- Shari -

I look at Elin, deeply worried about what she might say next.

"What's wrong?" (Shari)

She looks like she's a little out of breath.

"A big troop is on their way to us. We only have minutes till they're here!" (Elin)

"Are you sure they're heading our way?" (Shari)

"Are you seriously asking me this? I checked for three streets and they're beyond any doubt headed in our direction. (Elin)

Shit!

That doesn't sound good.

I need more information.

"What can you tell us about them?" (Shari)

"They're wearing uniforms. But it's not the one of the city guard. However, I'm not familiar with the local enforcement groups. Also, they're fully armed and will arrive any moment at the inn's entrance. It certainly doesn't look good." (Elin)

Okay, either something went really wrong here with our request for an audience with the king or it goes wrong in another way.

I simply can't get my head around why they'd send the troops.

Or is Anvenia's father simply so overprotective?

This might even be the case, considering what I heard about him.

However, I don't exactly know what is going on here.

So maybe I should work on figuring this out.

"Ahem, how did the uniform look?" (Lorena)

"Violet with black stripes." (Elin)

"Hm, this is not a uniform of any order aligned to the palace." (Lorena)

This doesn't sound good.

Seems like I should prepare for the worst.

"Everyone! Just in case, pack up, arm yourselves, and get ready to fight or escape at any moment! I'll talk to them! Liqu, please follow me." (Shari)

We could maybe try to run away, but if they're here to get the princess to her father this would be the wrong call.

And if they decide to settle on deadly violence... well, it won't be as deadly on Liqu and me.

I'm already moving when I remember something and turn around.

"And Elin, if something happens then you are responsible for the princess." (Shari)

"Why me?" (Elin)

"Because I'm rather sure the first thing you did after I got us the rooms here was to scout for good escape routes." (Shari)

Also, regarding her past with our enemies, I can be sure that she won't sell out Anvenia.

Like this, she's still the best choice to lead them away.

I head down the stairs.

On my way I address Liqu.

"Okay, Liqu. How far could you recover? It might be that we need you." (Shari)

"Uh, the strain got better. Maybe about half of my usual? That I could dissolve without effort was beneficial." (Liqu)

"Fine. Stay behind but be prepared to attack. If they turn out to be hostile and after Anvenia we're in trouble. There are simply too many of them to escape and we aren't fast in the first place." (Shari)

"Huh, that's unusual of you. I like it!" (Liqu)

"Sigh. I'm just preparing for the worst." (Shari)

We reach the ground level.

At this time of the day, the inn isn't too crowded yet.

The first thing I do is address the innkeeper.

"Just to clarify, I didn't do anything wrong, but any moment the inn might be overrun with guards. Maybe a good moment to tell your guests to get out of here." (Shari)

I'm not sure how understanding he is about our situation, but honestly, I don't care.

No matter how this turns out, it'll be our last night in this overpriced inn anyway.

Some of the guests have heard my declaration and are already leaving.

Not sure if all of them are criminals, but I guess most people don't like getting caught in a control during their free time.

The few who remain are negligible in my opinion.

Then it finally happens.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

I hear strong impacts from the door.

"In the name of the king! Come and show yourselves!"

A very confused innkeeper hurries to ask the supposed commander what is going on here.

"Don't get in our way! We're on an official investigation!" (commander)

He pushes the man aside and steps in.

"Everyone who isn't related to this leaves now!" (commander)

The few remaining guests finally react to this and head to the door.

The soldiers who already positioned themselves at the entrance let them pass, but not without taking a closer look at each of them.

I guess if they're looking for Anvenia, it shouldn't be too hard to distinguish the usual clientele from a young girl and her maid.

The commander notices that I'm not going to move.

It's time for me to make myself known.

"I suppose you're here because of our group. Would it be possible to inquire further about this raid? We just made a request to the officials." (Shari)

"We're here to take the individual! A girl! Hand her over!" (commander)

I don't like how he's talking to me.

"I'm sorry, but I was entrusted with her safety. Things being like this, I won't hand her over to anyone before my mission is officially considered completed." (Shari)

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"You will hand her over! Now!" (commander)

"Sorry, I guess you're hard of hearing or my answer was too complicated. I said no!" (Shari)

Huh, his head starts to get red.

"You will submit this instant! Otherwise we'll get rid of you. Do you really want to make the country your enemy?" (commander)

"I don't even know who you are. For example, why aren't you guys wearing the uniforms of the royal palace? As things present themselves it could very well be that you're out to get rid of her before we reach the palace. So I'm sorry, but without any kind of proof I won't hand her over." (Shari)

"It seems you're severely overestimating your position! You're outnumbered! Hand over the individual or we'll take her by force." (commander)

While saying this he grasps his own sword and unsheathes it in a flashy way.

