The group finally agreed to let me join them if I managed to bring back prey.
They said that it didn't matter what it was. It was fine as long as it was comestible.
"So why are you coming with me?"
Aria was following me. And a little further behind us, two men from her team were stealthily following us.
"Why can't I come with you? I am just curious about you."
She smiled shyly while holding her hand behind her back and leaning forward.
I won't buy it. Father had already taught me to avoid females like her. She would bring nothing but trouble to our tribe. Well, the past tribe. Since I had no place to return to.
I decided to ignore her and continue. I was able to identify the position of anything around me.
Although not that clear, I was sensing something sleeping just ahead of us.
"Hey, Baruld!"
"Shhh!"
"Where are you from?"
"SHHH!"
"Tell me! And stop with that weird sound coming from your mouth!"
Damn! It woke up!
No wonder, with how loud her voice is. Father was right!
"You stay here and don't move. I will be back in a moment."
"AH! Wait, you didn't answer my question!"
"Later!"
I sprinted through the trees, trying to take by surprise the still groggy animal.
I pushed myself against a tree's bark, the momentum pushing me through a thick bush.
Perfect! Now I only had to kill it in one move.
I slashed down, and one head was sent flying.
"GYAA!"
"Guroh! Miharggg! Gyriah!"
Ah...It wasn't the only one. I had landed in the middle of a goblin's camp.
Damn me and my impatience! I had managed to detect only one of them.
Wait, why only one? Earlier, I could detect even the two dudes following us.
*BOOM*
A fireball landed near me, making me lose my balance.
Who is the bastard that attacked me? Couldn't you differentiate between humans and monsters?
I darted through the smoke, taking the lives of another two goblins.
I could have run away, but I decided to clean them up since I was already there. No harm done.
*BOOM*
Another one! This time I was prepared, ducking just before being hit. Luckily, one goblin about to attack me from behind was set on fire.
"GRYAHH!!"
Sorry! I will set you free now.
I killed the monster writhing on the ground in agony, crushing his head with a club lying nearby.
As I looked around, I noticed the one attacking me with magic.
The rest of the goblins had gathered around an even uglier one.
While most of them were green and were only around a meter tall, this one's skin color was grey and was almost as tall as me.
But what gave him away was the crudely made staff in his hand. Coupled with the fireball taking form in front of him, there was no doubt.
I dodged it without any trouble and prepared myself to attack. I was at a disadvantage, as I wasn't that skilled with a dagger.
But for sure, there was a talent for it too. Nr 34. Probably. It was a dagger, so I thought that it showed a proficiency for it.
"Baruld! Wait for me!"
Oh, no! What is this girl even doing in this place?!
"Get out of here! It's dangerous..."
"Gyajk!"
As soon as the goblins heard her, they rushed toward where her voice was coming from.
I cut their path, killing two more. But there were still 5 more, plus the mage goblin.
"Goblins are coming your way!"
I yelled as loud as possible. I didn't want to see someone killed by their own stupidity.
"Kya! Get away from me!"
*BOOM*
As I was about to reach her side, another fireball crushed behind me.
"You are annoying!"
I swung the wooden club and threw it toward the mage goblin. Its head exploded, stunning me for a second.
Was that trow that powerful? I don't remember being able to do something like that.
A talent? It seemed too powerful to be only one.
Don't tell me, did they combine? Nr 38, Trow; and nr 12, Strength...
"Hyaa! Help me!"
Oops, I forgot about her.
It seemed like she managed to clean up two of them, as only three were left standing.
*Earth spike*
Her magic managed to take another one by surprise, the earth rising and piercing its small body from behind.
I took advantage of the stunned goblins and cleaned them up.
Aria collapsed to the ground, shaking from the horrific experience.
Goblins were known for their cruelty and mischievousness, r*ping females for fun.
"Ueeh! Why did you leave me alone? I was so scared!"
Now, what do I do? It wasn't like it was my fault that she followed me.
I told her to wait for me in a safe place. Moreover, her guards would protect her, right?
Wait! Why was she in danger? She is quite skilled with magic. But...where are her guards?
I tried to sense the surroundings, but I couldn't find anyone besides us.
What happened to those two? Did something happen? Were they attacked by something?
"Get up, Aria! We need to return to our campsite right now!"
"What? What has gotten into you?"
"There was no time to explain! Let's go!"
Please! Please let it be just my imagination!
But it wasn't. As soon as we were near the ruins of the village, we could hear the clanging of metal against metal.
We were attacked!
I was about to rush and try to save whoever was still alive, but Aria stopped me.
"What do you think that you are doing? Don't leave me alone!"
Uh. But the people...
"They are all my guards. They are strong enough to protect me. So don't worry."
As I thought. This girl...is rich. Who else would pay people to protect herself?
As I was facing this dilemma, a rough breathing came from a few meters away.
"Who is there?"
I rushed with my knife, ready to slash at any moment.
"Agh! Wait! It's me!"
Leilei was stumbling while going toward the direction we were coming from.
She was badly hurt. She was limping from one of her legs, a deep wound could be seen around her abdomen, and blood was covering one of her eyes.
"What happened to you?"
"Cough! Monsters... attacked the camp. The other two are almost dead. I was supposed to go and protect the young Miss. I'm glad I managed to find you two."
She collapsed in my arms, unable to stand anymore.
"Only three of you were defending the camp? What about the other two?"
"The other two are the personal guards of the young miss. They should be nearby. Carlos! Mane! Come out!"
Only the air filled with the smell of blood came swishing. There was nobody around us. Even the sounds of fighting were long since over.
"What is the meaning of this? Where are those two?"
"I don't know. Probably they went elsewhere."
I suggested to her, unable to find an adequate answer.
"That's impossible! They are bound by a contract never to leave her side!"
She started yelling at me. As if I knew that! This was the first time I heard about it.
"Is that true?"
Ups, it seemed like I wasn't the only one unaware of that.
Aria was frowning while asking her more questions.
I left those two and looked towards the village. I had sensed two... things coming in this direction.
What are those? They don't seem human, but they are neither monsters.
I was about to suggest getting away from this place when Aria saw them.
"Hey, you two! Are you alright?"
What? When did they get so close?
I turned around and saw the two disappeared guards trotting in our direction.
Why am I sensing the same kind of energy as earlier?
They had their head hanging down. Are they looking at the ground? Is there something there?
As they got closer, I could see they were full of blood. One of them even had their entire arm missing.
"Growl."
Huh? That's not a sound that a human can make!
"Let's run!"
"Huh? Why?"
I put Leilei over my back and took Aria's hand, and started running.
The first two presences were already nearby. Coupled with those two, there were four of them chasing us.
"Roooar!"