Chapter 4:

“Stay on the wagon!” Shui Jianfeng shouted as he parried a masked man’s sword with his own. The man was dressed mostly in black and had a cloth covering the bottom half of his face. “Hide behind the crates and stay there!”

“Okay,” I yelped and quickly rushed to do as he said. As I did, I couldn’t help but notice Ming Lin swinging his metal staff-club thing. He swung it way faster than I thought he could and shattered his opponent's axe as they tried to parry it. Then Ming Lin moved closer and attacked again. The club struck the other man in the side and he practically exploded into blood, flesh, and broken bones as his body was sent flying.

I stilled for a moment, almost tripping, horrified at the sight. Ming Lin turned to glance at me again. This time his glare affected me a lot more. I felt like I might pee myself.

But then he snorted and moved to help the rest of his allies.

I shuttered, then realized I was still standing up and rushed to throw myself behind some crates. My heart beat hard in my chest and I idly noticed that my leg didn’t seem to hurt despite the quick movements. But I was more focused on what I just saw. I thought I had understood that the people here were strong. But to see just how powerful they were in action and in such a gruesome display was something else.

Damn, this world was scary. I needed to get stronger.

The sounds of battle continued to ring out from all around. Several particularly loud sounds drew my attention behind me to the rest of the caravan.

We were at a bend in the road around a hill and pretty much all the guards were engaged in battle. The dark-masked attackers had used the hill as cover to launch their attack. The Mo who had been driving our wagon already leapt off to join the fight. Some of the other wagon drivers did the same but only some of them. Most of them were like me, as I saw a couple leaping into the back of their wagons to hide.

For the moment the numbers were even. but more masked men were descending the hill and others coming around it. The thing that had caught my attention before though, seemed to be coming from the front of the caravan. It had been like the explosion before but not as loud. Instead, it kept repeating, but not in any recognizable pattern.

It took me another moment to pinpoint the source. Two black blurs I could barely keep track of. They kept slamming into each other at speed and sent out shockwaves each time. Shit was that the captain?

Holy shit, and I thought Ming Lin had been strong. This was on a whole other level. And the most disturbing part of it was one of the attackers—the bandits—seemed to be able to keep up with him. It was horrifying. And the only reason I could stop myself from panicking was that they seemed to be moving away from us.

Still, I was far from being calm. Because even as that battle moved away, the rest of the fights continued on. And the rest of the attackers had reached us. Nearby I saw one of the guards gut one of the bandits, cut the hand off another, then the head off the third. But then he lost his own arm after that as a fourth appeared and he was forced to retreat.

Similar things continued to happen. Overall the guards seemed stronger and more skilled for the most part. But there were more bandits.

The sound of loud clashing steel from behind me forced me to spin around and peak over the crates.

There were eight bandits now fighting Shui Jianfeng and the others. And the loud sound had come from Ming Lin. I turned just in time to see a repeat of what caused the noise. Ming Lin swung their club, but it was intercepted by a big man with a solid metal glaive. He had metal plate armor over his clothes as well, and his glaive seemed to shine with a silver glow.

When Ming Lin’s weapon slammed into the glaive, it was redirected to the side with another loud screech of clashing steel. Then the armored bandit retaliated just as fast. Ming Lin just had enough time to bring his weapon around to block. But even then the glaive bit into the pole-club, cutting a deep chunk and forcing him to retreat even more.

But the armored man wasn’t going to let him escape. He rushed after Ming Lin, parried away his warding swing, then lashed out with a punch. Ming Lin managed to block it with a free hand, but it still sent him flying through the air.

The armored man ran off after him.

I watched all this, hiding behind the crate and grimacing. Ming Lin wasn’t my favorite person, but I had really been hoping he would win that. Yet, despite how strong he had seemed earlier, some of the bandits were even stronger. Fuck.

“Lin!” Shui Jianfeng shouted in fury. Then light appeared at his feet for a second before he blurred forward. He stabbed out and the tip of his sword drove into the neck of one of his opponents. It happened in a split second, but then he was forced to retreat using the same technique, as one of the bandits screamed and tried to cleave his head in half with an axe.

