This is quite probably the longest chapter I've written in a long time, man I think the last time I ever wrote chapter this long was back in the early days of this story before I imposed the 10k word limit per chapter. But that's enough rambling from me, this is the chapter where shit officially gets real.
Big thanks to Qinlongfei for beta reading this chapter and making sure I got the fast paced nature of the chapter alright.
With that said, let's get this chapter started!
Chapter 59: We Didn't Start the Fire
Malty liked practicing with the sword a lot, it was always pretty fun sparring with others and Thomas. She liked watching the knights back at the castle train in the courtyard in the early morning hours that made getting up to train with Thomas worth it, and Malty found herself fascinated by how they can easily swing their swords with precision and grace. Knights like Sir Meggie were so cool! Malty had seen her beat an entire team of elite knights all on her own, that was the kind of stuff that she had only seen Thomas do and Sir Meggie was one of the few at the castle who could match him.
But as much as she liked practicing with the sword, she remembered not to neglect her magical talents and studies. Thomas had taught her to always make sure to make use of everything she had at her disposal whether that was her own equipment, sword abilities or magical talents. There was never any harm in having an extra card to play in a fight and Malty had been told her that she had an excellent talent for magic with her affinities being wind and fire.
Sadly ever since they...left the castle, Malty has been pretty much on her own for handling her magical studies. Thomas wasn't much help since he had always focused more on honing his skills as a ranger and swordplay rather than magic despite having some talent for it, the spells he did have access to were gained through crystal balls. Thomas had bought her some advanced and intermediate magic books for her to read that focused primarily on fire and wind spells, but it was still difficult to do without a teacher. She missed Uncle Aldretch, he was kind and nice to her and he managed to make learning about boring magical theory sound so interesting when he explained it.
Malty stared at the pages of one of the books Thomas got her as she sat outside on one of the benches in the courtyard. Thomas had taken some of the others out on a hunt in the forest to teach them some tricks about survival. So that just left her to hold down the fort with a few others who chose to stay behind and she was quite giddy when Thomas said that she was in charge while he was gone. She just told the others to train or relax while Thomas was out, as she mostly wanted to work on her magic.
But she was starting to think that maybe she would be better off just practicing with the others as she felt like that she was making no progress on her magical studies. The book focused on fire spells which she was better at than her wind magic, but it was still pretty hard. She had managed to mostly master Fast level spells, but the little princess was struggling to figure out some of the Zweit level spells. Malty had managed to cast one or two fire spells but she was struggling with some of the more complex and powerful ones. The difficult to understand magical formula and theories making her head spin.
She could hear the sounds of some of the former slaves they freed from the Vallerie estate train in the courtyard, their weapons hitting against wooden dummies and targets, with some of them even shouting loudly each them they hit the target like some of the knights did back at the castle when they trained. She didn't mind the noise very much as it couldn't make her slow progress on reading and understanding this chapter on magical theory any worse than she already was at this point.
It was right when she was about to give up on reading when she heard a set of footsteps come close to her and instinctively raised her head to see who it was. Malty was surprised to see that it was a girl with brown hair and horns on her head that was around her age. The two stared at each other for a moment before Malty decided to speak up.
" Um...hi?" Malty raised a polite hand to say hello, a bit confused on how to handle this.
" Oh! Sorry, I didn't mean to stare I-" The cow girl stuttered as she suddenly had Malty's attention and was visibly flustered.
" Its okay, its okay, you're not in any trouble." Malty spoke in a calm tone trying to copy the way Thomas spoke a little." But you kinda were staring at me just now."
" Sorry, sorry, I was just a bit...curious about that book you were reading. Is that a magic book?" The cow girl asked as she eyed the book in Malty's hand along with the stack beside her.
" Yup! Its a book about fire spells but I'm having a hard time understanding it..." Malty quietly admitted at the end there. She just couldn't figure out some of these more complex Zweit level spells no matter how hard she stared at the page and tried to understand it. Malty could see the cow girl was glancing between the book in her hands and the ones stacked on the bench next to her with interest in her eyes." Do you want to read some of them together with me?" Malty offered much to the surprise of the cow girl.
" R-Really?"
" Sure! Just sit down next to me." Malty chipperly said as she scooted over to make room." By the way, what's your name?"
" All my friends just call me Spark." The cow girl said as she moved some of the books aside to sit down next to Malty.
Malty was a bit confused at the name for the cow girl." Spark? Why do they do call you that?"
" Well...because I can do this." Spark held out her hands in front of her as she closed her eyes and seemed to focus. Malty was confused by what she was trying to do for a minute, before she saw some very small but noticeable fire sparks coming out the tip of the cow girl's fingers. They were like pretty fireworks that she saw in Faubley once when she visited!
" You can use magic too?" Malty asked in amazement.
" I-I'm not really good at it. I only learned how to do this because my mom showed me before she..." Spark didn't finish her sentence but Malty got an idea on what she meant. Spark shook her head as she continued. " Anyway, its more of a party trick than something actually useful. I was told that I have a talent for fire magic, but I've never been able do more than just a few sparks."
Malty could see how down Spark was at her lack of knowledge about fire magic and wanted to help cheer her up." Well, how about I teach you? I have an affinity for fire magic too and I'm already pretty good at Fast level spells." Malty offered with a smile.
" Really? You would be willing to teach me?" Spark sounded more in disbelief than shocked at that, as if she couldn't believe that Malty would be willing to teach her.
" Sure! I'm not getting anything done with these books anyway." Malty very happily pushed the book in her hand away as she grabbed a new one that focused on Fast level spells for fire. Spark scooting closer so that she could read along with her.
Over the span of the next two hours, Malty helped Spark get some better control over her fire magic and helping her through the book on Fast level spells. She taught Spark everything she could remember from Uncle Aldretch's lesson on fire magic such as breath control, inner mana manipulation and other stuff. The little princess felt a bit giddy at being the one in the teaching position this time with her helping Spark understand how to bring out more power into her fire and gain better control over it, feeling the slightest bit superior at being in such a position.
