip clean of any monster they hunt.

And with the monster corpse as large as that dragon's, an outbreak was imminent if they didn't take of it soon.

"Hey, excuse me." Culann walked up to the one of the sellers, "You need to dispose of the dragon corpse as soon as possible; the offals are starting to rot and—"

"Huh!? What are you saying!? If we do that, the adventurers will stop coming!"

"Yeah, that's right; but if you leave it, it might create a plague—"

"Enough with that talk, will ya!? If you want to materials from the dragon, you have to buy it like everyone else!"

'Ah, no good… he's blinded by greed…'

Dragon materials were extremely valuable so the money the town was making off of them would make them think twice or properly disposing the body; and that's not to mentioning how much they were charging people just to see it.

He could forcefully dispose of the corpse, but the other adventurers would probably accuse him and his party for hording the materials for themselves.

"Leave them be, Culann." Arjun sighed, "Let them face the consequences themselves."

"Yeah…"

There were people that would only learn from their mistakes after facing the consequences of them; it looks like the people of this town were such people.

"Let's just grab some materials and leave—hm?"

He took notice of a group of adventurers wandering off into the forests; their equipment being a better quality than the others raised some suspicions.

"Where are they going?" He wondered.

"Most likely they are after the treasure in the rumors." Arjun noted.

"Treasure, huh?"

He had heard rumors on the way here about some grand treasure left behind by the dragon that the Sword Hero had apparently missed.

'Looks like there are some people that believe in that rumor…'

"…"

"I know that look." Fionne noted, "What are you thinking of doing?"

"…Let's follow them."

"Huh? What about the dragon materials?" Keel asked.

"They're not going anywhere." He reasoned, "And I'm curious about this treasure they are talking about."

'If there were so many people heading there, there might be some truth to those rumors.'

Following close behind the adventurers, they made their way through the forest and into the entrance of a rather large cave; where there were a large monster was standing outside of it.

Once it noticed the adventurers, it let out a menacing growl and stood its ground; almost akin to a guard protecting something behind it.

'Those injuries… looks like this isn't the first time these guys attempt to enter the cave.'

"That's the last guardian! Treasure is within reach!"

The adventurers all charged at the monster, it letting out a roar and retaliated back at them; but due to the injuries it had all over its body, it's movements were sluggish and none of its attacks hit the invading adventurers.

Yet despite getting overwhelmed, it persisted in its fight with a sense of desperation akin to a mother protecting its kin.

"That's one tough monster." Fionne noted, "To fight with those injuries…"

"Even so… it wouldn't last much longer…" Arjun noted.

"Damn it! Why won't it go down!?"

"Just a bit more! It's on its last legs!"

And like that adventurer said, after a few more minutes of fighting, one of them managed to land a fatal blow on the beast, ending its life in an instant.

"We did it! The treasure is ours!"

"OOoohh!"

They immediately rushed into the cave, not even giving the dead monster a second glance and began searching the cave for things of value.

"Oh, nice! Dragon eggs! That dragon really did leave behind some treasure!"

"Hahaha! The Sword Hero must be a fool to leave these behind!"

'Says the one that didn't even fought that dragon.'

It wasn't rare for adventurers to take advantage of another's negligence to monoploize valuable loot; it always had been a first-come-first-serve basis for these things and there were always be something someone would have missed.

Still, seeing such vulture-like behaviour among people of the same career left a bad taste in his mouth.

"Guh…"

Fionne noticed Keel looking extremely uncomfortable at the sight of the adventurers pillaging the cave of the eggs, "Is something wrong, Keel?"

"Those guy's eyes… I hate them…"

"…yeah." She nodded, agreeing with the sentiment.

Lurolana Village was hit with the same kind people of a similar mindset; so no doubt Keel was associating those slavers with these adventurers.

"Stop it!"

A sudden cry startled everyone; they all turned to the source of that voice from deep within the cave, a young demi-human girl cowering in the shadows with a small dragon standing in front of her protectively.

"Stop it…! Please… please don't kill everyone else… save us… father…!"

"A demi-human!?" Culann was stunned at the sight of her, 'What's a demi-human doing in a dragon's nest!?'

"Hey, there's a demi-human here!" The leader of these adventurers noted with a smirk, "Let's catch and sell her to a slaver; I've heard young girls are worth quite a lot."

"What about that dragon?"

"Eh, catch it too. It's probably worth something."

Culann growled angrily at their discussion; the rest of his party agreeing with the notion that such an act would not stand in front of them.

And none was more against it than their youngest member.

"Keel, wait!"

Without any hesitation and fueled by righteous fury, he dashed into the cave and got between the adventurers and the demi-human girl; his sword drawn and pointed at their leader.