The soldiers directly behind him do the same.

However, I'm not afraid of him.

Also, there's something else that's bothering me.

"Right. You see, there's one point that makes me a bit suspicious about your intentions. You're the whole time calling her 'the individual', or 'the girl'. While there might be reasons for that like confidentiality or some such, I don't buy it. You're not even using her name. Anvenia! So it sounds as if you simply don't want anyone to know about what's transpiring here and because of this conveniently sent everybody away. Also, there was still no word about who we are talking to here. And this while the innkeeper could certainly be convinced to stay silent. So why won't you simply say that she is the goddamn PRINCESS AND SOLE HEIR OF THIS WHOLE FUCKING COUNTRY?!!" (Shari)

Yep, the innkeeper should have certainly heard that comment.

This at least is what his wide-open eyes are telling me.

And the commander as well.

But instead of rage, his face shows something else.

Concern?

For now, he looks behind himself.

Probably to check if anyone on the street could've heard what I said.

When he confirmed that his soldiers did a decent job at preventing people from entering he turns back to me.

"You just had to make this complicated, huh? Soldiers! Advance!" (commander)

The soldiers start to stream inside.

Soon half the room is filled with a whole front of them.

They all wear light armor and carry swords, as I guess it's difficult to traverse the town with anything else.

Fortunately, none of them carries any voidstone.

However, this isn't looking good and most of my stuff is still up there while I had no time to do anything with the poison yet.

Even something to paralyze might be handy here.

I move one step back to Liqu and touch her with my bare slime.

* "Move to the door. If things go south I want you to guard the entrance." (Shari)

* "Are you sure? I can't protect you from there. What if they target you?" (Liqu)

* "Oh, they will. But you can see their weapons. None of them can really harm me if I don't get especially unlucky and the others are already in position to support us. Trust me, I know what I'm doing." (Shari)

Even I know that much about tactics because the lessons I received help in that regard.

When you manage to cut off your enemy's escape route they panic and finishing them off becomes considerably easier.

And well, a giant slime monster can be pretty panic-inducing.

Naturally, they see Liqu while she moves closer to the exit, but for them, she only moves away from me, which in their eyes makes me a weaker target.

The commander begins stepping in my direction, sure of his superiority.

"Now, are you willing to cooperate?" (commander)

"Ah, you know, it always leaves such a bad aftertaste with me if someone's murdering children. And since I doubt the king was involved in your raid here that puts you in a bad light." (Shari)

"Is that so?" (commander)

In a last attempt to de-escalate the situation, I address the soldiers.

"I just want to ascertain. Does every single one of you know what your mission is about? That you're here to abduct and kill a little girl? If not, there is the door! You can still just leave through it!" (Shari)

Some of them look unsure but all of them share more of a guilty expression.

They all know.

And with this, my doubts about these soldiers are gone.

I don't like killing people, I really don't.

But I am able to see the necessity when I have to.

If they're threatening my life and I defend myself, then it's fine.

More problematic are the other cases.

For example Cid.

He was certainly evil and had it coming, but what we did was slimy murder.

This thinking is dangerous, as it makes you decide who can be considered evil and because of this deserves to die.

But all my anxieties and issues with killing aside, if they've really signed up for killing a child then it's a different story.

In this case, I can feel absolutely justified in my actions.

"Hah, do you think they would be swayed so easily?" (commander)

"I wanted to leave them this chance. Liqu, plug the door. We're going all out." (Shari)

"Yes, yes!" (Liqu)

With her usual casual ease, Liqu moves to the bulk of soldiers at the door.

Two of them move to seize her but she effortlessly pushes them down.

Did I mention that she's a heavyweight?

"Seems like we have to fight!" (Shari)

While saying this I give a hand sign to the gallery above.

"Time to get rid of this scum!" (Vela)

Vela took position on the upper staircase and begins to pester the attacking soldiers with arrows.

"Attack!!! Kill them all and bring me the girl!" (commander)

Immediately, I take my army sword and move into a stance.

The rest of the soldiers rush inside and I begin to doubt that this will be solved in a clean way.

Liqu managed to press against the wall and somehow handles her opponent while still wearing her outfit.

"Well, openly attacking us? That makes it pretty clear." (Zeon)

Zeon got ready as well and rushes with his insane speed down the stairs to prevent anyone from getting to the second floor.

As soon as the last opponents have entered the inn Liqu reacts.