After going over what they learned, Malty asked Spark to try and create a small ball of fire. Not a complete Fireball, but the beginnings of one at least. You needed to learn to walk before you could run.
" Now remember to take a deep breath and focus on your inner mana reserve." Malty instructed in a calm tone as Spark held out her hands in front of her with her eyes closed. " Um, maybe don't close your eyes."
" S-Sorry."
" Its okay, just try to focus on conjuring your fire." Malty repeated as she let Spark handle it.
Spark did take two deep breaths as she seemed to calm down and focus on her mana. For a moment, nothing seemed to happen but after a minute passed Malty could see sparks start to form into a more focused and concentrated fire. Those sparks started to take form into a ball of fire hovering atop of Spark's palms and the bull girl opened her eyes in amazement over what she just did.
" I-I-I did it!" Spark shouted in amazement.
" Yes, you did! Good job!" Malty congratulated Spark, wanting to give her a side hug but didn't want to interrupt her concentration." Just be careful when putting it out."
" Hey Spark, I'm done with training. Let's go grab some grub at the-" A new voice interrupted Spark's moment and both of them turned their attention to a big bull boy that had a similar face to Spark. The bull boy had an wooden axe in his hand and was looking at Spark with a confused expression. " Spark why are you hanging around the Boss's kid?"
" Flint, look at what I can do now!" Spark didn't answer the bull boy's question instead showing him what she could do now, holding up her two small balls of fire to show him.
" Damn, how did you figure out how to do that?"
" She taught me how to do it." Spark pointed at Malty, before turning back to the bull boy. " This is my big brother Flint."
" Huh, that's pretty cool. Thanks for teaching my sister, she's never been quite as strong as me so its good that she's finally getting a chance to learn." Flint nodded his head in gratitude.
" No problem!" Malty smiled at the both of them. " Its nice to meet you both, my name is-"
" NAOFUMI GET DOWN!" Mein instantly pushed Naofumi to the ground behind some crates of a nearby street vendor for cover, that had already run away by now. Mein instantly pulled out her sword and peeked over the crates to get a better view on what the hell was happening.
" AMBUSH! GET OUT OF THE CARRIAGE AND GET IN FORMATION NO-URKS!" The supposed knight captain tried to shout at his troops from the top of his filorial, but was cut off when an arrow hit him right in the throat causing him to fall from his steed.
The escort of knights were like lambs to the slaughter as they were instantly cut down by the swarm of demi-humans and beastmen that ripped them apart. Those that were in the middle carriage were like rats caught in a trap with both the front and back carriages having been set on fire which made them act as makeshift barriers to box them in. The knights inside the middle carriage who attempted to disembark were cut down by the sheer swarm of bandits and being caught in a surprise attack of arrows, blades and alchemist fire.
The people who had simply been passing by screamed in terror as the knights were killed and they were suddenly under attack. But Mein could only watch in horror as some of the demi's and beastmen stabbed those trying to run away in the back!
" They are killing civilians!" Naofumi shouted in shock as he held out his shield arm." AIR STRIKE-"
" NO! Don't do it!" Mein quickly grabbed Naofumi's shield arm and pushed it down to stop him from using his defensive skill.
" Mein, what the hell are you doing!?" Naofumi looked at her with shock in his eyes." They are killing people! We can't just sit here just because it will expose our presence in the city-"
" There are too many of them! We are outnumbered and outgunned, we'll be slaughtered!" The princess turned agent quickly shot down what Naofumi assumed to be her reasoning for stopping him. Mein hated to admit but there was little they could do in this situation. There were simply too many enemies for them to deal with on their own, the escort of knights was already dead and they would be swarmed within seconds if they tried to fight. She can't use any of her spells at the risk of hitting civilians and Naofumi doesn't have any skills capable of taking down large groups.
Exposing their presence here has become the least of her worries at the moment.
BOOM!
Naofumi looked like he was about to say something when they both jumped at what sounded like a large explosion in the distance. Mein's enhanced hearing allowed her to immediately figure out based on the direction and the subsequent 'BOOMS!' that it wasn't just one explosive. It was several and they were coming in multiple directions all over the city.
Right around that time, Mein peeked over the crates to see that mysterious staff wielding figure from earlier shout at the animals that were cutting down civilians." Don't waste any time on these worthless man-animals! We need to link up with the other unit! Move out now!" The figure with the staff earlier shouted as they directed the wave of demi-humans and beastmen up the street.
Mein and Naofumi instantly ran out from behind the crates to see the full damage those animals had done. The agent of the Outsider could see that the entire escort of at least a company's worth of soldiers had been utterly decimated within a few minutes flat through careful positioning, the element of surprise and brute force. The bodies of soldiers belonging to House Ebonheart littered the streets, many of their bodies still burning from the earlier two fire spells that created a pungent smell in the air of burnt flesh. The princess was quite familiar with it, but it didn't make it anymore pleasant.
Naofumi ran over to one civilians that had been stabbed in the back while they were trying to flee the scene, the Shield Hero knelling down and casting a healing spell. But based on the lack of movement and the fact that the poor bastard had a hole in his back the size of a javelin, it wasn't too hard to conclude that he was already dead. But that didn't stop the Shield Hero from trying.
" He's gone Naofumi." Mein said in a sympathetic tone as she could see Naofumi ball his fists in anger. She could understand where he was coming from but they couldn't waste any time grieving over a corpse.
" Damn it..." Naofumi stood up as he stared at the dead body of the innocent man that was killed in cold blood before turning to her with angry determination. " Mein we need to stop this before they hurt anybody else!"
Mein agreed with Naofumi but had to quickly think of a plan for how they can do that exactly. This was obviously a well-coordinated attack to either cripple the city's garrison or simply incur as much damage as possible to it if the explosions she heard earlier were anything to go by. Whatever the case may be, they've already taken out a good number of soldiers stationed in the city and no doubt any left alive is already engaged trying to put down this rebellion. So they can't count on them for support in bringing down this bandit attack, not with how much the garrison is probably scattered by now.