"Huh? Who's this punk?"

"I won't let you bastards take this girl away!"

"…Hahaha! Her, guys; this little doggie fancies himself a hero!"

The rest of the adventurers laughed at Keel, who only tightened his grip on his weapon; he would not move from there, no matter what.

He refused to let another of his people get taken away by these people, not again!

"Boss, let's take him too."

"That's not a bad idea." The leader nodded in agreement.

"Sorry, but I can't let you do that."

Culann decided to make himself known; Fionne stood on his flank with her axe drawn while Arjun stood opposite him with one of his sabers in his hand.

"Huh? Who the hell are you!?"

"The party leader of that little 'doggie' you are attempting to kidnap."

"Oh, so he's your slave." The leader noted, "Well, you should keep a tight leash on him; he's preventing me from getting my prey."

"He's not my slave; he's a member of my party." Culann growled, "And I agree with his actions; you are not taking that girl or that dragon of hers."

"Ah, I see. You're one of them animal lovers; you guys are giving us humans a bad name." The leader unsheathed his sword, the rest of the adventurers drew their respective weapons as well.

"Oh, this will be easy! That guy only has one arm."

"He has one arm and he picked a spear? What an idiot."

They all chuckled confidently as they slowly encircled the three of them, blocking any path of retreat and trapping them in the cave.

'Six… seven… about twelve of them… not a problem.'

"…Keel, you might want to look away." Culann told the young demi-human, "This will get bloody."

"You got that right!"

One of the adventurers lunged at him and swung his war hammer at him with every intention to smash his head in; the spearman simply stepped back and let the hammer swing harmlessly down in front of him.

While the adventurer stiffened in shock at his attack being so easily evaded, Culann stabbed forward and pierced his throat; he let out a gurgle before the spear was removed and he fell down dead.

"Oh, no! He killed Kenny!"

"You bastard!"

Another charged at him from behind with a spear of his own; he avoided it and let it stab through his empty sleeve before spinning around and striking him down with a stab to the heart.

"…W-Why are you guys just standing there!? Rush him!"

At his command, the rest of the adventurers all charged at them with every intent to kill them all; and the three of them easily dispatched them without much effort at all.

In between Fionne's fierce axe strikes, Arjun's swift saber cuts, and Culann's rapid spear stabs, none of the adventurers escaped alive; within moments, all the adventurers lay dead on the nest's floor.

'They must be low levelled to go down so easily.'

In the end, only the leader remained.

"T-This can't be happening—!"

"Yes, it can."

Without another word, Culann stabbed his heart as he stared into his eyes; the fear glossed over the adventurer's eyes before it dimmed as he passed away.

"Tch, as weak as I expected."

He extracted his spear and let the dead body fall to the ground motionless.

"So strong…!"

"I know, right!? Culann is the strongest there is!" Keel told the demi-human girl.

Culann walked up to the demi-human girl, Keel stepping aside to let him see her; the dragon, a hatchling if the small size was any indication, stood between them protectively.

"Gaauuu…"

"Relax; I'm not going to hurt her." He assured it as he kneeled in front of the demi-human girl, "You need to get out of here; there's no telling when another group like them will show up here looking for treasure."

"…no."

"Gau?"

"I can't go; I have to wait for father to come back." She stated, "If I'm not here when he comes back, father will worry."

"Father…?"

Looking at the nest, it didn't look to be inhabited by anyone besides the dragon; so if he had to guess…

'Is his father the dragon the Sword Hero had slain!?'

"Gau!"

"Eh? B-But… father is still…"

"Gau! Gau, gau!"

With how the hatchling was interacting with the girl and how she seemed to understand what it was saying, Culann guessed what it was against the notion of staying here.

"…may I ask what's your name?" He asked her.

"…Wyndia."

"Wyndia; is your father the dragon that inhabits this cave?"

"Yes, he is! He's the strongest dragon of these mountains!"

"Is that so…"

'I fear as much…'

As someone who unknowingly lost his parents to bandits at a similar age as her, he understood what she was going through; there's nothing more terrifying to a child than the sudden disappearance of their parents.

"Then I have bad news." He braced himself before telling her, "Your father… he's been slain."

"…no. No, you're lying!" She cried out, "Father is the strongest! He wouldn't get killed!"

"Gau, gau, gau!"

"No, it's not true! He wouldn't die like that! He's the strongest! The strongest! The… strongest…!"

Her cries died down into sobs, tears dropped onto the dried branches that made up the nest; Keel walked up to her and gave her a tight hug.

"…don't give me that look." Culann told Fionne, "It's better to tell such things straight up than giving them false hope."

