- Shari -

The next morning, we separate in the building.

Those of us who're staying shall keep this village watched to make sure that they won't suddenly turn against us, while the rest of us is going to find the enemy base.

The forest trail the village chief suggested isn't very far away and soon we're surrounded by trees.

But I don't intend to follow the path directly.

That's basically begging to step into an already prepared trap.

Nonetheless, we need to go that way to reach the enemy.

Elin leads us through the woodwork, aligned to the path.

I ordered Liqu to be extra vigilant.

It's especially important that we don't have too many encounters before we can finish them off.

If we get their leader and kill enough of the others the mission should be considered a success.

Especially if we can raid their base and reclaim whatever they stole.

However, I've got the inkling we'd have to return any riches we acquire.

I'm especially worried about the humans with us.

They're not as resistant to physical attacks as slimes.

However, Peras' little demonstration was rather convincing that I shouldn't be too full of myself.

A stray arrow to my core is all it needs to kill me.

Maybe not as simple as a headshot but a weakness which I have to mind.

The forest is no foreign place to me and as we are located in the north of Ekoras there shouldn't be many monsters here.

And the bandits should have taken care of all the rest.

So all I need to care about is an ambush.

We proceed to walk deeper into the undergrowth.

Suddenly Elin tenses up.

"Careful! I think..." (Elin)

"Swish"

An arrow flies past me, grazing my arm.

It could also be a bolt, but this difference is only of minor importance to me.

Immediately we jump behind the next tree to take cover.

"We're under attack!" (Vela)

Well, that's rather obvious.

The problem is that I couldn't see from where it came.

I notice how Liqu gets twitchy and decide to stop her before she acts recklessly.

"Liqu. Only attack when you know where they are and that you can get all of them. It won't work if they escape." (Shari)

Especially it would be bad if they see how she transforms while being identified as a member of our group.

An unrelated monster attack is many times better than starting rumors about our affiliation to the count at the moment.

I see some movement behind the trees.

Vela readies an arrow to shoot the first one she sees.

"Put your weapons down and come out! Otherwise the next bolt will find its target!" (bandit)

So it really was a bolt.

Anyways, we might be in a bad situation if this becomes a ranged battle.

It would mean that they could scatter in all directions before Liqu can reach them.

"We have to seek cover before they can fire their next shots. " (Vela)

"We surrender! Please don't shoot us!" (Shari)

"What? You can't be serious! We already know that they want us dead!" (Vela)

"Trust me. I know what I'm doing. Just make sure that you and Balion stay out of their range. Liqu, you come out at my signal." (Shari)

With raised arms, I leave my cover behind the tree, while making sure not to show any visible weaponry, and walk in the direction of that voice.

"I said all of you!" (bandit)

"Vela, lower your bow, but stay where you are. Please, there is no reason to let this get out of hand. I want to negotiate!" (Shari)

Vela looks for a moment at me in disbelief but ultimately complies.

I stand now in the middle of a small clearing.

Moments later, six guys leave their hiding spots.

Three of them have huge crossbows aimed at us.

Against this, Vela won't be able to ready an arrow before she gets riddled with bolts.

I let my core sink down to my waist.

If they decide to shoot this will be the least exposed part of mine, from where I can still maintain adequate control over my body.

Also, I believe that only a psycho would aim for this area of a girl.

Most would target the places which lead to a quick death like the heart, head, neck, lungs, and so on.

Or the legs to incapacitate.

In addition, I increase the density to my front so I have at least one defensive layer against possible shots.

And naturally, I pay strict attention to where they aim their weapons to make sure my core is out of the way.

One of those with a still raised crossbow starts to speak to me.

"Hey! Are you the leader?" (bandit)

I try to sound begrudged.

"Yes I am. Do you have demands?" (Shari)

"What's with the mask?" (bandit)

"Severe injury. Can't show my face."(Shari)

Everyone is tense but I still keep my cool.

With a collected smile, which no one should be able to see, I answer his glare.

At first, his demeanor turns hostile but then he smiles as well.

"Ahh, would have been better to get all of you. But it's a start. To be honest, I don't like your attitude." (bandit)

With this, he pulls the trigger.

That bolt directly pierces inside me!

This would be a heart shot if I would have one.

The force is considerable, many times stronger than an arrow.

Especially at such a close distance.

It gets stuck deep inside me, almost poking out on the other side.

Had my core been there I would be dead.

Yet the lack of pressure from the inside made the fabric of my uniform move together with the projectile and stopped it even better.

Nonetheless, I let myself fall down as if I'd be deadly injured.

I fear that Liqu might attack too soon and try to gesture to her that I'm fine.

Fortunately, I'm partly covered by the shrubs.

"You others, out there! Your leader is dead and you won't make it out of this place! We already took position everywhere in the forest! If you surrender you might make it, otherwise you'll join her!" (bandit)

I wait with rising impatience through his speech for him to come closer.

He has to if he wants to reach the others.

They don't even consider me as alive at this point.

He goes on about how hopeless our situation is and so on, and so on.

I wait till his attention shift to my team.

Slime dash!

