Hiro and his companions traveled in a horse carriage through the winding roads of the medieval countryside. Their destination was a small town owned by a friendly aristocrat, where they hoped to rest and replenish their supplies before continuing on their journey. The sun was setting on the horizon, casting a warm orange glow over the landscape.

As they made their way down a narrow road, Hiro suddenly heard the sound of hooves pounding against the dirt. 

"Could it be ...them?"

It was right when he had such thoughts in his mind.

"Enemy attack――!!"

As the escort shouted out the notice, several arrows poked into the carriage.

"There were still more of them!?"

"Archers. And lots of them!!"

 He quickly signaled his companions to be on alert, and they all grabbed their weapons.

Suddenly, a group of bandits emerged from the trees, blocking their path. Hiro counted at least a dozen of them, all armed and dangerous.

Without hesitation, Myla, the noble daughter with blonde hair, drew her sword and charged forward. She was a skilled fighter and had been trained since childhood in the art of swordplay. Irijina, the tall girl, brandished her heirloom spear, which had been passed down through her family for generations.

Gheyna, with her red hair flowing behind her, nocked an arrow to her bow and took aim at the approaching enemies. She was a skilled archer and rarely missed her target. She was single-handedly killing over a dozen of the enemy's archers. Suzy, a more average archer, followed Gheyna's lead, aiming her own bow at the bandits.

Claire, the merchant, was the only one without a weapon. She had always been the brains behind the group, providing them with valuable information and negotiating skills. She stayed in the carriage, watching the battle unfold with bated breath.

Hiro, who was not a skilled fighter, drew his sword and joined the fray. Despite his lack of skill, he fought bravely alongside his companions.

The battle was intense, with swords clashing and arrows flying through the air. Myla fought fiercely, taking down several bandits with her sword. Irijina proved to be a formidable opponent with her spear, fending off attackers with ease.

Gheyna and Suzy provided cover from a distance, shooting arrows at the enemy with deadly accuracy. However, they were outnumbered, and the bandits began to close in on them.

Hiro found himself face-to-face with a particularly large and menacing bandit. The man swung his sword with brute force, and Hiro struggled to keep up. He was not a skilled fighter, but he refused to give up.

As the battle raged on, Myla suddenly stumbled, clutching her side. The large men were overcome by both of them. Hiro turned his attention to another enemy.

She jumped out in front of me the moment he step out of the range.

And then he felt a soft rumble from something making an impact on the ground.

"Agh."

"Majesty.. It's Myla!" Claire called from the carriage's window.

Hiro took a second to check what happened, discovering that Myla dove after him and she got an arrow stuck in her right shoulder.

"Myla!"

Normally a shoulder wound would not be fatal.

Going based on previous experience though, it might be worse than what it looked like.

"Uuu…… i-it feels hot……"

Myla’s shoulder started changing to a purple color.

As he thought, the arrow was coated in poison.

Hiro pulled the fallen Myla back into the carriage.

"Your majesty should hurry back in the carriage too!" The bodyguards reached and blocked the bandits.

"Lady Irijina. You too!" 

"No need. Lord Hiro, don’t come out." Irijina stood with the handful of bodyguards without turning around.

She fixed her gaze on the enemies with her eyes wide open.

The carriage was attacked at just the right moment with hills on both sides.

Including the remaining five archers, there were at least twenty enemies.

On the way there, Hiro and his companions were obviously cautious of their surroundings, but they naturally relaxed after taking out the first set of attackers.

These guys were most likely the rearguard in case the ambush failed. That’s why they didn’t do anything the first time around.

From inside, Hiro cursed himself. 

It wasn’t because the enemy was clever. This was all because of his foolishness.

He ignored Cass’s warning, bringing women – albeit women who are used to fighting – to the battlefield, on top of that lowering their guard after winning once.

Everything was his fault.

"Gaaaaaaah!!"

Irijina pushed aside the escorts guarding the carriage and ran toward the enemy.

Five arrows fly at her.

One was off-target from the start while the other four would hit. Since poison was a factor, a single arrow hitting would be the end.

But the arrows but deflected by arrows from her back. 

"Irijina. I cover you. Just focus on the enemies!" Gheyna, the dalish girl yelled. She precisely shot down the arrows from the other side.

She pierced a man before pulling it out to wipe away another.

The bodyguards ganged up against three men behind her. She continued her run.

"Gaar!"

She couldn’t tell if that was more like a shout or a roar.

She sliced through a guy’s defence and stabbed his neck.

Utilizing the momentum from her charge, she drove one sword into each enemy and tossed them upward, then sent the man in front of her flying with a tackle before crushing his head with her foot.

Three enemies hurried to swing their swords down on her.

One slid off her shoulder armor, next she threw an enemy's sword she picked up at the body of the person swinging down her spear before another man could finish his attack, then she took her free hand to grab the arm swinging the third sword and use his momentum to send him crashing into the first man.

She took an enemy's spear lying in the ground in her hand and threw it with all her might.

It pierced into the chest of an archer.

Three archers beside him were shot down by Gheyna.

"Die, bitch!"

The last man swung his sword out at her.

She dodged his super slow slash and grabbed both his arms.

She followed up with a headbutt.

Hiro came out of the carriage carrying Myla on his back.

The medicine was used on her arm, which stopped the wound from changing color, however her consciousness was still hazy.

She really needed to go see a doctor soon.