"I know, just… you could have been more gentle with the delivery." She told him.

"There's no gentle way to do this."

Telling a child that their parents weren't coming back was never easy; but it was Culann's belief that it was better to be cruel now, than to be cruel after a white lie.

"Gau?"

"…yeah, I'm fine now." Wyndia assured her dragon companion, "Please, take me to my father."

"…sure."

After burying the dead adventurers, the party brought the young girl out of the cave and showed her the disfigured corpse of her father.

The tears returned in force; the girl clung to the closest person, Culann in this case, and bawled her eyes out. The pain, the sorrow, the guilt, all poured out of her as her tears soak into his tunic; he simply allowed it to happen and even held her in tight.

It took about five minutes for her tears to dry up and let go of him.

"Thank you… for showing him to me."

"What are you going to do now, Wyndia?" Keel asked, "Are you still going to stay here?"

"I…I'm not sure…"

"I advise against that." Fionne told her, "With how popular your dead father is, there will be more people aside from those adventurers who will come to explore the area. And as a demi-human, you are prime target for slavery."

"…"

"I have a suggestion." Culann stated, "I know of a place that is welcoming to demi-humans; we can bring you there and you can live the rest of your days in peace without worrying about slavers chasing after you."

"Is there such a place?"

"Yes, there is."

The region of Reichnott was one of few regions in Melromarc which didn't discriminate against and even protects demi-humans; it was where Keel said the surviving villagers had left to after getting raided.

"That's not a bad idea." His partner noted, "What do you think, Wyndia?"

"…I… I don't know…"

"Gau! Gau, gau!"

"Huh? You sure?"

"Gau! Gau, gau? Gau!"

"…yeah. Yeah, you're right."

"This might be a bit late to ask, but do you actually understand what it's saying?" Culann asked.

"I do." Wyndia nodded, "And she's a girl."

"Oh, sorry. So, what's she saying?"

"She said that she wants to join your party; in order to become stronger, so strong that she wouldn't lose to father."

"Really?"

'This is the first time a dragon asked to join my party.'

"And I want to join too!" She cried out, "I too want to become strong; strong enough to be able to protect the people precious to me! So that they wouldn't get taken away from me ever again!"

Their desires and goals greatly resonated with Culann's soul; he could see the resolve in their eyes, even the dragon hatchling's.

There was no way he would reject such conviction.

"Welcome aboard, Wyndia." He nodded.

"Huh!? Wait, how come Wyndia got to join so easily when she asked!?" Keel cried out, "I have to beg for hours to get you to let me join!"

"Difference in context."

"What does that mean!?"

Fionne rolled her eyes at the rather childish act before turning to Wyndia, "Your dragon friend; does she have a name?"

"No, she still doesn't have a name yet."

"Oh. Well, what should we name her?"

"Gonzales."

"WAH!?" "GAU!?"

Arjun's sudden appearance behind the young girl frightened her as she jumped onto her dragon's back; the hatchling stood protective in front of her, "Where did he come from!?"

"Yeah, Arjun does that sometimes." Culann told her.

"I suggest the name Gonzales for the dragon."

"Gau, gau!"

"Yeah, I don't think it likes that name."

"That's a shame…"

Culann could never understand why Arjun was so serious about that name; especially with how disheartened he looked from having that name rejected every time.

"…actually, I already have decided on a name for her." Wyndia stated, "I want her to grow up and become a strong dragon, so she shall have the name of the strongest dragon that ever lived."

"That's why, this kid's name shall be Gaelion."

"GAU!"

The hatchling gave a loud cry almost like an attempted roar in response, no doubt loving the name she was given.

"Well then, welcome aboard, Gaelion." Fionne smiled, "I look forward to working with you."

"Gau!"

"Right! If my memory is right, there's a pretty good spot nearby that's great for raising your levels quickly." Culann stated, "After we got some quality dragon materials, let's head over there."

"Okay!"

"Ah, wait! Is it alright for us to take them, Wyndia?"

"It's okay." She told him, "You can take them."

"You sure? It is your father's body."

"To survive in the monster world, it's eat or be eaten; that's what father taught me."

"Ah…"

'Talk about savage. then again, she is raised by a dragon…'

After buying whatever materials they had the funds for, the new party heads off to a new adventure with their new companion in tow.

…
To be continued…

What do you guys think? Wasn't expecting another perspective shift, were you?

So yeah, Culann and the rest of Liya's old party isn't going to be just some random background characters; I have plans for them, just you wait and see.

With that, I thank you all for reading this!

*Sup! So, this is the rewrite of my rewrite of my Shield Hero OC fic. This time, I'm going to make a few changes so that it would be more than just a Canon rehash.