N/A: First of all, I wanna give a huge thanks to some of my friends who shared some very good ideas for my story and for supporting me. For a long time I always wanted to write a fanfic based on the popular Visual Novel. This story was also inspired by my most favorite series such as Vinland Saga, Berserk and The Witcher.

Also expect to meet some interesting characters outside of Kuroinu series, but will have interesting roles to fit in this expanded world. Speaking of which, here's the image of the world map the story takes place, if you get some references, you deserve a cookie.

Jokes aside, I had so much fun writing this chapter and I hope I can still give you more, but don't forget, your support will be much appreciated.

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A thick gray ceiling of clouds tucked the sun away from behind, making the mightiest ray of sunshine unable to pass through them. The water beat down upon the land as though it was trying to cleanse away all the heated sins it held. With that kind of weather, the travelers had to find a place for shelter, such as a small inn at the crossroads out of town.

Inside the Crossroad Inn, several people were sitting in front of the fire from the cozy chimney as they were enjoying their drinks. Unfortunately, no one was having a moment of peace when a gaggle of drunkards were making a lot of noise, cackling and guzzling drink after drink of beer.

"Innkeeper! Where's our bloody drinks? We want more!" One of them with a scruffy beard shouted, slamming the empty mug on the table.

"I'm sorry, but I think you and your friends drank enough for today." The robust man said, restraining a grumble as he knew their behavior was bothering the customers.

"Hey! Who is paying you more to give us more beer? So do your job and bring the sweet maid to us with our drinks!" Another drunken man with greasy hair spat.

The innkeeper let out a resigned sigh before he went to serve more drinks and left them in the tray, as a maiden was standing anxiously.

"Do we have to give them more?" She said with an apprehensive look.

"We don't have much of a choice. If we don't give them what they want, they're going to make a mess, maybe even hurt our customers. Maybe this should be their last batch before they pass out." The innkeeper said, biting his bottom lip.

"I don't wanna get close to them…" The maiden whimpered as she noticed the thugs were now giving lecherous looks at them.

"Calm down, just give these drinks to them and walk away."

The maiden took the tray with her hands before strolling across the hall until reaching the table where the tipplers were sitting. Restraining a grimace over the smelt of alcohol from their breaths, she left the drinks on the table in a hurry, before giving them a bow and turned around to leave without a word. But suddenly, a hand gripped around her waist, stopping her from walking away as she gasped before turning around and saw a drunken man with a bald spot on his head grabbed her.

"Where do you think you're going, pretty? You haven't told us your name." He slurred with a moronic giggle.

"P-Please, let me go." The maiden muttered as she tried to pull her arm off his grasp to no avail.

"Aw, come on, beauty. Sit down and have a drink with us! I promise you'll have a good time with us!" The man with a scruffy beard burst out laughing, though he was now wearing a wicked smile.

"I said let me go! Someone help me!" The maiden cried out as she looked around, but no one, not even the innkeeper, had dared to intervene. Such realization became devastating to her that she was losing her will to fight back, as she let herself get pulled along by the drunken men.

Things would get worse by the minute, when the door was opened with a loud creak, before a couple of cloaked figures walked inside the inn. Everyone stopped drinking as they watched the newcomers closing the door with a slam before more water of the rain would waft through the door. Even the drunkards stopped laughing and harassing the poor maiden.

One stranger was a man judging by his broad figure, and the other was the shortest, possibly a female. Both of them were wearing cloaks with the hoods hanging over their faces, both utterly drenched by the rain that at some point they needed to take them off, which was what they just did.

No longer wearing the cloaks, the male one revealed to be a young man around earlier twenties with wavy dark brown hair and a small tuft of beard on his chin, a faded scar running across the left side of his cheek. He wore a leather pauldron over his dark vest with sleeves covered in chainmail and fastened with two straps, a small pouch was hung below his hip. A pair of gauntlets with metal studs, brown leather trousers with poleyns and a pair of downward flared leather boots. Everyone knew he didn't seem like a common traveler, let alone because he was carrying a sword beside his hip and a shield over his back

His companion was a stunningly beautiful young woman with enchanting reddish brown eyes and thick chestnut hair with a dark bandana on her head. To everyone's surprise however, the woman turned out to be a demi-human judging by the floppy dog ears on the sides of her head. Her reinforced leather vest could barely contain her jutting pair of breasts, let alone the fabric hugged firmly the curves of her hips. As if it was not enough, her pair of tight hot pants wrapped snugly over the curves of her supple thighs and lithe legs. The demi-human then turned around to face her companion, inadvertently showing the perfect outline of her plump buttcheeks and the crack that split between them. Much like the other stranger, she was carrying a sword and a wooden shield.

"We made it in time, the rain would have gotten worse just now." She said while wringing a part of the cloak in her hands.

"Let's leave them next to the fire, that should dry them up fast." The young man suggested before hanging their cloaks over the chairs nearby.

After that, the strangers made their way towards the bar while ignoring the glares from the drunk men, as if their presence was ruining their vibe. Although, they could admit that the demi-human was drop dead gorgeous that they stared lecherously at her rump shifting as she was walking.

"Can I help you, strangers?" The innkeeper asked with a cautious look.

"Hey there, you're the one who posted a bounty to get rid of a nekker nest?" The young man asked with a grave, yet smooth tone. "Well, you don't have to worry about that anymore, we took care of that problem. And here's the proof." He then placed on the counter a piece of claw that was apparently ripped out of its root.

This of course surprised the innkeeper as he scrutinized the claw, before confirming that it was indeed the claw of a nekker. "That's incredible. And I thought that no man around these parts would ever come to my place and tell me they just got rid of a monster. Mind I keep the claw?"

"It's all yours." The young man shrugged.

"Well, I have to be honest, I was not looking forward to hand over some of my savings to a stranger. But I promised a reward, so here you go." The innkeeper handed the young man a pouch full of coins.

"Thank you." He asked while weighing the pouch in his hand.

"Master Leo… are you seeing what those men are doing to her?" His demi-human companion spoke to him, turning her head over her shoulder to point at the men harassing the maiden as she kept serving their drinks against her will.

"I know that…" The young man, now named Leo, muttered before looking back at the innkeeper. "If that's okay, we would like to order some ale."

"Of course. Although one of the maids is busy at the moment…" The owner said, trying to ignore the cry of help from his employee."B-But don't worry, I'll get you someone else to bring your drinks. In the meantime, you can find your seats." Leo nodded before he and his companion turned back to find some seats.

"Eeehhh, why the hell did the old man give that squirt some coins? Is he a mercenary?" A drunkard slurred while glaring at the young man walking back to the hall.

"Who cares about that shite? We still have plenty of time for fun, isn't that right, sugar tits?" The man with the beard hiccuped as he held the maiden closer to him.

Her face scrunched up in disgust as the strong smell of alcohol washed over his face. "Please… Just stop."

"Aw, don't be like that! We just want to give you a good time! Maybe we can even give you something better than a tip~" He chuckled as his hand moved slowly down to her chest.

The maiden's eyes widened before her instincts kicked in. "I said leave me alone!" She shouted, writhing around before she finally broke herself free from his grasp. However, she stumbled backwards before colliding with the young man when he was passing by.

She gasped as she felt like her back hit something heavy, before turning around to face the person she bumped with. She lowered her head as the stranger looked at her with a stoic expression. "I-I'm so sorry, sir!" The maiden cried out while bowing her head, almost as if she was on the verge of crying.

Leo blinked before patting her shoulder genty. "Nah, don't worry about it. Just be careful where you're going." He said nonchalantly.

His answer completely took the maiden by surprise, but before she could say something else, the young man tilted his head to one side while shifting his eyes to the same direction. It didn't take too long for her to realize he's telling her to move away while she still had the chance.

"T-Thank you.." The maiden muttered before walking away.

"Hey! What's the big idea taking our woman from us?! You have your own to plow with!" The drunken man with a bald spot spat.

