"If this continues, I would die because of blood loss rather than these bastards!" I grumbled, while biting my lips to lessen the pain.
If I still want to stay alive, I should use my trump card. As a reincarnated person inside this fantasy world, I should have one! But the problem was my prowess. There was no ability that I knew besides the [phoenix sphere] and my swords skills.
And that [phoenix sphere] was nothing special at all! It could even barely kindle a fire!
Thanks to my additional strength from the system, the pain surging through my body was still bearable for me. However, I crossed the line of "no-return" with my loosened arm lying in front of me.
From what I learned in school, none of the doctors would perform such a miracle! And even if they could, those people dressed in white coats could only use me for experiments, not reviving my dead arm.
The two mercenaries did not give me enough breaks as they continued charging straight towards me. Those pairs did not play with their food and planned to finish me once and for good.
As the nameless man kicked my face, my entire body hovered at the ground. Every cell inside of me vibrated, wishing to free themselves from my internal suffering. The crimson blood continued to gush out from my fallen arm, rendering me devoid of energy.
My body screamed when my mouth couldn't, as I tackled the ground, forcing myself to stand back up. But as I took a step forward, the girl behind the man already launched another magical projectile towards me.
"Am I too late?" I pondered, while watching those missiles aimed in my direction.
The spell contained darts of rubbles that came from the ground. All of those projectiles flew in my direction, preventing me from escaping my post. With that wide-range attack, I doubted I could even walk out from here alive.
That ability was the advantage of mages against knights. My weapon could only strike at a point-blank range. If the sorcerer created some distance against their opponents, they had more chances of winning the clash.
And that happened to me as I received the bombarding attacks of the mage girl.
The stones hurled towards me penetrated my skin. All those rocks sliced and diced me as if my body was an entire collection of fruits thrown into the sky. I became a punching bag, floating in mid-air, receiving all the blows without fighting back.
There was nothing I could do but watch the ground with all the pebbles hitting every part of my body.
"Please… stop!"
This event was the first time for me to beg for my life. I did not know what to do but grovelled on the ground, praying that the mercenaries would stop harassing the wolves and me.
It was the entire reason I did not want to stand up for someone else. My body remembered the aching pain of all the experiences I felt.
However, right now, I know I have become a changed man. Those regrets did not pile up a mountain. They remained nestling on the ground as a plain, never reaching the heights beside the clouds.
It was the first time in my life that I never regretted fighting for someone else… I always wanted to become a hero. Now that I became one… I did not know what to do.
"I failed… Who am I kidding, anyway? Look at me now… defenceless…. frightened…."
Every time I thought of something, a punch came afterwards. It did not give me any time to think as my body received the blitz. The man met my gaze and found pleasure beating me up.
Despite my resolution, the thoughts inside my head went berserk, tainting me with their pessimistic thoughts. All those emotions turned cynical, wanting to run away and save me.
But I never let my guard down and remained intact on the ground. As long as I stood there-protecting the weak from the strong, I would become a hero.
"Are you dead yet?" the man asked as he went closer to my immobile body.
A groaning sound fled from my mouth, with my lungs gasping for air. The sensation was like I had asthma as I forced myself to breathe.
However, my efforts never rewarded me, as I ended up numb all over my body. These two were more of a threat than Uruk-hai... I even thought that I would die, since my body already gave up heeding my calls.
"Do you want me to help you?" the warrior asked for the nth time, while flashing me a smile.
If people from the outside saw the scene, they would believe this man wanted to help me. But his tone told me otherwise. Upon querying me the question, the warrior carried me around his arms.
"Hey… We should loot this guy's belongings! We might fetch some rewards if we turned him into the slave master!" the man suggested, as he presented me to his teammates. "Don't bother about the wolves. We could get them tomorrow."
All of his mercenaries listened to his orders and went to the man's side. Each of them had the same grin on their faces, with coins emerging inside their pupils.
"His sword looks shiny… maybe we could sell it for a greater price. That boy blocked your sword, after all," the mage girl insisted, while scrutinising my blade.
Little did they know I was still conscious, even with the man carrying my body. However, I could not move or announce my presence. If they knew I was still kicking the bucket, these mercenaries would torture me for fun.
But despite this situation, these people left the wolves on their own. Before I could close my eyes, the mother wolf, who I protected earlier, witnessed my beat-up state. However, because of their instincts, those hounds ran away.
I did not bother taking their toll, since I was the one who charged in and tried protecting them. "A hero needs nothing but the thanks of the people…" I murmured inside my head.
I had no other choice but to carry out this misery with me. I was the ignorant one who wanted to play the hero…
"Merleen… I'm sorry for dragging you down… maybe we won't have that journey after all…"
As soon as my mind tried accepting my fate, the bushes near me wiggled, creating a wobbling sound. That audio was enough to attract the attention of the ten mercenaries as they all turned around.
Within a few seconds, a beam of light escaped from the hole of a bush, aiming towards the man carrying me.
Despite the mercenaries' reactions, those hoodlums were already too late to react. The man threw me on the ground and tried dodging the speed of light. But no matter how hard he tried, our bodies could not go against that luminance.
I let out a cough as my body crashed to the ground. All the nine members widened their eyes as they heard me.
"What are you fuckers doing! He's still conscious! Kill him right now before his friends could do something!" The warrior who carried and provoked me earlier commanded his teammates.
Despite taking a direct hit from the light, that gleam did not kill the man. Since light had a lesser destructive force than lightning, I could find the situation logically sound.
But I could not grasp who was behind this assault. The person behind the curtains even went their way to help me… Why?
The nine mercenaries scrambled towards my figure with their knives and magic projectiles aimed at my head. All the wounds on my body were still fresh, hindering me from moving elsewhere but here.
I could do nothing but pray for my life.
As luck would have it, my prayers heeded my call. A barrier of some sort emerged around me with a golden hue covering its surface. The shield had a translucent state, as it allowed me to see through the outside. Since light could come anywhere from the guard, my worried butterflies fell on my abdomen.
"I'm… saved?" I asked, and looked in the direction from where the light came from.
As I squinted my exhausted eyes, a figure of a shivering woman emerged from the shadows.
"L-Leave Arthur alone! M-Merleen will do something bad to you if you don't!"
The ten mercenaries exchanged their looks as they witnessed Merleen standing at their fore. Her peculiar sense of words caught their attention. Those scums wanted to laugh, but they could not do so. Since this girl could control light, these people became wary about Merleen.
"Screw that! Kill that guy and run away!"
The man, who I assumed was the leader of this pack, gave his instructions. He was also the one who fought me and carried me for a short time.
The nine members did what they could, but their weapons never penetrated my shield.
"M-Merleen told you to leave him alone!"