Chapter 26: Escort
Next day
Loki met with Athena at the entrance and entered inside. The guild hall was as busy as ever with adventurers roaming around, some taking on missions while some submitting them.
Loki and Athena weaved through toward the counter, where a clerk greeted them with a bright, professional smile.
"We've completed our mission," Loki said, laying out a collection of beast parts on the counter as proof. "And we're ready for our next assignment."
"Yes Sir, Here are all the available missions." She flashed a business smile and procured a holographic screen in front of them.
It displayed the current missions and their rewards. Loki discussed with Athena while checking the mission's description.
[Guild Mission: Hunt a rare-tier beast causing trouble for citizens near the border.]
[Guild Mission: Guard the Nocturnal Forest from illegal hunters.]
[...]
Most of them were either hunting missions or guarding missions. Athena rejected those since they were quite boring. They searched for a while and found an escort mission.
[Guild Mission: Escort the Merchants to the Beastia City.]
Merchants usually carry various goods and travel around the cities selling them. There were dangers of bandits and beasts along the way but they had to take the risk to earn some money. Teleportation Portal was an option but it was too expensive for them since they charge money for extra goods.
Athena suggested to take this mission.
"An escort mission?" Loki mused. "It pays well and gets us to Beastia City for free."
Loki accepted the mission and contacted the merchants. The merchants were waiting for them near the gate so they exited the building and approached them.
Loki packed some food on the way. He knew that the journey might take some time so he filled his ring with a lot of spare food.
A moment later they arrived at the entrance of the City and met with the merchants. Five carriages, loaded with goods, stood ready. A small group of mercenaries, their ranks ranging from low to mid-silver, stood guard.
After brief introductions, the head merchant provided a detailed overview of their journey. Beastia City lay far to the north, and the trip would take about a week.
We geared up and started our week-long journey.
Loki and Athena took positions at the rear of the convoy, keeping a watchful eye for any threats that might approach from behind.
Their relationship has developed a bit further and Athena considers Loki a friend now. Though Loki has some other thoughts. Bro is in love with her but doesn't have the confidence to tell her and is also afraid of rejection. So, he is thinking of taking it slow and developing mutual feelings first.
A day later
The peaceful march of the caravan was abruptly halted by a shout from ahead.
"Stop!"
A hoarse commanding voice echoed as nearly fifty individuals surrounded us. From the looks of their outfit and weapons, they were bandits.
"Hehehe Boss! We found a big prey today."
"Look at all those goods, We gonna be rich."
The bandits cackled among themselves, brandishing their weapons menacingly. The merchants huddled together, their faces pale with fear, while the hired mercenaries tightened their grips on their swords.
Loki jumped from the carriage and observed the situation. Athena also exited the carriage and stood alongside him.
"Leave the goods behind if you value your lives." A man with a huge scar on his face roared and stepped forward. He looked like their leader as the other bandits made way for him.
His eyes roved over the convoy and landed on Athena with a lecherous gleam.
"Such a beautiful lady." He licked his lips and pointed his finger towards Athena.
"Leave her behind too."
A frown appeared on Loki's face as he heard the bandit leader's voice. He was feeling angry at that man's lecherous gaze that was scanning Athena.
"Athena, Support the mercenaries. I will handle their leader." Loki stepped forward and made eye contact with the leader.
Athena nodded, her eyes cold as she drew her sword.
"What's with the look, brat?" the leader barked, hefting his battle axe. "I'll carve that smirk off your face."
Loki's smirk widened. "I'm looking at a dead man."
"You are dead." He roared and dashed forward with great momentum.
Loki whispered, "Inspect."
[Name: Brad Nicke]
[Age: 35]
[Title: -]
[Tier- Rare]
[Rank: high-Silver]
[Affinities: fire]
[Abilities]
[Fire Strike] [Fiery Slash] [Blazing Dash] [...]
[Copy condition: Defeat him.]
"I was feeling bored without any action but you came just in time."
Loki gripped his sword and took his stance.
Clang
Both their weapons clashed with each other and produced a metallic sound.
Brad was a little shocked witnessing the strength of Loki but he flung his axe sending Loki backward.
Loki rushed forward and performed countless slashes towards Brad. Brad dodged some attacks but light wounds were forming in his body.
He jumped backward to make some distance and counterattacked with his move.
[Fire Strike]
A fiery red aura covered his axe as he slammed them towards Loki. Loki covered his sword with a blue aura and took the move head-on. Their clashes continued as Athena was dealing with her own troubles.
Though she cut through the bandits with ease, the sheer number of enemies overwhelmed the mercenaries. They struggled against the onslaught, outnumbered and outmatched.
[Root Shackle]
Countless roots emerged from the ground and wrapped themselves around the bandit's bodies.
"Ughh"
They struggled, cursing and hacking at the vines with their weapons.
"Your opponent is me, Lady." A slender figure appeared behind Athena and attacked her.
clang
Athena swiftly unsheathed her sword and parried it.
Her opponent appeared to be a man with a lean body and a short sword. A gust of wind flew by as he attacked her with a move.
[Wind Assaut]
Countless winds moved in a crescent arc and approached Athena at high speed. Athena activated her [Thunder Armor] and took the attack head-on with her body.
Boom
The crescent winds smashed with the armor but couldn't penetrate it. They dissipated in seconds upon contact with the armor.
[Blossoming sword art: Petal dash]
A sweet smell spread around as Athena pushed her sword towards the man. Flower petals were revolving around her sword.
The man dodged the sword but was struck by the petals and visible wounds appeared in his body. Blood trickled from his wounds as he distanced himself away and ordered the bandits to distract her.
Athena sliced through the bandits and rushed towards the lean man. She knew letting him escape was quite troublesome so she activated her skill.
[Blood Bloom]
The blood dropped from his body and blossomed into a beautiful red flower. The flower swirled slightly and broke itself.
swish
Its petals dashed toward him and struck his back.
"Ughh"
A grunt escaped his lips as he knelt and held his body from falling with his sword.
tak tak
Athena slowly walked towards him and held her sword high.
ziing
A head flew by and landed on a nearby bandit's feet.
"AHHHH! She killed the vice-leader!" a bandit screamed, his face paling.
The remaining bandits froze in terror. Seeing their vice-leader's headless body sprawled on the ground, they panicked.
"She is a demon!"
They swiftly turned backward and started running away.
What a joke. Even their vice-leader who was a mid-silver rank individual died battling her. They are just ants in front of her.