"Yeah, unless you're looking for trouble! You can go fuck yourself!" The one with greasy hair shouted before others joined to cast more insults towards the stranger.

Leo took a deep breath before moving on. "Just ignore them. They're just drunk and stupid. You've seen this before." He muttered to himself before heading to the corner where he could get a seat. "Let's go, Roxy."

The beautiful demi-human followed Leo from behind, wearing a smile after she watched him helping the poor woman from these ruffians. She knew that the timing was unexpected for him, probably he didn't even think about helping the maiden in the first place until the moment she bumped into him. Of course, he just didn't want to use unnecessary violence, especially in a public space.

She was about to pass the bad-tempered drunk men as she was also trying to ignore them, but then her wrist got caught by the same drunkard who caught the maiden earlier, pulling her back before she could reach Leo.

"Where are you going, darling? Come and have some fun with us!" The toothless man almost burped.

"Um, if I were you, I would let her go right about now." Leo said, but not with a threatening tone, rather he was actually giving a warning judging by the apprehensive look on his face.

"Piss off, shithead! You took a woman from us, now we're taking yours!" Another boozer shouted.

"Yeah, and it sounds like you never touched her once! So maybe she would rather have someone who knows how to adore her body! Right swee-" Before the bald man could finish, a hand gripped around his collar before he was thrown over, landing on the edge of the table that knocked the mugs off and spilled the beverages all over the floor..

Everyone stood up from their seats in shock, before gazing up at the demi-human, who turned out to be the one who threw him away with a strength they never thought she would have.

"Sorry, I'm just not interested in someone whose breath reeks of alcohol." Roxy said dautingly. Without paying attention to the shocked reaction from the seedy men, she proceeded to continue walking towards her companion who was waiting for her, hoping that her action served as a warning.

"You fecking whore!"

Unfortunately, that was not the case. Roxy turned around to see them approaching her, though all of them were stumbling around since they were still under the influence of alcohol. A tubby man lunged forward and raised his fist to strike the demi-human, but Roxy simply stepped aside while raising her foot, tripping the attacker as a result before he fell to the floor.

The rest of the patrons began moving away from the scene, no one wanted to intervene or even ask to stop fighting. Leo however just let out a grumbled sigh before he stood up and closed to the fallen chubby man, and before he struggled to get up, Leo grabbed a nearby bottle and slammed it on his head.

"Maybe this will be enough to give you a little nap." The young man said plainly, patting playfully on the unconscious man's head. After that, he stood beside Roxy protectively while glaring at the thugs.

"Oh, you're so fucked now, you little shite! It's gonna take more than just coins to pay for all the drinks your bitch spilled!" The man with the scruffy beard shouted, before he took out a knife and brandished it threateningly. One of his mates picked up a bottle and smashed it with a nearby table to use it as a weapon, while the other just picked the leg piece of a broken chair.

"Now listen, you guys might not wanna hear me, but I'll say this anyway. You can't take the both of us while you're very drunk. So rather you take your friend and go somewhere else where you can sober yourself up. But if you try to pick a fight with us… well, you'll come to regret it." Leo finished with a cold tone.

"Hah! You think your pubescent arse is gonna scare us? Just wait until we slit your throat!" The bearded thug snarled. Unbeknownst to him, the main door was just opened before a figure showed up behind him and his hooligans. "And after we're done with you, we're gonna take your girlfriend and we're gonna fuck her that she's gonna grown to love the taste of our cocks! If anyone tries to get in our way, I don't give a feck who you are, we'll cut your throats too!" He proceeded to threaten everyone else who was watching.

"Is that a promise or is just the booze talking?"

The bearded man blinked before turning around, the first thing he saw was a pair of protruding breasts covered in a white and light green waistcoat, though the cleavage area was exposed that the drunk man couldn't help but ogle at it.

"Holy shit… look at those huge tits…" He blurted out dumbfoundedly, as he raised his head to meet the eyes of the lady he had the luck to meet with, only to meet the piercing glare of a woman, who just took off the hood of her cloak to reveal her crown-braided blond hair tied in a ponytail.

Before he would make another degenerate comment, a clenched ribbed gauntlet collided against his face as a vicious crunch was heard. The drunken man was sent flying across the hall until his back crashed against a pillar, before sliding to the ground with a broken nose. Everyone was shocked that their mouths were hung open, even Leo and Roxy were completely stunned by the display of strength as they looked back at the newcomer standing in the entrance..

The woman who threw the punch was a knight in pink-toned armor. While the only pieces of armor she was wearing were the couters, gauntlets, steeled boots, and battle skirt with a loincloth attached, her strong build and the fierce look in her elegant visage demanded to address her with respect.

The knight then turned her sights on the remaining reckless vagabonds, as they flinched in fear that they just lost all the so-called bravado they had just seconds ago.

"I assume the two of you are with this ruffian. Do you both dare to challenge me?" She spoke bitterly, gripping the hilt of her sword around her hand, prompting them to drop the blunt weapons off their hands. "That's what I thought. Now, unless you want to be caked with mud outside by my men, I'm giving you ten seconds to leave here or else I'll change my mind."

The runts whimpered cowardly before they scurried towards the opened door as they passed her by, without even bothering to look back and check their unconscious friends.

The knight checked her armor-covered hand, which got some stains of blood on it after she punched that man. She let out a sigh, realizing that she might have gone overboard with her reaction.

A couple of men who appeared to be her soldiers came inside.

"Captain, is everything alright?" One of them wearing full armor asked the knight.

"I am, don't worry. Just had to deal with some drunkards. Can you take the two of them outside? I don't want them to cause more trouble when they wake up." The blond young woman said, before the armored soldiers compiled and dragged the unconscious men out of the door.

The knight then turned to address the folks who were still shaken after the scene. "I'm sorry for the disturbance, but those men won't bother you anymore. You can go back to your seats and enjoy your drinks." The commoners seemed more relaxed at her words before they complied. Lifting her gaze up, her eyes caught on the two strangers who were standing in front of her. "Are you two unharmed?" She asked, her voice instantly changed into a soft tone.

The question caught them a little by surprise, although Leo was more surprised that the knight stood slightly taller than him. "Yes, we're fine. Thank you, Milady knight." Roxy said with a smile.

"We didn't mean to start some trouble, it's just…" Leo tried to speak, only to stop when the knight held up her hand.

"You don't need to explain, I heard everything that brute said." She crossed her arms, glaring at the bearded one as her armored soldiers took him away. "He probably was just babbling nonsense, but to think he would go that far of doing something like that to your partner, I just couldn't stand by. Although, I'd like to know how this happened."

"Long story short, they were harassing my girl, she stood for herself, one guy tried to punch her, I knocked him out with a bottle, I tried to warn them to go away, and that's when you came in." Leo explained while counting the details with his fingers.

"Hmm. While I don't condone this kind of brawl, I understand you had to do it in self-defense." The knight said, nodding. "By the way, you two hardly seem like weary travelers? Are you by any chance mercenaries?" She asked, looking over the equipment they're both wearing.

"Well, it's not exactly our line of work, but if someone's looking for a swordsman to hire, I'm here." Leo replied, rubbing the back of his head.

"He means that we would take any kind of job as long as we get paid." Roxy explained further, inching closer to Leo discreetly that her bust pressed against his side.

"I see…" The swordswoman while looking down to the ground with a frown. Leo could only guess what the knight's thinking right now after they just revealed their profession to her. It only lasted briefly before she lifted her gaze back to them. "Well, stay out of trouble." She then walked off and approached the bartender. "Innkeeper, are there enough tables for my men?"

"Of course, my Milady! It would be a great honor to serve you!" The innkeeper said cheerfully. The knight nodded before signaling her men to go outside and bring the rest in.

Meanwhile, Leo and Roxy had decided to find somewhere else to settle in since all the tables were getting taken by a large group of armored soldiers. They returned to the bar to meet the innkeeper again.

