I reached a hand down and helped Lumia climb abord the saddle behind me. she wrapped her hands around my waist then held on tight. I signaled for the horse to begin moving and it broke into a trot. Soon enough, it turned into a run.

We emerged out of the town’s gate moments later desperately rushing to catch up to the farmers. We weren’t alone however. Several riders rode up behind us having answered the call to help. They mainly consisted of resident monster hunters and a few brave men and women who couldn’t stand by why other people were in danger. The vanguard also included a good hand full of guards from the temple, knights who were clad in armor and possessed swords, shields, and spears. All together we made up a company of up to 21 individual riders, and despite the fact we didn’t know how many widow makers were attacking the farmers, I really hoped our numbers were going to be enough to at least drive them away.

“ETA to encounter is 20 seconds.” Rachel said in my head, updating me on the situation. “I advise you summon a weapon now before we arrive.” She brought up a blue menu screen listing my available weapons, making sure to keep it cropped in a corner of my vision.

__________

Available Weapons and Items Heading:

Bow.

Arrows.

Sword.

Dagger.

__________

“How many are there?” I asked Rachel while I decided on what weapon to pick. The widow makers were extremely fast, not to mention insanely strong and very, very durable. I had been forced to use the dagger in my first fight with one of them, as I was taken by surprise and had no time to react before I was tackled to the ground and pinned down. Then having no other option, I summoned the dagger which I utilized to repeatedly stab it in the eyes until it gave in and left entirely. That’s how I knew their weak spot were their eyes. And just in case, I needed to let the rest of the vanguard know.

“Go for their eyes!” I shouted, briefly turning around to face the riders behind me while my horse continued to galop forward. I caught a glimpse of a counter in the corner of my vision, and it simply displayed the number 4. There were 4 of the creatures in the fields.

“What?!” Lumia asked, still clutching tightly to my waist. Her jet-black hair was billowing in the wind and she leaned forward a little closer to my back to properly hear what I was saying.

“Tell the rest to target the eyes.” I told her. “It won’t kill them, but it is the only way to get them to stop attacking.”

She nodded and turned around to pass the information by shouting to the others behind us. Meanwhile, I returned my attention to the road ahead.

“ETA is now 13 seconds.” Rachel said, doing that thing where her voice starts to go higher whenever she starts to get nervous. I finally decided to go with the sword, but I was still going to summon the bow and arrow as well. The number 4 had disappeared from the corner of my vision, and an icon displaying my health had replaced it. I was at 79% of health, and I suddenly remembered what Rachel had told me.

This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

I hadn’t fully recovered since I got to the temple four days ago, and according to my AI companion there are certain parts of my body I needed to avoid putting strain on. Mainly my left arm, and all of the bones on the left side of my chest. Even Lumia had told me to take it easy for a few days until I was fully Heald. But since I had recovered enough to pick up a weapon and fight, there was no chance in hell I was going to stand idly by while people got slaughtered.

“Close window.” I told Rachel, and the menu screen displaying my list of available items disappeared from the side of my vision. And as the farm lands on the outskirts of town slowly came into view, I heard the voice of my AI companion as she counted down to contact.

“ETA is now 3, 2, 1.”

***

The moment the massive creatures came into view I immediately summoned my bow and arrows. There were four of them. Just as Rachel had indicated. With three long legs on either sides of their bodies and a giant tail that resembled that of a scorpion’s, the gray colored monstrosities were ripping the place apart.

There were so many bodies strewn about the area. Bodies of men, women, children. Many of them had their limps torn off while majority had their heads bitten clean off. Some of them even had their torsos missing entirely. A man trying to run towards a nearby barn for safety was immediately pursued by one of the widow makers and struck through the back of his head by the creature’s massive stinger. Behind me Lumia suddenly gasp at the gruesome sight and gripped me tightly. The man died instantly.

Behind us the vanguard began to scream loudly before coming off the main road and making a B line to charge at the creatures. I would have done the same thing but two things had stopped me from joining the fight at that very moment. One was that I still had Lumia riding behind me as a passenger. I didn’t know how she was going to contribute to the fighting or defend herself when one of the creatures comes lunging towards us. I only knew her as a healer and that was it. I was starting to regret bringing her with me when I suddenly sighted the second reason that made me holed off from joining the fighting in that very moment.

there were people hiding in the barns.

There were several barns located on the far side of the farm lands and there were people hiding inside. Most of them appeared to be injured, so there were going to require the immediate attention of a healer.

“Lumia!” I shouted. “Can you see the people in the barns?!” I asked her while I directed our horse to keep running forward.

“Yes! I see them!” she replied. “We need to help them!”

I allowed our horse to continue galloping forward while I tried convincing myself that what I was about to do was not stupid.

“It’s not.” Rachel suddenly replied in my head. “I think it will work.” And just like that, I found the little confidence boost I needed.

“Alright! I’m going to need you to take over from here and circle around to help the people in the barns!” I shouted behind to Lumia, hoping that she was calm enough to understand what I was saying.

“What?! Take over, how?! What about you?!” she shouted back, but there was no time to answer all of her questions. From behind us I could see the vanguard had already engaged with the enemy, and there were quickly starting to be overwhelmed.

“Just get ready!” I shouted back, and she let go of my waist to grip the sides of the horse.

“Now!”

I let go of the reins and rolled off the side of the horse, dropping to a crouch on the side of the road. Lumia had immediately reached for the reins just as I jumped off the horse, and when she had regained control, she glanced over her shoulder to see if I had made it. I stood up straight and gestured for her to keep going a little further before circling around to help the people in the barns. Then, after confirming she understood what I meant, I turned around and began moving towards the fighting.

I reached for my bow resting on my back then took an arrow from my quiver. I nocked it then aimed it at one of the creatures. I shot it in the neck drawing its attention away from the group. Then I tossed the bow aside before stretching my right hand to the side.

“Sword.” I said, and a bright flash suddenly engulfed my right hand. Then it quickly dissipated, leaving behind a long broad sword which I held at the hilt.

Seeing this, the widow maker I had shot in the neck with an arrow immediately began scuttling towards me, its six long legs digging into the ground in a hurried pace. Choosing not to remain standing however, I also began running towards it, a quiver full of arrows on my back and a sword in my hand.