This chapter occurs right after Avasta leaves in 150 and before Kaladin reaches home that day.

Esta Lunarpath’s POV

“Remember when you said you found nothing in your scouting, Greya?” I asked.

“I missed some…I guess,” she groaned back to me. “We are only a few hours outside the capital, and they were hiding underneath the snow for what could have been hours. I’m sorry I can’t see through snow piles that are taller than me.”

“Some? Try thirty dirty Humans…didn’t you smell them or something?” I complained again.

“I had something spicy for lunch,” Greya said as she rubbed her long snout. “And it’s cold outside.”

“There’s no point in blaming her. I didn’t smell them either. We just have to defend the carriages and hope—”

Boom.

A loud boom caught off Kyssaria’s words, and her ears flattened to the side of her head. A dust cloud rolled over us, followed by the screams of men. I felt a headache coming on at my poor luck rearing its ugly head. Never did I imagine that—

Thud.

“They have two mages?!” Greya.

The group of caravan guards had rushed to meet the bandits while we protected the owner and cargo, only for them to succumb to a Fireball, incinerating their ranks. It was a shame. A bandit group having a mage was rare. But what was even more of a tragedy was the second group that ate a man-sized boulder to their shields.

Two mages in a bandit group? That was terrible luck enough for two lifetimes. Let alone a group this big outside of the capital. Who would have thought they would be here? Just how hungry are these bastards…

“Hey, this is really bad, isn’t it? It’s us four versus over twenty bandits…” Sathine all but whispered.

“What do we do, Esta?” Kyssaria asked as she brought her spear up.

“I vote we run,” Greya grumbled. “If I pick up Sathine and we put everything into our legs, I’m sure we can get away.”

“You're crazy. There is no way they are going to let four women run away. And I’m not too keen on—'' I stepped forward, shield at the ready, and sliced down a Fireball while blocking a set of arrows that tinked off my shield. “I’m not going to run away with two mages and some archers at my back.”

"So we are going to fight?” Sathine muttered meekly.

“Seems like it,” Greya groaned. “Hey, start casting spells just to slow them down a bit, Sathine.”

“B—but my mana— and there are two—”

I cut down a speeding rock and blocked another round of arrows. “We know your mana is low, and there are two mages. Just start flinging spells!” I ordered.

Damn, all of this. What are the odds of running into a pack of Snow Wolves and then bandits with two mages in their group? I’m cursed, just destined to die a gruesome death one way or another.

“Wind Sphere!” Sathine shouted in a voice that couldn’t be any less intimating.

The wind whipped into a fierce gale almost immediately, and the Fireball and stone shards were kicked off course and out to the sides. The arrows also got caught in a torrent and were flung off in some random direction.

Sadly the cart behind us caught a rogue Fireball and was blown to smithereens. I can’t remember if the merchant was in that one or not. Either way, he was not going to be having a good day.

“These guys are smart. They baited the guards first with disguised mages. And they aren’t pushing directly into us while trying to take us out from afar,” Kyssaria commented.

“Yeah, great for us. We got bandits with half a brain instead of no brain. How fortunate,” Greya growled.

“I—I bet they are dishonored adventurers!” Sathine offered, sweat rolling down her face and soaking her robes.

That might be true. These guys are too coordinated to be a bunch of nobodies.

It was a miracle she was able to hold out. It was a two-versus-one situation, and even if Sathine was a better mage, she was still tired from taking out the Snow Wolves. Our only saving grace was that the bandit fire mage was probably out of stamina as well. He has been throwing spells around for a long time now…

Unless he was a Master mage…a Master mage bandit…kill me now…

Sathine’s Wind Sphere lost its power and slowly faded out. The bandits surrounded us, and the three of us couldn’t push into them safely. But we also couldn’t afford to get cornered either. We were in a terrible spot, and it was even worse if someone jumped out from the snowpack behind us.

But there was a bright flash, and all eyes looked up at the sky. It may have been just past midday, but something had risen into the sky and was more brilliant than the sun. It even looked like a miniature sun.

However, it didn’t last long. The sun split apart into streaks and crashed down into the spread-out bandits. And what followed was something I had never seen before.

“What kind of spell is that?” Sathine whispered.

Sure enough, those streaks of fire exploded on impact, sending the thirty-odd bandits into a frenzy and killing a dozen in a blink of an eye. They were about to claim their victory only to get attacked by widespread magic.

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How lucky for us!

“Run at them with everything we got!” I yelled.

Greya and Kyssaria nodded and followed right behind me. If we were going to even the odds, now was the time.

“Attack from behind! Shoot them! Use all the magic!” one of the bandits roared.

The leader of the bandits flicked around and glared at us, and he, too, sent a charge our way. Nine bandits split off from the group and ran right at us while a single archer tried to take my legs out.

But without their support magic, a single archer was nothing to me. Blood rushed in my ears, and my heart thumped in my chest. My adrenaline was sky-high as I blocked slow-firing arrows with my shield and was prepared to meet the first bandit when I felt something warm splatter against my face.

Huh?

It was so fast I barely caught it. The bandit had been cut clean in half from the waist, his upper torso falling off to the side while his legs kept moving forward. Out of the corner of my right eye, I watched as four Earth Spikes impaled other bandits. I heard the sound of ice cracking, and the bandits to my left had been frozen solid.