"Wha-?" (bandit)

In a blink I rush up and dash in front of him, grabbing his crossbow with one hand.

I let my piercing dagger glide into my glove and focus on their supposed leader.

This move is by now totally instinctive for me.

He hasn't reloaded it yet and the problem about using a crossbow is that after a shot it's basically just a useless piece of wood.

At most he can use it as a club but not effectively.

Even less as I can just wind my arm around any obstacles, elongate it, and ultimately plunge the blade into his throat.

The others, surprised by my sudden movement, shoot their loads but cannot keep up with my speed.

Especially since I'm using their sliced comrade as a shield.

My victim meanwhile just utters some bloody gurgling.

Slowly I turn my head to Liqu.

"Kill them all! No restrictions!" (Shari)

For a moment a wicked smile forms on her lips.

Then she begins.

"Splash"

The next moment Liqu explodes in slime out of her clothes and starts doing her thing.

Slime tentacles grab the stunned bandits, an enormous mass of slime quells in their direction and runs over them.

Disturbingly I notice that she makes sure to dissolve their legs first so that they cannot run.

It's a cacophony of screams and slime squeezing sounds.

And none of our team is mentally unaffected after this.

Well, no one but...

"Ah, this is the best! Nothing against getting easy meals but this is so much more satisfying." (Liqu)

"Yes... I would suggest that everyone reclaims their weapons. Who knows if someone has heard this and now comes looking. And Liqu, get quickly back into your cloak." (Shari)

"Don't wanna." (Liqu)

"Liqu!" (Shari)

"They shot you! It was just by chance that they didn't aim for your core. I don't take chances! These weapons are vile! I know how they work and those here are especially bad! It's almost impossible to obstruct those things when getting shot." (Liqu)

"I need to say, this is weird. They shouldn't have such crossbows." (Vela)

Seems like Vela gathered herself again.

"What do you mean?" (Shari)

"Not only is the quality far too high, but they're also standardized, all built the same. This is military equipment and surely nothing bandits would get their hands on." (Vela)

There's still the chance that they raided a respective convoy.

But surely we would've heard about such a thing.

At least by nobles like the count.

And there are simply too many things not adding up here.

"What do you think goes on here?" (Shari)

"How would I know? It's just strange." (Vela)

"Isn't this obvious? This is a private army or a mercenary group sent by some noble. And probably directly equipped by that very one." (Elin)

She might be right.

"Then how shall we proceed from here on out? Maybe return and report to the count?" (Shari)

"We don't know what they're up to. Also, if we find their headquarters we can maybe find evidence. I can't believe that such a large-scale operation runs without anything that leads to those who are responsible. At least there might be something about the origin of this equipment." (Vela)

"Fine. That means we have to move on. Liqu, cover yourself." (Shari)

"No." (Liqu)

"Liqu, we can't let them see you. Otherwise the bandits will run away. Don't ruin our plan!" (Shari)

Suddenly she smiles again in her twisted way

"What if they don't? You have all your strategies and plans but you don't know much about hunting. I understand what we want to achieve here. If you'd just let me do I can make it happen." (Liqu)

"Liqu, what are you planning?" (Shari)

Her smile deepens.

"I'll hunt." (Liqu)

I'm at a loss.

Certainly, Liqu knows how to catch prey and there is a good chance that the bandits, or whatever they are, already know about our presence.

But can she really keep the whole plan in mind while giving in to her urges?

On the other side, she seems to be very confident.

I cannot decide this on my own.

I might be the formal leader here but leaving everything to Liqu is a too radical idea as I want to bear all the responsibility myself.

So I ask into the round.

"Who thinks we should let Liqu act as she sees fit?" (Shari)

In other words, allowing her to go on a rampage?

Elin's hand is instantly up.

"If this means I don't have to walk in front of us risk to get shot." (Elin)

Balion's goes down.

"We aren't seriously considering unleashing that monster, right?" (Balion)

That leaves Vela.

She seems to ponder.

"Argh. Fine, let's give it a try. It's not as if we would have any actual means to stop her if she would go against us." (Vela)

"Sigh. Okay Liqu. But could you at least tell me what exactly it is that you want to do?" (Shari)

"We are already in their territory so they should have spread here. I'll take them out one after the other. They won't be able to react until it's too late." (Liqu)

"And how?" (Shari)

"Just watch!" (Liqu)

Liqu, now completely naked, moves to the next tree.

There she crawls up as a blob and vanishes within the leaves.

Her green color makes it even harder to detect her.

All that may give away her presence is a faint rustling through the leaves.

For a moment I notice how she switches trees by gluing to another branch and slowly gliding along the treetops.

If one isn't paying special attention to that occurrence I doubt they would ever notice this threat from above, as it's silent and barely perceivable.

Also, she moves rather determined in a certain direction.

I really pity whoever is there.

After we sent her out we wait for some time but nothing happens.

This should be a given as she moved quite slowly.

Occasionally we hear a short scream but nothing concrete.

I guess if the "bandits" witness this they'd believe they've got infiltrated rather than being aware of how fucked they truly are.

And due to this, they might send more people out to look for this threat.

And this will be their end.