Could the bandit's goal be to occupy and take the city? No, that's impossible. They don't have the men or logistical support to hold down the city long-term. The northern lords wouldn't stand to have a city fall under bandit control and would quickly rally a coalition force to take it back. The bandits wouldn't be that stupid if they were capable of coming up with an attack plan like this, which might lend credence to the idea that this was really just to weaken Ebonheart's army as much as possible.
Mein shook her head, she couldn't focus on that right now. She needed to come up with an idea for how to stop this rebellion. Taking out the leader or high ranking officers of an army is a good way to disrupt them and send them into a panic. It was obvious that the demi-humans and beastmen within the city are being directed by some of the Hound Lord's men, if they could take them out than that would hopefully convince the rest to give up or flee.
" We need to take out the leaders, most likely spies of the Hound Lord stationed here." Mein instantly came up with a plan." That group earlier said that they were linking up with another force, we need to find them and take them out. They went that way, let's go!"
Mein and Naofumi fell into a sprint up the street where the spy of the Hound Lord led the force of demi-humans and beastmen that just attacked the escort to meet up with another attack group. In hindsight, they probably should have traveled over the rooftops for ease and the high ground advantage but she remembers the reason for why she left Naofumi at the inn last night while she went out on a scouting run to gather information. The Shield Hero simply lacked the agility and skill to keep up with her, and she didn't want to waste SP transversing him around the rooftops when they could be dealing with a very large force of enemies soon.
The two of them ran down the street as fast they could, though Mein deliberately slowed down as to not outpace the Shield Hero. Agility may not have been his worst stat, but it was clear that it was not Naofumi's highest either, as she could already see a bead of sweat come down Naofumi's face. It probably didn't help that he was donned in the knight armor she had him wear yesterday when they came in through the gate, while Mein for her part was just wearing her starting leather armor. But Naofumi seemed to be pushing through nonetheless. They passed by many screaming civilians who ran past them in terror, which did not make figuring out where the group of demi-humans and beastman ran to any easier. There was so much damn noise that it grated on her enhanced hearing a bit, but she quickly adjusted but she couldn't pin down anything that could give them a clue on where the bandits were heading so they just kept running.
Mein just headed in the direction of what looked to be smoke rising in the distance, most likely from the explosions that she heard earlier. It was by no means a solid lead, but it was all she had to work with. They passed by the bodies of entire squads of guards and a few trampled civilians. It was clear that the Hound Lord's men were prioritizing taking out the soldiers rather than the civilians. Smart move honestly if their aim was to cause as much damage to the city as possible.
When they rounded a corner, the first thing Mein saw was a small group of demi-humans and beastmen surrounded by corpses of guards wielding weapons that presumably belonged to said dead guards. Mein grit her teeth in anger as she took out her sword, there was no way that this was the main group they saw earlier. More likely same strays that branched off who will hopefully know where the Hound Lord's spies are leading the assault.
She charged at what looked to be a man with dog ears with his back turned to her. She was about to stab him right in the back when the man with dog ears turned just in time for Mein to recognize him and hold up his hands in surrender.
" Whoa, whoa, whoa! Easy! Friendly! Friendly!" Three Dog held his hands up just in time before Mein could disembowel him.
" Three Dog?" Mein stopped her blade just in time from splattering his guts all over the pavement. The rest of Dog's entourage looked similarly bewildered at seeing her again, but at least their weapons aren't raised in an aggressive manner.
" Sofia? What the hell are you doing out here?" Three Dog asked in shock to see her again.
" I could ask you the same thing." Mein dodged the question as she glanced over at the dead guards lying on the street." Please tell me you're not part of this rebellion and you just killed these guards."
" No, no! We didn't do a damn thing, they were already dead when we got here...and we might have taken their stuff, but we didn't kill them!" Three Dog spoke and Mein couldn't find a hint of deception in his tone or body language. The guards were likely killed by that earlier group of demi-humans and beastmen being led by that mage that set two carriages on fire.
" Mein, you know this guy?" Naofumi said in shock as he glanced between her and Three Dog.
" Saved him and his crew last night. I'll tell you later."
" Mein?" Three Dog raised an eyebrow at her.
" We don't have time for real introductions! We're going after the Hound Lord's men that are leading this rebellion, do you know where they went? They said that they were linking up with another attack group in the city." Mein cut the pointless talking to figure out where the hell the main force is, so she can intercept them.
" I heard that the explosions were coming from the north side of the city in the market district! That must be where the second group is but..." Three Dog had a concerned look on his face." We got other problems going on too. The guards are scattered to hell all over the city trying to put out the fires, but they are attacking any demi's on sight! I remember seeing some bitch ranger with pigtails shoot down two demi's who weren't even doing anything!"
" They are killing on sight..." Naofumi muttered in horror of what was happening and Mein grimaced as she should have known this would happen. It would make sense that in the panic without being able to tell who's really part of the rebellion or not, it would be easier to just kill all of them on sight. Naofumi turned to her with a desperate look in his eye." Mein, we have to do something! Anything!"
Mein wanted to tell Naofumi that there wasn't anything they logically can do. They simply didn't have the manpower to quell this rebellion on their own and even her half-assed plan of taking out the Hound Lord's men who are leading this rebellion isn't going to stop the local garrison from clamping down even harder on the demi-humans and beastmen regardless of whether they actually took part in in or not. House Ebonheart will regain control of the city eventually and then it will be open season on demi's from here on out.
The demi's and beastman can't stay in Ebonheart city anymore...the only way to protect them is for them to leave.
" Naofumi, I need you to go with Three Dog to round up as many demi's and beastmen as you can and wait by the eastern gate. Get some carriages too since I got a feeling we're going to need a quick escape." Mein quickly formulated a plan in her head." I'm going after the Hound Lord's men. If I'm not at the eastern gate in an hour, leave without me."
Naofumi looked shocked at the plan and very much in disagreement. " Wait, you're going after them alone? That's suicide! You were the one who just said not to fight those guys earlier because we were outnumbered! Now you want to go after an even bigger group alone!"
