Stooping down at the sound of an arrow shooting from behind, she suddenly felt an enemy jump down from above, forcing her to dash out.
She had a small bow, but without the time to nock an arrow, the enemy shot at her again.
Frustrated as she might be, she had no other choice but to turn around from the narrow street and run away.
“After her!” The enemies cried.
At that, she turned around and shot an arrow at them. She did not have the leisure to aim her shot, but she still managed to reduce their numbers. Unfortunately, it was not enough, and the sound of approaching footsteps sent a chill running up her back.
Pale was currently in the midst of battling the assassins.
She took a dagger from her belt and threw it behind her without turning. When someone screamed, she stopped, turned around, and boldly approached the confused group to retrieve her dagger and attack.
A pair of swords came sweeping at her from the side, but she passed through them and lopped an enemy’s head off. At roughly the same time, a long sword went for her legs, but it hit nothing but air, for Pale had jumped, and immediately after, threw her dagger before pulling another one out.
The thrown dagger made a clanging sound as it hit something hard and was deflected.
“KU!?”
Pale cried out in anguish, but the enemy just quietly swung his sword. She tried to defend with her dagger, but only the hard sensation of an armor was there to greet her, then the sensation of her flesh being torn as something penetrated it invaded her. Pale stifled her cries as she jumped back.
The attack she’d received with her dagger was a single swing; hence, it reasoned that there was only one foe before her.
As a blind woman, there were still things Pale didn’t know despite her superhuman hearing. When she heard her enemy stepping on sand, she woke up from her thoughts and tried to back off, but the enemy chased after her.
With the enemy able to close their distance without showing a single opening, it was clear as day that he was no small fry. He was not like those fodders that Pale had defeated.
From the pressure alone, Pale knew she would die the moment she turned her back. That being said, she didn’t know if she could win in a straight-up battle either.
Pale managed to run quite a bit, and judging from the sound of the wind, she could tell that they had already passed the slums. Help probably wouldn’t come.
Pale retreated half a step, then she heard the enemy move out.
As the pressure coming from the enemy became stronger, Pale had to fix her grasp on her dagger due to her blood getting on her fingers.
The enemy did not miss that opportunity. His step was heavy, but the sound it made was muted to the limits. That was indeed the skill of a first-rate assassin.
Pale twisted her body to dodge the enemy’s approaching dagger.
But then the sound of a ‘clink’ like some sort of mechanism activating reached her ears, and in the next moment, the blade that should have been dodged tore her hood and unraveled her bound hair.
“An elf, huh,” the assassin said inadvertently the moment he saw Pale’s long ears.
But he didn’t say anything more than that as his killing intent thickened.
Fighting in the narrow back alley up close with this assassin was hopeless, so Pale started racking her brain for a way to get out of this alive.
It was no exaggeration to say that Pale was picking a fight with the assassin clan, the Dagger of Werbus, alone. But now that it was clear that she can’t win, she wasn’t about to throw her life away.
She took a step back.
Naturally, the enemy would – in turn – take a step forward. Pale didn’t have Felbi’s talent for the sword, so unfortunately, turning this situation around would be difficult.
At least, it would be if she couldn’t use magic.
Pale wielded her dagger to hide her lips to prevent the assassin from noticing that she was chanting a spell, then she took another step back to lure the enemy toward her.
The moment the enemy leaped, she threw her dagger.
“Winds! Give me Power! (Wind Shot)!”
Although its firepower was low, it was a practical spell that was easy to use, and by cladding her dagger in the wind, she was able to raise its speed and strength.
The assassin tried to dodge Pale’s dagger, but it suddenly sped up, causing him much surprise as it dawned on him that he wouldn’t be able to dodge, so he decided to jump out of the way instead.
The assassin clicked his tongue as the wind-clad dagger grazed him by his shoulders. He turned back to Pale, but she was already fleeing.
But Pale wasn’t safe just yet, for her wounds were heavy, and without first-aid, it was doubtful that she would survive.
“She’s here!”
4 pairs of footsteps resounded from up ahead.
Pale couldn’t concentrate well because of her wounds, so her ability to detect the enemy declined. Pale’s breath was ragged as she took out her dagger. She was at a disadvantage, and the longer the battle went on, the more disadvantaged she would be.
So this is as far as I go? Pale thought as she braced herself for the worst when a scream and a jeer suddenly reached her ears.
“Ms. Pale!”
“Shurei, hurry!”
“What’s with these brats!?”
The rookie adventurer, Shurei, and the follower of Zenobia (Goddess of Healing), Rue. They swung their swords and joined the fray to save Pale.
The two of them took advantage of an opening and made their way to Pale.
“In my name, heal! (Heal)”
When Rue chanted that spell, a warm light wrapped around Pale and healed her wounds.
“Why?” Pale asked.
“What do you mean ‘why?’ We can’t just abandon our benefactor!” Rue said.
“We may not have been together for long, but we’re comrades. And, Ms. Pale. I know that there’s no way you’re the sort of person who would abandon her comrades!” Shurei said.
The two were visibly afraid, but they still tried to be as positive as they could be to keep themselves from being overcome by it. Of course, Pale noticed that, and in fact, it was precisely because she didn’t want to drag them into her mess that she left them.
Still, be that is it may, she was still somewhat happy that they came here.
“…And? Are you ready to die with those brats?”
When Shurei and Rue looked at their enemies again, they noted that there were more of them now than before. They had 5 more men added to their ranks, and there were even more coming from behind.
“Kill them all!”
As the enemies charged toward them, Shurei puffed out his chest with courage and stepped forward, but then—
“N-Now what!?”
—The enemies started screaming from the other side. It seems someone has come to their aid.
“Hey! Where are the brats!?”
That somewhat carefree and heavy voice resounded throughout the area. One glance at his sword was enough to tell that he was far more powerful and experienced compared to Shurei.
“Earth! Shoot forth toward the enemy! (Earth Bullet)”
Be it sword or magic, the swordsman excelled in them all. It was a skill reminiscent of the sylph commander, Felbi. It seemed he was deeply blessed by the God of Earth.
Light brown skin, silver hair, and through his bangs, long ears. That was proof that elven blood run thick through his veins.
Blood spurted left and right as he cut open a path through the enemies, but he wasn’t fazed even a little. It was the very picture of a warrior chosen by the gods.
“So this is where you were, brats… And, I suppose you’re an elf.”
In the blink of an eye, he suppressed all enemies, and suddenly, he was right there before Pale, looking down at them.
The man introduced himself according to the old custom of the elves. “Friend of the North (Noizan Arata), greetings. I am Berg Alsen Royon of the Gnomes. Due to some circumstances, I am currently a traveler.”
“Migrating bird (Royon)? Are you out for vengeance?” Pale asked.
The elves were divided into four races. The sylphs, the gnomes, the undines, and the salamanders. Normally they prefer to be by themselves, but there are times when they leave their village.
The gnomes, for example, have a custom wherein they leave their village and swear not to come back until they avenge their family. Such gnomes who travel for vengeance are usually given the names ‘migratory bird’ or ‘homeless’ in the ancient tongue to make their status clear.
When Berg saw Pale know such knowledge despite being so young, he couldn’t help but raise his brows.
“It is as you’ve said. I’ll get straight to the point. There’s a question I want to ask.” There was a hardness and sharpness to his gaze as he said that. “Do you know the gnome sword dancer, Cell Beork?”