She moves to the door and pulls it closed.

Directly dozens rush at her with their swords.

And so it begins.

Liqu frees her tentacles out of her garment and begins to dissolve the people's faces.

Not many see this in this crowd but the screams are terrible.

However, now it's my turn.

* Predator mode: On!

* High-speed processing: Max!

The moment the commander wonders about the screams behind him I use my chance.

That's the other thing I've learned.

A dead commander means that the normal fighters are going to become almost useless without their orders.

Like a body without a head.

At the moment I only have three weapons.

My military sword, which is mostly for show, and my two daggers.

Still, the short sword can still make pretty decent slashes if I lash out with enough force.

But he notices my approach and right on time intercepts my strike that was aimed at his neck.

However, this was only a feint.

The moment our swords lock I let my stabbing dagger emerge from my neck and guide it with absolute control into his neck.

Naturally, he didn't expect this move and can't react.

Mission accomplished.

But it's not over yet.

We got their commander down and blocked their way to escape, this will be enough to make them panic as soon as realization kicks in.

Now I just have to push them over the edge.

Time to go all out.

I swing the army sword so wildly with my gloved hand that the glove slips away which hurls the sword at a soldier.

I target the closest man to my position and thrust with my dagger at him.

He can see the attack and takes measures, but what he didn't expect was that my slashing dagger finds its way into my now glove-free hand.

This enables me to slice along his chest.

My other hand slips as well out of its glove and I grapple for the man's sword while repeatedly using the tendril with my stabbing dagger to stab him down.

I take some hits from all sides but my cloak holds and I pay extra attention to keep my core away from the strikes. Right now I can train very well to sense the strikes with my slime and react the moment they enter me by readjusting my core's position.

When I'm done I have the man's sword.

It's the usual medium length for one-handed swords.

I hurl all three weapons around my body, but then guide them all at someone who doesn't expect it.

I also take his sword.

Now armed with four blades, two of which are connected with tendrils that awkwardly stick out of me, the soldiers start to realize that I'm not a normal opponent.

But I don't give them any time to get used to this thought.

Once more my blades rush out. I slash with the swords like with a whip while the daggers do precise work.

So I gain a bit of space and can take one more down while gaining another sword.

Those all lash out and I acquire another one.

My training helped me to move weapons on a less conscious basis, which enables me to make use of them without overextending my core.

And I still use high-speed processing.

So my reduced requirements and the max of my processing ability come together to create this special technique.

* Bladestorm!

Again and again, I mow down my opponents and take their swords which I can only crudely hurl around myself.

But with so many enemies this doesn't matter.

There are so many strikes that some simply have to find their target.

The soldiers don't even try to approach me anymore but are too occupied with surviving under the onslaught of metal. Those poor bastards who run back to the door soon realize that a big slime waits there to put an acidic end to them.

But I barely notice this so absorbed I am in what one could call a dance.

At least to me it is, as it's only reaction and instinct at this point to simply let everything move further.

I'm immersed in the rhythm of swings, how they collide with squishy obstacles and instantly begin anew to realign on their course.

And with every single weapon I take up, the death zone grows and becomes deadlier.

I can't think straight or give orders anymore but this isn't necessary at this point.

No one managed to even threaten the other members of our team and the sad rest of their troop lost all hope to win and just wants to get out of this slaughterhouse.

At least I spilled enough blood to justify the image.

However, it wouldn't be good to let them run and report what happened here.

It's fortunate that the inn has only a few wooden windows which are all currently locked.

Like this, they have barely any way to escape.

By now Vela also switched from targeting the dangerous ones with her shots to taking care of those who are closest to escape.

And Liqu is also at it to pick off the few unlucky ones who got too close to her in their panic.

At one point I manage to push the conscious thought through that all my enemies are gone.

Slowly my storm calms and the swords lower to the ground while my daggers vanish inside me.

I need a moment to assess everything.

My clothes are torn into shreds.

Barely considered existing at this point.

Those few straps aren't able to cover anything of my blue slime body.

The whole inn looks as if... well, as if what just happened here happened.

I mean we put people into something like a metal grinder.

Zeon looks mostly fine.

Some shallow scratches but he didn't get caught up in my blades.

Vela calmly straps the bow back on her back and promptly vomits.

Guess the sight was a bit too much for her, but she didn't allow herself to recognize it until now.

And Liqu... she’s giving me this loving, appreciative look.

I feel uncomfortable.

But aside from that, she looks fine.

No extreme drawbacks like last time.

I guess this fight is concluded.

We won.

This leaves just one pressing question.

"Okay, what now?" (Shari)