Mein had to admit that Naofumi was right in her hypocrisy but she still had her own plan." I'm not going to fight them head-on. With any luck, I should be able to take them out quietly in the midst of all this chaos or at the very least try and slow down the assault."
" Well, then I should at least come with you-" Naofumi was cut off when Mein suddenly grabbed his shoulders.
" Naofumi please! I need you to help get as many innocents out as you can and I need to at least try to make sure the Hound Lord's men don't leave this city alive." Mein looked deep into his eyes." Go with Three Dog. You're much better at rallying people than me."
Naofumi looked conflicted for a moment before letting out a sigh." If you're not there in an hour, I'm coming after you."
" I know you would." Mein smiled at her Naofumi worrying for her safety. It was cute." Try to keep hero skills to a minimum and stay with Three Dog."
With that wish of luck, Mein broke away from the group to go hunt down the Hound Lord's men, taking to the rooftops for the high ground advantage.
She could see smoke rising in the distance and where there was smoke, there was fire.
Naofumi's POV
It had only been about a few minutes since he split up from Mein and the feeling of worry in his gut still hadn't gone away. He was well aware that Mein was more than capable taking care of herself with her mix of sword skill, magic and power granted by the Mark. It still didn't stop him from worrying about her going after a very large group of bandits on her own. But he knew that Mein had a point that they needed to split up if they wanted to get everything they needed done in an hour's time, which just made him equally worried for that.
Three Dog had sent some of his men away to gather as many other people as they could for their 'exodus' out of Ebonheart city, along with getting some carriages to help them get out quicker. Naofumi could only take a handful of people with him through his portal ability and they certainly didn't have time to portal back to Silver Keep to grab their carriage and even that could only hold so many people. But their main goal at the moment was just gathering as many people as possible.
" Keep up boy! We got to gather as many people as we can." Three Dog shouted as he whirred his head around to look at Naofumi falling behind like an idiot.
Naofumi pushed as hard as he could, but goddamn he was not built for speed of all things. The knight armor was heavy yesterday when he was just walking, trying to actually run in it felt like agony on his legs. It was moments like these that served as a breathtaking reminder that just because he was in a fantasy world did not mean that he was suddenly at peak physicality. He could make a good guess that Mein was purposefully slowing herself down as to not leave him behind just now. Three Dog's group weren't nearly as nice about it as they ran up ahead and he was barely keeping them in sight.
The errors of him not keeping in shape back in his old world finally catching up to him in an isekai world of all places.
Damn it! I should have listened to Kenji when he invited me on all those runs back in school!
Naofumi pushed forward as much as he could, trying to ignore the growing ache in his leg as they ran through the slums hoping to convince and gather as many people as possible to come with them. But the slums themselves almost seemed kinda empty, which would make sense if many of its occupants had joined in on the riot or were currently trying to avoid getting killed by any wayward guards who are fighting on 'kill on sight' orders. Neither eased Naofumi's worries at all.
" BOSS! Found another group up here!" A loud voice called out from up ahead and Naofumi saw Three Dog along with his crew make a sharp turn to the left.
When he finally came around the corner leaning up against the wall and taking a minute to catch his breath, he could see that Three Dog's men had found a rather large group of demi-humans and beastmen. They didn't look particularly dangerous, most of them had barely what he would rags for clothes and only a handful of them had small knives and makeshift weapons in hand. They all looked terrified, nothing like those earlier demi's who slaughtered that escort of guards. It was a mix of men, women and children altogether.
The group they encountered didn't attack them or anything, but they still kept a fair distance out of what Naofumi perceived as cautious fear.
" Easy boys and girls! Easy!" Three Dog held his hands up as he walked to the front to calm the group down." Its me! Your main man Three Dog."
The group actually lowered their weapons at that, many of them seem to recognize the dog demi." T-Three Dog? What are you doing here man? The whole damn city has gone to shit!"
" That is exactly why we all gotta get the hell out of here. Its not safe for us anymore, any of us." Three Dog looked over the crowd of scared people and spoke in a tone that Naofumi found inspiring." Look we're gathering as many people as we can to get the hell out of here, because make no mistake folks this rebellion ain't gonna last forever and the man is going to hit back even harder than before on any of us that stay here after this."
A few of the group seemed convinced at Three Dog's words, but many looked more worried than how Naofumi was feeling.
" Get out of here? Where the fuck are we even supposed to go!? Everything we have is here in this damned city!"
" How are we going to feed our children? Keep them safe?"
" Are we even going to be safer out there than we will be in here?"
A dozen uncomfortable questions were levied at Three Dog that he tried to answer, but it was ultimately drowned out. Naofumi couldn't deny that a lot of them had good questions and points that they didn't really have a solid plan on what was going to happen once they got outside the city. But they clearly couldn't stay here where they would just get discriminated against even worse when this was over.
He was here to help rally these people and he couldn't fail. Not now.
Naofumi took a deep breath as he walked to the front and spoke." We can't ensure your safety if you follow us, okay?" All eyes turned to him and Naofumi took another deep breath to calm his nerves." But I can promise you all that you won't be any safer here. The local guards have already been coming down hard on you these past few days, you think they are going to care whether you participated in this riot or not when its over? No, its going to be open season on all of you unless you leave with us. I'm sorry."
The ones who had been protesting against coming with them hesitated, so he continued. " I can't make promises about your future outside the city, but I swear to you all that I WILL protect you with everything I got." Naofumi raised his shield arm as he changed to the Chimera Viper Shield to demonstrate his power and the crowd gasped in response at the sight of it.
" I-Its the Shield Hero!"
" We might actually have a chance here!"
" He's here to save us mama!" One child demi-human clapped happily. The group becoming a lot more receptive to coming with them either because his words inspired them or they realized how doomed they were if they stayed.
At that moment, Naofumi felt like a real hero. Before he remembered how time strict they were at getting out.
" Not too bad hero boy." Three Dog smiled at him before turning back to the group." Come on folks! Let's get the fuck out of here!"