"Hey, sorry for the trouble back there, if I have to pay for the damages, just tell me." Leo said as he and Roxy sat on the stools facing the owner of the establishment. While he could feel the peaceful atmosphere coming back to this place, Leo could still feel some tension after making a scene, probably things could have gone worse if the knight didn't show up.

"Heh, you got that right, kid. But I'm willing to let you off the hook for not slaughtering the drunkards in front of everyone." The bartender chuckled, earning a surprised reaction from Leo. "Yeah, I saw you had the intent to use that sword you're carrying, yet you didn't intend to draw it out."

"You have a good eye for an old man." Leo said with an amused expression, tapping his hand on his cloaked side where he was keeping his sheath.

"I've been told. You still have to pay for the drinks though." The owner replied.

"Sounds fair." Leo placed two copper coins on the counter. The bartender nodded before he started serving the beverages for the strangers, and then passed the mugs to them and took the payment.

"So what do you think?" Roxy asked as she looked over her shoulder.

"What do you mean?" Leo raised an eyebrow before taking the mug and took a sip.

"The soldiers who just came in." She said in a low tone, nudging gently on his side as Leo looked from behind to see the rest of the tables taken by a flock of soldiers as they're getting more relaxed to be in a cozy room.

"Now that you mention it, they look more than just a patrol." Leo said with a hint of curiosity, and then he spotted the blond-haired knight sitting along with what appeared to be officers at the end of the hall. "I take a guess that that knight is their commanding officer."

"They don't seem like they're in the middle of an escort mission, unless they haven't met a noble they're supposed to escort yet." Roxy pointed out as they both turned back and leaned over the counter.

"It doesn't matter, wherever they're going or what sort of mission they're doing, it's none of our business." Leo said bluntly after taking another sip of his ale.

"What if it is?" The demi-human asked, earning a look from Leo. "The knight had asked us if we were mercenaries. You noticed she stayed silent for a moment, what if she's thinking about hiring us?"

"A knight hiring a couple of mercenaries? That's something new…" Leo muttered, frowning his brows. "Why would she need to hire us? To be the support? Or maybe to join their side in a squabble between two families?" He finished his sentence with a sneer.

"Leo, I know how you feel about this, but we've been wandering aimlessly for weeks and we just got lucky to get that monster hunting contract. And besides, that reward we just got won't do for us to last that long." Roxy replied quietly, but her tone was sharp enough to urge him about the possibility..

Leo let out a grumble as if he was in a state of denial. He then took out the pouch he received from the innkeeper moments ago and poured everything that was inside in his hand. He just counted a few silver coins and a handful of coppers, which was just enough to spend a night in this inn and buy a bit of supplies for the next trip. Last time he remembered, they had to spend more to pay the blacksmith for the maintenance of their weapons and armor, so not even the last savings they have left could make it better.

"You're saying we should ask the knight to hire us?" Leo said with a weary sigh as he put the coins back into the pouch.

"I'm not sure if that's what she's thinking, unless we find out." The chestnut-haired girl placed her hand gently on his arm as she leaned closer to him. "Leo, I understand how much you hate to fight a war, but I'm afraid we have not much choice."

"I know. But don't we?" He muttered heavily with a deep frown.

The girl's face softened when she noticed the troubled expression, and she placed her other hand to his before he gazed back at her. "Leo, you don't have to be scared. As long as we stand together, nothing's gonna happen to us. It's us against the world, remember?"

After remaining silent for a moment, Leo grew a smile. "Yeah, us against the world." Leo sighed, before drinking the rest of the ale and slammed the mug on the counter. "Alright, let's go talk to her."

Leaving from the bar counter, they headed back to meet the knight, who was now sitting alone at the table before she noticed them approaching, yet she didn't show any reaction.

"Oh, you two again. Something else you need?" The knight asked nonchalantly.

"We don't mean to bother you, Milady knight. But we've been wondering about the question you gave us earlier and we believe you were thinking about hiring us, didn't you?" Leo asked with genuine curiosity.

The knight just stared at them as she seemed taken aback by their assumption. At first, Leo thought it was all just a misunderstanding from the beginning, and he was inclined to apologize and part ways.

"Please, sit down."

Leo blinked in surprise as the knight motioned them with her hand to take a seat. Leo and Roxy exchanged a glance before they complied and sat down across the table.

"You know, I was just talking to my officers about hiring you both, but I'm still weighing on my options right now." The knight said as she shifted in her seat, though even a slightest movement made her breasts bounce, before placing a hand on her chest. "Allow me to introduce myself first. My name is Henrietta Reinhard, Captain of the Pegasus Cavalry."

"Pleased to meet you, Milady Henrietta." Roxy said with a polite smile.

"So, what brings you and your men on your journey?" Leo inquired with a laid-back tone.

"Normally I wouldn't give away that kind of information to someone who's out of our ranks." Henrietta said bluntly, earning a scoff from Leo as she sighed in response. "Is nothing personal, young man. But given that the fate of my kingdom is at stake, I know I can't just refuse any kind of help I can get."

"Even hiring some mercenaries?" Roxy deduced.

"Yes." Henrietta nodded with a serious look. "To get to the point, we're heading to the kingdom of Eos and join their fight in the Seventh Ruin."

"The Seventh Ruin? What is that?" Leo asked with a puzzled look.

"What? How could you hear nothing about it?" Henrietta said in disbelief.

Leo shrugged with his arms crossed. "I don't know, I guess for spending so much time dealing with my own problems that I just couldn't pay attention to anything that doesn't concern me." He said sardonically.

"You fool!" Henrietta snapped, slamming her hands on the table and stood abruptly from her chair that drew some attention from her men. "This matter does concern not only us, but the whole continent! How can you be so ignorant about this?"

Leo furrowed his brows and was about to retort, but Roxy stopped him when she placed her hand on his shoulder, silently asking him to calm down before she turned to address the knight.

"Please, forgive him, Sir Henrietta, but it's the truth. We've been struggling to make some coins lately, and he's been feeling too much pressure for that. But I can explain everything I know about to him." The demi-human said.

Henrietta glanced at them both before she sighed and sat back down. "Alright, you may."

Roxy nodded before turning back to Leo. "They call it the Ruin because it's a disaster that's happening in the western land of Eos. There's been rumors that the monsters from the northern part of the region had gathered an army with the purpose of raiding the realm." She said, tapping the finger on her chin as she tried to remember what she had heard a while ago.

"A monster army… Hmm, I never thought I would hear something like that." Leo stated while humming thoughtfully.

"Neither did I, and I'm pretty sure no one else has expected that, as a matter of fact." Henrietta nodded in agreement.

"What do you mean?" Leo asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Eos never had trouble dealing with these aberrant beasts in the past. While they do gather in vast hordes, they never commit to unite with the other races and not end up going at each other's throats. For centuries, the kingdom of Eos could repel the monsters and force them to go back to their lands where they came from. But then a few days ago, my Lord received a message from them, claiming that the monsters are now being led by someone who not only managed to unite them, but who also named the new army as The Legion." Henrietta answered gravely, looking down at the table as if she didn't want that to be true.

"Led by who?" Leo inquired, getting more invested in this story.

"The letter didn't say much about that, I'm afraid." Henrietta sighed wearily. "But I'm hoping I'll get all the answers once we reach the capital of Geofu. But that's not all." She interlocked her fingers and looked straight at Roxy and Leo. "The message also stated that I'm allowed to bring any mercenaries who are willing to join the fight."

"Sounds like Eos is in trouble to ask other kingdoms for help." Leo said with a thoughtful look. "But just a minute. You've been hesitant about hiring us just a few moments ago. Why is that?"

"I was about to come to that." Henrietta replied with her eyes perusing over them. "You two hardly seem like battle hardened warriors. Are you not affiliated with a mercenary guild?"

