Chapter 34 : Arrows Named "Death"

Arrows Named "Death"

"Are you two beautiful ladies lost? If you don't mind, I'd be willing to escort you both back to a safe place."

Dohr spoke very politely; if one ignored the bound elves shackled and tied up behind him, most people would have thought him a proper gentleman.

He was waiting for the girls' answer; as long as they agreed, he would have a chance to make his move on the road. And if they refused...

Heh, heh, sorry, but I was just looking for somewhere to vent my fire.

But for some reason, he saw an emotion called anger in the eyes of the red-haired girl, which puzzled him. Had he said something wrong?

What he didn't know was that inside that red-haired girl—Celia—there was a little creature known as a parasite demon. As a parasite demon, mind-reading was a fundamental ability.

So, everything he had just fantasized in his head had been witnessed by Dogsius, and all those sickening fantasies were mentally transmitted via Dogsius' connection right into the minds of Celia and Serea.

Having seen through Dohr's thoughts, Celia reached out to draw her sword. But under Dogsius' control, she could not act at this moment, so she could only glare at the man.

"Leave him to me, I'll get rid of that trash."

Celia spat out these words lightly. Normally, she rarely spoke, and this was the first time she actively made a request of Serea, but Serea refused.

"How should I put it, Dogsius? You shouldn't have sent those kinds of things straight into my mind—otherwise, I, who've always considered myself rational, might just lose my cool."

With that, Serea flexed her wrists. Although she still wore her usual smile, it was clear this was merely the calm before a storm.

Indeed, the most appropriate course would have been to let Celia use her level to crush this so-called Dohr.

But a surge of emotion clouded Serea's reason—she felt it would be a lot more satisfying to deal with such a person herself.

"I don't know why, but I'm feeling awfully irritable today."

As Serea spoke, she started to walk down the vine-grown steps, saying as she went:

"From the looks of that badge, I'm guessing you're a slave trader from the Otto Empire, aren't you?"

"Yes, beautiful lady, is there a problem?"

"No problem. But if I let you go, my whereabouts could be exposed."

Serea pretended to look troubled, but the next moment she thought of something and addressed the crowd.

"This request might be a bit rude, but from today onwards, I'd like to ask you all to stay here forever."

Her eyes gave off a murderous intent, and right now Serea seemed exceedingly dangerous.

"What is the meaning of this?"

Dohr narrowed his eyes, hearing the hostility in the girl's words.

"Can't you understand? None of you will be leaving today—not a single one!"

As soon as she finished speaking, Serea was standing just five meters in front of Dohr, her hostility unmistaken.

From Dohr's perspective, only a lone girl had walked down to him, while he himself had over twenty fully armed warriors at his back.

And in such a situation, to hear a frail-looking girl say those words...

"Pfft, hahaha! Did you all hear what she said, that we're not going home today?"

"Haha, I heard it, I heard it, what an absurd joke!"

"Don't be so sure—haven't you ever heard, 'There are only oxen exhausted to death, not fields broken through plowing'? Maybe if your back gives out, you really won't be walking home today!"

Dohr's lackeys erupted in crude laughter, and Dohr joined in as well.

"Heh, do you even know what you're saying?"

Resting his greatsword on his shoulder, Dohr acted entirely nonchalant, clearly taking no heed of Serea's threats.

Sure, there were some people in this world whose words carried weight—but when a human girl who didn't even look seventeen said something like that, it was nothing but a farce.

Seeing Serea and Celia stand up against those humans, Lola hurriedly called out in warning:

"Human friends, hurry and leave this place!"

"Enough chatter!"

Dohr flung Lola aside and strode forward himself, intending to personally teach this cocky girl a lesson.

"Boss, no need for you—we'll handle this little chick."

At this moment, a few of Dohr's lackeys stepped out, leering at the two girls.

As they swarmed over, Dohr did nothing to stop them.

"Alright, she's yours. Whoever catches her first, she's all yours tonight!"

"Boss is magnificent!" xN

The crowd cheered, and, spurred on by their boss's promise, they lunged toward Serea like a pack of ravenous dogs.

The closest ones to her rushed ahead, not willing to let others steal their prize.

Seeing the mob surge her way, Serea sensed where Little Black and the others were positioned.

"Leave the leader," she said coolly, "I don't want to see a single living soul before me besides him."

Murderous intent flared in her blood-red eyes as she faced the party of more than twenty humans.

"Here I come, beauty!"

Three men dove for her—but what greeted them was not the soft flesh of a young girl, but three cold, lethal arrows.

Triple shot!

Pfft! Pfft! Pfft!

With pinpoint precision, all three arrows pierced their throats. The men's eyes bulged, unable to grasp what had happened; before they could even cry out, they could no longer make a sound.

"Mmmmph!"

Clutching their throats, blood gushing like a spring, the three dropped to the ground in unwilling silence.

Witnessing that, the others froze, startled out of their wits. Instinctively, they stopped in their tracks and glanced warily around.

Seeing the bodies crumple, Dohr immediately caught on.

"Damn, we're under attack from an archer—find him, now!"

At his words, the group bunched together and scanned their surroundings. In a forest like this, an unseen archer was as deadly as death itself.

Looking at the three who'd just been slain, even though they wore heavy armor, that mysterious archer had found the weak point at the throat and killed them in an instant.

That alone showed just how strong that archer was.

Terrified, the rest scanned the woods. The dramatic display of three instant deaths had scattered them and ruined their formation, and Dohr roared:

"Don't panic—shields to the front!"

At his command, the heavily armored warriors managed to step up and form a shield wall to protect their comrades.

Meanwhile, deep in the woods, a Skeleton Warrior with a body as white as ivory slowly drew an arrow from its quiver. Then it performed an utterly bizarre action.

The archer placed the arrowhead in its mouth and bit down hard—and only then did it nock the arrow to its bow.

Power shot!

Whoosh!

The arrow flew, slicing through the air, striking the shield with force.

Thunk!

But the arrow's power didn't stop—it pierced right through the wooden shield, the arrow embedding halfway through as it shattered the shield-bearer's arm, sending him flying into the crowd and knocking several men down.

"Ugh—aaagh, aaagh!"

The man howled, clutching his arm.

That single shot had completely pulverized his arm bones; his career as a warrior was finished.

Tracking the direction from which that shot had been fired, Dohr peered into the woods. There, two faint flames glimmered.

That was the archer!

(To be continued...)

-------------= Clacky's Corner -------------=