Their group now larger than it was before ran out of the slums with Naofumi mostly following Three Dog blindly on where to go since he still had no idea the layout of this city." We need carriages if we want to get out of here quickly." Naofumi reminded Three Dog as they ran.
" I remember seeing a nice one parked near the general store. Hopefully its still there!"
" We're going to steal it?" Naofumi asked somewhat uncomfortable at the prospect of robbing some innocent person.
" Well, its not like we can borrow it and this is an emergency." Three Dog shrugged and Naofumi chose not to think too hard on it." Hopefully the others will have found a few too when we get to the eastern gate."
It didn't take them long to get out of the slums and back onto the main street, as the rest of the very large group by now followed Three Dog as fast as they could. The streets themselves were deserted for the most part and Naofumi made a guess that most people were either hiding in their homes or just trying to stay alive. But the Shield Hero couldn't help but grimace at the sight of dead bodies in the street that they passed by, but he couldn't focus on that now when they were so close.
But as they rounded the corner to where Three Dog said the general store was when Naofumi heard the distinct sound of the wheels of a carriage and it was close.
" HALT! Stop where you are animals!" A loud commanding voice shouted at them as their group suddenly came face to face with a carriage that looked similar to the one from earlier. There was a second carriage right behind the first one on the street and it was blocking their path.
Several armored men jumped out of the two carriages and onto the street, facing them off with their weapons drawn that made Naofumi uneasy for what was going to happen.
More reinforcements! How many men did that crazy noble lady send to this city!?
" Put your hands where we can see them animals! First and only warning!" The shout came from what looked to be a middle-aged man sitting in the driver's seat of the carriage and right beside him was an older woman dressed in leather armor that made him think she was a ranger of some sort with the bow in her hand.
Before Three Dog or Naofumi could say anything in response, one of Three Dog's men stepped forward. A young man with raccoon ears spoke up. " Relax! We're not part of the riot! We just want to get out of the city and-"
The raccoon boy didn't even get to finish his sentence when the woman sitting on the carriage nocked an arrow and shot him right in the face.
It happened so fast Naofumi didn't even have time to raise his shield when he felt the splatter of blood hit his face and it took him more than a few seconds to realize what had happened. The screams that came from behind him sounded drowned out as his brain struggled to keep up.
" Captain Paulina! What the-" The driver looked legitimately bewildered at the sudden act of violence as Naofumi focused on the dead boy at his feet.
The boy was barely a teen, just a kid...and he was killed right in front of him. Right when Naofumi promised that he would protect these people.
Naofumi felt rage build up as he shouted at this Paulina." Y-YOU BITCH! WHY DID YOU KILL HIM!? HE WAS JUST A FUCKING KID!"
" I shoot animals. They die." That was the sole response Paulina gave to her cold-blooded murder of someone and it was delivered in such a dry and emotionless tone that it just made Naofumi even more pissed off.
As if the boy didn't even matter, like he wasn't even a person!
" YOU FUCKING MAN-ANIMAL BITCH!" One of the women shouted in anger at the casual murder.
The bitch Paulina nocked another arrow aimed at her but this time Naofumi was ready." Air Strike Shield!"
The green ethereal shield showed up just in time to block the arrow, much to the shock of all the guards present and even to that emotionless Paulina who raised an eyebrow in surprise.
" T-The Shield Hero?" The driver said in shock before his gaze turned serious as he jumped off with Paulina. " Its the Shield! He's working with the animals! Kill them all!" The supposed captain shouted as the two groups shouted as they charged one another.
Naofumi didn't have any time to waste as he charged at the group, as he readied a combo of skills in his mind." Shield Prison! Change Shield! Bee Needle Paralysis Shield!" Naofumi trapped a good number of soldiers in his shield prison before paralyzing them, the ball of chains and metal disappearing as their paralyzed bodies limply fell to the ground.
" Die you fucking demon!" A soldier let out a war cry as he tried to slash at Naofumi who was blocked his attack.
" Shield Bash!" Naofumi used his next skill to bash the soldier into a group of his buddies before switching to his next skill and ran directly into their center." Lightning Shield!"
Naofumi slammed his shield into the ground as an AOE attack of lightning sent out a small shockwave from it that stunned the guards and left them unable to move. He turned to the rest of the battle and could see that the guards were slowly losing, with the demi-humans outnumbering them massively despite them having good equipment. And with Naofumi using his skills to take out a good chunk of their number than it wasn't hard to guess where this fight was going.
But his gaze quickly spotted that Paulina woman as she used her bow to quickly shoot down three more people without a hint of hesitation in her eyes or movement. Like she was just shooting down targets.
" You monster!" Three Dog shouted in anger as he got in close to slash at Paulina, but the older woman was faster than she appeared. Paulina ducked under Three Dog's sloppy sword slash and in a single movement sweeped his feet under him, sending the dog man to the ground.
Paulina stood over Three Dog with her bow already nocking an arrow and Naofumi reacted faster than he ever did in his life.
" AIR STRIKE SHIELD!" Naofumi sent his air strike shield flying at Paulina who turned just in time to receive the glowing green shield right in the gut, making her gasp in pain.
The Shield Hero didn't stop there as he charged at the disrupted woman." Shield Bash!" Naofumi bashed his shield directly into Paulina's face causing a bloody nose to come out from the sheer force of the hit and stunning her in the process.
Naofumi felt pure anger coursing through him as he looked at this woman who mercilessly killed a boy barely old enough to hold a sword.
" Spike Bash!" Naofumi shouted as he slammed his spike shield right in her heart and he watched as one of the spikes went right up into her mouth.
At that moment, he saw another figure come up from his rear and stab the Paulina right in the gut. It seemed Three Dog recovered and helped him finish her off.
" URKHHH!" Paulina gurgled in pain as blood came out of her mouth, before she simply fell to the ground dead.
Naofumi pulled away his shield as he took a breath. The fighting was long finished and he watched as blood dripped from the spikes of his shield and the realization of what he just did hit him harder than before.
H-Holy shit...I just killed somebody. I just killed somebody.