"Not really. We ran into some of them before, but we never had joined any of them." Roxy said, yet there wasn't any regret in her words.

"Yeah, if anything, we're freelance. But we've been taking some dangerous jobs and quests for quite a long time, so while we might look like a couple of rookies to you, we do have some experience." Leo said with full confidence in his voice.

"Is that so? Have you killed monsters before?" Henrietta asked, wearing a skeptical frown.

Leo let out a scoff. "It's funny you mention that, we just collected a bounty for getting rid of a nekker nest the innkeeper requested." He replied while pointing his thumb behind him where the inn owner was standing at the bar.

"And that's not all, we dealt with various dangerous creatures before. Such as golems, deepers, banshees, we even hunted a griffith." Roxy added, counting the following monsters they faced with her fingers.

"Oh and there was one time we dealt with a bunch of goblins who tamed bears to use them as mounts." Leo chuckled the moment he saw the perplexed reaction from the knight. "Don't ask me how, but that's what we saw."

"I see…" Henrietta hummed as she shut her eyes to have a moment to ponder their words. "I'm still not convinced you both have what it takes to join the war against the Legion, but I'm willing to give you a chance to prove yourself. How about this, I'll let you come along with me on the journey to Eos. And if we'll find some kind of trouble on the road, I'll be overseeing your skills until we reach our destination. What's say to you?"

"Sure, as long as that means we could get a job. But you also have to follow our own conditions." Leo said with a firm look, taking the knight by surprise.

"Name them." Henrietta said, folding her arms while wearing a frown.

"You and your men should provide us with supplies, such as food, healing potions, and tools for weapon maintenance. Also we would need a tent where we can rest and arrange our equipment. I won't take no for an answer." Leo answered without backing down his assertive tone.

For a moment it seemed like Henrietta restrained herself from clicking her tongue, which Leo guessed she was about to refuse those conditions, but he made it clear that she can't expect the best of them if they're not well prepared.

"I can only provide you with food and weapons. We only have one tent to spare, so I hope you both don't mind sharing one, would you?" Henrietta inquired, raising an eyebrow.

"We don't, as a matter of fact. Right, Roxy?" Leo smiled at his demi-human companion.

"Y-Yeah… I don't mind at all." Roxy responded almost meekly with a blush creeping on her face.

Henrietta cleared her throat, trying to not let the subliminal message take her off guard. "Then we have a deal. I look forward to see you in combat, Leo." She reached her hand out for a handshake.

"My pleasure." Leo smiled and accepted the gesture. "So how long is it gonna take us to reach Eos?"

"A couple of days we should reach the border, but it's gonna take a few days more to reach the capital. The sooner we move out when the rain stops pouring, the better." The knight then stood up from the chair. "I'll notify my officers about my decision. In the meantime, get some rest." She then walked away, leaving Roxy and Leo to relax.

"Well, that went pretty well. But working with a knight it's gonna be pretty stressful." Leo sighed as he rested his feet on the table.

"I understand you have troubles with knights, but we should at least hear them out before you give judgment." Roxy said with a softened look.

"We shall see…"

---

Leo and Roxy followed Henrietta out of the inn to meet the Pegasus Cavarly, which was a small unit of one hundred cavalrymen. Leo looked up at the thick clouds beginning to turn a lighter shade of gray. As the mercenaries saddled on their horses, they met up with Henrietta at the front as she requested it, much to their surprise. Henrietta pointed out that because Roxy is a demi-human, she and her kind have heightened senses and the knight thought she could be really helpful in avoiding running into ambushes.

As they were preparing to move out, Leo could notice some of Henrietta's elite soldiers were staring at him, though at the very least they were not giving him a bad look, maybe because it's not uncommon to hire some mercenaries.

Henrietta gave the order to move out and everyone followed her, galloping along the muddy, rough path that's being splattered by the hooves of the horses. Once they made their way out of the crossroads, they drove along the main road at a moderate pace to not break their formation.

After crossing a few miles across the vast greenery fields of Elstein, they were now heading to the edge of a broad-leaved forest with a narrow path. The unit had to proceed in a thin line as the horses throttled inside the forest.

Suddenly, Roxy started sniffing that caught Leo's attention.

"What are you smelling?" Leo asked, gaining the attention from the knight as she looked over her shoulder.

"Blood… Not too far from here." Roxy said in a low tone, but those who were nearby had heard her well enough.

"Human blood?" Henrietta asked after she held her hand up to stop her unit from advancing further.

"Yes, and freshly made." Roxy replied, looking back at the knight with a more serious look.

Henrietta furrowed her brows before gazing down the path they're heading, pondering what would be the next course of action. Having made up her mind, she turned back to the mercenaries. "Roxy, Leo. You both should scout ahead and see what you can find. We'll be following right behind you."

Leo and Roxy nodded and took the lead, throttling further away from Henrietta's cavalry. It's not the first time they'd be sent as scouts before, though at this point it's becoming painfully obvious for Leo.

"The smell is getting stronger. We're getting closer." Roxy said with her hands gripping around the reins.

"Do you smell something else?" Leo asked with a steady look as he looked around the forest cautiously.

"No, I can't even hear the leaves rustling, so we're alone." Roxy responded without any shred of doubt. When they rode around a slope, Roxy spotted through the boreal trees what appeared to be a wagon. Sniffing one more time, she pointed the finger towards it. "Over there!"

They slowed down their horses as they approached slowly to the abandoned wagon, but that wasn't the only thing they just found. There were also two mangled bodies laying under a large pool of blood with the bodies covered in cuts. One was a young man with short hair, and another appeared to be an old one with a bald head.

Leo sighed heavily before turning to his dog-eared companion, who realized with sadness that it was just as she feared. "Roxy, go back to Henrietta and tell her what we found. I'll take a look around here."

"Right." Roxy moved her horse and rode away to meet back the knight.

Leo got off his horse and approached the corpses, kneeling down next to it. He could guess they're both villagers judging by the peasant clothing covered in blood and mud, which also looked fresh as Roxy mentioned, probably over an hour ago. Looking over the bodies, he noticed that not only they slashed the villagers to death, they also stabbed and beaten them with something blunt.

Raising to his feet, he looked over the wagon to see more blood splattered over the side, but something else caught in his eyes. There appeared to be some scratches. Looking around the ground, he found many footprints scattered around the corpses, but these prints looked very small to be from a human. He walked around the cart, expecting to find a dead horse at the front, but instead he found a large puddle of blood on the front, followed by a long trail that led into the tree line.

"So they took the horse…" Leo thought out loud as he looked headed back towards his horse, but then he stopped his tracks when he noticed out of the corner of his eye some pieces of shredded clothing. Picking a large piece with his hand, Leo examined closely and quickly learned that it looked like a piece of brassiere. He bit the bottom lip when realization came to him. "Shit…"

Hearing the sounds of the hooves approaching, Leo lifted his head and saw Roxy coming back along with Henrietta and her unit following her from behind.

"Leo! Roxy told me everything! What did you…" Henrietta trailed off when she just saw the dead bodies. She almost seemed horrified to see such a gruesome sight that she looked away with a grimace. "By the Goddess… What kind of monster would do such a thing?"

"It was the goblins."

Henrietta's eyes widened as she turned to Leo. who just answered her. "What?"

"They're pretty well known for making that kind of mess. Don't ask me why, but I've seen them slaughtering men this way. Some form of twisted fun for them, I guess." Leo continued as he pointed at the wagon with his finger. "From the looks of it, the little bastards took the villagers by surprise, killed them without letting them put up a fight, and they took the horse. But that's not even the worst part."

"What do you mean?" Henrietta frowned, clearly hating to hear the last part.

Leo approached the knight before showing the muddy piece of fabric to her. "I found this garment near the bodies. A woman was with them, but her body's missing. She might still be alive, but… it's more likely the goblins kidnapped her."