Once the body in front of me hit the floor, a tall yet beautiful woman was in front of me. Her long white hair was as pure as fresh snow. Despite cutting a man in half, not even a single drop of blood ruined her pristine visage. I was at a loss for words in more ways than one.

Her fox amber eyes looked directly at me, but she immediately turned her attention elsewhere. I could hear a man’s voice mumbling to apparently no one as he made his way through the Earth Spikes. Finally, he rounded a bend, and my mouth went agape.

No way! My luck! It’s finally turned around! I should go gambling tonight! To think I would meet my goal in person all the way out here! Aahaha!

“Thanks for the distraction. Are all of you safe?” the tall, lightly tanned High Elf said. No, that wasn’t just any weird-looking Elf. That was the Dragonslayer, for sure.

The Dragonslayer looked just like all the descriptions we had of him. But what surprised me most was his kind smile and look of genuine worry. I had heard he had a rather serious face and often glared at people, but that didn’t seem to hold true. If anything, he was quite handsome.

“Yeah, thanks, you really saved us…”Greya said, saving me from the awkwardness. But she narrowed her eyes and looked slightly miffed. “Is there something on my face or something, Mister?”

The Dragonslayer continued to stare at Greya and then looked over at his companion. “Mister…” he grumbled with a cute and awkward scratch of his head. “No, it’s just my first time seeing a True Beastmen that was a fox. Sorry if I offended you,” he said politely, shaking his head.

“Can’t really be mad at the guy that saved my life,” Greya said with a shrug.

Kyssaria sent me a pointed stare, and I quickly snapped out of my funk. I had to do this, and I had to do it now.

I quickly sheathed my saber and extended a hand to him. Of course, I had to touch him at least once before this was all over. And what better way to do it than with a handshake of thanks? As a fellow adventurer, he will no doubt understand the gesture.

I felt a cold glare come from his companion, but I decided to ignore it. “Thank you so much for saving us, Sir. I don’t know what we would have done without you,” I said in my most maiden-like voice.

The Dragonslayer didn’t hesitate for a moment as he took my hand and shook it firmly. “Not a—”

His words were drowned out as a feeling of absolute dread washed over me. I felt my heart jump in my chest, and my eyes went wide in panic. I wanted to scream my lungs out and drive my sword through my brain to get rid of this feeling or end my life trying.

What…what is this malevolent mana? This feeling? Is this death? Is this the mana of a man capable of killing a legendary Dragon?! He’s at least ten times scarier than the Emperor! No, a hundred times! Is this guy even real?! How is this possible?! He’s going to kill us all!

“Hey, Miss, is something wrong with you? Do you perhaps need to rest?” The Dragonslayer asked, knocking me out of my trance.

I let out a small eep that was not on purpose. I hastily pulled my hand away from him and rubbed it on my pants, trying to clear the sweat away. My face suddenly felt sticky and sweaty, and all I could do was manage a half hearted chuckle.

Kyssaria quickly strode forward to save me. She bowed so deep I thought she was going to come undone at the hip. “I apologize on her behalf, Sir! She is tired from the stress of the attack! And we also fought with a pack of monsters right before this!”

I felt his intense gaze linger on me, which was odd because it felt so warm and friendly just moments ago. But now I felt like an immensely powerful monster was hunting me down. If I moved even one wrong muscle, I would be torn to shreds.

“I understand,” he said with a quick nod. “I'm sure this ordeal was rough for everyone involved. I’m sorry about your friends,” he said, looking out at the bodies of the other caravan guards.

“It’s fine, Sir! Nothing to worry about! We were barely acquainted at all!” Kyssaria said too honestly.

“Oh…I see…” The Dragonslayer said as he crossed his arms.

His Beastmen companion grabbed his attention and used her hands in quick motions that I had never seen before. Instead of being confused, the Dragonslayer just nodded at her.

“Do you need any help, or are we good here? We have to return home, and we have a carriage waiting for us down the road,” he explained.

Kyssaria shook her head so hard her braid came undone. “Not at all, Sir! We can handle everything on our own!” Kyssaria grabbed Greya with one hand and Sathine with another and forced both of their heads down into a bow. “Thank you so much for saving us!”

Sathine and Greya gave their own thanks while I just stood there in fear. My heart was still thumping wildly in my chest, and I had no intentions of moving or speaking until he was gone. It was going to take me a while to recover from my ability.

Honestly, I might never recover at this point…

“Well then, travel safe,” he said with a slight nod and wave.

The Beastmen woman gave a slight nod, and the two continued walking down the road. I guess the information on him being somewhat charitable was right. The fact that two people waded into combat against thirty men, dispatched them in no time, and left without compensation is not how normal people operate.

Then again…for a monster like that… this was probably just another day for him.

Once the two walked out from our sight line, Greya nudged me in the side. “Hey! What was that? I’ve never seen you react like that before?”

“What is that bad?” Sathine asked meekly.

“Bad? This was the worst it’s ever been,” I told them, my voice shaky.

I tried to take a step, but my knees were wobbling and weak. Kyssaria gave me a worried look. “Does this mean we need to return? I feel like this was all too good to be true…were we set up?”

“Wouldn’t surprise me,” Greya groaned.

“No…we aren’t going home…we have to get more information. We must get on his good side…if he isn’t an ally…” I trailed off.

“That bad, huh…great,” Greya moaned while looking up at the sky.

Yeah, that bad.