“Why bandits get to be so rampant, you asked? Why we didn’t just scour the woods ourselves? It’s simple, honestly. Them bandits? They’re folks who had lived outside the law for a good while. Hiding out deep in the woods is like the norm for them. It’s pretty much their home over there.

The folks who joined the guard on the other hand? Most of them are nice folks, but you’d be lucky if you can even find one in ten who can find their way in the shallow woods, if that. Most of us law-abiding folks generally had no real reason to bother going deep into the woods, so those are pretty much unknown territory for us.” - Lagari Tutuola, Guard Captain of the City of Jonkver.

Hakim and the rest of his troops were in a somewhat desperate situation, as they tried to resist the ten bandits that attacked them. Several cut wounds already adorned his body even as the bandit - who was more experienced than he expected - parried his spear once more with his machete before another swing was sent towards Hakim, this time slicing into his forearm and leaving another shallow wound there.

The bandits had fought carefully, their teamwork practiced, and four of Hakim’s fellows were already sidelined in the back with injuries that were serious, though by some fortune none of them had taken a fatal wound yet. Even so, the remaining young mercenaries at the frontlines carried injuries big and small, and realized that the bandits had probably planned to tire them out before they went for the kill.

Just as Hakim considered leading a desperate last stand while the rest of his troops made a retreat, the situation changed once more. The bandit that gave him so much trouble suddenly stumbled and literally fell towards the spear he thrust towards the man. He was still partially in shock even as his spear skewered the bandit through the belly, but the next moment, he realized that it was not his skills or some manner of blunder that had killed the man after all.

For a crossbow bolt had pierced through the back of the man’s head, buried halfway into the man’s brain.

All around him, the other bandits also fell one by one, with knives, arrows, javelins, and various other ranged weapons protruding from their backs. Not all of the bandits had perished from the sudden attack, but Hakim’s people were not stupid enough to falter at the chance given to them and quickly struck at the injured bandits to finish them off.

Only one of the bandits had the fortune of escaping the attack from behind, but his luck soon ran out, as despite his being older, stronger, and more experienced, he still stood no chance against ten pissed off rookie mercenaries. Despite his best efforts the last bandit was soon pierced through by multiple spears, with Hakim’s own spear taking the man right in the throat.

It was only after they confirmed that every last bandit on their side was dead that Hakim allowed himself to give in to his fatigue and collapsed where he stood.

******************************

Malika’s situation by the gate of the encampment wasn’t much more optimistic than Hakim’s, as her group had more than half their members down and likely out for the count as well, though they at least managed to injure a couple more bandits to the point that they could fight no more as well. Even so, the remaining dozen or so bandits pushed her people hard, and they only held because their wounded was right behind them by that point.

So when all of a sudden a wall of metal struck those bandits from behind and started pulverizing them like they were made out of rotten wood, both the bandits and Malika’s people were caught off guard by the sudden change. The sudden arrival of a squad from the other team - one led personally by Vladislav’s hulking form - immediately turned the tables to the mercenaries’ favor.

Looks of despair crossed the face of many of the bandits, those who had a chance to react to the change, that is. The bandits who were further behind had been pulverized before they even realized that something had gone very wrong at the encampment, to the point that the mercenaries could pincer them from behind like that.

Yet not all of them gave way to despair. The face of one particular bandit instead twisted into a look of vicious determination, as the man renewed his offense with utter disregard for his life. He seemed intent on dragging as many of the young mercenaries to the grave with him, rather than submit to whatever gruesome death likely awaited him.

The bandit happened to be the one Malika was fending off, so she received the brunt of his assault.

With her left shoulder injured and her being unable to lift up her shield, Malika still tried her best to block and parry the bandit’s reckless assault with her khopesh, but found herself pushed back in short order. When the bandit swung hard and forced her guard open, she thought she was about to die right then and there, and felt almost as if time had slowed down for her.

At least until an arrow unceremoniously struck the bandit right through the middle of his forehead from behind her.

The near-death experience left Malika feeling exhausted as she slumped down on the ground, her left shoulder still throbbing painfully from the arrow that was still partly embedded within. She only managed to breathe a sigh of relief after the last bandit was taken down, and she was finally certain that the battle was over for real.

******************************

“Didn’t expect to see you make a move,” commented Ylisera from her perch where she overlooked the battle from a distance away. She was part of the senior group that accompanied the rookies for the mission, and they would have intervened if things had gone worse. Given that Ylisera knew all too well what Erycea and her group was capable of though, she was certain that they would not have to intervene at all.

“She looks like a bright one. No reason to waste the potential,” replied Alva from where he knelt on the thick branch not far from her. The arrow that took the bandit at the last moment and saved Malika was fired by him, who had also come as an observer. Ylisera had not refuted his word, as she figured that Alva likely saw something she didn’t in the girl he saved, and just nodded. “I think they’re about done now. Should we go and fetch them?”

“Let’s do that then.”