"Wah!" The Bandit Leader crumbled to his knees when the impact hit the back of his head. I tossed the rock as hard as I could at their blind spot while they were distracted. It wouldn't be enough to kill him, but I had something else in mind.
"Eh? Boss?" The others didn't notice where the attack came from. Those guys were too busy looking after their hostage, who was continuously trying to break free from their grasp. They were startled when their leader fell to the ground.
"Right there!" One of the bandits pointed toward us. Or at least one of us.
Sarah dashed in the direction of the woods, making sure the bushes around her rustled loudly, catching their attention.
"Goddamn it!" The leader stood up, deadly anger burning in his eyes as blood dripped from his nose. He was still dizzy, but he noticed the figure running into the trees, and he had no intention of letting his attacker escape easily.
"You, come with me!" the tall man shouted toward his subordinate, gasping furiously.
"Y-Yes, sir." the subordinate replied, afraid of becoming his target instead.
"Huh, boss, and what about me?" Bandit 1 asked. From the way he phrased the question, I had no doubt he was the dumbest of them all.
"You stay here and watch the girl! I'm sure you can do it alone, right?!" he answered angrily.
Bandit 1 was holding the hooded woman with his arm around her neck.
"Y-Yes."
"Hey!" the other underling called out to Bandit 1. "Don't even think of starting with her. If you mess her up and leave what's left for me, I'll kill you!"
'These guys make me sick, but they didn't notice me. For now, everything is going according to plan,' I thought inwardly, still hiding close to the crater while the two men went into the woods.
As I had planned, the bigger guy went into the woods with one of his men. Expecting an ambush, he made his underling watch his back, leaving just one man to keep an eye on the girl. At least in normal circumstances. It was the right move if there were only one attacker, but not two.
"Aaaaah!" All of a sudden, a scream burst out from down there. The girl bit the bandit's arm, making him let go of her in the midst of the pain. She tried to run away from him, but he still managed to catch up to her.
"You little…!" He yanked the hood off her head, revealing her face.
Her skin, white as snow, gave off a delicate impression. Her beautiful green eyes shone like emeralds, and her blond hair, now loose, fluttered in the wind like long golden threads.
The mercenary grabbed her by the arm and, with casual strength, hurled her to the ground. "Waah!" The blond girl let out a muffled cry of pain as she crashed into the soil.
"What a cute girl you are. 'Wait,' that guy said. How could I wait when I'm faced with such a view?" the outlaw said. He jumped on top of her, tearing the clothes she wore beneath the hood with his hands, exposing her breasts.
"No, get off me… or else…" she started, but the words wouldn't come out of her mouth.
"Or else what?" the villain said in a mocking tone, believing he would get away with his crimes.
"Or else the guy behind you will beat you to a pulp." Bandit 1 turned around, only to receive a kick straight to the face, sending him flying.
"Are you hurt?" I asked the blond woman whose clothes had turned into shreds.
"Huh." She shook her head in denial.
"It's a relief, but don't worry." I said, smiling at her. "You are safe now."
"You son of a bitch!" The mercenary stood up, a sword in his hand, ready to take my blood.
"Are you still alive? I'm pretty sure I kicked you with all I had. Whatever." I said provocatively. I only had my dagger as a weapon, a clear range disadvantage, but it couldn't be helped. I wouldn't be hiding in a bush watching her being deflowered.
Thankfully, I still had a card up my sleeve. "I'll put you in your place. Ero Boost!"
…
"Damned!" I cursed, still feeling pain in my head. I was following the tracks of the attacker into the woods, footsteps printed on the ground.
"Are you sure that was a woman?" I asked. I was still half conscious, so I just saw a shadow running away.
"I'm sure, boss." My underling was following me from behind.
"So it was her. She came to rescue the noble. What a foolish woman, she saved us the time to search for her." I said firmly. Only in this mission, that woman killed two of my men, and the mark of our fight was carved on my face.
At our last encounter, I made sure to wound her. I'm certain that she wouldn't be capable of recovering her full strength yet, making her an easy prey at the end of this trail. 'I'll make her pay with her body.'
"Boss, the reward that you told us about is for real?" my man asked me, with doubt in his voice.
Usually, I don't like useless conversations, but talking with someone made my headache diminish, so I followed through.
"You don't believe me?" I asked him.
"It's not like that!" He was startled, trying to apologize. "But the amount is…"
He was right to be suspicious of this job. For mercenaries like us, the price that was put on the girl's head was quite a lot. The blondie was a noble, but she didn't have a high rank that justified such a generous bounty.
"Don't worry about that. Our client is legit, even though I didn't meet him."
"You didn't know him, boss?" He asked me nervously. That way of talking was really annoying.
"Of course not. I'm a small fish for him, he sent one of his men."
"Boss, but how do you know that this guy is trustworthy?"
"Huh, I don't think that is a problem to tell you." It wasn't necessary to tell him, but thinking about all the money we would earn put me in a good mood. "Look at this."
I showed him a silver medallion with a crest engraved in its center. It was legitimate proof of our client, something most people would recognize. "Do you believe it now?"
My subordinate didn't say anything after seeing the medallion; he just nodded.
"So let's get back to work, huh?" I said, but as I looked down at the ground. "Where are her footprints?" Because of my conversation, I didn't notice it, but her trail ended a few steps ago.
At that exact moment, I heard a dull sound followed by the fast pace of footsteps coming in our direction. "Watch out!" I told the man behind me, but it was too late.
We were tricked. She made sure to create a trail, separating us from help, and deep in the woods, she hid herself up in a tree. We were paying attention to the ground, but she was watching us from above, just waiting for a single opening.
Our attacker came at full speed from behind. In the blink of an eye, my underling drew his sword from its sheath, just to be cut by the foe swordsman, his severed arm floating in the air, leaving a spurt of blood.
But it didn't end there. The first attack disarmed the mercenary, the second strike cut his throat. A merciless, lethal attack. The enemy finished him in an instant, and her blade was coming for me in a third swing.
"Huh!" The adrenaline of the battlefield made my mind come back to normal and defend against that killing sword.
For the first time, I could look at my enemy, but it wasn't who I was searching for. "Red… ?"
It was in fact a woman, but it wasn't the woman that I fought before. The sword wielder before my eyes was a red-haired girl with a ponytail, fair skin, and bright eyes like the blue sky.
"Who the fuck are you?!" I asked, letting it out with my voice.
The woman that was competing in strength against me just smiled maliciously.
"Eh. I thought that you were more 'polite' than that." She joked with me. "Usually, you say your name before you ask."
'Stay focused! She is provoking you!' I thought inwardly. 'She guided me exactly where she wanted, and now her objective is to taunt me, clouding my thoughts.'
The clash of our swords stood in balance. Neither of us was pushed by the other. 'I can't underestimate my opponent.'
Using the strength of my body, I managed to push her away, repositioning myself in the process. A bigger distance was created between us. The perfect range of our swords.
"Guraag!" I said.
"Eh? What is this?" the red-haired woman said.
"My name. Guraag."
"Ohhhh." She looked surprised by my words, but her lips changed back to her smile. "Sarah. Sarah Lockhart. Nice to meet you, and farewell."