For the entire time he's been in this world, Naofumi has never actually killed anyone. Not with his own two hands at least, not like he could with his low attack rating. Mein was always the one that handled that uncomfortable aspect of any fights they were involved with horrifying efficiency. But here he was the one who had just killed that Paulina woman.
Naofumi was knocked out of his stupor as he glanced over at the bodies of the guards he had paralyzed and stunned...and they were all having their throats slit by members of Three Dog's group.
" Hey wait! Don't kill them! They aren't-" Naofumi shouted but it was too late as the last guard had his throat slit. A new wave of anger and horror washing over him." Why did you kill them!? They couldn't defend themselves anymore!"
" And? They would have hunted us down and killed us in a heartbeat if we let them live or they would have reported you to their superiors." One of the demi-humans replied in an annoyed tone." Hate to break it to you hero, but the time for mercy just ended for both sides of this."
Naofumi wanted to argue when someone touched his shoulder, turning his gaze to see Three Dog giving him a look. " We don't have time to argue. We can take their carriages and we need to head for the eastern gate. Now!" Three Dog urged the rest of the group." Everybody load up onto the carriages, let's get out of here!"
The Shield Hero gave one last glance at the dead bodies-of the one he killed before he turned away with gritted teeth.
" Goddamnit..." Naofumi muttered as he got on one of the carriages with Three Dog.
They took the carriages and headed for the eastern gate, but Naofumi couldn't stop thinking about the fact that he really just killed by himself...
Mein's POV
About 20 minutes had passed since she separated from Naofumi and she's hoping that he's alright. She knows that Naofumi's level and DEF is high enough and he has more than enough defensive skills to protect himself, but that didn't stop her from worrying about her Shield Hero who was stuck in the midst of all this chaos and was expected to prepare a swift evacuation for as many demi-humans and beastmen they could get to come with them. Thankfully she already had a few locations in mind on where to take them.
She just hoped Eclair wouldn't mind the extra company the Keep was about to be getting very soon.
Mein focused her mind as she jumped across the rooftops, transversing great distances to get to the market district as fast as possible. The princess turned agent could see multiple dead people lying on the street, most likely victims of this rebellion. Poor people who had just gotten caught in the middle of all this chaos. The entire city had gone to shit, the garrison was scattered to hell all over trying to put out the fires and panic was spreading throughout the city like a wildfire. Mein passed by several guards that were engaging pockets of resistance from demi-humans and beastmen who were attacking them, but Mein chose to let the guards handle it as she needed to find the main attack force.
The city was burning and she needed to put out the fire fast.
After a few minutes of continuous non-stop running, Mein's very sensitive ears picked up the sound of shouting, screaming and...cheering? A lot of loud voices all coming from one direction ahead. The market district where Three Dog said it was. She didn't waste any time before running towards the loud sound of shouting, stopping at the edge of a rooftop when she finally found the source of where all the loud voices were coming from.
Mein could see on the street below her that there was a large group of demi-humans and beastmen all together on the street, much larger than the group that ambushed the convoy earlier to the point they almost looked cramped down there. All of them shouting with bloodthirsty vigor as they raised their bloodied weapons in the air in what looked to be a war chant. The princess could several dead people impaled on pikes that were raised into the air by some of the bigger beastmen in a way that made her skin crawl in disgust as she could see the bloodied bodies what used to be people.
Men, women...children. Many of them hanging from pikes as they raised into the air by some of the larger beastmen in a show of intimidation.
These animals were not showing mercy to anyone they came across. This was a slaughter for them.
The princess grit her teeth as she turned her attention to the front of the attack group where she could see that same mage from earlier standing atop a toppled cart but this time with her hood pulled down revealing her face. But right beside the mage was a demi bull man with a bloodied axe leaned up against his shoulder as he looked across the small army they had assembled.
Mein hated the fact that she recognized these two demi-humans. Their features have become much rougher with age and time but Mein could never forget these two: Flint and Spark. From the same group of freed slaves they rescued from the Vallerie estate 10 years ago.
Goddamnit Thomas...what the fuck did you do?
Mein wondered in horror as she watched Spark raised a hand to quiet down the crowd of bloodthirsty animals. " For too long, we have lived under the heel of these furless apes! We, who have suffered under the yolk of pathetic pigs like Rabier, Ebonheart, Consevatie and even those royalty of this nation!" Spark shouted at the top of her lungs, a far cry from the days when she was but a shy girl." But I say this: NO MORE! We shall not be these man-animals slaves anymore! Tonight we burn this city to the ground and show Melromarc our true strength!"
" GLORY TO THE PRINCE KILLER! THE SLAYER OF BLUE BLOODS! THE TRUE RULER OF MELROMARC!" Spark shouted at the top of her lungs as she raised her staff in the air.
" VENGEANCE FOR THE SHADOW DEMON!" The entire crowd shouted in unison as they raised as their bloodied weapons in a war chant. The ones holding pikes that suspended the dead bodies of the innocent did the same as well, letting a small rain of blood fall on them.
The princess turned agent practically growled in anger at the sight of such barbarism, but that was put to the side as she spotted more movement coming from up the street. She activated her Far Vision ability and could see a large contingent of guards fast approaching the large group of bandits. It seemed somebody had finally managed to rally some men to organize a proper counterattack, but Mein could see that the guards were badly outnumbered...
And it was around that time that she realized that she was not the only taking to the rooftops. Her enhanced hearing allowed her to pick up movement on the nearby rooftops and she turned her head to see several figures on the rooftops of buildings that were close to the street the knights were walking through to get to the main attack group of Spark and Flint. The figures were rolling what looked to be barrels and Mein quickly deduced that those were makeshift explosives on account of them having fuses attached to them.
Those poor bastards are walking straight into an ambush!
" Here they come my brothers and sisters! Kill them all!" Spark shouted as she led the main attack group into a charge against the knights who started form into a shield wall in an attempt to stop it. The poor bastards not even realizing that they are in danger.
" Shit!" Mein quickly transversed across the rooftops to get to the ambush team. Those knights barely had a chance with how badly they were outnumbered, if they were bombarded by makeshift bombs breaking their defensive line than they were truly screwed.