Then the rest of the fight by the wagon devolved into a violent 3 versus 6 melee. Steel flashed and blood gushed. The fighters moved at furious speeds and swung their weapons even faster. Sometimes their bodies glowed, sometimes their swords, and in those moments things became even more chaotic. People moved like blurs, weapons cut through metal, and one guy even seemed to bounce off the air and lunge from above.

It was all super hard to keep track of. Partially because of the speeds, but also just because there was so much happening. It was like something out of a fantasy movie. Except the danger was all too real.

At the same time, Ming Lin fought for his life in the distance. He seemed to constantly be on the retreat.

And during all this, all I could do was watch and hide and hope our side won. Because if they didn’t then I was a fucking dead man. There was no way I could do anything to these bandits. Heck, I didn’t even have a weapon!

Wait a minute…

I ducked behind the crate again and looked around the wagon. Hadn’t I seen… Yes! Right there were spare weapons here. Some spears and I think an unstrung bow. I was such an idiot for not at least arming myself. It probably wouldn’t help that much but… better than nothing, right?

I reached for one of the spears, ignoring the bow. I would have preferred to use a range weapon, but I had no idea how to string it. So that left me with the simplest weapon to learn to use. Just stick 'em with the pointy end. Easier said than done when your opponents could move at superhuman speeds. But at least it was something.

A furious shout made me grip my new spear and turn my attention back to the fight around the wagon. I peeked back up and… fuck!

There was the terrible sound of steel cutting flesh. One of the axemen guards fell back with a spear in his chest. The spear-wielding bandit wasn’t doing much better though, as a dimming axe was buried right between his neck and shoulder. They both dropped at nearly the same time.

Now it was 2 against 5. And Ming Lin was still off barely surviving the armored guy, his pole club having gotten cut in two.

I gripped the haft of the spear tighter, wishing I could do something. Anything, really. But there was nothing I could do. So I stayed crouched and watched.

Jianfeng blurred again and got another one of the bandits in the throat, bringing it down to a 2 against 4. Then the bandits redoubled their efforts, shouting and pushing Shui Jianfeng and the last axe-wielding guard to retreat until they fought back to back.

The two fought off the other four furiously. As things continued I realized that Jianfeng was the best fighter in this group. He wasn’t like Ming Lin who had overwhelming strength. But he seemed just a bit faster and just a bit more skilled. He only had some tears on his clothes, while the bandits and even his fellow guard sported bloody gashes.

If he hadn’t been outnumbered, or if his current partner had been stronger, this fight would have been already over. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case so it was still a desperate battle. One that could turn at any moment. Either because of something happening in the fight, or Ming Lin or the armored guy finishing their fight. Then there was the rest of the battle to worry about.

At that thought, I took a second to glance back at the rest of the caravan just in case. I was hoping maybe help would start to come. But the captain's fight was even further away now, just quieter booms in the distance. The rest of the guards were still locked in their own fights.

Things weren’t looking too great. There were a lot of dead bandits now but there were still more of them than guards. And now there were at least 5 dead men with the red armbands and it seemed all the wagon drivers who tried to fight were dead as well. Not great.

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A cry of anger forced me to turn back to the fight behind me. I spun in time to see the other axe guard bury his weapon into the neck of a sword-wielding bandit. The bandit who had shouted out in rage tried to get revenge for his friend by slashing with his saber. But then Shui Jianfeng kicked the guy closest to him away and blurred again. He gutted the saber guy and ripped his sword out in a quick smooth motion.

And just like that It was down to 2 versus 2! We might actually win this! At least that’s what I thought until I looked over at Ming Lin.

He was sent flying again and barely scrambled to his feet in time to dodge the glaive aimed at his head. Then he had to use the half-pole club he had left to just deflect another two strikes. Shit, Shui Jianfeng and the other guard needed to win fast. Or that was going to be a big problem.

The other two bandits recovered and re-engaged with shouts of rage. One had a sword and the other two axes. They crashed into Shui Jianfeng and the axe using guard.

The dual-wielding bandit screamed as he swung his axes at Shui Jianfeng. His face seemed to be turning red with all his screaming and I thought he might knock himself out with it. But he just kept screaming and the redness seemed to spread from his face to the rest of his body.

