On the third day of travel, Emily was starting to crave something other than beef jerky. Not only that, she wished the cat girl wouldn't have stayed up all night two nights in a row. However, the woman's face showed no signs that she was tired. When Emily looked at her face, there were no signs of fatigue. It made Emily wonder if Cattleya had fallen asleep any ways. Maybe she has some kind of skill related to this?
These last two days were also surprisingly relaxing for the kitsune. Emily's ears twitched, and her eyes remained focused. Her senses were more capable than ever. Perhaps that was why she noticed something strange along the path.
When the trees started to open up even more, they'd started climbing up hilly terrain and entering mountains. The path continued between two rock formations, and before those formations, there was a bridge crossing over the river.
It was comprised of stone and crossed over a thin part of the river. There was a small guard rail on either side made of the same cobble, and on the four corners, there were pillars. It was just wide enough for an Edmontosaurus to pass over, even if it happened to be pulling something.
No, the trench between the rock formations sparked her twitching ears and uncomfortable tail. The gut feeling only grew stronger as Big Greenie started crossing the bridge.
The moment they got to the other side, Emily tapped on Cattleya's shoulder.
"I know," Cattleya said, "perfect place for an ambush."
Emily noticed the remnants of broken arrows scattered along the ground. A faint iron scent reached her nose, and she saw trails of dried blood within the shadows of the crevice.
The kitsune's ears flickered towards a small sound. It was the faintest sound of a groaning piece of wood, and her eyes followed.
Mana flowed down her arm and into her staff, and a nanobot shield formed in front of her. The moment she completed it, an arrow struck against it, snapping in half, and clattering to the ground next to them.
She scanned the top of the ridges, and she finally found him. It was a bowman who clicked his tongue the moment his arrow missed. He reached to pull another one off of his back, but Emily was faster.
The kitsune channeled magic into her staff again, this time changing the composition of it.
She'd already tried making it into a sword, so she wondered how much it could change into a rifle. The result was not exactly what she wanted. The entire thing looked like the M4's upper receiver. It was basically a long barrel with guard rails and sight apertures. Fair enough...
The man's eyes widened, and he hurried to pull the bow string. "Boys! This one is a mage!"
A 5.56 round she was used to formed inside the barrel, and the nanobots shot it forwards in a propulsion of fire. Before the man could fully ready the bow, a bullet penetrated his head, and flew out the other side. It continued until the nanobots stopped, changing from a bullet to a small round sphere. They hovered in the air above the group on the ridge line.
"Take Big Greenie and fall back," Emily said. She leapt from the large green dinosaur, landing with a finesse that might've made Ratagast proud if he was still watching.
More men formed on the ridge line after their friend had fallen. One of them was a mage who cast magic at the ball hovering above them. The man carried a small wand in his hands, and he aimed it at the thing, shooting a strong gust of wind magic. It sliced through the air and cut Emily's ball clean in half.
The men reacted to the noise of her exploding fragment. Their brief glance upwards was the distraction Emily needed.
She leapt behind a large rock along the basin of the river to return fire to the enemy.
The voice of a distant past resurfaced, and she could hear the sounds of special forces instructors raising their voices near her. The moment you start panicking, everything is over. Slow is smooth, and smooth is fast.
Where is the enemy? How many of them are there? What is the best way to neutralize them?
She lined up her sight aperture to the most uncertain enemy, her eye forming into a target retina in the same motion.
Name: Boris
Race: [Human]
Age: 27
Sex: Male
Level: 18
Class: [Adept Wind Mage]
Sub Classes: [Novice Enchanter]
Devotion(s): Yahweh
Title(s): Bandit
Health: 261
Stamina: 350
Mana: 398/438
Skills: [Adept Wind Magic]
Equipment: [Rare Robes of Swift Winds],[Rare Wand of Magic Power]
Missing with an iron sights at 200 meters was unthinkable, but missing with what was now an advanced combat sight? Impossible.
She pulled the trigger of her magic power, launching another round into the defending mage. He had no time to react to the speed of her magic. It pierced his center mass, penetrating through his his lungs, and dropping him to the ground efficiently.
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The eyes of the men flickered towards her hiding spot as she ducked to load another round. The one benefit of having a magazine was completely lost on this magic version of her rifle, but she didn't need to think so linearly.
After all, I can still control the magic in the way I want to.
Several more bowmen were readied, notching their arrows against the wooden curves. Arrows launched into the air towards her hiding spot.
Thankfully, the width and height of the rock was enough for them to fly over her. Though, one of them had some kind of skill.
The moment his arrow flew over Emily's head, it split into two separate arrows. One kept flying uselessly into the trees beyond, and the other landed point down into the ground between Emily's legs.
Emily peaked out of her cover, and saw one already having an arrow at the ready. She pointed her sight at him, and shot the bullet. It penetrated into his heart but not before he released it.
