'The exploding thunders stopped?' Leiya thought to herself.
As when she thought that she were going to die, the area suddenly went silent.
Leiya stood up slowly and scanned her sorroundings. The trees around her was mostly torn and broken. There was still thick dust in the air, but everything seemed to be quiet. Even the shouts of the demons that she heard earlier was gone.
She checked her still activated crystal barrier. It still have more than 2 minutes on it before it loses its effect. Leiya tried to wake her still unconscious aunt but the other party was still not responding.
'Maybe those demons thought that we were finally dead and so they halted their attack.'
"We still have to leave this place. I have to protect Lady mistress." Leiya muttered to herself.
Leiya checked her cloak. They left the carriages in such a hurry that she wasn't able to get much artifacts from there. Her focus at the moment was just to untie the horses and leave quickly with her aunt.
As she fumbled on her cloak, she soon found out that she has no offensive artifacts on her. All she have was a communication bead, 2 crystal barrier cores and a small vial of recovery potion. She also have one invisibility pill. That was all in her arsenal, she was basically unarmed for combat.
Leiya slowly raised her aunt and limped step by step deeper into the woods. She walked just a few hundred meters when she saw a small cave with dense vegetation outside. She quickly headed there and laid her aunt to the cave wall.
'I will try to go back to the carriage and get more medical herbs and potions. I hope the demons really left the area already.'
Leiya stepped out of the cave. She activated a crystal barrier in the entrance and infused it with her magic vein, reinforcing its durability and duration.
After checking that no one was around, she quietly walked back to the road. Every time she hear a small sound, she would stop, Ready to activate her last crystal barrier and take the invisibility pill.
-----
Saluk was trekking the woods carefully with her new friend Eiram for a while now.
The village back there was clearly burning but not a single person was there. Maybe they were all rescued or evacuated somehow. Any of those two was a good news. All they have to do now was to walk on the different direction.
Saluk had long ago thought that he was different. Not just his eyes, but he had felt a long time ago even when he was still a child that something was strange in him.
There was a time when he and his uncle Tiyo Domam was on the harvest season when a huge magical aquatic beast suddenly attack them. Saluk remembered that it looked like a large eight-legged lizard with large fins and sharp fangs. It was as big as a full grown man and its scales were too thick. His uncle's warrior guards were heavily injured instantly back then. When the aquatic beast turned its attention to him. He remembered that he picked up a fist sized rock and hurled it to the aquatic beast. Its head was punctured and it died instantly.
His uncle forbid him and the warrior guards to ever talk about it. Eversince then, Saluk was never permitted to join the harvest season and only worked at the herb farm, away from crowded people.
Saluk was deeply thinking about many things at the moment, afterall he and his new friend can't have a conversation.
Saluk sighed and look back to check on his friend following behind him
Eiram looked up and just gave him a small smile.
They have been walking for a while like this when he heared the crashing thunders again. Now the sound is coming from the direction they were heading.
'What is happening? Is this another group of bandits?' Saluk thought.
"Uhmmm... Eiram... You stay here... i will take a quick look... i will come back."
Saluk lead the girl to a thick foilage and started gesturing with his hands, trying to get the message through.
Eiram stared at him for a while and nodded.
Saluk quickly scanned for a tall tree and leaped to the highest branch.
Saluk saw a part of the forest burning up ahead and the thundering sounds seemed to be coming from there. The fire was still a bit far from them and the sound of thunders were barely audible, but it was consistent. Saluk observed for awhile thinking where they would go now? Everywhere he goes seemed to be a hotspot for trouble.
'Should we go back again?' He thought.
'But then we have to return to that burning village. It's more dangerous there.'
Saluk then decided to observe the forest ahead some more, maybe whoever was fighting there would soon be done. A group of bandits against the rival bandits fighting over loots or something like that. He could only speculate.
Saluk was about to jump back down when he saw 2 horses galloping on the road towards his direction.
"Hey, i don't want to get involved with your fight, go the other direction." Saluk excalimed to himself in horror.
Saluk then saw the ground before the riders bursted outwards. The riders were thown from the horses. Only then Saluk noticed that the riders were females.
Saluk gripped his fists, thinking hard if he should get involved or just leave them alone to their fate. If those two were also bandits, then he shouldn't get involved. But if they were just merchants trying to escape, then he, as an upright herb farmer should do something.
He continued watching for a while until the dou from the horses slowly limped to the woods.
Saluk sighed. 'If they were just really merchants, i hope they won't be chased anymore.
Saluk jumped back down and walked towards Eiram. He scratched his head when he saw his friend curled up on the grass, sleeping.
"You must not be used to walking, and we have been walking for awhile now. Maybe we should rest here for now." He said, shaking his head hopelessly.
He then sat back to the nearby tree. He was just about to close his eyes when he heard the distinct sound of the thunders again. This time, the sound is nearer. He got back to his feet and leaped back to the treetop again.