Henrietta stared at the torn brassiere in his hand, with a look of fury etched on her face. "If these vermin are really hiding in these woods, they might have attacked more travelers or kidnapped innocent women…" She hopped off her mount and stared straight at the young mercenary. "Do you know where they went?"

"I found the horse's blood trail that leads there, down the slope. Not sure how far they are, but if Roxy can pick up the scent of the woman who wore this, we might find out where the goblins are hiding." Leo said in a collected tone, but Henrietta could see the bit of eagerness in his narrowed gaze.

Henrietta nodded with fierce determination glowing in her eyes. "Please, do it. I'll go talk to my officers about this situation."

Nodding his head, Leo met up with Roxy again, as she was also visibly concerned. "What did she say?"

"We're taking action." Leo said with a nonchalant nod, before handing the fabric to her. "Can you pick up the scent of the woman with this?"

"I'll try." Roxy dipped her head and took a long sniff at the fabric. From there, she caught a distinctive sweet aroma of lavender. Following the scent, she turned her head straight to the depths of the forest. "I got her. She's not too far from here."

"That's my little pup." Leo smiled as he rubbed the top of her head. "Now, let's take care of some monsters."

And so Leo, along with Henrietta and a group of her men who dismounted their horses, went down the slope and ventured into the forest, as Roxy was taking the lead while following the scent of the missing woman.

Deep within these woods, as green as it may appear, had an ominous feeling surrounding it. The storm did not make things any easier, obscuring the forest and even further darkening the shadows nearby. The boreal trees themselves were very tall, they would be pretty to see if not for the clouds obscuring most of them. Especially with the raindrops falling from their leaves, adding to some of the group's annoyance.

It's been about ten minutes and so far they didn't find any signs of the goblins nor the woman, even the blood trail stopped halfway through. But suddenly, everyone stopped their tracks when they found something they didn't expect.

"Is that a camp?" Henrietta asked while hiding behind the bushes, very perplexed by looking over the palisade stretching across the clearing.

"They couldn't have them themselves. Goblins ain't not that smart to even learn to do that, unless… there's someone who's leading them." Leo responded, his expression turned serious even while he was still calm.

"You think they have a leader?" Henrietta asked, surprised by his claim before she looked back at the wooden fence with spikes, until she spotted to the left side the main entrance to the camp. "Look, there are the gates! If we could find a way to get them open, we can get inside."

"I can send Roxy as a decoy. She can provoke some of the goblins into chasing her and leave the camp. Can you do that?" He asked his companion, who just nodded with confidence. Leo then turned back to Henrietta. "Can your men create some sort of trap for them?"

"Of course, as long as we find an advantage to take them by surprise." The knight said with confidence.

"Great, then, while you're dealing with them. I'll sneak into the camp and find the woman. If I find the leader, I'll take care of him first to demoralize the goblins." Leo continued with his finger, pointing at the camp.

"Wait, you're thinking of going there by yourself? That's suicidal!" Henrietta argued, placing her hand on his shoulder. "I'll go with you. The life of that woman is also my responsibility."

Leo cast a glance at the knight as he seemed hesitant about letting her tag along, but aware that he can't change her mind, he sighed in resignation. "Fine, but a little warning. Don't underestimate those little rascals. They might be very stupid, but they're not that stupid, especially if there's a bigger monster among them."

---

Standing on the parapet, a goblin was letting out a yawn as he was bored out of his mind in the middle of guard duty. Since their camp had been settled in the middle of a forest, it was highly unlikely that some human would pop up out of nowhere unless they got a death warrant.

His constant complaining suddenly got interrupted when he noticed something rustling. Walking closer to the edge of the palisade, trying to spot through the thick bushes. With a blink of an eye, something just flew straight at him, and it was too late to react when a knife just pierced between the eyes.

The goblin rolled his lifeless eyes through the skull and fell limply off the parapet, landing on the ground with a loud thud and alerting the other goblins nearby who were sitting around a campfire.

"We are under attack! Arm up ya lazy slugs!" Another goblin shouted as he picked up a spiked club.

"Finally! Me gonna kill some humans!"

"Open the bloody gate!"

Once the main gate was opened, a batch of goblins sprung outside of the camp, ready to face the intruders, only to stop from charging when they found no one nearby, much to their confusion as they looked around until they heard the rustling sound coming ahead.

"Oy! Manflesh iz over there!" A goblin alerted before a silhouette was seen running away "Don't ya stand there, you mutts! After them!" And soon the rest of the goblins gave chase, drawing themselves away from the camp they were supposed to defend.

Suddenly, two figures emerged out of the bushes before coming out of hiding.

"Now's our chance, let's go." Leo muttered as he and Henrietta approached the camp.

"How can we get inside? They just closed the gates." The knight asked with a hint of frustration as there was no opening to slip through the fences.

"I'll take it from here." Leo replied, heading towards the wooden wall.

Before Henrietta would ask how, he started climbing up the fence all the way up until reaching the opening. She held her breath as she heard the sound of swords clashing, followed by the grisly sound of the flesh tearing and some screeches of agony. After that, just when the knight was about to prepare the worst outcome, the sturdy gates creaked open, revealing Leo the one who was opening the path.

"Come on!" Leo shouted, holding his shortsword with its blade already stained with blood.

Unsheathing her sword, Henrietta met up with Leo at the main entrance and they both paced across the barren field of the camp, looking around to find the missing woman as soon as possible. Glancing to the side, Leo spotted a bonfire with a large body of fried meat hanging above the flames, but the distinctive shape of its scorched muzzle, he immediately guessed it was the missing horse. Besides that, they found nothing more than small huts made with animal skin and bonfires, making it difficult to find any signs of the missing woman.

A goblin suddenly came out one of the huts after hearing the ruckus earlier, before uttering out a yelp when he spotted the humans.

"Manflesh! They're here! They-" The goblin was cut off when Leo lunged in and swung out the sword, cutting the head before the creature had the chance to run away.

"Dammit, I thought the others who left were all of them!" Henrietta growled before hearing more chattering, looking over her shoulder to see more goblins coming out of the huts and drawing out their weapons. "Now what?"

"We can take them all, just stick with me!" Leo shouted as he quickly drew the shield off his back before blocking an incoming stone that was thrown by a goblin with a sling. He then blocked an aggressive strike from another goblin armed with a cleaver, before parrying another swing and smacked the goblin across the face, leaving the opponent dazed and took the chance to swipe his shortsword, plunging it into the collarbone with a vicious crunch before he drew the blade back.

Henrietta sidestepped to dodge an axe coming down before it could split her in half and struck the goblin with a slash across the face, killing the creature instantly. Glancing to her side, she saw another goblin lunging at her and about to stab her with a spear, but she quickly dodged it and launched a kick to the face. She then thrust the blade beside the neck, cutting a deep gash on the throat before pulling it back to leave the goblin choking on his own blood. Snatching the spear, she turned around and threw the spear to the slinger goblin before he tried to hurl another rock at her. "Didn't you say the goblins have a leader who's not one of them? Where is he right now?!"

"How should I know? He's probably not here at this moment or maybe turns out to be much of a coward!" Leo retorted, clearly not in the mood to answer that kind of question as he's busy cleaving another goblin.

"WHO SAID AM I COWARD?!"

A booming, deep voice startled Leo and Henrietta, yet they kept their guard up as they watched the remaining goblins scurrying away while regrouping to the far side of the camp, but then they saw they were rallying to a gray-skinned hulking orc, almost seven feet tall with squarish head and large fangs. The orc was dressed in some kind of leather armor covered in fur with hardened shoulder pads and braces around his wrists, with a large skeleton jaw of a lion tied on the right shoulder.

"So you came here to die, flesh sack? I will enjoy breaking your bones and mounting them on my hut while I plow your whore!" The orc roared, slamming the staff of his two-handed longaxe to the ground as the goblins cackled mischievously at his words.

"Okay, that's their leader alright." Leo remarked with an unamused look.

