I hate being interrupted when I sing, and I hate ruffians. Ruffians interrupting me is a double whammy, so one could have seen a black cloud of anger gathering over my head. The merry atmosphere transformed into tense tension, like a cord ready to snap.
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I snorted in disbelief. The idiot must have tried to identify Tom and then me and came to the conclusion that we were zeroes, not even able to realize I was masking my power! If they had looked at Alice or the elf who were sitting on the side, maybe they would have been a little more polite.
Netor, Tehia's man, jumped in front of the ruffians, waving his hands desperately. "Please, honorable guards, you are making an error, the honored lady..."
His speech was interrupted by a knee hitting between his legs. With a weak squeak, he crumbled in on himself like a puppet losing its strings, and the idiot who hit him took a step forward and placed a hand on my shoulder.
"Come!" he ordered.
I only had time to glance at his hand, but before I could move, Ju caught my shoulder.
"Don't kill him!"
That got their attention, but before I could say anything, Alice's fist smacked the idiot across the face, sending him tumbling. She moved so fast that none of us, not even the guards, had time to react before the blow landed.
I raised an eyebrow and turned to look at Alice. She raised her shoulders in a shrug and gave me a guilty smile.
"I thought it best to handle it before you killed him," she whispered.
I snorted. Why does anyone think I was going to kill him? I don't even know if I could kill him in one shot; the difference in levels wasn't that significant.
There was a brief moment when the other two and Alice exchanged glances, and the two instantly decided to run. They didn't even bother to help the wretched heap lying on the ground ten meters from us.
As I sighed and looked at Alice again, she raised her hands placatingly.
"He shouldn't have dared to touch you, that went too far," she said. It was strangely comforting to hear her say that.
The crowd around us was dispersing fast, like fog on a sunny morning. People smelled trouble and suddenly remembered they were needed elsewhere.
"Someone should go with a message to the viscount," Ju said, looking around. I was there with Tom, Alice, and Tina. She rolled her eyes and sighed. "I might be the best choice, but it could go south..."
"What do you mean?" I asked.
"You seem to forget that I'm an elf," she mentioned with a tired expression.
"I guess it's too late, they seem to be coming to us," Tina whispered, looking towards the relay station. Indeed, a group of about twenty guards and ruffians was approaching. Probably the viscount's guard, along with the muscle keeping order in the station.
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Alice took her bow and shot a lightning arrow straight up into the air. It was like a beacon of light in the night sky. It was fascinating to watch its flight as it soared higher and higher until it became just a little star in the sky, and then it turned and descended. From one arrow, it started splitting, the luminosity only increasing. It struck the ground like a series of thunder strikes in front of the approaching group, the air crackling, electrical discharges continuing for some ten seconds.
That had been a clear warning, and the group understood how outclassed they were and stopped. But as the Gods of Chaos would have it, an army company was just approaching the relay in a night's march. I'd heard the noise for some time, but it was only now becoming clear what that noise was, and at the sight of the deluge, the company accelerated to a light trot.
Of course, the viscount was closer to them, and with displeasure, I saw the company take positions behind the previous group, who were now stepping aside.
Oh drats, this is not going to end well, I thought.
One officer barked some commands, and the soldiers formed a solid line of shields and started advancing towards us. Alice glanced at me.
Our group came closer while the Trewars were there to collect Netor. The other stragglers that were still around disappeared like sugar in water. I nodded to Tehia as they retreated as fast as possible to the side. It was wiser for them to stay out of this; there was nothing they could contribute, and I think they had done more than they should have. It was not their fight; they would only get obliterated if they tried anything. Maybe they could talk later if anybody asked them.
Several tense seconds passed, and I still wasn't sure what I should do. Military formations like these work like war arrays, and fighting them is a totally different thing.
Probably the best course of action would be to try to explain ourselves, but the soldiers didn't seem like they were on a diplomatic mission.
"Wait, stop!" I said, advancing towards them, not wanting to let them surround us.
At that moment, an arrow struck me in the left shoulder. I yelled, but my yell was drowned out by the thundering boom of an arrow shot by Alice. I knew that whoever had shot that arrow was now dead. Gripping my shoulder with my other hand, I felt wet blood under it. The shock must have been so big that I didn't feel pain. Yes, I felt the arrow stuck under my collarbone in my left pectoral muscle, but that was it. Luckily, I don't think it had penetrated my lung, but it was stuck in a rib.
"STOP!" Alice yelled towards the incoming group, who hesitated. They were now just twenty meters away, and probably the officers thought they could overwhelm us. How many arrows could she shoot now before they were on us? One or two? They must have felt that Alice was a force to be reckoned with, but they may have thought that she was only an archer who could be overcome with their formation.
My brain was working in high gear, trying to compute a way to appease the situation. There was already one dead, but that could still be seen as a legitimate defense. However, if it came to a clash with a unit of the army, it could end bad.
What should I do?
A terrible growl covered everything the next second, and the Lynx appeared running from the forest. It was glowing as if set on fire, and its eyes were red like burning charcoal. At this sight, the soldiers stopped, some even started to step back.
The Lynx slowed down to a trot, approaching us, still growling.
At the barking order of the officers, the soldiers formed some kind of turtle shield, barricading themselves behind their shields with spears pointed outward, obviously trying a different form of war array now. I knew that we had the advantage now, but any hopes of staying in this kingdom if it came to a fight were gone.
It was at that moment that Julietta marched towards the soldiers, raising high the gold token she must have taken from Alice.
“Stop! You are attacking a hero of the Kingdom!” she yelled, infusing her voice with mana.
She was a vision to behold. The frail elf, dressed in her vaporous dress, illuminated by the strange fire that burned above the Lynx, and probably healing herself to be clearly visible while holding that shining gold medal above her head.
After a couple of moments of silence, an older officer approached her.
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He took the coin in his hand, examined it, and then gave it back to her. He turned his back to us and barked his orders, and the soldiers started to retreat.