--Gremory Point of View--
"I am so sorry, sorry, I was thinking that you would block with the shield" I speak quickly as I rip my shirt off to use as bandages in an attempt to stop the bleeding in his hand.
"Don't worry kid, this isn't the first time I got injured. If you had hit my wrist then yes... it would be worrying hahaha"
"How can you laugh at something like this, no way your hand will recover from this"
"Thanks for cheering me up kid. Look... In moments like this you can't just despair, you need to put your shit together and being calm as you do it, if not you will just end up making everything worse"
"Yes I know, but your hand is just..."
"But nothing! You need to stay calm always, mark this as part of the teaching lesson" he talks while he takes the end of the bandage and squeezes it harder while not making a single noise of pain.
"Understood, I will remember that"
"Good, you did well kid, in the beginning, you did good at trying different methods to defeat me, but as soon you saw that your attempts had failed you. You started to act in an irrational way, I know you thought you would have no problem losing, but most of the time you encounter an enemy he will not be so kind, so think about your actions and don't give up that easy. If I had a real shield you would have lost in the end, still, I chose this shield, and you won, congratulations!"
"This means that now I already can go to the city, right?"
"Yes, just first help me get back to the village, this wound made me lose a lot of blood"
"I know I know, I was just asking if I could... Come on, Carine will know how to fix you"
The bandage manages to slow down the bleeding, but the old man is not capable of handling things like this anymore, then he leans on me, and we stagger towards the village.
"Hey old man, every warrior with Rank C is strong as you are?"
"Hahaha they wish, I can be just a Rank C, but I even matched Neywell in battle"
"What, but why did you get stuck on Rank C then?
"The ranks are the measure of power, not strength, I started as a soldier when I was very young. Decades of experience make up for my lack of power"
"So this is what you were talking about? Power without experience means nothing"
"So you finally understand, remember this and also don't be so dependent on your powers, when your mana runs out it won't be the end of the world. You will just be in the same situation as a normal person"
"Yes, I will try to remember"
We keep staggering to the village, as we were getting close we heard a loud noise that became louder and louder
"Looks like everyone is enjoying your party without you kid"
"They don't need me there to use my birthday excuse to have a party"
"Hahaha you right"
And then, a scream.
"What was that?" The old man spoke worried.
"I don't know, let's hurry"
We started to stagger as fast as we could in the direction of the village, and we heard screams after screams until we reach the village.
There were a lot of men in black leather armor putting fire on the village and attacking everyone we knew.
This was a terrible day to be attacked, the village has only 11 trained warriors, and in the party were two of the village guard, Carine, and Fulgence. Besides, with the old man hurt this leave we with few men to fight back, and I can see dozens of bandits.
"Old man stays here, I am going there" I spoke while leaving the old man on the ground.
"In hell with this, I am not going just watch" The old man spoke while struggling to his feet.
"This is not your old days, I know you are strong but the blood you lost, shit you even can't hold your sword anymore"
"This is just a scratch and I have another hand to fight"
As he spoke four bandits started to surround us, laughing like they're having fun.
We both draw our weapons and prepare for battle.
"Let me have the child, you guys can have the old man" One of the bandits said while swinging the sword towards me.
The moment I see the sharp sword coming towards me, I remembered the last time I was hit by a blade, the pain of holding my guts out of my body, and the cold I felt.
At that moment I froze in place.
The old man seeing this, throw himself towards the blade to defend me.
The blade hit his chest and even more blood than before started to come out of the wound. Yet he stood in his foot and with a clean-cut beheads the bandit.
The other three bandits got angry seeing his friend's head rolling on the ground and draw their weapons.
At the same time the three bandits attacked, the old man manages to pierce the chest of one of them with the sword, but by doing that, he left himself open for another two blows.
He used his left arm that was hurt to defend himself from the bandit on the left. The blade hit through a good part of the meat and get stuck in the bone while the other guy hit him in the stomach, the blade went through the old man's body. The old man left a scream of pain, but at the same time, the old man took advantage that the other guy on the left was trying to take out his sword, to hit him in the throat. It was not a clean-cut, but the bandit fell to the ground spilling blood.
"Looks like there is just one left, come on!" The old man spoke in a provocative tone.
The other bandit gets nervous and tries to attack him quickly, but the old man manages to defend easily and attack back by hitting him in the chest. The bandit just falls to the ground bleeding.
In all this time I just remain frozen in place, without being able to move a finger.
"See kid, this is how it's done, now get moving"
The moment he says that we see Scullery coming in our direction from the forest.
"Finally good news, Scullery you bastard! I have never been so happy to see your ugly face comrade. It is quite hard to fight everyone alone so let's find the others" The old man said while his eyes were filled with hope.
Scullery didn't say a word as he was getting close.
When he was close enough he just drew a dagger and slit the old man's throat.
The old man hits the ground on his knees, trying to keep the blood from spilling out, a vain attempt as he loses his strength and falls to the ground.
At the same moment, another man coming from behind hit me on the head with a club and I pass out.