"Why did you have to provoke him?" Henrietta hissed, thinking the mercenary just jeopardized the rescue plan.

"Because some orcs are really dumbasses and value strength. Too much that they can't literally think of anything but kill and rape." The young mercenary replied calmly, yet his words were tinged with a hint of bitterness.

"Well, you're not wrong about that at all." Henrietta sighed, having to agree with his point even at the worst possible moment. "I wish Roxy is now coming back with the reinforcements. You sure it was a good idea to send your companion as a decoy?" She questioned the decision he made earlier.

"I am, because I trust her. We just have to hold on until she comes back." Leo replied without a second thought.

---

Roxy had no trouble outrunning the goblins from pursuing her, but then she reached the dead end as she was facing the rock face of a boulder blocking her path. Furthermore, she found herself trapped in the middle of a crevice that she couldn't just try to climb out, even if she tried it.

Letting out a breath, she turned around to face the goblins who were now surrounding her, yet they didn't seem like they had the intention of killing her on the spot.

"Well, well, look what we have here, ladz. This puppy girl has some nice tits!" One of them sneered, wearing a pervy grin as he ogled at her humongous chest.

"Ooh yes, it would be a huge waste if we have to kill her." Another one said, fondling the loincloth with his hand without a shred of decency. "Shall we capture her alive and take her to the boss?"

"Are you kidding? He'z gonna keep her to himself, that's fer sure! No, we're gonna be the ones to get some taste first. Round up, boyz!" The goblins then approached the demi-human slowly, with malicious glee glinting in their eyes, probably thinking what kind of dreadful things they want to do with her.

Roxy, however, remained calm as she leaned her back against the surface.

"I call dibs!" One goblin shouted before leaping towards the girl. But suddenly, a bolt just pierced his skull before his body fell lifelessly in front of her.

"W-What-" Another goblin was cut off when another bolt was shot and pierced in his throat.

The five remaining goblins were taken aback by the unexpected attack as they looked around in a mix of panic and confusion. But as they glanced up the rocky walls, they froze when the first thing they saw was a group of armored men coming out of the trees and bushes, aiming their crossbows down at them. It was now too late for the goblins to realize they were ambushed as the armored men rained down their bolts upon them. One by one, they fell down with more than a few bolts all over their bodies.

Roxy sighed in relief as she paced around the pile of bodies, as none of them were uttering a word of at the least twitching to show any sign that they're still alive. She continued her way to meet up with Henrietta's soldiers.

A goblin suddenly sprung up and let out a screech as he tried to bash Roxy's head with a club - only to be punched in the face by the demi-human and was sent flying until his body crashed on the side of the boulder.

"That one is still alive! Kill it!" A soldier shouted and some other men shot more bolts at the goblin, though at some point it was already dead the moment his brains got splattered over the stone.

Roxy rubbed her hand over the knuckles she just used to punch the goblin, as she wasn't surprised at the fact that one of them was playing dead just to try to take her by surprise, since it wasn't the first time those creatures would use that cheap trick.

"Are you okay, miss?" A middle aged man with a gray beard asked as he walked up to the demi human.

"I am, don't worry about it." Roxy replied with a soft smile, but then she changed it with a serious frown. "But we have to go back to the camp quickly."

The officer nodded in agreement before signaling his men to move out, and so Roxy and the troops made a haste to meet up with the captain and the mercenary. She could feel that they might be in trouble, but she had no doubt that her master had everything under control.

---

"Shit!" Leo cursed as he ducked before a goblin flew over his head and crashed into the wall of a hut. After that, he raised his head up and widened his eyes when he saw the battle axe coming downwards. Following his instinct, he jumped aside before the axe was about to split him in half. "Hey, Captain! I could use some help over here!" He shouted while the orc roared and slashed the axe across, which Leo dodged once more by ducking his head as he tried to keep his distance away from the orc.

"I'm trying, damn it!" Henrietta gritted her teeth as she was struggling with a goblin and their swords grinding together. With a grunt, she moved her sword in a downward grip, letting the pressure of the goblin's shortsword slide down across her blade as he lost the balance, before she used the momentum to twist her sword and strike the goblin down with a cut to the neck.

After finishing off the last goblin, she sprinted towards the orc and took the chance while the leader was distracted by slashing across his back. However, the orc didn't even flinch in pain even when the cut was deep, as he turned over the shoulder and growled at her. Henrietta gasped and held her sword with both hands, blocking a powerful swing from the orc, but that made her stumble down to the ground and lose her grip on her weapon.

Hissing in pain at her aching hands, Henrietta tried to reach over her weapon, as she glanced at the orc approaching her with his hands holding the longaxe-axe over his head, ready to strike her down.

"Henrietta!" Leo cried out her name as he charged the orc to stop him, but the monster just noticed him coming before twirling around and swung the longaxe at him with raw strength.

He raised his shield and braced himself before the axe head went through the wood and almost tore his arm off. Noticing that the longaxe was now stuck to his shield, Leo dug his heels and thrust his sword to stab into the throat. The orc, however, caught the blade with his big hand just before the tip could even reach his neck. Some blood dripped from the orc's fingers as Leo tried to move his weapon back and forth, but the orc held the sword with a strong grip that he couldn't slice the bulky fingers.

"Manflesh always be weak!" The orc growled before taking Leo's sword out of his hand and threw it away.

"Oh no…" Leo muttered before the orc grabbed him by the neck and lifted him off the ground. "H-Henrietta…!" He gagged as he was being choked.

"Damn it!" Henrietta picked up her sword before getting up to her feet and sprung forward to attack the orc and assist the mercenary, only to skid to halt when the orc threw Leo towards her. She sidestepped away as Leo rolled over the ground without any weapons in his possession.

"Are you okay?" Henrietta without looking away from the orc as he pulled the shield off his axe.

"Ugh, yeah, I'm fine. I just lost my shield and my sword." Leo groaned as he got back up. "It's not my first time I faced an orc, but they're sure tough those bastards."

"I'm not gonna lie, this is my first time facing an orc. Not even my rigorous training could make me prepared for this." Henrietta seethed through her teeth as her hands tightened around the hilt of her sword.

Leo gazed at her, as though he wasn't surprised she never told him the truth until now, but he shook the thought out of his head, before he noticed the orc approaching them menacingly. He looked over the ground for a weapon until he picked up a jagged spear. "Alright, listen, the orcs can be hard to kill, but their aggressive strikes are predictable and always leave them exposed. So when he tries to slash us both, we avoid his attacks and strike him back."

Henrietta looked back at him, as though she felt unsure about taking advice from someone she just met, but considering he's just sharing knowledge about monsters, it's best for her to listen. "Got it."

"Stop blabbering and die!" The orc roared and swung his longaxe horizontally.

They ducked their heads with the axe flying over their heads, and just when the orc left himself open after throwing his attack, Leo thrust the spear into his ribs. The orc restrained a grimace as he gripped the shaft to pull the spear out, only failing to notice Henrietta launching a swift strike to the side of his abdomen.

The orc was forced to step back as Leo withdrew the spear, making the blood gush out of the wound he inflicted on the camp leader. Even so, the orc didn't seem to react to any kind of pain as he just gazed over the wounds. A growl rose from his throat, before the orc raised his head and gave the intruders a death glare, with his hands gripped around the handle of his weapon.

Now that the favor was back to them, Leo and Henrietta charged and split up to flank the orc. Henrietta was the first to strike with her sword, but the orc blocked the attack with the staff of his longaxe. Leo launched another thrust, but this time, the orc warded it off and kicked him away.

The monster threw a wide arching swing towards Henrietta, forcing the female knight to jump away from him. He then brought his axe down with all his might, but Henrietta leaped aside and lunged forward as the orc was prepared to fend her off. Little did the orc know that Leo was standing behind him and took advantage of the distraction to drive the spear into his back.

