There once was an empire with no name. It was led by the leaders of five different species, each of them a general in charge of a massive army.
The only reason they did not wage war amongst each other was because outside invaders were a much more pressing problem. But, since all of their focus was on said invaders, internal affairs were all but forgotten.
As a result, crime was rampant inside the empire, and the only times people stopped bickering and united was when war was upon them. To travel through such a place without guards, or at least a guide, was suicide. Yet, some could easily do it by foot.
At the outskirts of the 10th town the teens had visited, between its buildings and a thick forest which led to a path between the mountains, no less than 35 thieves and killers were lying in wait. They all looked disheveled and poor, but their knives were sharp and their intent was clear.
“Come if you dare, brats.”
“Those are some nice weapons you have there.”
“Are these the ones?” asked Finn.
“Yes, milord,” their guide nodded.
‘I’m not a lord!’ Finn massaged the bridge of his nose. ‘And, why are you all human?’
Taking care of the underworld turned out to be surprisingly easy. People hated these bastards, so as soon as Yeren the giant showed up with his band of misfits wearing Phoenix academy’s rings, their group couldn’t take a step inside a town without someone begging for assistance.
“You won’t die easy old man,” the bandits threatened the guide.
Usually, there were 3-10 thugs running small operations from the basements of some inn. However, this time around, they were organized, had their own camp outside of town and looked ready for combat.
“Were they waiting for us?” Luca, the elven leader of the priests, took out his bow. “You humans sure are stupid.”
The enemy protected their tents as if there was gold beneath them. According to the guide, these bandits had arrived less than a week ago and decided to camp here, between the town and the forest, most likely waiting for something or someone.
‘Is this a microcosm of what we’ll face in Trident?’ Finn shook his head and took aim.
“Not fair,” one of the bandits complained.
“Wait,” said Natalie. “I propose that a couple of warriors from each team take them on. We need to learn how to fight together, and this is the first large group we’ve encountered.”
The giant took a step forward. “I like your style, little girl.” He clapped his fists and the earth trembled. “I, Yeren Monthos, volunteer to pulverize the enemy.” A large beastman walked to his side and two warriors stepped forward from the priests.
“Hmph, fight together, idiots!” One of the thieves threw a knife and it bounced off of Yeren’s abs.
“Can I have this one?” asked Tommy. The boy was too serious for his own good.
Michael nodded without turning, for his eyes were only on the giant.
“Hey!” Natalie snapped her fingers. “My ass is over here.”
The vanguard of six walked towards the 35 enemies as if they were going to a picnic. Back on Earth, this would have only been possible in movies.
‘I wonder why?’ thought Finn. The giant was obvious. In a single punch, he squashed a bandit and at the same time summoned sharp stone pillars from the ground which impaled three others.
However, the warrior priests also rammed their shields through the bandits as if the enemy was made out of cheese. Tommy almost cleaved a guy in half and Natalie was so skilled and fast that bandits died before they could get within two feet of her.
'Is this what happens when you make a planet almost choke on mana?’ Finn crossed his arm. ‘More importantly, when did we get so desensitized to killing?’
If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.
“Ambush.” Luca put a palm on Finn’s shoulder and pointed at the forest behind the bandits’ camp. There was so little care in his voice and demeanor, it was as if he had just spotted a mouse. Around 20 or so archers appeared from behind the trees and started shooting the students.
“Predictable,” one of the beastmen hissed after dodging an arrow. He extended his claws and prepared to engage.
“Wait,” said Finn. “Archers need to coordinate too.”
He took out his bow, pulled the string, and killed three enemies in half as many seconds.
“Uuu, not bad,” Luca smirked and clapped. “Check this out.”
The elf pointed his bow at the sky and let an arrow loose. The arrow flew tens of feet into the air before turning back and falling towards its master.
‘Can he resurrect?’ Finn almost chuckled.
However, when the arrow was just six feet away from hitting Luca’s head, it suddenly twisted in midair and flew towards the forest. It went around the melee warriors fighting in the middle and around several trees until it reached its target. With a shriek, followed by a thud, a bandit was dead.
“You can’t learn that through practice,” the elven leader winked.
“Will you teach me?” Finn asked.
“No.” Luca let loose another arrow. “Half-bloods are not worthy.”
Finn sighed and resumed shooting. ‘Racist priests... Considering who you worship, I can’t say I’m surprised.’
Between the giant and the vanguard, the archers sharpshooting the enemy, and the remaining warriors picking off stragglers who tried to escape, the battle was over in under 20 minutes.
Only a single bandit was left standing.
“Who do you work for!?” Yeren’s second in command screamed at the poor criminal while stabbing his chest with his claws.
“Jesus Christ...” Finn slapped his forehead as their last and only prisoner passed into the afterlife.
“Who’s that?” asked Luca.
“Your mom.” If the priest was an a-hole, Finn would treat him as such. He walked past the corpses and into the tents they were guarding.
The first three only had some weapons and food, useful but not worth shedding blood over. However, in the last one, there was a medium sized chest. Finn opened the lid, and it was full of jewelry and unusual gold coins.
“Trinkets,” Yeren huffed. His huge body threatened to lift the tent off the ground.
“Great, then I want this, this, and this.” Natalie quickly grabbed a couple of diamond necklaces and a tiara, and made her way out. Michael took some precious gems, and Tommy pretended to be casual about stealing a bunch of gold and then skedaddling after his friends.
“And, I’ll take this.” Finally, Annie also rushed between the warriors and took an old, fist sized, musical box.
‘Weird,’ thought Finn. He turned towards the elven leader who had just picked up a coin.
“They don’t make these anymore,” Luca frowned. There was an unknown crest on one side, and an unknown, bearded old man with sharp ears on the other.
“What do you mean?” asked Finn.
“Exactly what I said.” The elf threw the coin back into the box. “These are coins from the old kingdoms. They went out of use 500 years ago.”
A chill ran down Finn’s spine. While the other teams’ members took their portions of the loot, he went outside to clear his head. But, the piles of blood in front of him weren’t exactly helpful.
“Hey,” Annie waved him over from behind a tree. Confused, the boy checked to see no one was watching and followed.
“What’s wrong?” he asked once they took some more distance.
Annie pulled out the tiny, square musical box. She twisted the top and the bottom several times until the box split open revealing a small purple crystal and a piece of paper tied with a string.
“This is mine.” Annie took the crystal like it was her baby and carefully put it inside her pocket.
Finn raised an eyebrow, but he checked the paper anyway. Suddenly, his eyebrows went up and his mouth went agape. On the paper, there was but a single sentence:
[Kill all who approach Trident city.]
Finn’s hands started lightly trembling. He and the girl looked at each other before turning their eyes towards the tents. “Annie, what are we getting ourselves into?”
There was no turning back. Beyond this town, beyond the forest, and finally beyond the mountain path up ahead, there was Trident.
[Name: Luca.
Last name: ???
Age: ???
Race: Elf.
Title: Priest apprentice of the Church of Loki.
Abilities:
- Archery {Intermediate+}
- Bullseye {Intermediate+}
Buffs:
- Long Lifespan.
- One with the wind.
Debuffs: ???
Comments: Kill Andrew Finn. Hey! Can you hear me? I’ll make you a cardinal! Hey, asshole!... Shit.]