Alice Pov
When I heard the woman scream, it took me by surprise, and I was even more taken aback when she started to run towards the ragged tent that was set up on the edge of the lake not too far away from where I was standing.
I casually recited a nature-type binding spell, which resulted in the woman falling to the ground.
Because She had become entangled in the green grass, which, upon being stepped on, had a springy consistency but had suddenly become rigid around her legs.
"catch her."
I said it with an expression of disinterest and a tone that suggested I was bored.
When they heard my order, three soldiers approached the woman, who showed signs of fear.
Because the woman wouldn't stop screaming, one of the soldiers tried to stuff a cloth into her mouth to make her quiet.
"As was to be expected, She is too weak, and She appears to be a normal person who is at a level lower than 5."
I muttered something under my breath while raising my eyebrows, but I paid no attention to the harsh treatment the three soldiers gave to the woman who was already lying limp on the ground.
"Perhaps this woman only holds a low rank, and a high level foe is hiding in that shabby tent."
Remarked one of the nearby soldiers who was close by and was listening to my low muttering.
This idiot, and of course that's not what I mean, my troops fought against enemies of equal level a few days ago, even though their numbers weren't that high.
Even though twenty percent of my troops were killed in the process of pushing the enemy back to this place, the enemy suffered possibly more than three times that number of fatalities.
Moreover, if my assumption is correct, that woman only served to strengthen my conviction that this location is the family's final bastion of defense.
After the woman had exerted her best efforts to put up a fight, but to no avail, it wasn't long before a number of people emerged one at a time from the run-down tent.
They were seen dressed in shabby clothes and appeared to be hungry. Additionally, some children wore terrified expressions while standing behind their parents.
What they saw at first caused some of my soldiers to be a little bit confused.
Isn't our enemy just an average thug? If so, why are there children here as well? The majority of them have that line of thinking.
Where is your team's leader?
My voice came through loud and clear in the ears of everyone there, despite the chaos and anxiety that was taking place at the time.
"mmmm...mmmm"
The woman who had been bound up screamed in terror as if she were pleading for assistance, but because a cloth had been placed over her mouth, her screams were muffled and difficult to make.
Not much longer after that, a few people emerged from the run-down tent and began slowly walking in my direction.
Even though the majority of them were in their senior years, there were also men and women of middle age among them.
I was even able to make out a figure approaching me with a bowed leg while they wore a variety of expressions.
The first and the majority of them were terrified, but there was one person who maintained their composure. That person was an old man who appeared to be the group's leader.
They wore worn-out clothing, but in addition to that, they wore rusted metal armor. Despite this, they appeared to be in bad shape.
They carry a wide variety of weapons, the majority of which are swords of moderate size.
They stopped moving roughly five meters in front of me, and in the meantime, the troops behind me kept their weapons ready.
Each camp cast a wary glance in the other's direction, bracing themselves for the imminent outbreak of violence.
"You're aware of the reason I'm here, right?"
I inquired, this time with a more upbeat demeanor and a teasing grin on my face.
"Yeah, I know, but may I also ask why you guys have attacked us over the past few days?"
The elderly man responded in a calm tone but then asked with a confused expression.
As was to be expected, the old man who had maintained his composure throughout the entire interaction appeared to be the member of this group who was held in the highest regard.
"You know the reason, old man, not without your reason being in this forest, so don't act like you don't know.
When I said that, I had a smirk on my face unintentionally.
After hearing my response, the old man and a few other elders appeared to be at a loss for words, while the younger generation appeared even more perplexed.
Without further ado, I promptly ordered my soldiers to eliminate the group of people standing five meters in front of me.
"Kill them without showing any mercy, and then catch the people who are still in the tent and gather them together afterward."
After hearing my command, the entirety of my army immediately charged forward while shouting as if they were on their way to a major battle.
"Hold on a second, perhaps I'm misinterpreting what you're saying. The truth is that we have no idea about anything."
"Yeah, right, just a few days ago, a very powerful and mysterious person came to visit our tribe, and she instructed us to remain here in this forest."
She promised that we would be freed if we were able to maintain our resistance for one week.
Hearing their desperate explanations didn't stop my troops from charging at them with all their might. Instead, it made these people even more desperate.
"Hold on, let's just wait a second."
"Please don't."
"I think it would be helpful if we had a conversation about this."
"sprut"
A man in his middle years had his head severed from the rest of his body.
"clank clack"
After which, there was the sound of metal weapons striking each other and screams.
You are very mistaken if you think the old man drops dead first. In point of fact, the old man seems to be doing just fine in this battle.
He had just finished dismembering one of the soldiers with the enormous ax that took up half of his body space.
And that wasn't the end of it. The old man even went on a killing spree while rotating 360 degrees, which brought the morale of my soldiers down a little bit.
Yes, it was my expectation that at least some of them would be at a high expert level.
Because I don't want to face the ridicule of my brother if he finds out that I only went home with ten soldiers left of the army I led.
"binding roots."
"blazing fire."
And just to wrap up, yes, I have a good deal of faith in my magic.
"Spear of hail."
The reception of my continuous chanting caught everyone off guard.
Especially the old man who was currently holding the head of a soldier in his left hand while swinging his ax with his right hand, which caused the soldier to splinter into two separate pieces.
Exactly when he was about to get ready to receive my magic, his feet were already bound to roots that had grown out of the ground, and in the meantime, the people who were fighting close to the old man moved away.
Because it appeared that the old man was going to be the target of my magic, he yelled as if he knew that his life would be in danger as a result.
"It's all my fault, but I won't let you guys massacre my tribe... arghhhh," the old man said.
After a great deal of effort, the old man was finally freed from the entanglement of the roots. However, at that moment, fire formed into a spear in the air and shot toward the old man's head.
"ha... ahhh"
The elderly man had remarkable reflexes, so he was able to successfully parry with his ax.
When all of the people in the dilapidated tent experienced a sudden sense of relief.
"swoosh swoosh swoosh"
"tud thud tud"
This time, even faster than the fire spear that had been thrust into the old man earlier, three ice spears pierced his body simultaneously, leaving him with no time to react.
The Old Man Pov
"huh huh huh."
Even though three ice spears were lodged in my body, I could still scrape by with my breath coming in gasps.
I was able to see the scene around where members of my tribe were being killed one at a time while these soldiers tried to catch the remaining people, but after that, everything went fuzzy.
Then, as my eyes started to get tired, I saw a young girl who was even younger than my granddaughter. She had white hair and a pretty face. Her red eyes were looking straight into mine
"you avaricious old scoundrel, you deserve to die many times over without mercy, how dare you."
But right at this moment, she was beaming broadly while saying something that caused me to suddenly tremble. I could see her hands giving off a shimmering light, and a moment later, my vision started to spin around, and it got darker.
The End Of Pov.
"you avaricious old scoundrel, you deserve to die many times over without mercy, how dare you,"
After that, I slashed my magic-enchanted hand towards the old man's head in an attempt to kill him.
"sprutt"
The old man's body, who had lost his head, was gushing blood upwards.