The orc roared out of anger and pain, and before he realized, Henrietta swung her sword in a diagonal manner and the blade plunged deep into his shoulder. Blood spewed out of the orc's body, but then he lowered his head to cast a fierce glare at the knight and he grabbed her by her neck.

Henrietta's eyes widened as she gagged, before she tried to slash the orc once more, but then he dropped his weapon to grab the blade and threw it out of her hand. He delivered a punch to her stomach, taking the air out of her lungs, before throwing her away and she crashed into a wooden barricade.

"Oh, come on!" Leo shouted frustratingly as he pulled the spear back and tried to stab the orc again, but the orc spun around and grabbed the staff before snatching it from him and snapped the spear in half. "Fuck…" He cursed before the orc grabbed him by his throat and held him off the ground.

Henrietta groaned as she struggled to get up, but she realized she no longer had the sword after that orc took it from her. Because of that, she couldn't do anything more than watch the mercenary about to be murdered by that monster, and the reinforcements still hadn't arrived.

"You fight well for a sheep, but manflesh will always be weaker than a strong orc!" The orc spat as he brought the human close to him so he could stare intensively to see any hint of fear in his eyes. "I made my mind, I'm gonna rip you apart, every limb from limb! And then I'm gonna fuck that knight whore and keep her as my meat slag!"

Suddenly, what the orc didn't expect was to hear Leo letting out a snort before uttering a weak laugh, even though he could barely breathe as he was getting choked. Anyone would think he just lost his mind to laugh at the face of death, even Henrietta thought that way.

"Found something funny, sheepie?" The orc growled in anger with his free fist clenching, ready to wipe the smirk off the human's face.

Gripping around the orc's arm with his hand, Leo cracked his eyes open as he sneered at the orc. "Yeah, you just reminded me that no matter how strong your kind are, you're always gonna be so fucking stupid, no matter what." He pulled his other hand back into a clawing motion.

A narrow blade sprung out of the underside of his wrist before Leo thrust into the neck of the orc, making the orc widen his eyes before dropping Leo down. The orc stumbled back until he fell on his knees, clutching his punctured neck as the blood seeped through his fingers.

Leo got back on his feet and noticed the longaxe laid on the ground which the orc dropped it earlier. Pacing over the axe, he picked it up and approached the orc, trying to ignore the furious look the orc was giving to him.

Without thinking of giving a quip to the monster, Leo took a deep breath as he lifted the longaxe with both of his hands to deliver a devastating finishing blow.

"Thank you…"

Leo suddenly froze as those words reached to his ears, but they didn't come from Henrietta or anyone else. It was the orc who managed to utter those words, even though he just coughed more blood out of his mouth.

"What did you say?" Leo muttered before lowering down the weapon and then walked up towards the dying orc.

"Leo! What are you doing?!" Henrietta shouted, completely shocked that Leo had just stopped from finishing that orc for good.

Leo just ignored the knight as he pulled the orc closer to him. "What did you just say?!" He demanded. At that moment, he was very confused about those two words that he never expected to hear from an orc. However, there was something off about that one in particular. The moment he looked closer into the monster's eyes, he couldn't see any hint of malice as he noticed before.

The orc suddenly grabbed him by the vest and leaned closer to his face. "The voice of the dark one finally gone…" He spoke between gasps with what was left of his breath. "Now me finally feel peace for who me was, thanks to you."

"Cut the crap! You better tell me what the hell is going on or I'll cut your head off!" Leo snapped, getting tired of hearing the obnoxious riddles.

"Have not much time left…" The orc wheezed before coughing more blood. "You must go to the fortress and put an end to this madness… You have to stop it, or it will be the end of us…" After that, the monster let go of Leo as he drew one last breath.

"Great… just great." Leo growled bitterly before pushing the dead orc away from him.

The silence reigned over the camp as Leo threw the axe away, next to the lifeless body of the orc. He let out a sigh as he wiped the blood off his face before he approached Henrietta as she was just getting back up.

"Hey, are you alright?" He asked with a hint of concern.

"Yeah… I took a hard landing, but I-" Suddenly she let out a hiss as she clutched over her side.

"Here, let me help you." Leo got close to her to give her a hand, only to be stopped when Henrietta pushed him away.

"I'm okay! I can still get up!" Henrietta responded sternly, but she kept groaning in pain as she could barely raise herself up. Leo, however, wasn't taken aback by her outburst. Rather, he rolled his eyes before he stood to her side and gently picked her up by the shoulder. "H-Hey, I said I can stand up on my own!"

"God, you knights are so stubborn…" Leo muttered exasperatedly. He then heard the approaching footsteps before he turned to the side and saw Roxy and Henrietta's men finally arriving as they spread out across the camp. "Finally… Think you can walk on your own?" He asked Henrietta.

"Y-Yeah, just let me go!" The knight muttered before pushing him away from her. Leo could notice she was wearing a hardened look as she walked forward to meet up with her men, holding back the pain aching in her ribs. "Everyone, search through the camp! The woman must be found somewhere or inside the huts!"

Leo sighed as he rubbed his eyes tiredly before pacing around to find any signs of the missing woman, passing by a couple of soldiers who were looking over the corpse of the orc, as they were shocked to find one right here in the camp. He watched some other men checking inside of each hut cautiously, since some remaining goblins might be hiding inside. In fact, he just heard them some screeches, only to be silenced by the sound of the bolts shooting.

"Master! Are you alright?" Roxy cried out with a concerned look, running over to check on Leo.

"I'm okay, just a little sore. But what about you? Did the goblins put a finger on you?" Leo asked softly as he looked over her face for any scratch or bruise.

"Don't worry about me, master. We should try to look around and find that poor woman." Roxy replied, which Leo nodded in agreement.

"Captain! You're not gonna believe this, but I found more women!" Suddenly, a soldier shouted, catching everyone's attention.

Leo and Roxy looked to the other side and saw a soldier coming out of a large hut that was standing at the far end of the camp. But one thing that stood out from the rest of them was it was decorated with bundles of carved bones. They watched Captain Henrietta entering the hut in a haste.

"Did he just say there're more women?" Roxy asked in surprise, clearly not expecting to hear that word in plural.

"Come on, let's go find out." Leo said with a frown and they headed to meet up with the soldier, preparing for whatever they're gonna find inside.

Entering the hut through the flap, Leo looked around the inside until he found Henrietta and the soldier standing next to a cage sitting at the corner, but Roxy let out a gasp as they found what was inside the cage. There was a group of five women huddling together, all of them wearing dirty rags that could barely cover their bodies.

"Can you open it?" Henrietta asked, as Leo and Roxy walked around the bonfire to meet up with them.

"I tried, but the cage is locked. Maybe the key could be found around here, or maybe we could check the orc's body outside." The young soldier replied, while looking back at the prisoners with concern.

"Ain't nobody got time for that." Leo grumbled before pushing the soldier away from the gate. Holding the sword up, he started bashing the lock with the pommel as loud clanging noises filled the air. Gathering all his strength on his next hit, he finally broke the lock before opening the cage.

"Leo, just hold on!" Henrietta tried to call him out for his hastiness, worried that he would probably scare the women.

When Leo stepped inside the cage, the women whimpered and cowered in fear as he came near to them, completely shaken that they were unaware that he wasn't the orc who got them captivated. Leo shushed them as he lowered himself down slowly, sheathing his sword to let them know he meant no harm.

"It's okay, we're here to rescue you." Leo said with a gentle tone, as he kept a distance from the.

The frightened women raised their heads to face back the mercenary, yet they were still showing signs of mistrust. As Leo got a better look at them, he could see their faces and some parts of their limbs were bruised, some of them were even recent. One can't imagine how long they had to endure the abuse until Leo and the others found them.

"They're getting cold." Roxy stepped in the cage with Leo, noting the women were shivering as the chilly wind blew through the opened flap.