Thankfully, she didn't need to transverse very far as the rooftop where the ambush team occupied was only two buildings away and the second ambush team was just across from them. Makes it much easier for her to kill them than if they were better spread out.
The ambush team barely had time to turn her when she suddenly transversed onto the rooftop they were on, just as they were able to light barrels and drop them onto the heads of the guards below.
" What the-!" The bandit couldn't shout in surprise when Mein activated Bend Time and instantly decapitated him, before stabbing his partner right through the heart. She pulled the two barrels back from the edge and they were safely unlit.
The princess immediately transversed over to the opposite building where she repeated the same process with the second ambush team, slaughtering them before they even knew what hit them. When time finally resumed Mein could hear the sounds of fighting back down on the street and she quickly peeked her head over to see that the guards were surprisingly holding the line against the wave of demi-humans trying to break through, but it was clear that they aren't going last in this battle of attrition when they have no clear advantage to counterattack...unless...
Mein grabbed the barrel that had a fuse in it and held it over the edge where she could drop it right in the center of the main attack force. She couldn't kill Spark. She needed her alive to cough up where the Hound Lord's base is. Mein spotted an alleyway that led away from the fighting that should take Spark into for a little quick talk. She would only have a few seconds to grab Spark and get her out of the line of fire.
The princess turned agent took a deep breath as she readied her feet and mind for the quick movement this would require. When she was ready she lit the barrel and kicked it off the rooftop, making it land right dead center into the horde of beastmen and demi-humans.
BOOM!
Mein physically felt her teeth clatter from the explosion that instantly killed good portion of their forces, sending multiple bits of flesh and blood flying and disrupting the flow of combat for them. This gave the guards a chance to take advantage of their distraction and started cutting down the horde of demi-humans and beastmen.
But most importantly it served as a great distraction as Mein spotted Spark get thrown to the ground from the force of the explosion that disrupted them.
Mein didn't waste a moment transversing down to the ground where Spark was and immediately grabbing the cow mage by her cloak and transversing into the nearby alley for cover. The princess throwing her former comrade against the wall making her gasp in pain from the sheer force.
" Hi Spark. Been a while." Mein said in a tired tone as she looked down at the mage. She just used a lot of SP with Bend Time and several chained Blinks. But she pushed through and focused on the mage leaning up against the wall.
" W-Who are you?" Spark glared at her as she held her staff in defense as she stood up but had to lean up against the wall for support. The glare from Spark made it clear that she did not remember Mein.
Mein jogged Spark's memories by telling her something that only few alive could know. " Don't you remember me Spark? I was the one who taught you how to make balls of fire back at the old fort. You called me professor and everything."
Spark's eyes widened in shock at her words as she seemed to focus more on Mein's face, as recognition came to mind." I-Its you...Malty, its really you." Spark gasped in shock at seeing her again." W-W-What are you doing here?"
" Oh I was just taking a stroll out on the city, catch the sights and everything. What the fuck do you think I'm doing here!? I've been looking for you two!" Mein shouted in shock as she pushed Spark up against the wall. The memories of all the dead women and children she's passed coming back to her." Who's leading the group now!? Where's your base located?"
" Y-You...you're actually fighting for these oppressive man-animals Malty?" Spark clearly didn't focus on her question and instead asked her own in disbelief at seeing her again." You should be fighting with us! Against these bastards who do nothing but oppress the innocent and enslave us! Its everything the Old Boss would have wanted!"
" He never would have wanted you all to become goddamn bandits of all things! What the fuck happened to you all!?" Mein shouted in anger fueled shock. " How could you do this!? Didn't Thomas teach us better than this!? To not kill anybody non-deserving!?"
" They are all deserving! Every single person in this goddamn city has either been complacent in the oppression of our people or have actually taken part in it!" Spark argued, not even keeping her staff up for defense." You must have seen it too! How quickly these 'innocents' turned their eyes away and even cheered when our people were being put under the boot! This was a long time coming and you know it!"
Mein wanted to refute Spark to say that she was wrong...but she couldn't deny that her former friend had a bit of a point when she saw firsthand how the people of Ebonheart city stood by and watched and even cheered at the sight of demi's getting beaten up.
" Please Malty, you can help us! You can finally take your place with us and help us cleanse this country of every single evil bastard that lives within it!" Spark tried to convince her and Mein could not deny...
That a part of her did find that idea more appealing than it should be.
" GET AWAY FROM HER!"
Mein turned her head just in time to see a mountain of muscle barreling towards her and she barely jumped back in time to avoid the worst of it, but just barely as Flint slashed his axe horizontally at her which resulted in Mein getting a hard cut to the gut.
" AH! Fuck!" Mein let out a gasp as Flint got her in the gut and she quickly jumped away. She put pressure on her wound
She had chosen not to don her Silver Huntress armor at the risk of it attracting too much attention from people, so all she had to rely on for armor was her starting leather armor. The axe blade was torn through it like wet parchment and Mein removed briefly moved her hand to see that Flint had gotten a solid hit on her based on the amount of blood that was on her glove. The armor seemed to absorb most of it, but it was still a pretty bad cut.
" Fucking hell..." Mein grit her teeth to bear through the pain. She activated Healing Flame, which was her only healing based skill. Her marked hand suddenly combust into blue flames to her shock, but the fire itself didn't burn her at all. In fact, they were quite cold to touch as she pressed the flame to her wound and she could practically feel the wound close itself and her HP regenerate.
It wasn't much but at least it stopped the bleeding.
Flint was more focused on his sister." Spark! Are you alright?"
" I'm fine! But don't fight her! She's-" Spark barely turned in time to see Mein make a charge." LOOK OUT!"
Flint barely raised his axe in time to block the strike that came from Mein's blade, the agent of the Outsider giving him a glare but jumped back to get some distance. The two of them squared off against each other as they prepared to fight.
" Please don't fight! You both don't have to do this!" Spark tried to intervene, but neither of them lowered their weapons.
