Chapter 17 - Bandits II

At the other edge of the clearing stood three bandits. Three of them were wearing robes that hid most of their facial features. Each man was armed with a knife in his hand, ready to strike. As soon as they spotted me, they burst into action, coming closer with long strides.

"Oh, come on, really? At least wait until I'm dressed," I mumbled.

Without even taking a second look, I drew the sword out, holding it firmly in both hands. My mind focused, and I visualized my attack pattern. Before the first guy reached me, I launched an attack upward, instantly cleaving him cleanly. His corpse fell backward and slumped into the grass with a plop, leaving his companion dumbstruck.

"Ugh, I got a little blood on my pretty face," I complained, rubbing it off with my hands. "I guess I'll punch you two instead."

His partner saw me moving in fast. He grabbed his weapon with both hands and tried to counter but was too slow to block me completely. Twisting my hips, I swatted aside the knife and drove my elbow into the guy's stomach. I didn't miss his breath escaping.

Another swing knocked the poor sap flying, sending him crashing into a treestump. As for the final bandit, who stood watching in horror, I aimed low, catching his legs with a kick. He sprawled face-first onto the muddy grass, and before he could raise his head, I kicked him again in the stomach. He rolled away with an 'oof' and crawled toward a tree.

Picking him up by his hair, I forced him into a kneeling position. "Are there more of you? Answer me!"

"I-I'll talk! Please! Don't hurt me!"

"Then talk!"

"We have a camp by the lakeside. I'm one of many, maybe twenty of us. Please let me live, and I won't ever come anywhere near you again!"

"Hm, a promise," I hummed, looking toward the lake he was mentioning. He took his chance, picked up his secondary knife, and lunged at my neck.

My arm shot forth, and a powerful palm struck his wrist with force. A crunch followed as bones shattered, and the second weapon clattered uselessly to the ground. I raised him above me. "Oh, come on, really? You brought this on yourself."

Then I hurled him, and he smacked the rough bark of an oak tree. Dazed and terrified, he couldn't help but look at me wide-eyed. He whimpered something incomprehensible and took off, disappearing into the trees without another word.

I reached for my panties on the tree branch and dressed while listening carefully in case of additional attacks. Once fully covered up, I decided to approach the bandit's camp in hopes of obtaining new abilities.

"He wasn't lying," I remarked, looking over the clearing filled with tents and some other structures built from pieces of broken crates. Just ahead lay an opening in the center of the ring. In the center stood the largest firepit with logs circling it like bleachers around a stage. The smell of freshly cooked food permeated the camp, making me salivate a bit. "Seems like I found dinner as well."

Picking up my pace, I ran into the place, aiming to incapacitate their leader. They were quick to catch on to my invasion, sending a barrage of arrows at me.

"This won't cut it," I growled, turning sideways and letting the projectiles whizz harmlessly past. There were five opponents upfront, and only three archers had longbows with multiple quarrels. I broke into a sprint and leaped, narrowly dodging a man with a pike. A brutal roundhouse kicked him across his shoulder and into his cheekbone. He crumpled, landing hard in the dirt.

From there, things got hazy, with each blow dealt and countered, blurring into a chain of kicks, punches, slashes, and more. And not before long, someone noteworthy finally revealed themselves. She stepped forward, her bosom bouncing as her boobs barely restrained by a corset. Her long leather pants, tightly fastened around her slim waist, and dark brown boots stopped an inch below her knees. In her hand lay an unadorned rapier.

"Come on," she beckoned, beckoning me.

"Oh my, a beauty," I breathed. "I would've asked you to join me if you weren't the bandit queen, now."

"Why won't you kill me and be done with it?" she spat, unsheathing her slender, elegant blade, pointing its tip in my direction. In a flash, she disappeared and struck from behind. Although it surprised me, I sidestepped, allowing her blade to graze harmlessly past. She pressed onwards, swinging repeatedly, twisting her wrists and bringing them back around in short thrusts, never stopping for an instant, using only her quickness and agility.

Again, she vanished, leaving only her afterimage before reappearing again at another angle to repeat her motions.

"She's fast? No, it's something else," I thought, staring at the dancing image. Her thrusts increased speed exponentially, aimed directly at my vitals, and forced me to keep up constantly.

When I looked forward, she'd already disappeared, and this time, she came at me from overhead, intending to stab me through the top of my head. But rather than counterattacking, I opted to reach for her ankle as she came. With a brief tug and lift, she toppled over me and crashed into the ground on her face.

"Bitch! That actually hurts!" she hissed.

"Aren't you supposed to dodge me?"

"Let me go!"

"Nope, I won't. You'll just disappear again," I answered, clutching her tighter. "I want that ability of yours. So either you'll have to admit defeat, or I'll have to kill you."

"Heh." She gave me a wicked smirk and mouthed one single word. 'Warp.' In a sudden motion, she broke free. By the time I realized what she'd said, she already made a gap between us.

"You're annoying," I murmured, shaking my head clear of confusion and chased after her. Ahead were five burly brutes and four archers. "Oh, a party?"

"Boss, it's suicide. Fall back. We'll cover!" called a voice from behind. The group seemed determined to keep me busy enough not to pay attention to their leader's disappearance.

"Shit, she probably escaped already," I clicked my tongue, looking around for any trace of the beautiful woman. But to my surprise, she reappeared from my blindside, holding her rapier like a dagger in her left hand.

"Take this!"

She attempted another frontal assault with a barrage of stabbing strikes, but I parried them all with my Sundered Dream. Afterward, I slammed her weapon aside with a hard counter and sliced downward, cutting straight through the blade itself. The tip fell to the ground with a light thud, leaving a couple of inches of steel in the middle and a stump sticking up above the guard where the sword had severed her grip.

I immediately pivoted on my heels, twisting into a full turn that slammed a solid kick against the side of her ribs. The impact sent her spinning through the air and slamming roughly into a stack of wooden pallets that fell upon her, pinning her helpless.

Two archers quickly went for a flank attack and took aim right for my head. A few paces behind the attackers stood another figure, and their stance told me this person intended to grab hold of the Sundered Dream and rip the weapon away from me. Their intention, coupled with their form, showed such perfect clarity that it was impossible to miss.

This was the perfect opportunity to test out the legendary sword's full power.