Leo nodded in agreement before taking off his cloak and handed it to an auburn-haired woman, who hesitated before accepting the gesture and wrapped it all over her body. He then turned over his shoulder to face Henrietta. "Can you find some sheets or something that could give them warmth around here?" He asked politely, while Roxy also handed her own cloak to another woman.

At first, the knight was quite taken aback by the act of kindness from the mercenary, but she nodded her head as she commanded the other soldiers to search through the hut. Taking a look inside of a storage chest, they found inside a bundle of silks and pelts, but also some large pouches of coins and pieces of jewelry. It didn't come as a surprise though, since monsters usually get them by raiding villages or ambushing travelers and merchants on the roads. Henrietta then delivered some of the pelts to the women, and at that moment, the women began to feel more at ease, and even grateful that they didn't have to feel the cold anymore.

"Can all of you stand up?" Leo asked, with a hint of softness in his tone.

"Yeah… I think so." A woman with raven hair answered before her and the rest slowly raised up to her feet. "A-Are they gone? Did you kill all those monsters?" She asked anxiously.

"Every last one of them, you have nothing to fear anymore." Henrietta nodded, more than pleased to provide that answer, as she noticed the enormous relief washing over the poor women's faces. "Is everyone okay? Did those vermin do anything to you?"

"They kept us locked in here for days and treated us like we were cattle. They were planning to kidnap more women before they would take us to a place where other orcs were hiding. Those… Those beasts wanted us to be their breeders!" A woman with curly blond hair said, though her voice trembled as she finished retelling the events.

Henrietta's face softened before walking up to the girl and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Do not fret. What matters now is that you're all safe and we're going to get you out of this forest."

"Oh thank Mother Larentia! We never thought anyone would ever find us to begin with!" A short-haired woman said, as the other girls hugged each other while shedding tears of joy.

"Sergeant, take some of your men and escort the women out of here." Henrietta gave the order to the officer.

"Right away, Captain." The officer nodded before he led the women out of the hut.

Henrietta let out a sigh with her hand running over her head, feeling like all the pressure that was welling up within her had faded away in an instant. Standing up straight, she turned around to face Leo and Roxy. "If it weren't for both of you, we wouldn't ever find these poor women and they would suffer that kind of fate. For that, you both have my gratitude." She stated before bowing her head.

"We're deeply pleased by your words, Milady." Roxy bowed back to her, although Leo almost rolled his eyes.

"So what are you gonna do with the women?" Leo asked as he stretched his back.

"It's obvious they cannot come with us on our journey, as it would be far riskier if we find more trouble. So the only prudent thing to do is to take them to a nearby village. Luckily, I know a place where it's on our way to the border." Henrietta said with a calm tone.

"Yeah, that sounds like a good idea." Leo replied as he sauntered around the hut. "What about the camp, though?"

"I'll send a report to my commander about this. I just hope this is the only camp we find in this forest." Henrietta said, a little dazed off in thought. The rattling sound suddenly caught her attention before she looked to the side and saw Leo digging his hands into the opened chest. "What are you doing?"

"I'm taking some stuff that could be useful. I hope you don't mind." Leo responded plainly as he shifted through the contents of the chest.

"As a matter of fact, I do." Henrietta responded sternly, taking a step forward. "Those items you're taking did belong to the folks who got murdered and looted by monsters. We're so much better than those fiends."

Leo let out a scoff. "Are you saying we should leave them behind? Last time I saw you, you took some pelts and gave them to the women." Leo retorted as he picked a silver ring encrusted with a small ruby. Knowing that could be worth some good coins, he decided to keep it in his pocket and continued searching.

"Because they needed them more than us, otherwise they would've been freezing to death! I'm saying those belongings should be delivered to the families of the deceased!" Henrietta argued, with her hand gripping the handle of her sword as if she was restraining herself from unsheathing it.

Leo stopped rummaging before he stood up and turned around to face Henrietta with a scornful look. "Do you think they would care about material possessions the dead owned? Even if they do, they're gonna just sell all of them for coins." Henrietta opened her mouth to argue, but Leo continued. "Would you rather waste the resources you could really use, just because you think the needs of anyone else are far more important than your men's or the women we just rescued?"

"I am a knight! Even while I still have my duty to fulfill my task, I have sworn to help my people by any means necessary! Something that a mercenary like you can't understand!" Henrietta snapped, grabbing Leo by his vest.

A soft hissed suddenly reached to her ears, and before she knew it, Henrietta felt something prodding in her neck. Looking down, her eyes widened as she saw Leo just drew the thin blade from the strange mechanism wearing under his wrist and aimed it to her throat. When she tried to draw her sword, he pressed the tip into her most vital area to stop her from doing a stupid act.

"M-Master!" Roxy gasped in shock.

Leo's glare grew intense as he glanced to his side to make sure no one was peeking from the outside. He turned back to Henrietta and remarked with a disdainful tone. "Let me give you a piece of my mind, Miss Knight. Unlike those blue-blooded pricks you and other knights serve, I need to eat and sleep under a roof! Did it occur to you that people like me can't have the same luxury because the nobles are too lazy to make a goddamn charity? No, of course you didn't. Because you think that just because I'm a sellsword, you can lecture me about what's right and what's wrong, like a parent scolding a brat. Well, hate to break it to you, but this world doesn't work that way. There's no time for meaningless things like pride and honor, only survival."

Those words left Henrietta speechless that she just felt like something snapped in her. She tried to convince herself that Leo was just trying to make an excuse for his recent action, even to question about the code she swore to uphold. If only she knew that this man was no different from any other bandit or mercenary, even an orc.

Suddenly, a hand gently clasped on Leo's shoulder, snapping him out of his anger before turning his head around and saw Roxy was standing behind him.

"Leo… Let her go, please." Roxy said quietly.

Leo was about to argue with her too, but the moment he saw the begging look in her eyes, he began to realize what he had done. Lowering his head down, he retracted the blade back into its place and took a step back as the knight released him. He raised his head to face the knight, as she was now giving him a resentful glare as she rubbed the spot he intended to stab her.

"Fine. Go ahead, take everything from that chest.. But you're not gonna get away with it easily. If I were you, I would just leave the kingdom before someone put a price on my head." Henrietta said bitterly before she stomped her way out of the hut.

An awkward silence filled in the air as Leo let out an exasperated sigh while looking down to the ground. Actually, he didn't regret being brutally honest to Henrietta, because someone had to speak up their mind about how this world was nothing like they pictured in the fairy tales.

"Leo…"

He raised his head to meet the concerned gaze from Roxy, which made him feel bad because she had to watch him lose his temper. "I'm fine… Let's hurry up before they leave us behind." Leo muttered before he went back to the chest and continued looting.

Roxy could tell he was lying, as she noticed he was in a bad mood after getting into an argument with the knight. "Leo, I don't blame you for standing up to her. We can just leave and find someone else who can hire us. With any luck, all that stuff we found here could help us last longer."

"No, we'll stick with them and we're going to Eos." Leo responded bluntly as he stored a health potion into one of his pockets.

"What?" Roxy said, stunned by his answer. Knowing him better, he would have agreed with the idea without any doubt.

"It's time I'm gonna get to the bottom of this." Leo added.

"What do you mean?" Roxy asked, very confused that she couldn't help but frown.

"Roxy, how long have we been doing nothing more than slaying monsters, fighting wars, and doing it all over and over again just to get some coins? All this time, I thought that this was gonna be like this for the rest of our lives. But the fact is, I was just lost, because I didn't have any answers, or anything that could help me understand what's the point of fighting to survive." Leo took a deep breath and turned to his beautiful companion. "Look, I know this sounds crazy, but that orc just told me something that I think has to do with what's going on in Eos. We've been wandering aimlessly for the past five years, and just today, I think I finally found a lead. Something that could give me an answer."

"About what?" Roxy inquired, even though she found herself hard to believe, or at least understand, everything he's saying.

"About why I was summoned to this world." Leo finished before shutting the chest.