Just what the heck was happening? The screaming man seemed to get faster and faster. He was swinging in a way that seemed haphazard, but his speed just kept increasing to make up for it. He was like a storm of axe blades and Shui Jianfeng was slowly being forced back.

And despite Shui Jianfeng landing several slashes across the screaming bandit's body, the bandit seemed undeterred.

I cursed at the sight. There was no way he could keep that up right? If it was some kind of crazy martial technique surely it would run out eventually?

Or maybe the other guard would finish off his—fuck!

The final other guard screamed as his axe hand was cut off. Then that was silence soon after the sword bandit sliced his head right off.

I watched in horror as the man’s head sailed through the air before thumping into the ground.

The swordsman bandit let out a snort and flicked the blood off his sword. Then he started walking towards Shui Jianfeng and the screaming dual wielder. The only good thing was the man looked injured. He walked with a limp, and he held one hand to his side where blood was leaking as well.

But this still was fucking terrible... If he attacked Shui Jianfeng while he was fending off that guy then he’d be screwed. And then any chance Ming Lin had was over. And of course after that I was fucked. Who knew if these guys would even bother taking prisoners?

I gripped the spear in my hand tighter as I thought furiously about what I should do. And the answer was obvious. Given all the killing, I was likely to die either way. So wasn’t it better to die doing something instead of dying cowering? It made sense in my mind, but I had a hard time actually getting my body to respond. Was I shaking?

Fucking hell, move!

I gritted my teeth and tightened my grip on the spear. Fuck it. Then I moved towards the back of the wagon and leaped off before I could think anymore about it. It was only when I landed in a crouch did I realize that could have fucked up my leg. But thankfully it hadn’t. Guess that cream really was that good.

I rushed over to the front of the wagon, so the two remaining bandits here wouldn’t notice me. At the same time, I could see that the fighting was still going strong around the rest of the caravan. It was still inconclusive and no bandit or guards were headed this way.

Fucking great. Guess I was really doing this.

Carefully, I stepped around the wagon, doing my best to be both silent and quick. All the while holding onto the spear that felt more unwieldy in my clumsy hands then I hoped.

Fucking hell this was a bad idea.

The swordsmen stopped a couple of feet away from where Shui Jianfeng and the dual-wielding berserker were fighting. He tried to get behind Shui Jianfeng as I approached, forcing me to follow him, but Shui Jianfeng had enough awareness to pivot away.

Thankfully he must have noticed me too as he spun so that the berserker wouldn’t be looking in my direction either. Good. And it looked like Ming Lin was keeping the armored guy busy still. Maybe I could do this.

The sword bandit snorted as I got closer but didn’t rush in to help his teammate. Must have been wary given his own injuries. And with the way the other bandit was still screaming and recklessly swinging away—despite all the blood dripping from his wounds—the sword bandit probably didn’t want to get caught up in that either.

Now was probably my best chance.

I gulped and continued to approach, moving slower and more quietly since I had the time. Once I was in range, I took a quiet breath and dashed forward. No more thinking. I refused to think about it too much. I just aimed at his back and hoped for the best.

The man spun at the last second. His swords slashed at my spear and sent it off course. But it still dug into his shoulder. His left shoulder though. The one he wasn’t using for his sword.

“Gah!” I shouted in fear, rage, and adrenaline and tightened my grip on the spear. Then I tried to drive it in harder.

“Enough of this!” The man shouted, gripping onto the spear despite it being lodged in his shoulder. He slashed with his sword and cut off the tip of my weapon.

I stared wide eyed and quickly tried to backpedal.

“Where do you think you're going!” The man shouted before he lunged at me.

I gasped then I stumbled and fell backwards. That somehow managed to save my life as cold steel flashed over my head.

I cursed and started to back up.

The man sneered down at me before pausing as if he realized something. Then he smirked. “You're not part of the Stomping Bulls. Just a random mortal.” He let out a low cruel chuckle. “Then I guess I can fucking take my time making you regret picking that spear up.”