We both know its too late for that Spark.
" Stay out of this Spark." Flint said as he held his axe up in a readied stance. The same one Thomas taught him.
Mein was never one to back down from a challenge.
" Bring it Flint!" Mein charged at bull demi who was more than glad to meet her charge.
Once they both got into range she let Flint take the first swing, dodging beneath the attack and slashing at his arm, but the wound was too damn shallow to do any real damage. Flint seemed to ignore the pain through gritted teeth as swung his axe back but it was too late as Mein had already jumped back out of the way.
Flint had more raw strength than her simply because of his racial heritage, but Mein had the speed advantage and that was all she needed.
" Earth Tremor!" Flint growled at her as he raised his axe above his head and slammed it into the ground.
Mein's eyes widened as the ground started to shake and the spot where Flint slammed his axe into the ground cracked...and it was heading straight for her.
She didn't hesitate for a moment by focusing her mind and transversing behind Flint. The bull demi-human not expecting her sudden trick as she slashed at his back, before delivering two swift slashes to the back of his knees, causing him to let out a roar of pain.
" AH! FUCK!" Flint cursed but Mein didn't stop there as she kicked his knees out and force him to the ground. She transversed in front of him as she had easily defeated her former comrade.
" BROTHER!" Spark cried out in shock as her brother fell.
" You're still slow on the uptake Flint!" Mein shouted not in mockery, but anger as she pointed her sword at the bull man." Surrender now and you both will not be harmed."
Flint grit his teeth as he pushed himself to stand up using his axe for leverage." Never...he taught us all never to surrender!" Flint somehow managed to stand up as his left hand glowed with spectral smoke and his body was suddenly enveloped in a red aura." Blood Rush!"
Mein watched as Flint activated some kind of physical skill as his muscles bulged and his wounds glow. She wonders if it gives him the ability to ignore pain and increase his physical prowess when he's at low health, but that mattered little to her.
" DIE!" Flint shouted as he charged at her much faster than he was before, but she stood her ground as her Marked hand glowed with energy from the void.
" Windblast!" Mein raised her hand as a she unleashed a blast of wind that knocked Flint back, not on his ass but it provided her with just enough time to land the killing blow.
She transversed directly in front of him and before he could even react, she stabbed her sword right through his neck.
In one swift blow, she just took away Spark's brother. The slave that Thomas saved years ago, she was putting down today.
" FLINT!" Spark shouted in horror as her brother fell to the ground dead. The cow mage shaking in anger and grief at the loss." You...you monster! You killed him! Zweit Fire Arrows!"
" Zweit Wind Wall..." Mein conjured up a wall made out of focused wind to block the attacks, but she didn't really need it as she transversed out of the way of the next fire spell Spark sent her way.
" Fast Fireball! Fireball! Fireball!" Spark threw fast fire spells at her that Mein had no problems dodging thanks to Blink. The process of using her mind to teleport away becoming second nature to her.
" You bitch! He was my brother Malty! He was all I had in this world and you took him away from me!" Spark cried out as tears flooded her eyes. " YOU'RE A MONSTER!"
She did not reply. Mein did not wish to hear anymore.
When Spark seemed to take a breath to recover her mana, Mein made her move. She transversed forward and stabbed Spark right in the heart.
The two locked eyes in that moment...and Mein could see all the fear, grief, sadness and hate fade away into a single sorrowful emotion.
" I-I'm...I'm sorry Spark." Mein apologized as she saw the light of life in Spark's eyes go dark and she gently laid her former friend down on the ground.
Mein took a deep breath as the sounds of fighting faded from her mind and she looked at the two bodies of the former slaves she had saved with Thomas. The ones SHE had killed.
Flint had been the one to teach her how to use an axe properly with Thomas and Spark was somebody she had been close to at the fort. Both dead by her hand.
" Fucking goddamnit..." Mein slammed her fist into the wall out of anger as she took a deep breath.
She stared at the brother and sister, before dragging both of their dead bodies and leaning them up against the wall in a respectful manner. And she silently hoped that they could see each other on the other side.
Mein didn't say anything else as she transversed away from the alleyway and headed for the eastern gate. Not caring whether the guards had actually managed to overcome the horde of demi-humans or beastmen. Her work here was done as far as she was concerned.
It didn't take her long to get to the eastern gate and find Naofumi and Three Dog, who had already assembled a convoy of six carriages. The Shield Hero surprisingly quiet and barely said more than a few words when she arrived. Naofumi had an almost haunted expression on his face but she couldn't bring herself to ask him what was wrong when they were on a time limit.
With her riding on the driver's side with Three Dog, they begun making their way out of the city through the eastern gate that had been left open. Probably for the reinforcements from earlier.
Mein didn't say a word as they rode away from Ebonheart but she did glance back it as they got further and further away. She watched the smoke rise up from the city.
She wonders if Thomas would have been proud at what Spark and Flint had managed to achieve.
Yeah...in case any of you were wondering how bad the situation between humans and demi-humans in the north were going to get, here's your answer. Yes, relations in the north between the two races are basically fucked, maybe even forever at least in Ebonheart's territory case. I hope you all enjoyed the fast paced action of this chapter with Malty and Naofumi basically scrambling to get the fuck out of dodge before the whole damn city comes down around them.
To those of you familiar with Qin's story, you might recognize Paulina from Call of Duty Vanguard. I'll be honest I wasn't originally planning on having Naofumi be the one to kill her( Technically speaking Three Dog got the kill but technicalities) but I think its a good way to have Naofumi get his hands officially dirty with the bloodier side of being a hero. Up until this point, he's left the killing work to Malty but having him kill here to save some innocent is a good way to throw a wrench into his morality and character dev.
Similarly we get to see more of Malty's past when she was rolling with Thomas and the slave group he rescued. You know in hindsight, I probably should have had foreshadowed Spark and Flint in a few chapters previously than force cramming them into this one right before Malty was about to kill them in a big emotional moment but I'll take the L. Shit happens what can you do, you know?
With that said, I will see you all in the next one.
Angel Out.