Not even a second after he was hit, Emily felt a sharp pain in her shoulder. The arrow had driven past her armor and dug into her right shoulder. Her mind focused on the bullet she'd just released.
It started enlarging on the other side of the man as more nanobots rushed to support it. It formed into a grenade, and dropped to the ground behind him, hissing with an ignited fuse.
The moment it exploded, a notification popped up in front of her.
[Congratulations!]
[You have gained 2 levels!]
She checked the ridge line again, only to see black smoke from the explosion crowding the air. She scanned the surroundings further, but her ears twitched to the sound of metal in the forest behind her.
Was that their goal?
Emily ripped the arrow from her shoulder, but as she did so, she saw something else mixing with the color of her blood. Purple liquid dripped from the pointed metal tip onto the ground beneath her.
Nonetheless, she ran back into the forest, searching for Cattleya, and following the sounds of battle.
She arrived in the thicket of a group of trees, one of them splintered and crashed over on its side.
Three men faced Cattleya and Big Greenie. All of them held swords that looked more expensive than a regular group of bandits should have. Despite this, there were already two men who lay defeated on the ground. Their skulls were crushed by blunt force, and the evidence of why became clear.
Big Greenie slammed the side of his massive body against another attacker, sending him sprawling on the ground. He lifted himself onto his two back legs, attempting to stomp on the man's head with his front legs.
The man rolled away from the attack just in time, while the two other men ran around the dinosaur towards Cattleya.
Her hands channeled the same white magic Emily had seen before.
However, the kitsune could no longer stand. She collapsed onto her knees next to the fallen tree, her vision growing blurry. Even the sound of their voices faded in the next second, and she fell face first onto the ground, completely paralyzed to move.
///
Emily sat up fast, her head slamming hard into another.
Cattleya winced in pain, grimacing from the collision. "Miss Vander, I am happy you are safe, but we are not under attack anymore."
The kitsune blinked several times, looking around at the campfire and the sleeping dinosaur. She looked down at her own body, finding a bandage wrapping around her right shoulder. For a brief second, panic started to set in, until she realized that she could still move it.
A deep sigh of relief left her. I am glad I didn't lose both of my arms.
"What happened after I passed out? I saw those bandits…"
Cattleya looked solemnly at the ground. "They were all killed. I had to kill one of them myself, while Big Greenie took care of the other ones." A small smile graced her face after a pause. "Though, I am happy that you're stronger than you look, Miss Vander."
Emily gave the cat girl a placating smile. "Never mind that. I know that taking a life can be..."
The servant woman shook her head. "It's not that. I knew one of those men. Never thought he would become a bandit..."
Emily's eyes widened. "I...I am sorry."
"Don't be, I should have seen it coming." The brown-haired girl shook her head again. "Forget about that, how are you feeling? You'd undergone paralysis, Miss Vander."
"Paralysis? Yes, I do recall that before I passed out. I feel much better now. Did you fix it?"
She nodded. "Yes, madame. Though, even if I wouldn't have done anything, you would have been fine, Miss Vander."
"Oh? Why is that?"
The cat girl's face darkened. "Those were not regular paralysis-tipped arrows. They used the type of paralyzing poison that would not work for long. I suppose they were trying to capture us, Miss Vander."
"Capture us? Why would they do that?"
"Your best guess is likely the correct one."
There were so many horrible things Emily could imagine, and the fact that the two of them were both women made those scenarios even worse. Ultimately, she bobbed her head and allowed silence to descend between them. She clenched her teeth, her hatred for the bandits building in her mind.
A tired sigh left Cattleya's lips. "This will put a delay on our journey, and we have no where to store the bodies. Let's hope that there was a bounty sent from the city. If they did send it, then we should expect to see military or mercenaries arriving soon."
"You should get some rest, Cattleya. You've not slept this entire time, have you?"
"But, Miss Vander, I..."
"No buts. You need to sleep. I will take over the night watch, and if we are attacked by any more bandits, I will wake you up right away."
The cat woman swallowed. "It is as you say. I haven't slept, but you needn't worry about that. It is part of my magic talent..."
"Even so, you can't stay up all night and afford to waste your resource like that. If the healer is out of commission, then it will be lights out for all of us if I get impaired."
Cattleya's tail drooped behind her, but she acquiesced and laid down on her sleeping bag. "Miss Vander, if you start to feel tired, wake me up immediately. Remember that you were the one hit with paralysis."
Emily nodded. "Don't worry, I will."
She waited for the cat girl to fall asleep which took no time at all. The moment the woman was cocooned, she fell asleep, her breathing becoming deeper. It was odd to see how peacefully she slept after their encounter with bandits.
Damn, I should have asked her where we are and where those bandits bodies are.
Emily looked around the grass and searched wide enough that the camp sight was still in view, but she could not even smell their blood. Had she taken us far away on her own? Just what kind of healer is she, any ways?