Sure enough, cloud of dust and smoke was rising from the area. It was the same area as the two female merchants went to a few minutes ago.
'This group of bandits are rather aggressive. Their offensive magic seemed to be a lot stronger too, compared to the other bandit group he encountered last night.' Saluk thought.
He jumped back down and checked on Eiram once more. When he confirmed that the girl was still asleep, he dashed to the area.
His plan was rather simple, he will go to the other bandit's area and try to talk to their leader. He will offer the location of the destroyed bandit's camp that he had been last night in exchange for the two merchants safety. That bandit camp last night has a lot more treasures than those two female merchants for sure. This bandits will surely accept the deal. They will get a lot of treasure. The two female merchants will be spared, and he himself will be in good terms with those bandits and merchants at the same time. It was a win-win deal for everyone.
Saluk was smiling to himself thinking about his brilliant plan as he dashed forward.
Soon he reached a group of around 20 men on one side of the road. Their bodies are covered in shinny plates of armors, their faces were even covered. They were carrying a surprisingly awkward looking spear. And in front of them are four wheeled-carts with a huge cylinders sitting on top of it.
Saluk walked towards them raising both of his hands, as if to show them that he doesn't carry any weapons. He was around 100 meters away and slowly walking forward.
The men eyed him suspiciously and pointed their awkward spears on him.
"Good day, my friends. I am just..." Saluk's words were drowned by the consecutive thunders that filled the air.
It all happened in an instant that Saluk was barely able to leap and dodge away.
He clearly saw that what this men are holding wasn't really a spear. But some kind of powerful bow and can launch an arrowhead straight to whichever it was pointing.
He was completely surprised that 2 of the arrowheads made contact to his skin. 1 gashed the side of his forehead and another one gashed his shoulders. Saluk took pride of his resilient body that he knew that it is very hard to wound him. Now he is bleeding.
Their weapons are dangerious
"Hey, please don't attack!" Saluk straighted himself up again and tried to talk to them. He was met by yet again another series of thunders and arrowheads flying towards him.
Saluk leaped to the side again. 'It's really hard to negotiate with bandits.' He thought. He is not feeling so kind anymore.
"Attack me again and i swear i'm gonna beat you all up!" Saluk declared.
It's annoying that these bandits choose to attack first before negotiating. Now this group doesn't even talk.
Saluk saw as the bandits in front of him rushed behind the big cylinder and pointed those big things on him.
Saluk didn't think of anything, anymore. He leaped forward on his maximum speed and sent a kick to the large man in the middle of the group. Saluk figured that this guy should be the leader. He was the only one carrying a sword and his headgear looked a little different from the rest.
The man was thrown backwards so hard that the armor plating on his chest was dented. He was unconscious before he even hit the ground.
The sorrounding men was stunned by what they just saw.
'I knew i got the right man. Now their leader is out.' Saluk thought as he landed at the top of one of the cylinders after kicking the leader bandit.
As Saluk was about to speak again and try to negotiate once more, The men around him seemed to get back to their senses and pointed their weapons towards him again.
Saluk didn't wait for any ceremonies, He flipped forward and landed beside a man nearest to him. With a swift rotation of his body, hi kicked the man's midsection which crushed its weapon and the same time, the man was thrown back and crashed to the man next to him.
Saluk did not pause, he flipped to the next man and kicked his face. Then he move to the next. The bandits around him went to chaos and they even sometimes end up shooting each other. Saluk would appear in front of one man, then flip and engage the next.
-----
Leiya was standing like a statue at this moment.
She consumed her invisibility pill when she reached the clearing by the road. The loud crashing thunders had finnaly stopped falling on them but she was not sure if the bandits already left the area. She has to be very careful if she wants to get the medicinal herbs for her aunt back in the cave.
Then she heard the crisp echoes of thunder she was familiar with. It was the sound of the weapons that are being carried by the demons individually.
'The demons are fighting someone else. Maybe some Pintados were sent to rescue mr and the lady mistress.' Leiya thought as she inched forward.
She then reached the clearing. She has been standing there up to now, stunned by what is happening before her eyes.
A man was jumping and leaping around the group of demons. Everytime he lands on the ground, a demon would be thrown away by either a punch or a kick.
This was the first time she had seen someone fight like this. Barefist fighting were only for drunkards. Yet this man was fighting these demons without any weapon at all. Or maybe he was using some kind offensive close-range magic that Leiya doesn't know of.
Leiya was just standing there, speechless. It's as if she was watching a graceful dance and the cries and shouts of the demons were the music.
Leiya was brought back to her senses when the man in front of her finally stopped. All the demons were on the dirt, not moving at all.
The man walked around the area, as if checking if there were any survivors. He would pick up a demon's weapon, then to throw it back to the ground.
The man then finally turned around.
"Whoaaaah! What the hell, young lady!" The man suddenly jumped back when he faced her direction.
Leiya turned around to see if someone else was around. Then she suddenly realized that the effect of her invisibility pill finally came to its end.