I gritted my teeth and glared back at the man from the ground. I gripped what was left of my spear tightly and my eyes darted around frantically for something—anything!—that could help. But Ming Lin was fighting for his life.

And Shui Jianfeng was getting cuts in but the other guy just wouldn’t go down.

“Maybe I’ll even keep you alive,” The man said, taking a threatening step forward. He chuckled when I flinched back. “See how long a fucking city kid like you last in the mines.”

“Fuck you, asshole!” I said, not willing to let this fucker scare me. Even if there wasn’t anything I could do. Even as I frantically scooted backward away from him. Damn it! I should have just stayed in the forest and tried to fight something else strong enough to get me Skills.

“You’re not my type you little shit,” The man said before rushing me. I tried to fend him off with what was left of my spear but he ripped it from my grip and brought his sword to my neck. “But I know some guys who are into that kind of thing. How about I give you to one of them? See how you like getting things shoved into you—gah!”

Something metal tore out of the man's throat, silencing him and spurting some blood towards me.

I backed away quickly, then rushed to get to my feet as he fell. Shui Jianfeng stood behind him, flicking the blood off his sword. He had a cut on his shoulder and above his eyebrow but that was it. Behind him, the dual-wielding berserker was dead. His head several feet from his body.

I must have missed all the screaming stopping.

“Thanks for the help,” Shui Jianfeng shouted, then rushed over to Ming Lin’s fight.

Ming Lin was still managing to hold on despite only having half a weapon, with a bunch of chunks taken out of it. Then the tides turned when Jianfeng reached them. He blurred again and closed the last dozen feet in an instant.

The armored man expected it and spun to parry Shui Jianfeng’s stab. What he didn’t expect though, was for an aura of energy to explode out of Ming Lin. It lasted only a second but in that second Ming Lin blurred and appeared next to the man. Then he swung what was left of his weapon right at the other man's head.

Despite the man’s helmet, his head turned into a red mist. And just like that it was over.

Well, this part of the battle anyway. There was still a lot of fighting going around the rest of the caravan.

“You okay?” Shui Jianfeng asked when the two of them rushed back over. Then he rushed past me and jumped onto the wagon.

“Yeah,” I said, still rubbing where the bandit had touched my neck with his sword. “I’m fine.”

“Good,” Shui Jianfeng said as he searched around for a moment before he found the jar of healing ointment. He grunted as he covered the wound above his eye with ointment, then put more on his shoulder. “Then pick up one of the other weapons, and get back in the wagon. We have to go help but I can’t do that and protect you at the same time. Sorry.”

Once he was done, he tossed the ointment to Ming Lin. The other man caught it and started to apply it to all his wounds. At least now he wasn’t glaring at me.

“Alright,” I said, taking another moment to just catch my breath and look around. After that, I bent down to pick up the sword that had been at my throat. I hefted it for a moment, then looked around at all the bodies and weapons that littered the ground. I felt bile rise up in my throat as I took it all in and smelt the blood and shit in the air. And the blood probably on me as well. All the while the sounds of battle could still be heard from the rest of the caravan. “Good luck. Both of you”

“Thanks,” Shui Jianfeng said, putting away the ointment Ming Lin tossed back to him before hopping off the wagon.

Ming Lin didn’t say anything but did give me a nod. And didn’t even glare at me this time. Progress.

Then just like that the two of them rushed off.

Leaving me alone.

I looked around nervously and then back down at the sword in my hand. While swords were cool, maybe I should grab another spear instead? That was a better weapon for a complete newbie right?

With that in mind, I started walking towards one of the down spearmen. But then I saw something move in the corner of my eye. I yelped and lept back while putting the sword between me and whatever it was. I even closed my eyes like an idiot.

The sound of flesh being torn and a gurgle filled my ears and I felt something pull at my sword. I flinched and looked down. Then I stared in shock. It was one of the bandits. He had a knife and had tried to lunge for me. And now the sword I’d been holding was lodged between his neck and collarbone.

His eyes met mine, anger, shock, and fear all present. Then he gurgled one last time before his body went limp. The sword fell from my hands along with his body.

I continued to stare.

Then a familiar blue halo of light appeared around his corpse.